2. This shot features a girl, presumably a lesbian, with derogatory insults on
her locker, indicating that the narrative of the video is something to do
with inequality and bullying. The girls locker is the only one covered in
insults, showing that she is being singled out, and given that it is in an
American school, it’s usually highly populated, so this will make the girl
feel especially singled out, which you can see in the girls face as the shot
continues, and she looks increasingly upset.
3. Through out the video there are many shots of the band playing a live
performance in the hall of the American high school where the video is
set. The benches are empty so there isn’t actually anyone watching
them, although they seem to be imploring the people watching the
video, to listen to the message that they’re spreading about the need for
equality. Also, as a rock song, it is typical that they have a live
performance featuring in their video, as this is a feature of most videos in
the genre.
4. This shows one of the victims of bullying in the high school, being forced
to kiss a girl in the bathrooms, which is clearly making him uncomfortable
due to the likelihood that he is gay, as with the theme of the video, and
the lyrics that say “too much blood has flown from the wrists, of the
children shamed, for those they choose to kiss”. This shows that despite
the modern age we live in, people are still unfairly judged and persecuted
for their sexuality, despite being born with it.
5. This again shows another victim being bullied in a high school. The boy seems
to already be isolated due to the fact he sits alone, and no one tries to help him
when he is being bullied. A group of boys take turns spitting in his food and
finally throwing it, publicly humiliating him, while everyone in the cafeteria
laughs at him. Also, the composition of the shot has the victim and bully in a
similar position, both on the outer thirds, but the bully being stood up, is higher
than the victim, making him the more domineering character, belittling the
victim.
6. This shot shows the female victim holding a gun to her head, with tears running
down her face, showing that things have gotten too much. All of the victims at
this point in the video are contemplating suicide, making the audience
sympathize for them, and realize the true extent of offensive behaviour, and
unfairly judging people. This could make the audience question their own
behaviour towards people and aim to change ways that may hurt people to this
extent. From this, you can see that the point of the narrative is to encourage
equality, and to end cruelty.
7. This shot shows Tim sitting in a chair, reading out the names of
teenagers who committed suicide in September due to suffering
bullying and abuse because of their sexuality. This explains why the
song is called Make It Stop (September’s Children), in memory of those
who’s lives where lost, encouraging abuse to stop, in order to prevent
such things in the future. Also, the name and age of the children makes
it more personal, keeping it as a tragedy, rather than a statistic,
encouraging the audience to make more of a change.
8. This shows one of the victims of the video having found “a happy ending”,
showing that despite having a hard time, that the campaign is right and it can
actually get better. The other two victims also end up having successful lives,
showing that victims can end up doing better than bullies, and that just
because someone has a different sexuality, ethnicity, etc., doesn’t mean that
they deserve any less than anyone else.
9. This shot shows a man saying “It gets better”, which is part of the
campaign that the video is based around. The man is the last in several
people who feature as small clips, all saying that things can get better
and helping to spread a positive message, to lift the atmosphere of
the video. It acts as a good way of showing a light through negative
times and encourages people to be strong through things like
bullying, etc.
10. The final shot shows the logo and website of the “It Gets Better Project”,
which encourages people to try and continue through hard times, and
shows people that life gets better. Because it is the final shot in the music
video, it stays in the audience’s mind the most and is portrayed to be the
most important message in the video, ending on a positive.
