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Chelsea Weber
Professor Crenshaw
ENG 110 Z
16 May 2014
Word Count: 1275
A Visual Argument for Bystander Intervention
For the visual argument assignment, I decided to focus on the topic of bystander
intervention. My central argument was that people do not intervene enough when they witness
cases of victimization. I conveyed this argument by filming video footage, providing research,
and editing a short movie.
The audience that my short film is directed towards is my peers. While bystander
intervention is applicable to all age groups, it is especially applicable to college students. Rape,
physical abuse, excessive alcohol consumption, and date rape drug use are all common cases of
malpractice on college campuses. For this reason, I made the setting of the film on a college
campus. I filmed in an Elon University apartment so as to be recognizable to my peers viewing
the film. All of my scenes were shot to look like they were taking place at a party in this
apartment since parties are often the setting for which many of the aforementioned abuse cases
occur. The actresses and actors that I chose were also relatable because they are current college
students that attend Elon University.
For the first part of my video, I filmed four party scenes. After each one of these
individual scenes, I provided a statistic to emphasize how often each one of the occurrences takes
place. In doing so, I demonstrated that the actions taking place were harmful. My first scene was
depicting a boy slipping a date rape drug in a girls drink when she was not looking. The statistic

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that followed this clip was, There are 5,000 drug-induced sexual assault cases in the US each
year (College Crawler). My second scene was of a boy and a girl in a verbal fight. As the fight
progressed, the boy physically grabs the girl by the arm with force. At the end of the scene, a
quote stated, In the US, 24 people per minute experience intimate partner violence (Center for
Disease Control and Prevention). The third scene was of a girl passed out on a couch with a party
going on around her. The statistic following this scene was, There are approximately 88,000
deaths per year in the US due to excessive alcohol consumption (Center for Disease Control and
Prevention). Lastly, the fourth scene was of girl sitting on a couch with a red cup in her hand.
The boy sitting next to her on the couch tries to pull her up and lead her to the bedroom even
though she shakes her head, indicating she does not want to. Yet the boy grabs her arm and pulls
her up. He leads her to a bedroom and she stumbles the whole walk there, indicating that she is
drunk. Once at the bedroom, he pushes her down on the bed with the intention to rape her. After
this scene, a statistic flashed up on the screen that read, Every two minutes an American is
sexually assaulted (Rape, Abuse, and Incest National Network).
Then, I froze the last frame of the rape scene and set all of the footage that was just
shown in reverse. For each scene, I let the film reverse and then I froze the shot at the point when
the bystanders witnessed the abuse. I then zoomed in on the freeze-frame to show the faces of the
bystanders, thus giving emphasis that these people were present and, more importantly, not doing
anything to stop the abuse.
After all of the reversed scenes ran through, I then showed a statistic about the lack of
bystander intervention in victimization cases. The statistic was, According to National Crime
Victimization Survey Data, bystanders are present in 65% of violent victimizations (Bureau of
Justice Statistics). Following this quote, I transitioned into part two of the video. I filmed the

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same scenes as part one again, but this time I had the bystanders intervene. In each case that I
filmed, the bystanders helped the victim and the victimizer was deterred. Inclusion of these
scenes served the purpose to demonstrate how intervening can prevent the types of abuse shown
in part one of the video. At the end of the last video clip, I incorporated a black slide that had the
words, SPEAK UP, written in bold, white print. This phrase acted as the call to action for
viewers. As a way to prevent abuse, bystanders can do their part and speak up when they witness
abusive and victimizing situations.
With this message in mind, I conveyed pathos through numerous editing and filming
techniques. First of all, I shot my videos without sound. By doing this, my actors and actresses
had to convey their emotions by just using facial expressions and body language. This was
effective because viewers are then forced to focus on the actions taking place instead of the
words being spoken in the scene. In accordance, I chose to overlay the video with music that also
helped invoke emotion. The music starts off very dark and dramatic. Then, I edited the sound to
transition itself to a more upbeat tone when it reached the set of scenes in which the bystanders
intervene. The dark music at the beginning works to make viewers feel negative emotions about
the scenes taking place. Then, as the music turns happier, viewers associate the people
intervening with positive emotions. Therefore, the musical transition supports the idea that
intervening is a positive course of action. Furthermore, I chose to put the SPEAK UP clip at
the end because the phrase is short and it addresses the viewer directly. The use of black screens
and white lettering to display this phrase, as well as all of the statistic slides, is effective because
the black and white is very simple. The high level of color contrast lets the words speak for
themselves, thus creating a larger emotional impact on the viewer.

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These black and white slides also established logos because they tied in research. The
research I included was all related to Americans since my argument was directed towards my
peers attending college in America. By including research statistics to go along with the scenes
of abuse at the beginning, my argument was more credible. This credibility was enhanced by the
fact that I cited the sources underneath each fact. Also, use of reversed scenes and freeze frames
that zoomed-in on the bystanders faces logically demonstrated that the purpose of the film was
to highlight the publics lack of intervention in abusive circumstances. The statistic shown
afterward, about the high percentage of bystanders that do not intervene, tied together all of this
footage and reinforced the purpose more explicitly.
In addition, I demonstrated ethos by shooting and editing the video myself. By using
footage that was clearly shot on campus and in a common apartment complex, I established
credibility to my audience. I am a college student, just as my peers are. I have witnessed fellow
students failing to intervene in issues on campus. Thus, I know what my audience can relate to
because I am apart of the targeted demographic.
Therefore, my presentation was effective overall because it utilized numerous filming and
editing techniques as well as research. I tried to film and edit in a way that was relatable and
emotion-invoking to my audience. I also chose to include research because it established the
credibility of the scenes. In all, presenting my argument in the form of a short movie made my
argument original and effective in terms of establishing ethos, pathos, and logos.

My video can be accessed by clicking the following link: https://www.youtube.com/watch?

v=gd9DLuwre-w

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Works Cited

"Alcohol and Public Health." Center for Disease Control and Prevention. USA.gov, 14 Mar.
2014. Web. 8 May 2014.

"How often does sexual assault occur?" Rape, Abuse, and Incest National Network. Rape, Abuse,
and Incest National Network, 2014. Web. 8 May 2014.

"National Crime Victimization Survey." Bureau of Justice Statistics. US Office of Justice

Programs, 2012. Web. 10 May 2014.

"Rape Drugs." College Crawler. College Crawler, n.d. Web. 8 May 2014.

"The National Intimate Partner and Sexual Violence Survey." Center for Disease Control and
Prevention. USA.gov, 26 Feb. 2014. Web. 10 May 2014.