“No Bully” is a non-profit advocacy organization that works to
ignite passion and eradicate bullying. In 2017, the partnered with Burger King
for one of their campaigns. They created a video called “Bullying Jr.” The
video begins with young children stating the mean, pejorative words that other
kids have called them. These words include “scrawny,” “weird,” and “queer.”
Viewers of the video naturally would feel compassion, as they are real life
kids telling their stories of bullying. They are telling their own stories,
with their own voices. These children are presented as the victims of bullying.
The tone of the video then shifts. The video tries to use humor to spread its
message about bullying. The video takes place in a Burger King. The employees
at the Burger King are “bullying” the hamburgers, Whopper Jr’s, by punching
them, effectively destroying them. The employee still gives the hamburgers out
to the customer. While this is happening, a high school junior is being bullied
by a group of kids. They are picking on the kid, pushing him around, and
destroying their Burger King meal. The hidden cameras in the Burger King reveal
that a larger percentage of the customers report that their Whopper Jr’s are
being bullied, by complaining to the Burger King employees about it. However, a
very small amount of customers acknowledge, or step in to help, the high school
junior who is being bullied. This use of storytelling exposes that sometimes
human beings can be kind of selfish, as they are more concerned with their
sandwiches being destroyed than a young kid being harassed. There is also a
segment at the end in which they show two of the people who step in and help
the kid being bullied, and get the bullies to stop. These concerned bystanders
are shown as the heroes, helping the victim, the child being bullied. The
heroes are then interviewed, and discuss how bullying is a huge issue, and how
it is so important for others to step in, and intervene, when they see somebody
defenseless getting bullied.
I think the video
is a good balance of using comedy, but still appealing to the compassion of the
viewers, and spreading its anti-bullying message. The premise of “bullying a
burger” is quite ridiculous, but it is certainly interesting and unique. This
video went viral on social media (Facebook, Twitter, YouTube, Instagram), and
was featured in various news outlets, as well as television shows. I believe this
is because of its unique twist on typical storytelling. It’s not your typical
bullying sob story, it’s also quite funny. This is probably why it went viral.
This type of viral video appeals to a passive audience scrolling through
Facebook. Thus, this use of storytelling can generate raised awareness for “No
Bully” and its mission.
In terms of the
six foundational values highlighted in the Matthews et al. (2016) reading, the
video best showcases the dichotomies of care/harm and liberty/oppression. The
kids being bullied in the video are the recipients of harm and oppression. They
are not being treated right, and aren’t doing anything wrong to receive such
treatment. They are just being themselves. The bullies in the video, picking on
the kids at Burger King are enacting harm and oppression onto the victims. The
heroes in the film, those who step in and help the kids being bullied are
showing care through their compassion towards the recipients of bullying, and
they are restoring liberty.
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