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domestic violence in the spotlight!
Sunday, 5 April 2009
Keira Knightley has become the center of attention in this new domestic violence advertisement, it is causing quite a stir it seems. It's directed by Joe Wright who recently won a BAFTA. It's good, one more thing that people are frightened to speak about is in the spotlight.
It's a shame it has gone this long for the media to take an aggressive stand point. of course Chris Brown brought things into the forefront recently too...how kind of him!!! Thankfully people are now opening their eyes. I think previous commercials are so meek and mild as opposed to now, thank God reality is setting in!
Feelings are mixed, someone I know called me on my usual reaction to violence. But you cannot liken this advert to the gratuitous violence I oppose... this is where it is okay to show some violence...because it is a reality for thousands of people. Others are being critical saying people only care because its Keira Knightly...it doesn't matter who she is, yes, she may be famous, but she is using that to get a message out there...good for her. Whatever works.
I hope it will make people take more notice, in Britain, people seem so concerned with keeping themselves to themselves as a whole, they don't intervene when they know they should...
5 April 2009 at 10:02
great ad and i guess it does drive home the message. I would have preferred if the woman in question was a ordinary woman - someone we all could relate to. having Keira Knightly in the abused role does take some of the message away. Domestic violence does tend to effect women who are in our venerable sections in our society. I think if the advert was set in house that reflected the majority of society (i.e the house next door) it would make people think closer to home.
Overall a good message and a message that really needs to be heard by all sections of our society. Violence against anyone shouldn't be swept under the carpet, tolerated or accepted.
We all have a responsibility to stop it where ever we see it.
5 April 2009 at 13:24
I actually really liked the line where she said, "I didn't agree to this." It seems to me that there is a pervasive attitude sometimes that the victim brings it on themselves, either by angering the person, or by staying with someone who abuses them. I just thought it was an interesting take on how domestic violence actually is. She knew he was angry from the second she saw his silhouette in the window and yet she went upstairs. She saw the broken window and yet she sought him out. She saw the blood and yet she gave him a rag. But then she says, I didn't agree to this. It's a pretty powerful message.
I was the victim of domestic abuse in my early twenties. I should have left the first time he covered me in bruises. We had been together (happily) for 2 years. He apologized profusely. I told all of our friends, so it wouldn't be a secret. I stayed. But things were never the same. Thankfully it only took another 6-8 months for me to get out of the relationship.
As for keeping our business to ourselves. It's true everywhere. One of the ways that my daughter's autism is expressed with through screaming. She screams loudly about everything. Where a "normal" kid might complain, "Aww, Mom!" when they have to brush their teeth. Ab screams at the top of her lungs for 5 minutes about it. In our apartment building, that's not good. We were here for 6-7 months before the neighbor finally complained to the management. After explaining what was going on over here, I thanked them for their concern. They absolutely should have asked about it. I can only imagine what they think was going on over here. I'm so glad they finally spoke out. I tried speaking to them in the parking lot, but they had clearly already defined me in their mind and wouldn't even make eye contact let alone have a conversation.
Well that was a long comment. LOL! I'm off!
5 April 2009 at 13:28
Yes, i think that is true, but I think that it goes on with ordinary women every day and no-one takes a blind bit of notice.
It's like with the Chris Brown thing, all of a sudden it was shock and gasps all round...when ordnary women have been going through it for years...I guess it just showed no-one is outside of the 'risk zone' as it were..
so even though it may be harder to identify with Keira, i think celebs hve a duty to highlight it, and if it gets people being more vigilant, talking...good...
I expect many people will feel like you, we all know she can act, so it makes it less real, but the truth is, society cares far more about celebs than our own neighbours...it was amazing how many people were sending messages to Rhianna in support...and maybe having no clue that a neighbour or friend might be going through the same thing or worse....
Thank you for commenting Trojan, i know we'll have a very 'real' conversation about this on many levels ;) xxxxx
5 April 2009 at 13:35
Hi Erin, what a brilliant comment, thank you, it is exactly like you say, unless we talk and ask, we don't know whats going on. we need to stop staying to ourselves and find out whats going on around us.
i agree, the advert is very powerful, you can feel the intimidaton as soon as she sees him...she acts it very well.
I'm sorry you had to go through abuse yourself, I'm glad you came through it strong and healthy.
I guess like your daughter, our neighbours must used to wondered what the hell was going on when Aaron was trashing the house and throwing the TV at me...but you know what, no-one ever asked me.
thanks again, and i congratulate you for the strong woman, and mother you are....:)
5 April 2009 at 14:44
Domestic violence crosses all social and economic levels...no one is immune.
Yes, more needs to be done to get the message out and to empower the voices of the often silent victims.
I was once that person...never again.
You commented on Mental P Mama's blog about passing on some books...I would definittely pass them on after as well...write a little note in the front and I would do the same....
You can email me at marchar1321@hotmail.com
Nice blog...I will definitely be back for another visit soon.
5 April 2009 at 14:44
In the US, the busiest day for ER's is SuperBowl Sunday! That is when they see the most domestic violence victims! The moral, I suppose is, don't bother your mate during a football game! I have a friend that has been battered for years and just refuses to leave!
5 April 2009 at 16:08
I just wrote a post about this PSA on Friday after I saw it on "Good Morning America". Here in the states they are saying that the PSA is too graphic and won't accomplish anything other than making people look away. But, that's the attitude I feel like is taken towards domestic abuse here. Don't talk about it and when you do hear about it, look the other way. It's best not to get involved in these situations.
I'm glad this is so violent and so graphic because women (and men) are enduring this kind of abuse and worse everyday and it needs to be something that we are forced to acknowledge and deal with.
5 April 2009 at 16:21
absolutely, and we need to address the fact that it is not just physical, but verbal abuse that is rife in society, it is easy to feel intimidated by someone especially a man, people need to stop turning away, if you can't feel safe in your own home, when can you...
i hope it doesn't get shortened or censored to make it 'more acceptable' thats the whole point IT IS NOT acceptable...
6 April 2009 at 05:06
I like the ad, but sadly I know that it won't be shown in the states. Too uptight here. I just think that people don't want to get involved, which is really sad, because evil triumphs when good people do nothing.
6 April 2009 at 08:27
That is a shame, and sooo ridiculous, its not that it's even graphic, its just something people are afraid to talk about...which is exactly why it is able to go on so often. I presume they thought as it was Keria Knightly, it might be more widely shown...I hoped so too...
6 April 2009 at 09:39
Wow. Powerful and disturbing, which is the point I suppose. That's one that will stay with me for awhile - not able to turn my back on it or ignore it as so many of us would like to do with domestic violence cases. A family friend was murdered by her husband a few years back. It still haunts us that we didn't know he was capable of that. Thank you for sharing the video - I hadn't seen this ad yet.