The hidden messages of Unfriended

The movie "Unfriended" is a horror movie that isn't much different from "The Blair Witch Project". While many people clearly watched it for the purpose of letting out a good scream, I saw some hidden messages in the movie.

The movie starts off with five teenagers causally talking about "life" and regular topics. While they do this an unknown sixth individual logs into their FaceTime but his or her face is not shown. This person is anonymous. The day is also the anniversary of the suicide of a girl named Laura Burns. All five of the known people present had some connection to Laura.

The rest of the movie is just the typical horror/slasher stuff that we see in most horror movies (I don't want to give away the ending). But there was a hidden message that I spotted. The movie was also a statement against cyber-bullying.

As we all know by now, cyber-bullying has caused an unimaginable amount of pain and terror to thousands of people in the world. Many of them have been driven to suicide. Since I don't have a Facebook or a Twitter account, I'm probably not the best person to ask when it comes to cyber-bullying. I don't know what its like and I hope that I never do.

But here's what I will say. The best thing to do if you are a victim of Cyber-bullying is to unplug from the Internet. You should also tell a family member (best choice is a parent) about your situation. DO NOT stay silent. DO NOT try to fight back. AND NEVER EVER, try to handle the problem on your own. Because it usually does not end well for the people who try that.

The people who are the cyber-bullies rely on the attention that their targets give them. They send out gross or indecent comments about someone and see if they can get a reaction. If they are denied this reaction, than they will back off.

Finally, I was a victim of bullying (not cyber-bullying) and I know how much it hurts. But there is absolutely NO shame in telling a parent or a friend (you know you can trust) about your situation. You need to know that you are never alone in this world. Don't be afraid to admit when you need help.

When Rape goes Viral

I just read, "When Rape goes Viral". I have heard many stories of sexual abuse in my life, and this isn't much different from them. It highlights the shamefully high amount of cases of rape and molestation at American schools. It took me a quite a while to figure out why many of the victims didn't speak out or go to the cops and have the rapists locked up.

I found out later that it is largely due to social media. When many of these sexual assaults take place, they take place at parties and some are even filmed, and then posted to Facebook. Many victims of sexual abuse are either embarrassed or ashamed of talking about it. That shame or embarrassment is multiplied if they learn that thousands of their peers know it as well.

Both boys and girls who are victims of sexual abuse become fearful of the public's perception of them. Many feel as if people have spoken ill of them on social media. Especially if someone does it to their face. Great examples of this are Tanya Kach and Robert Donnelly.

Tanya Kach was a 14 year old girl who was abducted by a neighbor. She was then subjected to sexual and physical abuse for a period of ten years. When she was finally freed, many people judged her and called her a whore, even though she was the victim of kidnapping and rape. Robert Donnelly was a 24 year old man who was abducted by the notorious serial killer, John Wayne Gacy (the Killer Clown). Gacy sexually assaulted Donnelly and nearly killed him. Unlike most of Gacy's victims Donnelly survived. But when he went to the police, they turned him away and called him a liar.

Past incidents like these have caused many victims of sexual abuse to stay silent and try to hide their terrible ordeal. I have put myself in their shoes and I understand why. What I don't understand is how some people can look at a victim of abuse or rape and laugh at them. What kind of sick person would find that funny? Why would anyone blame the victim for what some pervert did to them? It makes me sick to my stomach, that people like that act the way they do. I wish someone could tell me why they would see abuse as something to laugh about, because I really don't see it.

I do hope that people in the future can be less judgmental and have more compassion and insight to the victims of these vile crimes.

My first post

February 19th 2015