One the most-watched IGB videos isn’t technically an IGB video at all. It’s the video for Rise Against’s “Make It Stop (September’s Children).”
Everyone at the IGBP—it’s not just me and Terry anymore (and hasn’t been for a long time, RSCC)—is hugely grateful to Rise Against for their outsized and moving contribution to the project. And we were thrilled to learn today that “Make It Stop” has been nominated for a VMA award in a newly created category: “Best Video With a Message.” Also nominated: Lady GaGa’s “Born This Way,” Eminem & Rihanna’s “Love The Way You Lie,” Katy Perry’s “Firework” (which Perry dedicated to the IGBP), and Taylor Swift’s “Mean.”
Rise Against’s video sends a powerful message and it’s reached and touched countless LGBT teenagers and their straight peers. Gay sex-advice columnists standing up against homophobia is one thing; punk bands with millions of straight fans standing up against homophobia is another thing altogether. We wanna thank Rise Against for the stand they’ve taken against the bullying of LGBT kids, for their enormous contribution to the It Gets Better Project, and for all they’ve done to make it better. We also wanna thank MTV for acknowledging the video and what it stands for.
And, hey, MTV viewers—and only MTV viewers (cough, cough)—are invited to vote for for all general VMA categories at vma.mtv.com. MTV viewers (cough, cough) who are only interested in voting in the “Best Video With a Message” category can go straight here. Voting’s open through August 16.
just “rise against.”
the other band “rages.”
Can someone please tell me what the message that makes a difference is in “Love the Way You Lie”?
@1 is correct. The band name is just Rise Against. You’re confusing them with Rage Against the Machine. I thought it was cute. Like something my dad would do.
Wow, dan really blew his age cover din’t he?
@1: Ugh — wrote that post last night, late, in an impaired state. Knew that, corrected. Sorry!
I think it’s awesome that VMA added the category and that at least four of the nominees are messages of tolerance, anti-bullying and hope. Anything that pumps up the popularity of those songs can’t help but spread the message.
Yeah, Dan, I think you’re mixing them up with Rage Against the Machine. This is just “Rise Against”. You should probably fix that before all of us young people start thinking you’re out of touch. 😛 lol
@2 I honestly couldn’t tell you either. Allegedly, it speaks out against domestic violence, but I can’t find anywhere in the lyrics/video where it really speaks out *against* anything. The video seems to romanticize it, if anything.
You’re in the video at the end there! Rage Against the Rise Against the Vicki Carr Machine should be very proud.
Shit – “Vikki”. Beg your pardon.
@5–Dan:
oh, i figured as much.
trying to spare you the dad jokes. too late!
@2 and @7 – It says “best video with a message” not “best video with a GOOD message” 😉
Decent video, good message, & big fan of It Gets Better here, but… Am I the only one who would love to see one of these videos, or really any sort of media, where the picked on kid doesn’t think about suicide, but instead stands up and slugs the douche making his or her life miserable? I mean, I’m only 31 but I still feel like I grew up in an entirely different environment than these kids. I wasn’t one of the popular kids, didn’t hang out with the in crowd. I was straight, but sexuality might as well not have existed for me before college. I wasn’t an athlete, and didn’t hit my full size until I was graduating college. But still, people didn’t fuck with me because they knew I wasn’t going to back down. It didn’t matter that the douche trying to make me miserable outweighed me by 50lbs. Showing confidence makes life easier, even when you have to fake it.
I know I had it easy, being the white, straight, rural kid. And this is in no way a criticism of the kids without the confidence or the opportunity to stand up for themselves. Life sucks sometimes and sometimes there isn’t a damn thing you can do about it. On the other hand, sometimes you can pick up a chair, say “Hey, douchebag,” and hit someone with it. Get suspended. Get punched. Sometimes it’s worth it.*
*In case someone takes that advice, please note that this disclaimer indicates I don’t want anyone to actually take that advice. I can’t afford the lawsuit.
Oh my goodness, that music video brought tears to my eyes. ; )
Wait, so American youth are embracing the didactic again? Does this mean the end of reality television?
I’m an old straight guy and that video made me straight-up cry. I’m serious.
Okay, I think this one is actually better than Rebecca Drysdale’s entry. I also teared up at this one.
@2: I think it’s supposed to be anti-intimate partner violence?
I have not loved a music video that much since the days that MTV actually played them.
I think that what Eminem and Rihanna do is to have this romantic sound coming from the R&B singer, that makes you feel for her, and then you have Eminem doing what he does best: shocking, and even disgusting you. But he does it so articulately. They don’t say their message outright, but you can almost feel the abuse through the song. To me it feels like a musical recreation of the abuse that gives you the feeling of why it often goes unreported.
That being said, I am a huge fan of Rise Against, and I am also a huge supporter of Dan and IGB. I hope this video wins, and I am also very thrilled that so many musicians from different genres are coming out in support of gay youth and marriage equality. The first time I heard this song, I was jamming out to it on the radio, but like all RA songs, it was fast-paced and I didn’t quite realize what it was about. Then they got to the names, and I shuddered. RA has a knack for getting you going and rallying passion in people, and I admire the way they turn it toward a good cause. I am heterosexual, but I have gay friends and care for their well-being and human and civil rights. I have been called “fag” and I have dealt with depression. I hope Rise Against wins the award.