Has anything happened in your life that was very unexpected? Every single day, there are countless spontaneous acts, good or bad, that happen all over the world. There are countless social and economic problems that surround living in the 21st century that need to be addressed more frequently. A social problem that comes to mind needing to be better addressed is the issue of sexual assault. If a person experiences any kind of sexual contact or behavior that they did not give clear and conscious consent to, the act committed is considered to be sexual assault. A person cannot legally force another person to do anything they are not comfortable doing. Unfortunately, college campuses tend to be a breeding ground for sexual assault. In the year 2015, Lady Gaga, along with the help of Diane Warren, co-wrote the song “Till It Happens to You.” At a time when college students and various colleges are being put on the news for sexual assault cases, this song allows the public to understand the way victims are talked to and viewed after a person is sexually assaulted. By looking at Lady Gaga’s music video for “Till It Happens to You,” we can see that the lighting, the subjects, the setting, the lyrics, and the progression of the video which most people do not see. This is important because the music video portrays the depression, anxiety, and loss of self-identity that sexual assault plagues victims with. 

One common factor in most every piece of visual text is the use of light which in this case adds a dramatic effect to the scenario being seen. Lady Gaga, along with the help of her video editors, uses the colors black, white, and gray to further the idea that sexual assault has various physical and emotion effects for people. Sexual assault, specifically on college campuses, is never something that is okay. Choosing to go with this color scheme, or lack therefore of, adds some mystery and drama into the already complex subject of the video. Also, the lack of a color scheme creates a somber mood. The screen almost catches viewer’s attention. The lighting allows the viewer of the video to focus on the actions of the actors in the video because of the dull colors rather than worrying about what is going on elsewhere in the screen. Part of the reason for the use of black and white for the coloring and lighting is it signifies that sexual assault is not something that people like talking about but is always there. The color black is something that is in almost everything, but is rarely talked about. Although it is not directly mentioned in the video, sexual assault has been a problem at college campuses and around the world for decades. Quite possibly, the color scheme of the video could also be alluding to the fact that this problem has always been around, it has not been addressed by a vast majority of people up until now. Furthermore, in each of the situations in which sexual assault occurs, the lighting of the video is brighter on the act of sexual assault and darker in the rest of the room in order to focus the viewer’s attention on the acts being committed. At the ending of the video, the lighting focuses on the survivors, accompanied by their friends, walking down the hall of their dorm and as they get closer to the camera, one by one the survivors come in to focus. Each person has their own story as to what they go through and it is important that people realize no one situation is exactly the same as another. The different lighting of the subjects and scenes in the music video help to portray that the acts of sexual assault committed have an emotional impact on the victims.

On another note, the unique subjects of the video help to showcase the idea that sexual assault does not affect a specific group of people, but it can happen to anyone of any race, gender, sexuality, and/or age. In the instance of this video, the victims of sexual assault are a white female, a short-haired female trying to be a male, an Asian female, and a light-skinned female. On the other hand, the perpetrators of the assaults are an overweight white male, a skinny white male, and a hipster white male. The casting of actors and actresses for these roles enhanced the overall message of the music video because there is someone that everyone watching the video can relate to. The reaction each subject had to their abuse illustrated the various way people react to having gone through a traumatic event such as sexual assault. For example, one of the victims is musically gifted and after the assault, she has trouble finding motivation and is unable to write music anymore. Furthermore, one of the other victims becomes bed ridden after her assault because she cannot stand to go outside or see other people. The subjects in this video portray the physical and emotional effects of sexual assault through their responses to the assault. 

Another aspect of the video that strengthens the message would be the setting in which the assaults take place. The first assault seen in the video happens in the dorm room of a girl who is trying to work on her music. The guy who comes into her rooms looks to be her friend because the encounter starts off amicable and turns into inappropriate touching. This incident transpires in this girl’s room by someone she knows. The emotional vulnerability that she feels after the assault can be shown in her lack of motivation and trust. The second incident begins in a party where two girls are enjoying themselves and a man brings the two girls to his room. Similarly, when a person takes a shower in the bathroom, that is a time for a person to take a break and reflect on their day. Once somebody takes personal time and space away from a person, that person may feel helpless. Furthermore, that person may be afraid to shower there again or even have suffered some physical abuse from grabbing. Finally, in the last scenario, a boy takes two females who have been roofied, to his dorm and proceeds to violate them in ways they are too incapacitated to consent to. Imagine waking up not knowing what happened or why it happened. A majority of victims of sexual assault muster up the feeling of emotional vulnerability and often times have physical marks on them because of sexual assault.

The use of powerful lyrics in this song depicts the real picture of what sexual assault is like from the side of the victim listening to their friends after they were attacked. The song begins with the words “you say you’ll pull yourself together…” which is the friend telling the survivor that everything is going to be okay. In response the survivor says “Tell me what the hell do you know? What do you know?” This exchange represents the survivor’s challenge to talk about the trauma and listen to advice from a friend after such an emotionally turbulent experience. Most of the time after a sexual assault situation, the victim’s mind sometimes shuts out the experience and makes people think it did not actually happen. In one line of the song, Lady Gaga repeats the phrase “no it won’t be real” to emphasize the thought that people’s minds tend to accept only the things they want to. Lady Gaga finishes by saying, “Till it happens to you, you won’t know how I feel.” In summary, a person can never truly know the emotional and physical effects of sexual abuse until they are the ones who experience it.

In this case, the music video shows the progression of what it is like for a person to go through sexual abuse and what the effect of the act is. The video starts off with each subject in a different location and the tone of the music is very somber and low. Once the abuse happens, there is a drum beat added into the music making it more intense because at this point, the abuse is happening and the viewer can see how the acts are effecting the subjects. The use of the extra sound in the song brings in the listeners’ attention because it is not there in the beginning of the song. As the victims come away from their abuse, the camera focuses on various parts of the body with phrases such as “I am worthless” and “sometimes I hate myself.” This is significant because after an attack, the victims tend to feel stripped of their dignity and begin to lose self-worth as a result. The video then shows the victims trying to reach out to others by writing the phrases “believe me” and “listen, you will hear me” on peoples’ bodies. Finally, when the friends of the victims come into the situation and try to console the victims, the words in the phrases change to “I am worthy” and “I love myself.” The change of wording shows a change of heart in the victims that things will be okay and it shows their confidence has been boosted. The physical and emotional effects of sexual assault can be clearly seen through the progression of the video and the words on the victims’ bodies.

Sexual assault is something that should not be taken lightly in any shape or form. The acts of sexual assault leave victims in emotional ruin and can even leave them with physical evidence that can be lasting. These effects are nothing to take as a joke, because they affect the lives of innocent people as well as everyone around them. Sexual assault is something that needs to be addressed in a more widely known way and Lady Gaga, in her video for “Till it Happens to You,” presents the effects of sexual assault in a new and informative way. It is never okay do to something without consent. Be careful.
