Ludacris' and Mary J Blige's song "Runaway Love" tells the story of three girls as they transition through the common and unfortunate hardships of life. The song, along with the artistic portrayal of the music video, forces the reader to empathize with the family and social issues that each child encounters. I would not say that this song or music video is arguing a specific point, but it is challenging people to watch the video and to change their perspective on young, runaway children. The video does challenges people's views by using pathos to make the children seem naiver, innocent, and relatable.

The "Runaway Love" video opens on what looks to be an abandoned ally that shows an expansive wall full of missing person's posters or reports. There are also many candles on the ground along with flowers, similar to those that would adorn a funeral ceremony. These images act as precursors for the serious tone that will continue throughout the video. The posters are self-explanatory because they let you know someone has runaway, however in combination with the candles and flower arrangements it seemed as if the first few images in the video were that of a memorial for the runaways who will not be seen again. This scene lets people know that the story will not be of a light and jovial video. It sets up the mood that Ludacris and Mary J.B. want us in to absorb the message. When Mary J.B. starts singing, the video cuts to images of the young girls looking longingly at the camera, and all of the girls are alone outside. This gloomy scene makes it very clear to us that something is upsetting the girls, and their emotions correlates to how all of them are not at home. The scene makes the reader think about how the first girls we see do not have a happy home to go to, which alludes to the main three girls who do not come from happy homes. In these earlier images, there is a blurry image of the Virgin Mary behind one of the displaced girls, the image is emotional and logical as it appeals to the reader, to correlates with the Virgin Mary's innocence as something that she and the girl share. The beginning images set the foundation for the main girls, so it will already be in our heads that all these girls are victims or not at fault for what is about to come.

In the first scene the little girl, Lisa, is alone in her room, and on the wall we see an image of the Virgin Mary. Her home situation seems to be less than desirable due to images of her alcoholic mom who does not realize when her boyfriend comes in and starts to touch Lisa. When the man comes in the room to touch Lisa, we see many stuffed bunnies and stuffed animals on her bed while he is about to molest her. Scenes with innocent children's toys and these traumatic situations affect us deeply because the scene deals with rape and children, things people are passionate about and a topic that always finds a way to affect people personally. At the end of the scene, with one last reminiscent glance at her passed out mom Lisa decides to run away. As she is seen running on the street, she is carrying a bag that seems too big for her, which emphasizes her small size and the fact she is only a little kid. As viewers, we see her physical struggle, and after her story, we know she is running away due to her emotional struggle, which stems from her home situation. We empathize with her because she has been portrayed as the picture of helplessness. 

Similarly, Nicole deals with an abusive and alcoholic father. Her first instinct is to hide under the bed as soon as she hears him. This sad situation affects me because most parents tell their kids to hide if there is an intruder. Often times the first place that is picked by children is under the bed. It is an obvious place, but it is where we go to when we are trying to stay away from something scary. This scene could easily resonate with people who hid under the bed when they were scared as kids, which makes us relate to Nicole and feel her pain that much more. Later in the scene when her only friend is killed by the bullet that was not meant for her, the camera flashes to the stuffed animal that also drops presumably at the same time the best friend is dropped. Death is one of those things that is guaranteed in life, so everyone can think back to the person they felt was taken from them too early and relate to the girl's struggle and understand her desire to run away from all of her problems. 

Lastly, Erica is seen looking distressed in a clinic because she became pregnant at 11. When shown with the boy in her scene, she is portrayed as unsure and not comfortable with what she is doing. When the boy touches and kisses her, she never looks happy, and she actually looks scared. Since people often look down on teenage mothers, Ludacris wants people to sympathize with her naive and timid side rather than look at her as dumb and irresponsible. Towards the end of the video, Mary J.B. sings in a kind of 'lullaby' tone, telling the girls she will run away with them. It seems as if they are looking to her for a sense of direction, maybe because she is that positive figure for the girls that wants them to get away from their pain. Closing the video, Ludacris tells the girls and maybe some girls beyond the screen to imagine running away with him and everything being okay. Many missing-persons posters float around him, symbolizing the runaways who never came back. This music video lets the viewers emotionally confront hardships the girls must face, whereas the lyrics make one feel shocked and appalled rather than compassionate.

The lyrics of the song use the same appeals, yet they shock us into attention more than anything. Ludacris starts off each of the girls' stories by adding 'little' in from of their names, further reiterating their innocence and youth. He also repeats the concept of loneliness that each girl feels: "Lisa is stuck up in the world on her own, Forced to think hell is a place called home, Nothin' else to do but get some clothes and pack, Say she's bout to run away and never come back" (Ludacris). Unfortunately, the girls are in tough situations that make them feel alone, having no other choice but to run away. We know this from the diction Ludacris uses like 'forced' and 'nothin' else to do'. It is sad that girls, at this age, feel this way, but viewers want them to runway to get out of their awful situations. The song itself invites you to run away, with the Mary J.B.'s smooth voice that reiterates subconsciously to the sad girls 'run away', even saying "I'll run away with you" (Ludacris). For them this is the last choice both the girls and the viewers are encouraged to understand why they have to get out of their situations.

When using pathos, the main goal is to affect an audience emotionally. It made people feel shocked, saddened, and compassionate. It uses the struggles of innocent and naive young girls to break down the barriers people have up that allow us judge before understanding people's situations. By showcasing topics of alcoholism, rape, gun violence, and abuse, we could not look down at the girls for wanting to run away, because these are issues and dilemmas adults would also love to escape. Knowing that everyone wants to escape sometimes, this video should motivate people in positions of power to give young girls, who have no choice but to escape, a place of solace. That place of solace could be their school, where there are counselors that could help them or officials that could check on the home life of kids that show signs of abuse or neglect. The fact that these are young misunderstood girls made us want empathize rather than judge. Everyone has wanted to run away from their problems before, and those similarities are why the emotional appeals fully immersed us in their situation. It was in order to give us that feeling of empathy so everyone would reach out and help.

