As defined in The Carolina Rhetoric, the appeal of pathos occurs when "the rhetor persuades by playing upon the viewer's emotions" (Aristotle 13). Lady Gaga and the producers of her video use this appeal extremely effectively in "Til it Happens to You." Lady Gaga is just one of many people who experience a life-altering sexual assault in their early twenties. The producers use an appeal to emotions in Lady Gaga's "Til it Happens to You" to spread awareness for the reality of sexual assault in college. This message is portrayed through the music style, story line, and video-shooting choices. Sexual assault is a real threat to many people and needs to be recognized as a problem. 

The music assists the portrayal of pathos in this video. Most of Lady Gaga's successful songs like "Just Dance" and "Bad Romance" are known for being fun and upbeat. "Til it Happens to You" differs in that it is slow in tempo and has a much more somber mood associated with it. The use of the string instruments like the violin help the viewer to understand it is a sad subject matter. It also allows the viewer to feel the sorrow that accompanies sexual assault. The song has a depressing tone, which effectively supports the use of pathos. Lady Gaga uses powerful lyrics like "till your world burns and crashes" and "till you're at the end of your rope" with the repetition of "you don't know how I feel, till it happens to you" to portray to the audience that the effects of sexual assault are real (Gaga). Theses lyrics go along with the emotional appeal of pathos because they are saying that unless you have been a victim of sexual assault, you could not possibly realize how terrible it really is. Sexual assault is something that stays with the victim and haunts them for the rest of their lives. 

The story also plays a key role in successfully portraying the effects of pathos. As a viewer, you realize with the use of three different story lines that sexual assault is prevalent on college campuses and can happen at any time. Whether it is a situation where someone drugs you at a party or a scenario where someone you consider a friend sexually assaults you, it can happen. The different story lines are effective for portraying somber emotions through pathos because they allow the viewer to see the reality of sexual assault and what it does to the victim. You feel upset as a viewer because you see what happens to these girls and how they end up feeling so alone. As a viewer, you can also picture yourself in their shoes, which is a disturbing effect of the different scenarios. "Til it Happens to You" does, however, end on a happier note with the different victims realizing that they can rely on their family and friends. They end up using them as support and people in whom to confide. These endings support the emotional appeal because they show that even though sexual assault can make the victim feel alone, they are not. 

The way the video is shot and the stylistic choices play an important role in the portrayal of the emotional appeal. The video is shot in black and white with no scenes in color. This choice was smart because the viewer does not get distracted. There are not different colors or crazy backgrounds to distract, so the viewer is able to focus solely on the main point. Being able to focus on the victims of sexual assault helps viewers understand that sexual assault is a sad reality. Viewers see how often people end up facing it during their time on a college campus. Another important stylistic choice when shooting the video was the perspective from which it is shot. The producers made sure to shoot each scene from an outside perspective so the viewer is able to see everything as it happens. This perspective heightens the portrayal of sadness and shock because you see just how easy it is to be sexually assaulted. Someone could corner you whenever they wanted or drop a pill in your drink if you are not paying attention. 

Although pathos is the primary appeal used in "Til it Happens to You," both ethos and logos are used to show that sexual assault is a real problem. Aristotle describes logos as "persuasion by using reasoning and evidence" (13). This appeal to the viewer's logic is done through the video's formatting. The scenes depicting sexual assault provide evidence that persuades viewers it is a problem. Although they are actors in the video, they based the scenes on real encounters faced by victims of sexual assault. Along with logos, ethos is also successfully used to spread awareness of sexual assault in college. Ethos is defined as "persuasion by means of his or her character or credibility" (Aristotle 13). Lady Gaga effectively uses ethos because she was assaulted herself and has the necessary credibility. She is able to write a successful song about sexual assault that spreads awareness because she has been through the situation herself and knows what it is like. 

Lady Gaga and the producers of the video are successful in making viewers experience an emotional response through pathos. They effectively use specific instruments and lyrics to create a song with a depressing tone. Along with the music, they also use the video formatting successfully by creating various situations where sexual assault can happen. Finally, they are successful in the way the video is shot because, it makes the viewer feel as though sexual assault can happen to them. Lady Gaga and others who have been through sexual assault want everyone else to understand that the effects can be detrimental to the victim. Sexual assault can tear a person down and make them feel like they are worthless. Through "Til it Happens to You," people who are fortunate enough to have not experience sexual assault see the harsh reality of it and learn it can happen to anyone anywhere. 

