Human Trafficking is defined by the United Nations as an act of recruiting, transporting, transferring, harboring or receiving a person through the use of force, coercion or other means, for the purpose of exploiting them. According to the Polaris Project, in excess of eighteen thousand foreign nationals are trafficked annually just in the United States. This is a booming business that is estimated to have profits of $44.3 billion per year internationally, with the largest share coming from the sex trade. This video serves as a public service announcement (PSA). It argues that Human Trafficking is a cruel act that should never take place. It implies the warrant that the general viewer is not aware that this modern form of slavery is occurring to people in countries around the world and in their own country. The video implies that the act is hidden from the public due to its secretive nature and minimal publicity in the media. The purpose of this video is to raise awareness of the cruelties of Human Trafficking and to encourage the viewer to take action against it in any way they can: protesting the act and supporting restrictive legislation, providing financial support for organizations such as Amnesty International, or simply acknowledging the fact that it is occurring. The intended audience is anyone who is unaware of the nature of Human Trafficking or simply any member of society who cares about human rights. The video could also be targeted toward some people in countries such as the United States, Canada, England, etc., who subconsciously accept the stereotype that Human Trafficking does not occur in their own country, but that it only occurs in third world countries.
The video begins with multiple images of faces of distressed people from around the world. These images invite the reader into the video by displaying the vulnerable faces behind Human Trafficking. Just by looking at these faces, the viewer does not yet know what the video will be arguing, but they feel an emotional connection with the people. The viewer sees these children, men and women and he or she feels as though they are not so different from his or her own reflection and own friends and family. By beginning with an image of Caucasian woman, the video appeals to the people in the audience who have the perception that human trafficking and slavery only occurs in third world countries such as Africa. We must acknowledge the fact that this act could even be happening in our own country and our own communities.
The video then juxtaposes the previous faces by showing a couple of images without visible faces. This expresses the idea that although the victims of Human Trafficking are just like us, they have no identity in their reality. This is one of the many reasons to support the claim of the video that Human Trafficking rejects human rights. These photos inflict an eerie feeling of loneliness in the viewer.
The photos were included to show the nature of the act of Human Trafficking. The photo of the buses packed with people is the first photo that hints at the crime itself, showing the transport of dozens of people. This photo, along with the following photo of the large quantity of money in various currencies, shows how Human Trafficking is becoming a massive business. It contributes to the main argument, that the act is inhumane and a major societal problem, by showing how thousands of people are profiting from it every day. These photos help to introduce the viewer to the crime itself and give logical reasoning (financial aspects) and emotional reasoning (the fact that someone is profiting from the sale of human beings) to support the main argument.
The following two photos use blurry black and white colors to illustrate the domestic violence and devastation of women who are forced into slavery or prostitution. Photos 16-19 use symbolic graphics to represent the cruelty that these victims are faced with every day. The image of a woman inside a transparent suitcase on an airport security conveyer belt shows an actual protest and visual argument against the act of Human Trafficking. The woman is arguing that the trafficking of humans is equally as bad as stuffing a woman inside of a suitcase. The image is very identifiable with Human Trafficking, shocking the reader and making the topic of the video obvious. The wide-eyed look on the woman’s face, as well as the way she is trying to get out of the suitcase, shows the way that Human Trafficking victims are trapped. (This supports the claim that Human Trafficking is morally wrong). This feeling of being trapped is also expressed in photos 18-20. The photos of the women in chains present the disturbing realization that Human Trafficking is slavery. The photo of a woman’s foot with high heels permanently molded into the skin is one of the photos with the most emotional impact onto the reader. The disgusting image makes the reader feel the physical pain of a female prostitute sold through Human Trafficking. It represents the way in which these women’s jobs never leave them; their job is their life and the physical and emotional effects are endless. The photo of the barcode in the shape of a female silhouette also shows the inhumane way in which the lives of these people are given price tags.
Next, the video presents photos of women with sealed mouths and chains, as well as a photo of hands on a window as if someone is trapped. (Serves as reasoning for cruelty of the event and that the reason we don’t realize it’s happening is because the victims have no way of expressing it) This shows that these trafficked people have no voice and are forced into their work; they have no way out. The next photos juxtapose this by acknowledging that we have a voice. We should raise awareness of Human Trafficking and try to prevent it from occurring. This encourages the viewer to take action. The final photo of peace shows the final destination that we all hope to reach and tells the viewer that with their help, peace for all of humanity can occur.
The animations contribute to the overall tone of the video. The screen zooms in on faces at the beginning to make the viewer feel as if they are digging into the eyes of the person in the photo. Most photos transition by fading through black to show how Human Trafficking is often hidden from the public, like behind a black curtain.
The use of Radiohead’s song, “Everything in its Right Place,” provides a crucial emotional connection. The song starts off with gentle keyboard keys to play beneath the ambiguous images of various distressed faces. This adds an element of mystery to the beginning, allowing the viewer to question the reasoning behind the melancholy music and distressed expressions on the women. The transition into the lyrics consists of strange voices making quiet, dissonant sounds that give the listener the feeling of inner conflict. It takes the viewer from quiet mystery to chaotic distress and the feeling of being lost or of running away from something. This can represent how the victims of human trafficking feel lost and alone, with no way to escape the chaos. These sounds continue throughout the whole video, quietly beneath the lyrics. This shows how the feeling of distress is never-ending for these slaves.
The singer then begins to say the phrase “Everything...in its right place…” This provides some irony for the audience. They see the photos of abused women and hear the melancholy musical line but register these optimistic words. The words are obviously in the wrong place for the reader. This represents the idea that many people see these women, the victims of human slavery, on the streets or in their community. We see these faces and believe that everything is alright and that these women are living normal lives. This video tells the audience that these people are in fact in a very devastating state that is simply hidden from the public eye.
The last and longest part of the song in the video is when the vocalist asks “What is that you tried to say?” These words give the impression that these men and women have no voice in their job, and that they wish they could speak up and escape their reality but are unable to. By repeating the phrase “tried to say” throughout the rest of the song, the feeling of being silenced and trapped gets into the heads of the viewers. It also enhances the purpose of the ending by making the reader realize that although the victims do not have a voice, we do. We can speak for the victims of human trafficking and help prevent the act from occurring.
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