Mohamed Mohamed

UWRT 1101
Ms. Jamie Burgess
October 9, 2014
Rhetorical Analysis
In 2011, the rock band known as Rise Against released a new single to be placed on
their sixth studio album Endgame. The song Make It Stop (Septembers Children) is a different
song than they usually record, since it was not written by the band, it was written by the nephew
of the lead vocalist Timothy McIlrath. Rise Against is known as one of the bands that reach out
to others. The band has constantly supported many ideas, such as gay rights, activism, and
immigration reform.
The song itself is directed towards bulling homosexuals, or bullying in general. The song
can be split into two parts: the music video and the lyrics. Each piece has its own approach
toward the issue, and each of them do it greatly. The song is usually considered a rock song
or more of an indie rock song, since a lot of Rise Againsts music is revolved around the indie
rock genre of music. Basic rock elements are implemented within the song, along with some
pop influences, which allows it to stand out.
I found a lot of fans who were unsure about how we felt about if our fans were gay,
and that broke my heart, to think that any one of our fans might even question for a second
where we stand on that (Montgomery). McIlrath says this while in an interview with MTV
News. According to McIlrath, they began writing the song around the time the first suicide in
September 2010 occurred. The young man who committed the act was Tyler Clementi, and
eighteen year old freshman attending Rutgers University (Montgomery). He was supposedly
bullied since he was gay. Within the article, there is also a small video with McIlrath explaining
how to music video unfolds as well as his overall message. He states: The message is that it
does get better, it can get better; give it a chance to get better. Dont end your life prematurely.

The title of the song has two meanings to it. Make it stop is part of the chorus and
could also be seen as a plea from the person being bullied or even a friend. Septembers
Children has a deeper, yet simpler meaning to it. In 2010, there were a recorded nine suicides
due to being bullied on their homosexuality. During the bridge, the first five names of the
September 2010 suicides are read aloud, not sung. The other four are read during the last
verse of the song. This separates the song from most rock/indie rock songs, since there is
something actually being read, which brings an entire new meaning to the names read.
As mentioned before, each part of the song approaches the issue differently. The lyrics
are more indirect, since the lyrics may not be interpreted the way the are meant. The chorus
reads: Make it stop/Let this end/Eighteen years pushed to the edge/Its come to this/A
weightless step/On the way down singing (McIlrath). The chorus has a huge impact on the
entire song. It could be interpreted as someone jumping off of a bridge, or something similar,
therefore committing suicide. The beginning almost sounds like a plea: make it stop, let this
end. The part were it says its come to this, a weightless step perfectly exemplifies someone
walking off, hence the step being weightless. The impact of just the chorus alone is huge,
bringing a lot of emotion to the table. It is almost as if the reader is watching the person walk off
the ledge.
Another piece of the lyrics that brings in the horrid thought of suicide is: Bang, bang
from the closet walls/The schoolhouse halls/The shotgun's loaded (McIlrath). The shotgun
could be a metaphorical comparison to death itself. Having death in your hands, ready at will,
brings a sudden thought of the death being almost cruel. The shotgun inferred as a literal gun,
ready to shoot, since shooting ones self is known as one way of ending ones own life.
The music video wields a different approach towards the issue. The video follows three
different stories, all in which are similar. One young lady, and two young men are being bullied
about their homosexuality. The video begins in a third person view. It shows the three main
characters of the video. The setting is at a generic high school. A young lady entering a

hallway, a young man in the restroom, and an young adult at a lunch table. Immediately before
switching over to the band playing, it quickly shows the girl at her locker. On her locker, stickers
are covering the entire face of her locker, some of which read: Lesbo, Dyke, Lezzie, and
Die Fag. These are obvious signs of bullying, all of those words could refer to a homosexual
female, yet all carrying different deeper meanings to them.
From here, the music video continuously switch between the band, the girl, and the two
boys, which could emphasize how quickly it could happen. The girl gets her backpacked
snatched away from her and the two who snatched it begin to toss the backpack over her head,
as if they were playing a game of monkey in the middle. Once the girl retrieves her backpack,
she storms out of the school. The next scene following the girl follows her to the girl walking in
a street, and then her in her room. She then pulls out a gun a tends to look at it (Klasfeld).
The first young man is first seen in the restroom. A guy approaches him, and grabs him
from behind, holding his arms so he does not break free. Three other people walk in the
bathroom, two females and a male. One of the girls begins to kiss him, as the boy being
trapped tries to avoid it. This allows the viewer to know that he is indeed homosexual, and it is
quite obvious that this is a sign of bullying. Once he breaks free, the next scene comes with him
arrive to his garage, only to see a step ladder in the middle. He begins to climb it and the
viewer is able to see him grab a rope, which he is planning on using to hang himself (Klasfeld).
The second young man seen is at a lunch table. He seems to be older than the other
two, implying that it can happen to anyone at any age, not just high schoolers. He is reading a
textbook when he is approached by a group of guys. Each taking their turn, the first two spit in
his lunch, while the third flips the young mans lunch tray, which then invites the entire cafeteria
to burst in laughter. He proceeds to grab his things and run off. In the next scene, he is seen
walk next to a fence. He approaches a trash can and immediately throws his backpack in it out
of anger. In the next scene, he approaches the edge of a bridge. He stares off of the bridge for
a while (Klasfeld).

Once each of the three people in the music video reach their climax or point of
depression up to the point of contemplating suicide with their choice of death within their grasp,
each of them have a vision or a flashfoward as McIlrath calls it in his interview (Montgomery).
They each see what they can become if they do not continue with the act they are about to
commit. They see that their life gets better in their own ways. The girl getting married to
another young lady, the first young man becoming an artist and selling off one of his paintings,
and the second young man running for Congress. The emphasis of these three flashfowards is
to point out that it does get better as McIlrath states.
During the first bridge, McIlrath reads out the first five names of the young adults, along
with their ages, who committed suicide, due to bullying on their homosexuality. This puts a
great emphasis on that there are people that care. There are people that had a few, kind words
to say to anyone being faced with this issue. So, after each of the name is said, a recording of a
teenager shows and they say some kind words. Each recording is different, which makes it
special, since it was not acted out. These recordings not being acted out show a true kindness
from the teenagers. Once the bridge ends, the remaining four names of the September 2010
suicides are read during the final chorus. At the end of the music video, some more recordings
are presented. The names being read aloud and the recording of the kind-hearted teens are
truly inspiring for any young teen faced with a bully because he/she is a homosexual. For most
of the recording, they say: It get better further emphasizing the message that McIlrath is trying
to relay.

Works Cited
Klasfeld, Marc (Producer). (2011). Rise Against - Make It Stop (September's Children) [Video]. Available
June 21, 2011, from <https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XP4clbHc4Xg>.
Montgomery, James. "Rise Against's 'Make It Stop' Tackles Bullying, Suicide." News. MTV News, n.d.
Web. 11 Oct. 2014. <http://www.mtv.com/news/1666112/rise-against-make-it-stop-video/>.

McIlrath, Timothy. Make It Stop (Septembers Children). Endgame. CD. DGC Records. 2011.
< http://www.azlyrics.com/lyrics/riseagainst/makeitstopseptemberschildren.html/>.