4 Mediums About Domestic Violence

Song:

Eminem’s, a.k.a Marshall Mathers, song Kim is an especially poignant representation of domestic violence because, for him, it is a very personal issue. He and his wife have received a lot of publicity for their volatile relationship, and that topic has served as inspiration for several of his songs. Although I have not personally experienced domestic violence, nor do I know anyone who has, this song makes it easy to imagine the fear and anger involved in such a situation through the use of a lot of pathos. The song begins with Eminem singing a lullaby to his daughter, but immediately switches to him yelling at Kim, his wife. In the background you can hear her screams. The lyrics show that a lot of this can cause a relationship to go wrong; at one point it can be progressing perfectly and the next it can be completely screwed up, just because of one small incident.

Art:

A Window Between Worlds (AWBW) is an organization which deals with both women and children who have suffered from domestic violence. That organization has created an art exhibition out of drawings and paintings that the children, staying with them, have created. These pieces of artwork are so impactful because they express what the children cannot say, or are not willing to say. What makes this exhibit so interesting is that, for the artist, creating art is a source of release but, for the viewers, looking at the art is a source of a bone-chilling sensation. Under each piece, online, there is a comment from the artist (the artist comments on their artwork years later, when they are grown). Those comments further exemplify the painful experiences that each child went through. On a positive note, some of the stories show growth and healing; that is, after the children got out of the abusive homes.

Book:

Why Does He Do That?: Inside the Minds of Angry and Controlling Men by Lundy Bancroft is a good book to look at because my other examples (the song and the art) use a lot of pathos. This book takes a more analytical approach to domestic violence, and brings in personal stories. It takes Bancroft’s personal experience of being a therapist to angry men, who have been abusers, and uses his findings to help advise women how to get out of their abusive relationships. He also goes over the different kinds of angry men, various abusive relationships, and dispels common myths about violent relationships.

Video:

The movie, What’s Love Got to Do with It, is about a woman named Anna Mae, but is really based off of Ike and Tina Turner’s abusive relationship. This is a perfect representation of domestic violence, because it shows how a relationship can start off perfectly loving and then become abusive. It also shows the importance of getting out of such a harmful relationship, and that life goes on; no one should be completely dependent on any one individual person.