Rise Against’s powerful video for “Make It Stop (September’s Children)” has been nominated for a new category at this year’s Video Music Awards, “Best Video with a Message.” The video, directed by Marc Klasfed, takes an unflinching look at the bullying and harassment suffered by young LGBTs and the teen suicides that prompted the It Gets Better project.
On the Rise Against website, the band remarked:
Hey all, seems MTV has nominated us for a VMA (Best Video With A Message), which is a first for us here in the Rise Against camp. “Make It Stop (September’s Children)” is an important song and video for us, so if your vote helps us all pour water on the fire of homophobia, then we are all for it.
Thanks again to director Marc Klasfed and the It Gets Better Project
The network’s acknowledgment of a video that addresses gay-teen bullying is commendable, sure. But when you look at some of Rise Against’s competitors, maybe just being nominated isn’t such an honor this time.
Taylor Swift’s “Mean” got a nod because it “cautions negative naysayers that being mean gets you nowhere.” OMG, totally! Mean people suck—and if I was elected class president we would pick the Nice Person of the Day and they’d get free fries in the cafeteria. C’mon people, grow up! We used to sing about starving kids in Africa and the war in Vietnam? Mean people? Seriously?
How about we take this to the next level?
Our newsletter is like a refreshing cocktail (or mocktail) of LGBTQ+ entertainment and pop culture, served up with a side of eye-candy.
And Eminem and Rihanaa’s “Love the Way You Lie” was nominated for “lluminat[ing] the pain and peril of domestic violence.” The guy who threatened to kidnap, mutilate and murder his ex-wife in about a dozen songs gets props for raising awareness about domestic abuse. Yeah, that sounds about right.
The VMAs air August 28 at 9pm on MTV.
Michael
Rise against deserves this nomination I hope they win.Wonderful men with a very important and powerful video and a message about homophobia and bullying.
Kev C
MTV is just TMZ with music so don’t expect the unknown band to win anything.
Red Meat
Thanks but I prefer the only bold song nominated to win, born this way. GAY LESBIANS? Drag queens? The other songs are to scared to state them directly.
Gray
Rise Against has my vote. It’s an incredible song and video.
eyesiq
Rise Against’s videos have always had strong messages in them.
jeff4justice
Love Rise Against. But MTV has been garbage for over a decade now. They choose superficial shit over music video art all the time.
boomer
@Kev C: Rise Against is definitely not an “unknown band,” and pop-punk-rock kids are known to get on the internet and vote in droves when it comes to these types of awards (let me regale you with tales of when Fall Out Boy used to win every conceivable viewer’s choice award for no reason…) so there’s hope yet.
Almost every single Rise Against video is well-done with a powerful message, though. They had one about deforestation that made me cry back in junior high, and I remember their video for “Audience of One” was about the USA’s turn toward extreme right-wing policies and included a scene where a sociopathic child rips apart toys depicting a gay wedding and replaces one of the grooms with a bride and then puts barbed wire fence around it. Look it up if you haven’t seen it, they’re really a great band with great videos.
linlijun123
*** {{w w w }} {{better wholesaler }} {{ us }}*****
The website whol esale for many kinds of fas hion sho es,
like the nik e,jord an,pr ada, also including the jea ns,shirts,bags,hat and the
jason
MTV has no credibility as far as I’m concerned. Over the years, it has supported homophobic music acts left, right and center. It continues to do so. Its concern for gay rights is phony and simply designed as a token gesture to get us on side. Don’t fall for it.
MTV and its executives can fuck off as far as I’m concerned. Don’t watch it. Don’t contribute to its profits.