Karla O.

Armendariz
RWS 1301
10:30-11:20

PSA Reflection
The Public Service Announcement (PSA) I created for Assignment 5 for Rhetoric Writing
1301 course is about domestic violence. The purpose behind this PSA was to bring awareness
that domestic violence can occur in different forms and situations. The PSA provides examples,
statistics ,and contact information for help and future reference.
Domestic Violence is any form of physical, verbal, mental ,and psychological aggression
applied to an intimate partner. For example, any form of on purpose hitting in an aggressive
manner in a marriage or dating relationship can be considered domestic violence. In our video
we played out two different scenarios to display a physical and mental abuse. The use of
different roles was also applied to showcase the possible outcomes of abuse in a female-male
intimate relationship. Domestic violence can occur in both directions, the husband/boyfriend can
abuse the wife/girlfriend and vise versa.
In our first scenario we had a physical abuse play out between a couple walking towards
their car. The relationship at first is shown because they are holding hands, as they approach the
car the young woman accidentally drops the car keys. Here is where we can notice there is a
domestic violence problem because the young man reacts in a form where he gets mad at the
young woman and pushes her to the ground and then proceeds to pick up the keys. He has hurt
the young woman for a very insignificant problem in a public space. If this is how he reacts for
such a small thing in public, one can only imagine what goes on in a more personal setting such
as their home and daily life. She believes he did not mean to push her, blinding her to the truth
that the young man is wrong for attacking her.

Karla O.Armendariz
RWS 1301
10:30-11:20

The second scenario shows a mental abuse via text messages sent out by the girlfriend to
his boyfriend. The boyfriend is shown working on school work, suddenly he begins getting
messages from the female counterpart. As he tries to explain his absence, she does not give him a
chance and starts to tell him off, not taking his explanations and reasons. She proceeds to accuse
him of cheating, calls him a liar, and begins to offensively name him. He is shown as affected to
the girlfriends words, bringing down his moral, and fear of his relationship with her. The belief
that she does it because she loves him, cause him to fall victim of his accuser.
The purpose for these situations to be told like this was to show the audience that there
are different ways domestic violence can occur. Statistics gathered from the National Coalition
Against Domestic Violence website are mentioned to reinforce how often it is found in the
female and male populations. We used an ordinary person to call out on this problem and show
that anyone can be victim and anyone can notice right from wrong and can do something about
it. We appeal to the victims to see how their beliefs prevent them from getting help to deal with
domestic violence. By using all these concepts we accomplish to explain to those who where not
aware the problem was big, encourage viewers to take action if they come across a domestic
violence case ,and provide information for help to victims and concerned peers.
Domestic Violence is a problem that everyone needs to be aware of. There are many
victims who do not realize they find themselves in such domestic abuse. By showing situations,
providing information, and explaining domestic violence can be reduced and more people
helped.