“We’ve Been Muted” is a short commercial made to draw attention to the increasing lack of freedom in our schools today, namely our freedom of speech. In this video, students are displayed in a school setting with their mouths duct-taped closed and controversial issues written across them. These words (and the scene with the teacher instructing her class, utilizing only one viewpoint: “no”) represent how teachers in our schools impose their own opinions on certain topics and insist that we oblige. In the end of the video, the black-and-white coloring fades away to symbolize how speaking up—or “removing the duct-tape”—gives you color and individuality, whereas black-and-white makes everyone the same. We chose to take this standpoint on education and the freedom of speech because we have felt its effects repeatedly throughout our years of schooling, and believe that it is time for students to finally take a stand and express their own thoughts. Through the use of this video, we hope to substantially impact and inspire youth nationwide.
