Two students from the University of Oregon have been selected to receive a Peabody Award for a 25-second video that was posted on YouTube. The anti-rape video went viral and has been seen by more than 3.5 million viewers. The video, entitled A Need Response, was produced by students Aaron Blanton and Samantha Stendal.
The video shows a young woman passed out on a couch. A man looks into the camera and whispers, “Hey bros, check out who passed out on the couch. Guess what I am going to do to her?”
The man then proceeds to cushion the woman’s head with a pillow, gives her a blanket, and pulls her hair away from her face. Then he looks at the camera again and says, “Real men treat women with respect.”
A Needed Response is the first viral video to be recognized with a Peabody Award. The awards, founded in 1940 by the National Association of Broadcasters to recognize outstanding work in radio, have now been expanded to broadcast and cable television and online media. The awards are presented by the Henry W. Grady College of Journalism and Mass Communication at the University of Georgia.
The award-winning video may be viewed below.