Final-Term Assessment

Nuzhat Mahjabeen
ID: 201000502
Course Code: ENG 111
Rhetorical Essay

Overcomer: Acceptance of being Perfectly Imperfect

Why the term "perfection" isn't coined as a metaphor? “Am I not good enough?” “Why am I not

good enough?” This is an attribution that most of us have in common and yet nobody ever

discusses it. This is called “Not good enough” story. This is one such echo – one such radio inside

our heads transmitting negative thoughts, messages, and perceptions of others about us, and many

of us have it. But where do all of these thoughts channel from? Do we generate it by ourselves?

Someone can easily just inflict their thoughts on us and we tend to believe them, chaining ourselves

with their words. This is the point where the deterioration begins. This brings up a well-known

quote -

“What gets scary is when your self-worth is tied up in what strangers think about you.”

-Emma Watson

("A quote by Emma Watson", n.d.)

Overcomer, a short animation film about self-doubt consumption by Hannah Spangler, who

directed and co-wrote this film was first uploaded on her own YouTube channel on 26 of April,

2016 (Grace, 2016). Hannah, a girl who was self-conscious about her worth, dedicated this

animation story to those who are burdened by others' words and deeds, who struggle with self-
doubt, and who lack self-love. The film claims that a person's worth is determined by what he says

and believes about himself. Words have influence, both those spoken by others and those spoken

by ourselves. The more we center our minds on the false notion that “I mean nothing,” the more

we can believe it is true—or at least want to believe it is true. We are the only ones who can repair

it. As portrayed in the film, she had to reconnect with her inner child in order to overcome her

feelings of anxiety and insecurity. Our friends and family will be unable to assist us until we begin

to accept the fact that we are valuable. The encouragement from those around us will begin to

resonate once we begin the process of embracing the fact that "I matter." Things will improve in

the future, for the better. It isn't going to happen immediately. It takes time and effort. So, our

worth is in OUR hand. The film by Hannah Spangler, “Overcomer” establishes a solid emotional

foundation with the viewers. Besides that, Hannah's position as the survivor creates a very strong

sense of credibility with the audience. The featured film instills a sense of self-love by emphasizing

the importance of not being influenced by others' opinions, as well as the importance of not relying

on the world to determine our worth.

Hannah had anxiety and depression herself, hence “Overcomer” was a very personal project for

her ("Overcomer - Animated Short — Hannah Grace", 2016). Though she has conquered her

struggles, she hopes that this film will also have a beneficial influence on those who suffer from

vulnerability, uncertainty, discomfort or self-distrust. She was a shy and nervous young lady.

Outside of her rank and abilities, she thought she was worthless. She pretended to be someone she

wasn't in order to obtain acceptance, and she judged herself solely on the basis of her performance.

But it was through that contemplation that she began to learn who she was beyond her creativity

and upbringing: she realized she was loved. Now, she's made it her mission to make people feel

free to be authentically themselves and welcome their transformation into the person they're meant

to be. And this film purposefully served her mission.

“Overcomer” was her first animated short film, created for her KVCC Experimental Animation

class (Grace, 2016). Hannah used her film to reflect her feelings and thoughts as a teenager. Since

she had been in a similar situation, she exuded a deep sense of trustworthiness and dependability

that resonated with her audience. She completed the entire video within three months, including

every detail on how she felt and what her thoughts were. She conveyed her feelings in the film

with a range of tones. For instance, it started with a depressed tone and ended with a positive tone,

with the girl having a confident spirit. Many of her followers could relate to her in the comments

thread (Grace, 2016). Some of them also said that they are still dealing with difficulties that she

had years ago. This demonstrates that the dictation was suitable for her intended audience. Then

again, the little girl shared all of her sorrows with her older self, demonstrating yet another appeal

to credibility. This content has 6,997,914 views on YouTube and is still increasing (Grace, 2016).

Furthermore, it was chosen for North by the Midwest Micro-Budget Film Festival 2018, as

evidenced by the thumbnail of the video. All of this illustrates that she is worthy of the recognition,

credibility and appreciation she is receiving.

The entire video depicts an emotional message to the viewer in order to elicit emotion. It was an

essential, important and most accurately necessary part of the animation film to evoke impulses.

It began with a girl sitting quietly at her study desk, despite the fact that it was her 18th birthday,

which she marked as rejoice of adulthood in the calendar long ago. Now, the feelings of her

birthday weren't the same anymore. She was chained by people's thought, words about her. She

couldn’t embrace herself. The thoughts of being not good enough, right enough, strong enough,

beautiful enough was devouring her little mind. All of her inside thoughts were influenced the

sayings she heard while growing up. They left an indelible mark on her core. Hannah portrayed all

of her feelings and how devastating they were to her. These were able to capture the attention of

the audience because many of them could relate to these vulnerable thoughts.
Additionally, her mother's birthday wish post on social media, which included a picture of her as

a child, garnered an emotional response from the audience. It had an appeal to emotion towards

the audience. The girl was engrossed in her childhood self's reflections. She could tell the little girl

was enamored of her. The little girl was full of joy and was drawing with her pink chalk all over

the place. It demonstrates how carefree she was as a child. Free of all the walls that had been

erected in order to judge her. The audience was overwhelmed with emotion as they adored this

version of the traumatized teen. Moreover, there seemed to be a sound of water and bubbles playing

in the background of this particular moments, which helped the viewer interact with the situation

more closely because these images were actually the girl's thoughts. These elements describe the

video maker's attempt to communicate with the viewer.

The teen’s feelings of being not good enough was sabotaging the little girl's carefree spirit. Though

she was not liking it, she couldn’t help it. This was one of the most emotional portrayal of the

entire short film. The little girl drew an imperfectly perfect circle to reminisce all the past events.

The circle reflected how others' opinions towards her created shackles and chains around her. It

brought back all the memories of how others' lack of empathy had hampered her ability to think

clearly. After the flashback, she was shocked and downhearted when she saw all those shackles

around her. She eventually realized how wrong she was, by allowing those thoughts to take over

and engulf her. These scenes created a very strong reflection of self-love. Many people consider

self-love to be an exaggerated term, and they often overlook its significance. People strive to be

ideal, and perfectionism is regarded as a more valuable commodity or quality than self-love, just

like the girl in the film. It also highlighted the most significant advantage of self-love, which is

improved mental health. Anxiety and depression are less common in people who love themselves.

Self-love often leads to a healthy outlook, which is crucial for both personal achievement and

mental health. The direction in which the girl in the video was leading. Hannah was able to
combine all of the emotions in a fascinating way and capture the attention of her audience through

the video.

Meanwhile, with all the emotions there were some great reasoning that created a sense of logical

appeal to the audience. In the video, Hannah depicted other people's words as fetters, handcuffs

and what not. The shackles were tightening with each derogatory expression. The young girl's

actions demonstrated that she was far too young to be feeling this way. It was seen in the video

that the shackles were getting thicker with each thought, as if they were sabotaging the girl's

freedom to thrive. The words "You're Unloved" were passed down from the teen to her past self

in the final minutes of the video, which quickly added another link to the chain. That helped her

realize she was the one who had caused her own harm. She hurriedly embraced her childhood self

to assure her that she's there for her, and all of the shackles began to fall away. Later, it was a new

day, a new beginning. A beautiful day started with dust particles in the sun rays, symbolizing her

new inner feelings of being rejuvenated. Hannah demonstrated how damaging words can be. Other

people's words, as well as our own. To give someone the power of vandalizing our core is the

ultimate destruction.

The showcased video by Hannah Spangler, inculcates self-love by stressing the importance of not

being swayed by other people's views, and also not depending on the world to decide our relevance,

value or worth. Overcomer depicts how self-love can motivate us to break off the shackles clasped

by the harsh words that people throw on us. It's a thought-provoking story that compels people to

ponder over how we are easily consumed by self-doubts that are formed by people's opinion. It

concludes with a viewpoint of the importance of self-love. Hannah, herself suffered from the exact

feeling portrayed in the video. The girl suffered from anxiety, depression, self-loathe and what not.

Owing to the worlds thinking towards her, she started to suffocate. In order to resolve her emotions,

she needed to reconnect with her inner child and she eventually taught herself that what a person
says and believes about himself determines his worth. The short film delivers a strong message

about self-love. Hannah dedicated this animated story to those who are encumbered by somebody

else' statements and behavior, who battle with self-doubt, and who lack self-love. She's now made

it her goal to help people feel free to be who they really are and to embrace their transition into the

person they were born to be. And this film truly helped her achieve her goals.

Reference

A quote by Emma Watson. Goodreads.com. Retrieved 19 April 2021, from

https://www.goodreads.com/quotes/7738650-what-gets-scary-is-when-your-self-worth-

is-tied-up.
Grace, H. (2016, April 26). Overcomer Animated Short | Hannah Grace. YouTube.

https://youtu.be/V6ui161NyTg

Overcomer - Animated Short — Hannah Grace. Hannah Grace (2016).

https://hannahgraceart.com/media-1/2017/5/9/overcomer-animated-short.