Teen from Rebecca Black "Friday" Video Tackles Bullying in Debut Single and Video
Posted by Kay Stanford Jr Kastum at 10:17 AMBenni Cinkle from the Rebecca Black "Friday" video is using her Internet fame to take on bullying, discrimination, and other tough issues.
"That Girl in Pink" Benni Cinkle was just 13 years old when Rebecca Black's "Friday" video gained Internet infamy - though you would never guess it from the way she's handled her fame. That's because Cinkle has used her influence to rally support for the causes she believes in.
Thanks to the success of Rebecca Black's "Friday" video, Cinkle gained a fan base of hundreds of thousands of followers spanning Facebook, Twitter and tumblr. Cinkle realized the influence she had over fellow teens who saw her as a role model, and used her social media platforms to teach kids about issues such as bullying.
A year earlier, Cinkle had visited a website called SixBillionSecrets.com where kids of all ages can anonymously post their stories of abuse, rape, shame, neglect, or bullying without judgment. "It broke my heart to read what those kids were posting," Cinkle recalled. "So I just started writing down what I was feeling."
Cinkle's writings eventually became a song, which she showed to her mom, Pati, after the Rebecca Black "Friday" went viral. "Benni really wanted to create something to help the stories of these kids reach a larger audience. At first she thought about singing a ballad," Pati Cinkle explained, "but Benni decided an upbeat pop song would be more relatable to kids."
Just a few weeks later, Cinkle was in the recording studio to create her debut single, "Can You See Me Now."
The next step was to create the video which Cinkle pieced together from six stories she found on SixBillionSecrets.com. "The video highlights stories that deal with teen issues like unplanned pregnancy, cutting, bulimia, abuse and homophobia," Cinkle explained. "These are all topics that teenagers struggle to deal with all the time. If these experience are so central in the lives of teens, someone should be talking with them. Hopefully my video can help start that conversation."
The sixth story in the video is Cinkle's own and conveys the cyberbullying that she experienced in the aftermath of the Rebecca Black "Friday" video release. "Every word that flashes on the screen in that part of the video is something that I was called online," Cinkle said with a shrug. "That was my experience, and I knew that if I was going through that, someone else was, too."
Despite the subject matter, the overall message of the video is one of hope and encouragement. "I want whoever watches this video to know that the things they are dealing with will make them stronger, that they can get through it, and that there's hope," Cinkle added with a smile. "If I can touch just one person with that message, then I'll be happy."
"That Girl in Pink" Benni Cinkle was just 13 years old when Rebecca Black's "Friday" video gained Internet infamy - though you would never guess it from the way she's handled her fame. That's because Cinkle has used her influence to rally support for the causes she believes in.
Thanks to the success of Rebecca Black's "Friday" video, Cinkle gained a fan base of hundreds of thousands of followers spanning Facebook, Twitter and tumblr. Cinkle realized the influence she had over fellow teens who saw her as a role model, and used her social media platforms to teach kids about issues such as bullying.
A year earlier, Cinkle had visited a website called SixBillionSecrets.com where kids of all ages can anonymously post their stories of abuse, rape, shame, neglect, or bullying without judgment. "It broke my heart to read what those kids were posting," Cinkle recalled. "So I just started writing down what I was feeling."
Cinkle's writings eventually became a song, which she showed to her mom, Pati, after the Rebecca Black "Friday" went viral. "Benni really wanted to create something to help the stories of these kids reach a larger audience. At first she thought about singing a ballad," Pati Cinkle explained, "but Benni decided an upbeat pop song would be more relatable to kids."
Just a few weeks later, Cinkle was in the recording studio to create her debut single, "Can You See Me Now."
The next step was to create the video which Cinkle pieced together from six stories she found on SixBillionSecrets.com. "The video highlights stories that deal with teen issues like unplanned pregnancy, cutting, bulimia, abuse and homophobia," Cinkle explained. "These are all topics that teenagers struggle to deal with all the time. If these experience are so central in the lives of teens, someone should be talking with them. Hopefully my video can help start that conversation."
The sixth story in the video is Cinkle's own and conveys the cyberbullying that she experienced in the aftermath of the Rebecca Black "Friday" video release. "Every word that flashes on the screen in that part of the video is something that I was called online," Cinkle said with a shrug. "That was my experience, and I knew that if I was going through that, someone else was, too."
Despite the subject matter, the overall message of the video is one of hope and encouragement. "I want whoever watches this video to know that the things they are dealing with will make them stronger, that they can get through it, and that there's hope," Cinkle added with a smile. "If I can touch just one person with that message, then I'll be happy."
About the Author:
More information on Benni Cinkle is available on her non-profit website That Girl in Pink and YouTube channel.