Advocacy Film ‘Bully’ is a Must See, But for Who?

Printer-friendly versionE-mail page to friendPDF version

Rating: 4.0/5.0

CHICAGO – The age-old problem of bullying has reached epidemic proportions. Or is it simply more openly discussed? It seems that for once a light is being pointed at the dark corners of this punishing coercion, and the perpetrators and enablers involved – the bully, his parents, school administrators – are scurrying from that light. The new film “Bully” is an illumination.

Hardly a complete documentary, the film projects a point-of-view by telling stories around the country about school kids in the middle of a bully situation, and families who have been affected by the actions of bullies. At the same time, these stories also showcase the underlying issues surrounding the bully situations – blind mice school systems, frustrated parents, the crueler outside world and a justice-system-by-way-of-no-justice. The stories are fraught with sadness and suffering, and have a emotional gut kick. The question after watching this is, who will be most affected by it?

There are five main stories told, three involving kids who are bullied, and two involving the families who are victims of child suicides associated with bullying. All elicit sympathy, especially the suicide families. Alex is a 12-year-old trying to fit in, but is tortured by the same fellow bus passengers. Kelby has come out as a lesbian at 16, but the town she lives in is intolerant. Ja’Meya got sick of the taunting, and brandished a loaded gun on a bus.

On the School Bus in the film ‘Bully’ Photo credit: Michael Dwyer/The Weinstein Company

The suicide victim families have the heaviest burden. They know that are helpless in the face of their losses, but the way they fight back carries the most inspiration. David and Tina Long shake up a community after the loss of their son Tyler, confronting the authority figures that turned their back on the bullying. Kirk and Laura Smalley start an anti-bullying organization after the loss of their 11-year old son, and in the formation of that community find some peace.

The stories drip with emotion, only because most people on earth have been a victim of bullying in various degrees. The pre-teen and gawky years immediately come back through the stories of the three kids, because who hasn’t made a mistake in association with feeling like an outsider. The parents of the victims – in the households of the suicide victims and the profiled teens – are most interesting. Having to think about the psychology of their children is sometimes not up the educational level of some parenting. Having these types of folks react intuitively to the bullying and their kids results in some astounding truths.

Exposed also is the frustration of the authorities outside the home. Schools don’t exist as babysitters, but with bullying they are force into that arbitrary role. And in trying to service the larger school population, sweep the victims of the bullies under the rug (“kids will be kids”). When the authorities – administrators and law enforcement – are confronted on the issue, they express their desperations, as in pleading with the parents of the bullies to step in, and in that realm they are often ignored. When extreme situations like suicides occur, it just makes the whole atmosphere more palpable and sadder.

The one question to ask when viewing this film – who is it made for and what is it designed to prevent? We have to figure that this will be required viewing in schools in the next few years. Will a natural bully think twice about the implications after viewing such a film or will it run right past them? Will parents recognize their own role in bullying? Will anybody who recognizes themselves in through the kids in the film be ridiculed all the more, if they dare mention it? The psychology of bullying is complex, will this film muddy the waters or clear the air?

Speaking Out in a Scene from ‘Bully’ Photo credit: Lee Hirsch/The Weinstein Company

Within the framework of a bullying situation, there is the perpetrator, the victim, the parents of each, the school administrators, fellow students and even law enforcement if it gets too bad. They are all represented in the film, and aside from the perpetrators the answers to prevention are few. The organization that is formed, called ‘Stand for the Silent’ may be the drop in the ocean that ripples, but bullying seems a part of the American fabric, can it be lessened through peer pressure and more importantly, will the right peers step up?

The emotional slights in childhood and young adulthood, unattended, fester into a person’s life sometime in its entirety. We are a nation of psychotropic drug users and lessening self esteem. Where does it come from, we wonder while in various therapies. “Bully” exposes the origins of how such slights can destroy, far beyond the playground, closer to every day, and to the end.

By PATRICK McDONALD Senior Staff Writer HollywoodChicago.com pat@hollywoodchicago.com