Jason KingBULLY: A Review
August 29th 2012 08:44
:
Very very sad docco
Directed by Sundance and Emmy-award winning filmmaker, Lee Hirsch, Bully is a beautifully cinematic, character-driven documentary. At its heart are those with huge stakes in this issue whose stories each represent a different facet of America's bullying crisis. Bully follows five kids and families over the course of a school year. Stories include two families who have lost children to suicide and a mother awaiting the fate of her 14-year-old daughter who has been incarcerated after bringing a gun on her school bus. With an intimate glimpse into homes, classrooms, cafeterias and principals' offices, the film offers insight into the often cruel world of the lives of bullied children.
This was my first solo screening in the Erina cinema complex, my new local, after moving to the Central Coast and I had a private screening to this one as no one else came to see it on this early Monday evening. And god I was lucky as I sobbed like a baby pretty much from start to finish and it would have been terribly embarrassing if other people had to witness my breakdown.
This film resonates strongly with me - I was bullied terribly through most of school from primary school until the latter years of high school where I came into my own and became one of the cool kids. I was slightly socially awkward up to this stage but once I lost the gangly early teen look and became a fashionista ala BROS styled I gained abundant confidence and emerged from my shell and depression and took on the world. Funny thing was I lost all my grades as I climbed the social ladder. And that is what these kids really need to learn - they will end up being the boss of these knob head bullies if they ignore it.
I remember crying endlessly and being afraid to go to many places throughout the school from two bullies that made it their life's desires to make my life a living hell. After school I ran into one of them who apologised for being such an asshole and we actually shared a beer. The other guy, even if I saw him now, I would still like to crush his head with a shovel - the emotional torture I went through from this guys bullying was out of control, I couldn't tell anyone and was so afraid and insular about it that it fed their bullying. I did find out this bully apparently had a horrendous home life and was regularly bullied and bashed by his drug addict father so I can see where his evil nature came from but this article isn't about me - it is about the film BULLY.
The film should be a must see for every school kid in the Western world - mainly just to highlight how some of these kids feel and that regardless of how socially awkward they are in the large school group they are people and valued people and they fit in and relax in their own environment. The kid Alex, I think that was his name, the one they bullied and called Fishface, just broke my heart, he was so bullied it became his norm and he accepted it because it was his belief this was them having a connection with them but then this one scene he explains how he feels, with lips quivering he explains how he wants to be the bully. Is this what happens when this is perpetuated? Does this form an endless cycle? The stuff this kid goes through made me so angry and sad at the same time. As did the stories of all the kids, how some of these beautiful kids can feel so pressured that they kill themselves is beyond me. I knew a guy who killed himself in his 20s because his family could not accept him as being gay. How can people be allowed to become so emotionally alone - as a society we have a lot to answer for.
But when you look at it thoroughly the school yard is just an example of Darwin's theory. It is survival of the fittest and this involves not associating with less popular people should they tarnish you. I remember doing the same thing towards the end of the school life. The more I became popular the less I acknowledged my old geeky friends. I basically became a douche bag. But then I battled my struggle with coming out as a gay person and realised that no one EVER should be bullied or made to feel inferior.
"They punch me in the jaw, they, er, strangle me and knock things out of my hand, sit on me. They push me so far that I want to become the bully" Alex
I honestly think this film needed to be made. So many of us have suffered bullying that it will resonate with all that see it - why schools are not making this film mandatory viewing I will never know but again this highlights the ridiculousness of the education system in the US. Australia is miles better but it still has a long way to go. Like the US Australia finds it better to ignore it or their hands are tied, well it was that way when I was at school.
As a docco this film is superb, as a community service announcement it gets the message out there but the part of the film that explains the movement and what can be done to stop bullying I thought was too short or rushed. Why the teacher was not pushed further I am struggling to understand - she basically shuffled the students and the parents out of the way and could not care less - I was dumfounded that no one in the education system actually really cared for Alex or the others. I want to know what can be done, I want the world to stand up and take action and that is what comes from the end of the film but it needed to be shouted from a mountain top and not just briefly shown. For more information, and I really hope you want to know more or if you have been bullied, are a teacher, a parent, a concerned citizen then please hit up their website for more information right HERE
As an individual we can be a voice, as a group we can become a revolution - do it people - say NO TO BULLYING FOREVER.
If you are a current victim of bullying please please tell someone, it is worth it - do not think you have to carry the weight of the problem on your own - you are not a lesser person than anyone and don't EVER forget it. Get help. Some people are just assholes and you need help to deal with these people.
Bully is out now in Australia on limited release and is a must see but take your tissues. I give it 9 out of 10 bully stoppers.
This was my first solo screening in the Erina cinema complex, my new local, after moving to the Central Coast and I had a private screening to this one as no one else came to see it on this early Monday evening. And god I was lucky as I sobbed like a baby pretty much from start to finish and it would have been terribly embarrassing if other people had to witness my breakdown.
This film resonates strongly with me - I was bullied terribly through most of school from primary school until the latter years of high school where I came into my own and became one of the cool kids. I was slightly socially awkward up to this stage but once I lost the gangly early teen look and became a fashionista ala BROS styled I gained abundant confidence and emerged from my shell and depression and took on the world. Funny thing was I lost all my grades as I climbed the social ladder. And that is what these kids really need to learn - they will end up being the boss of these knob head bullies if they ignore it.
I remember crying endlessly and being afraid to go to many places throughout the school from two bullies that made it their life's desires to make my life a living hell. After school I ran into one of them who apologised for being such an asshole and we actually shared a beer. The other guy, even if I saw him now, I would still like to crush his head with a shovel - the emotional torture I went through from this guys bullying was out of control, I couldn't tell anyone and was so afraid and insular about it that it fed their bullying. I did find out this bully apparently had a horrendous home life and was regularly bullied and bashed by his drug addict father so I can see where his evil nature came from but this article isn't about me - it is about the film BULLY.
The film should be a must see for every school kid in the Western world - mainly just to highlight how some of these kids feel and that regardless of how socially awkward they are in the large school group they are people and valued people and they fit in and relax in their own environment. The kid Alex, I think that was his name, the one they bullied and called Fishface, just broke my heart, he was so bullied it became his norm and he accepted it because it was his belief this was them having a connection with them but then this one scene he explains how he feels, with lips quivering he explains how he wants to be the bully. Is this what happens when this is perpetuated? Does this form an endless cycle? The stuff this kid goes through made me so angry and sad at the same time. As did the stories of all the kids, how some of these beautiful kids can feel so pressured that they kill themselves is beyond me. I knew a guy who killed himself in his 20s because his family could not accept him as being gay. How can people be allowed to become so emotionally alone - as a society we have a lot to answer for.
But when you look at it thoroughly the school yard is just an example of Darwin's theory. It is survival of the fittest and this involves not associating with less popular people should they tarnish you. I remember doing the same thing towards the end of the school life. The more I became popular the less I acknowledged my old geeky friends. I basically became a douche bag. But then I battled my struggle with coming out as a gay person and realised that no one EVER should be bullied or made to feel inferior.
"They punch me in the jaw, they, er, strangle me and knock things out of my hand, sit on me. They push me so far that I want to become the bully" Alex
I honestly think this film needed to be made. So many of us have suffered bullying that it will resonate with all that see it - why schools are not making this film mandatory viewing I will never know but again this highlights the ridiculousness of the education system in the US. Australia is miles better but it still has a long way to go. Like the US Australia finds it better to ignore it or their hands are tied, well it was that way when I was at school.
As a docco this film is superb, as a community service announcement it gets the message out there but the part of the film that explains the movement and what can be done to stop bullying I thought was too short or rushed. Why the teacher was not pushed further I am struggling to understand - she basically shuffled the students and the parents out of the way and could not care less - I was dumfounded that no one in the education system actually really cared for Alex or the others. I want to know what can be done, I want the world to stand up and take action and that is what comes from the end of the film but it needed to be shouted from a mountain top and not just briefly shown. For more information, and I really hope you want to know more or if you have been bullied, are a teacher, a parent, a concerned citizen then please hit up their website for more information right HERE
As an individual we can be a voice, as a group we can become a revolution - do it people - say NO TO BULLYING FOREVER.
If you are a current victim of bullying please please tell someone, it is worth it - do not think you have to carry the weight of the problem on your own - you are not a lesser person than anyone and don't EVER forget it. Get help. Some people are just assholes and you need help to deal with these people.
Bully is out now in Australia on limited release and is a must see but take your tissues. I give it 9 out of 10 bully stoppers.
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