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| Bully (2011) |
Growing up, I was never one of the “cool” kids. Far from it – I had a
few close friends, but I also spent a lot of time by myself, reading and
writing and daydreaming about movies I wanted to make someday. I also
never wore the trendiest clothes, and I was generally awkward in social
interactions. As a result, I was made fun of frequently in middle
school. Even though I didn’t know how to articulate it at the time, I
knew I was different, and my classmates knew it, too. And like many
non-conformers, I was bullied because of my differences. But nothing
that I experienced is comparable to what kids today are going through.
Bullying has existed since the dawn of humanity, but only in the last
few years has it become a national news story. Children – some as young
as 11-years-old – are now bullied to the point of taking their lives.
What’s caused this dramatic change?
Bully is an important film, because it addresses this critical
epidemic. It follows the stories of five young people, ranging in age
between 11 and 17: Tyler, a boy who committed suicide and whose parents
are suing his school district and holding the district accountable for
his death; Alex, a boy who is physically assaulted daily on the school
bus and doesn’t know how to talk about it with his parents; Kelby, a
girl whose bullying started once she came out as a lesbian; Ja’Meya, a
girl who was sent to a juvenile detention center after trying to defend
herself and threatening her bullies with a gun; and Ty, a boy whose
parents launched the anti-bullying organization Stand For The Silent
after his suicide. Though Tyler and Ty are unable to personally share
their stories during the film, their parents create vivid pictures of
their sons’ experiences. Both families are now significantly active in
the anti-bullying movement, and they carry on the legacy of their sons’
through this work. (Aside: It is critical to mention that the
specifics of Tyler’s death are unclear, and there are some questions as
to whether or not his suicide is directly connected to bullying, though these questions are not addressed in the documentary.)
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| Kelby in Bully |
We do, however, get to hear directly from Alex, Kelby, and Ja’Meya, and
their stories are incredibly moving. I found Kelby’s story particularly
poignant, given the pervasiveness of LGBT bullying today.
More than any other subject profiled, Kelby expresses a love for her
life and a determination not to let bullying determine her future.
Though she experiences immense homophobic abuse, she refuses to hide in
the closet, and she forms friendships with other outsiders so that she’s
never truly alone. Kelby’s story is one of perseverance, and it’s
deeply inspiring. I was also awed by Ja’Meya’s story. Her experience
highlights the significant disparities in punishment that exist in our
justice system. Though Ja’Meya did bring a loaded gun onto a school bus,
she did not hurt anyone, and she did it out of self-defense. Yet her
bullies have not been penalized for hurting her, and she faces 45 felony
charges. Ja’Meya’s story is by far the most complex, and to me it was
also the most upsetting – it is so painful to watch her locked away just
because she was bullied and didn’t know how to handle it. Ja’Meya’s
experiences show the horrifying reality that even when victims do try to
defend themselves, they still end up being the ones punished.
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| Ja'Meya in Bully |
Bully is an important film, and it’s a good film. It’s very well
crafted, and director Lee Hirsch did an excellent job of choosing
compelling subjects and letting them speak for themselves. That said, Bully is
not a great movie. It is a fiercely passionate movie, which is
critical, but because it shares its passion exclusively through personal
stories, it neglects to explore crucial facts about the bullying
epidemic and its dangers. The film doesn’t really explore the phenomenon
of cyber-bullying,
a relatively new form of bullying that is just as serious a problem as
“traditional” bullying. Despite the inclusion of a lesbian subject, the
film also ignores the reality that a
disproportionately high amount of bullying incidents and
bullying-related suicides relate to the victim’s actual or perceived
sexual orientation or gender identity. Additionally, the only school
official profiled is one who is completely incompetent and dismissive
of the bullying that occurs on her watch, which renders invisible the
positive and progressive actions taken by many educators and
administrators to prevent bullying. Exploring these issues and including
specific facts and statistics about the changes in bullying over the
last decade would have made the film far more empowering.
In 2009, Sirdeaner Walker testified before Congress in support of the
Safe Schools Improvement Act. Walker’s son, Carl, had committed suicide
at the age of 11 after being repeatedly tormented by classmates. During the hearing, Walker stated,
“I know now that bullying is not a gay issue, or a straight issue. It's
a safety issue. It's about what kind of learning environments we want
for our children and how far we're willing to go to protect and teach
them.” I thought of her words when I watched Bully, because if
the film does anything right, it shows bullying as a universal
experience – and one that needs to be stopped. The problem is that,
ultimately, bullying probably can’t be stopped. Sexual harassment,
abuse, rape, murder, bigotry – these are all things that are serious
problems and that need to stopped, but because cruelty will always exist
in the world, these problems will also always exist in the world. That
can’t be helped. What can be helped is the way we address these
situations when they do happen.
I feel the same way about bullying. Bullying may never cease to exist,
but we can at least push harder for national safe school legislation,
stronger enforcement of zero-tolerance policies, and better support systems for young people who are bullied. I wish Bully had
taken the time to address any of these potential strategies directly.
Instead, it closes with the message “Stop Bullying,” which is certainly
an admirable message but not one that can realistically be fulfilled. I
wish more time had been devoted to exploring the Stand For The Silent
campaign, but it is mentioned almost as an afterthought toward the end
of the film. And while it’s true that the filmmakers have partnered with Facing History and Ourselves to create a educational curriculum around Bully,
I wish the film itself had contained the facts and guidelines included
in the curriculum. Teaching guides and informational websites are only
useful if they are sought out, and the sad truth is that I doubt that
everyone who sees Bully will seek out these important resources. Bully sheds
critical light on a universal epidemic, but its downfall is that it
keeps the message universal, rather than making it tangible and
realistic to achieve. There is a difference between powerful stories and
empowering messages, and ultimately, Bully relies too much on the former and not enough on the latter.
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Carrie Nelson is a Bitch Flicks monthly contributor. She was a Staff Writer for Gender Across Borders,
an international feminist community and blog that she co-founded in
2009. She works as a grant writer for an LGBT nonprofit, and she is
currently pursuing an MA in Media Studies at The New School.
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