Bully Review

As someone who can't make it through a romantic comedy without walking out of the theater in tears, I knew Bully was going to be emotionally draining. The movie followed several different students and their struggles with bullies. 12 year old Alex is tormented on the bus, while the bus driver and the administration of the school do not intervene. Or 16 year old Kelby, living in a small homophobic town in Oklahoma out as a lesbian. As an aspiring social worker, I couldn't believe how little was being done by the adults in the film to come to the aide of the children who needed support. The assistant principal of Alex's school claimed to have ridden on the school bus line and it was "as good as gold". The ethics of the filmmakers also came into question, as they taped this abuse and also did not attempt to intervene at all.


Seeing how it affects current middle school students is also important, as referenced by these girls after seeing Bully (source):

Did the bullying in the movie look realistic? What other forms of bullying have you witnessed?
“It’s not so much the physical abuse that we see, but the texting, Facebook, verbal abuse.” - Maddy
“It’s realistic, because my brother was bullied a lot in high school, and he never said anything about it. My parents only found out because he started failing every class, and eventually he had to switch to a private school with smaller classes and more help from teachers.” – Isabel

How do you think you can help end bullying, like the movie encourages?
“I like the idea of being encouraged to stand up against bullying, but the movie also makes it seem like it’s almost pointless, because bullying will always continue.” -- Isabel
“I think parents and kids need to make the schools systems change. The movie is starting a movement for change, but it’s just the beginning.” -- Maddy

Even after seeing the film, the 7th and 8th grade girls still see bullying as an uphill battle with the end nowhere near in sight.  It is imperative we start enacting these bullying policies that are actually effective and will help make a difference in the lives of kids like Alex or Kelby.