Bully

Greetings again from the darkness. A documentary about a serious topic that desperately needs more attention would typically receive rave reviews from me. Writer/director Lee Hirsch delivers a final product that emotes sympathy, empathy, sorrow and outrage. What's missing? There are no solutions, no action ideas (other than let's do something), and no examples of what might be working in some schools.

We are introduced to, what I hope is, the world's worst Assistant Principal. Maybe her attitude and actions are to represent the poor approach by most teachers and administrators. I am just not sure. We see her mediate a handshake meeting between a bully and his target, and she easily falls for the bully's eagerness to settle, seemingly oblivious to the target's pain. Her meeting with parents is almost comical in the lack of understanding she shows ... preferring to flash photos of her grandchild rather than address the more serious issue.

We visit Iowa, Mississippi, Georgia and Oklahoma to meet kids and parents who have been affected by bullies. We also see the aftermath of suicide caused by the helplessness victims feel from incessant bullying. It's not difficult to categorize the kids we meet as "different". One is physically small, weak and not fully developed after being born more than 3 months premature. Another is a lesbian who hides her pain behind a smile. The "difference" seems to be what teachers, administrators, students and even parents are unable to cope.

Mr. Hirsch is able to capture some upsetting footage onboard a school bus. The mother of the kid being picked on even states that when she rode the bus as a kid, the driver was in control and kids were required to stay seated and keep still. Today, the kids run the show ... at home, at school, and on the bus. Teachers know they will not receive support from parents and likely to be sued for getting involved. It's a vicious cycle that can lead to tragedy.

It would have been interesting to see something other than blue collar families. Is there a class difference in this subject? What about the preferred schools for teachers ... are the results different when the quality of teachers is compared? The film gives the impression that it had a point to make and would do whatever necessary to make that point. That is the Michael Moore school of documentaries. I am by no means saying this isn't a vital and important topic. It definitely is. And it needs to be addressed quickly. I just believe an issues-related filmmaker has a responsibility to tell the whole story.

You'd have to have a heart of stone not to feel for the victims in Bully. Lee Hirsch's documentary follows five families as they struggle with the effects of schoolyard bullying. But while apparently inarguable and straightforward, the film's subtle skewing obscures a number of nagging questions.

To its credit, the film lets its subjects speak for themselves. A broad range of impacts are represented: two of the families are recovering from the suicides of their sons who preferred to take their own lives rather than face another day of torture at school. One girl is facing 46 felony charges after she confronted her tormentors with her mother's handgun. Another girl  (an honor's student and star athlete) has dropped out of school after suffering abuse from both teachers and students when she came out as a lesbian. And the fifth example shows the bullying in progress, a young boy with Asperger's Syndrome who gets picked on practically every moment of his life.

This last example is the most squirm-inducing...and highly impressive film-making. You have to wonder how the film-makers got this footage of the wanton sadism of children. Was the camera hidden? Or were the kids just blithely, flagrantly monstrous, heedless of the consequences of being observed? Sadly, the latter scenario is all too plausible. It's the pervasiveness of such cruelty that chills the blood. The movie depicts not only the overt brutality of schoolmates, but the subtler meanness of parents, siblings, teachers, bus drivers and principals. If anything, the statistics the film-makers give out must low-ball the extent of the problem. Isn't everyone involved at some level?

Which leads to one of my criticisms. The five stories the film examines all take place in the south and mid west, and happened in rural areas and small towns (Sioux City is the biggest population center represented). This might imply that bullying is unique to those regions. But, as we all know, the problem is universal – there is just as much of it (if not more) in the north and in urban areas. (The case of Tyler Clementi springs to mind).

And there are some omissions in the depth of the film's probing. One of the kids (an eleven year old) killed himself with a gun. Another brought a gun to school; had it gone off, she would have been a school shooter, crossing the line from victim to monster. Bullying is a subset of the larger problem of human violence, which extends far beyond the school grounds. Contrary to what the film seems to imply, it will take far more than a "Stop Bullying" campaign to stop bullying  -- it will take a miraculous revolution in every human heart. But the film shines a light on one finite manifestation of the problem, and awakens our sympathy and concern, and that's a start.

Written by Markus Robinson, Edited by Nicole I. Ashland

Ever since the Weinstein Company has been petitioning the MPAA to assign "Bully" a "PG-13" rating instead of the dreaded "R", there has been controversy surrounding its distribution. There have since been reports that the Weinstein Company plans to release this documentary as "Unrated" to get around the MPAA stranglehold, which may doom it to the dreaded "limited release" realm of no return and rarely seen. So what is the deal? Why was (until quite recently) "Bully" pulling an "R" rating? Does "Bully" advocate bullying? No. Does it use language that your twelve year son/daughter/sister/brother doesn't hear at school every day of his/her life? And (the one that terrifies the MPAA the most) is there any nudity? NOOOOOO. The biggest controversy of this film, and the main idiotic reason that this film pulled an "R" rating for the longest time, is the fact that audiences will actually see middle school and high school kids visibly getting shoved around, punched, and called awful names. And while the images here will be disturbing to parents and teens alike, they need to be seen by a demographic that is actually living through the controversial themes the movie brings up. The awful truth is that 13 million children are bullied every day. So, for the MPAA to have slapped it with an "R" rating is simply irresponsible. "Bully" is a cut and dry example of subject matter superseding the MPAA's fundamentally rigid beliefs of counting the number of F-bombs in a movie.

Now, here is my review of "Bully":

Like a real time therapy session for anybody who has ever been bullied in school, "The Bully Project" or "Bully" as it has been retitled, may not only be responsible for stirring up more pre-release controversy than any documentary in recent history, but also be one of the timeliest documentaries ever released. What director Lee Hirsch tries to do here, is give audiences and inside look at bullying in today's public schools by actually documenting a few victimized teens (ranging in ages from 12 to 16) as they are in the midst of day to day social bullying. The film begins with the story of a boy named Tyler, who killed himself as a direct result of being constantly ridiculed and physically abused from his peers at school. Hirsch films Tyler's parents as they discuss the dire epidemic that is school bullying today, and then we get to see bullying through the eyes of a child in a heartbreaking reality, as Hirsh introduces audiences to Alex, age 12. Alex is an undersized boy who is subjected to constant ridicule and scorn from his peers. And I'm not just talking about older kids at school calling him names. Hirsch follows Alex as he is seen getting his lunch stolen, physically hit in the back of the head, shoved to the ground and in one case stabbed with a pencil on the bus (as the bus driver does nothing). The tragic mental and physical abuse this child goes through will reduce many audience members to tears instantaneously. For others, the emotional damage this young man goes through on screen will be nothing less than anger inducing. If you had forgotten how bad it was being a teenager when you went to school, Alex will serve as a not so subtle reminder of how brutal some kids have it. And what's worse is Hirsch's depiction of how out of touch the adults are with their children, in conjunction with how seemingly unflinching school administrators act when confronted about bullying in their own schools.

Final Thought: Unfortunately at times the subject matter of "Bully" is better than the film itself, even though Hirsch does daring work. What I mean by that is, that for how hard hitting his subject matter was, the filmmaking (or how the film was put together) could have been better if it would have included every aspect of bullying. In many ways this film only scratches the surface. In saying that, the film does more than serve its purpose. This isn't just a movie about the struggles of fitting in. This is an uncensored look into a bullying epidemic that up until a few years ago had been mostly swept under the rug of American society. So, even though it is doubtful that "Bully" will be the most well made documentary I see all year, it will most definitely be the most important; and one not only every child should see, but entire families should see together.

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If you are a caretaker of children in anyway I recommend this movie to you. I hope this director may consider doing a movie on corporal punishment in public schools in America. You come away from this movie thinking change could be simple but it is anything but. It takes a lot of support (Money) to create a noticeable change. Many of you may come away thinking, "how could that person be so ignorant". Beware, this movie is painful to watch. I wanted to jump out of my seat many times during this movie wanting to stop the insanity. You may want to write your congress as a place to start. I hope that you see it and I hope that you are educated by it.

I HOPE AND PRAY this women was fired after this documentary!! She literally does NOTHING to the bullies. During one scene she even pulled the child that was being bullied aside and let the bully go!!! It is disgusting, suspend and expell these children and I guarantee their parents or guardians will then do something about there children bullying others. Get rid of ALL staff that is not disciplining children each and everytime they are bullying a child!!! I swear I hope and pray this principal or assistant was fired!!! That poor baby thought it was okay because you as a school and district failed him!