Bully (originally titled Bully Project ) is a 2011-12 documentary film America directed and produced jointly by Lee Hirsch and co-produced and written by Cynthia Lowen along with producers Cindy Waitt and Sarah Foudy. The film follows the lives of five students who face daily bullying in US schools and aired at the Tribeca Film Festival 2011. It was also screened at the Canadian International Film Documentary Festival Hot Film and LA Film Festival.
Bully held its first global show at the Italian Ischia Film Festival on July 17, 2011. Bully was acquired by The Weinstein Company shortly after its inaugural performance at the Tribeca Film Festival. The film was released in US theaters on March 30, 2012.
On the official site, the filmmakers promote Bully as an important advocacy tool to fight the persecution and in facilitating the anti-bullying movement. Contrary to filmmakers' goals, the film suffers from a lack of accessibility in theaters due to the controversy surrounding the MPAA rating and from the extended downtime between theaters and home releases. The film was released on Blu-ray and DVD on February 12, 2013 only with the rated version of PG-13.
Video Bully (2011 film)
Content
The documentary follows students from public schools in Georgia, Iowa, Texas, Mississippi and Oklahoma during the 2009-10 school year; it also follows the student's family. The special focus of this film is on the death of Tyler Long who was diagnosed with Asperger's Syndrome and Ty Smalley, the victim of bullying who committed suicide. The film explains in great detail how average American students can not defend themselves against mockery.
Maps Bully (2011 film)
Synopsis
The documentary contains about five teenagers and various forms of bullying or abuse they experience. The film jumps back and forth among teenagers to describe their lives. The movie begins by telling the story of Tyler Long and how he died. Tyler's father talked about his son's social problems and how he knew early on that Tyler might be a bullying victim. Mr. Long mentions that the children took his clothes when he showered, forcing him to go naked. They push him into his locker and demoralize him vocally as well. This action is said to have caused Tyler to commit suicide in 2009 at the age of 17, when his father found him hanging in a closet with notes on the bed.
Alex Libby, who was diagnosed with Asperger's Syndrome, was twelve years old, and was interviewed about her family and how nervous she was to go back to school, because she had trouble getting along. The cameraman followed him to the bus stop and boarded the bus, where the oppression began and did not stop. The boy sitting next to him on the bus was threatening him loudly. At school, the camera captures examples of oppression that are not directly related to Alex, but really shows the headmaster's attention and says that the children have to get along but just do little to end it. A boy named Cody is pulled out of the class to talk about when being bothered at lunch, but pulling him out of the classroom is just a movement by the school to give the impression of trying to solve the problem.
Kelby Johnson is a teenage girl who comes to town as a lesbian. He stated that he was not accepted anywhere in the city, because of religious beliefs and city communities. Kelby states that when she walks down the street a group of boys hit her with a minivan and does not slow down, know it's her. Kelby admits that she used to hurt herself and has tried to commit suicide three times now. The family mentioned that when Kelby's sexuality came out even the people close to him stopped talking to them. During the school year, children will harass, bully, and ignore it. He mentioned that even the teachers would disturb him and exclude him from events, such as calling him as part of a separate roll call list. Her parents offered to move several times, but Kelby refused to state that, "If I go, they win."
Next is Ja'Meya Jackson, a 14-year-old girl who lives with her mother. He went to school in Yazoo County, Mississippi. Ja'Meya is an honored student and a talented basketball player. Children are harassed and beaten for a while. Even so, Ja'Meya had plans to join the Navy to help his mother. He explained that one day he finally felt enough and brought his mother's gun to school in an attempt to intimidate the bullies to leave him alone. This succeeded and the bullies were frightened, but he was later jailed to the ground by other students and arrested by the police.
Tyler's parents used the death of their son to focus on the bullying problem in the schools in their city. They hold city meetings, trying to find ways to fix problems and show schools and officers that it is a serious matter. The administrators feel that "children will be children" and teachers ignore it, do not really take a position on the issue even when they know about bullying in the classroom. During a town meeting, Tyler's family arranged for another child to talk about bullying and how the teachers did not pay attention; his name was Devon and he had been bullied in the past.
Ja'Meya was informed that the allegations against him would be dropped, if he accepted to be admitted to a mental hospital for 3 months. After that he will be allowed to go home, unless a doctor declares otherwise.
Ty Smalley was a younger child who was bullied without interruption until he committed suicide by the age of 11. He had been bullied because of his height, because he was small enough at the time. School officials claim that oppression is not a factor, although his friends say otherwise. Trey Wallace, her best friend, claims that Ty was very sad the last time she saw him; she said she was crying. They showed Ty funerals, including his parents, "tucking in their baby for the last time." Trey was overwhelmed with emotion and exclamation in Ty's chest. He then explains that he used to be a bully when he was in second grade, but as he got older he realized the dangers and hurt he did to people. He mentioned that when he tried to defend Ty, the latter would always tell him that, "they're not worth it," or, "do not be like them," Trey backed away.
We saw Kelby enjoy talking about the rain with his current boyfriend. She claims she will not be here, or can go to school, without her friends and girlfriends. He refuses to let her bully "win".
Alex was shown being bullied while on the bus. He was stabbed, punched, and his life threatened. He claimed to feel nothing else. The filmmakers, worried about Alex's health, showed the tape to the administrators and his parents, and when his parents exposed the administrators, some students were disciplined and punished through a bus suspension. During the school's effort, students are shown lying about what is happening. Alex was told to let someone know if she was bullied again. Alex claims he will not do it because in grade 6 he tells adults and nothing is done.
A few months later Ja'Meya arrived home with his mother. He was glad to be back again and declared how different everything was.
It's Alex's last day. Another student was shown to be friendly to her, signing a T-shirt and laughing with her. Kelby's parents pulled him out of school because on the first day back, everyone moved their table away from him, showing that nothing had changed. The Tyler family is then featured as a host to gather awareness for other children around the world who commit suicide due to bullying. Eventually they start an online group and meet other people whose children meet the same fate. They start a memorial service called "Stand for the Silent" to help reach children and adults who are victims of bullying and solve common problems.
Kelby, while also present, stood up to support the fallen children. Ty's parents created a group of balloons to symbolize lost lives across the country. They provide bracelets to help raise awareness for their purpose. Ty's dad stood in front of the crowd to give a speech, where he declared that he would forever fight a bully everywhere because, "his [son] will be 11 years old forever."
Cast
- Ja'Meya Jackson
- Kelby Johnson
- Lona Johnson
- Bob Johnson
- Alex Libby
- Jackie Libby
- Philip Libby
- Maya Libby
- Jada Libby
- Ethan Libby
- Libby Logan
- Kim Lockwood
- David Long
- Long Tina
- Teryn Long
- Troy Long
- Devon Matthews
- Barbara Primer
- Kirk Smalley
- Laura Smalley
- Trey Wallace
- Tyler Lee Long
- Mercedes Banks
- Dean Donehoo
- Vickie Reed
- Jeff Johnson
- Howard Ensley
- Derek Parker
- Chloe Albright
- James Ramsey
- Paula Crandall
Soundtrack
Release
Bully held its first global show at the Italian Ischia Film Festival on July 17, 2011. Bully was acquired by The Weinstein Company shortly after its inaugural performance at the Tribeca Film Festival. The film was released in US theaters on March 30, 2012. The film was released on Blu-ray and DVD on February 12, 2013 only with the rated version of PG-13.
Production
The director of the film, Lee Hirsch was the victim of bullying as a child and decided to make a documentary film so that the hidden life of intimidated children will be taken into the open. He approached the Fractured Atlas nonprofit organization, which gave him partial funding for the film. Significant additional funding is provided by the Sundance Institute Documentation Fund, The Fledgling Fund, BeCause Foundation, and Gravity Films. The music of the film was composed by Ion Michael Furjanic (former member of the band Force Theory) and the indie band Bishop Allen.
In a screening in Minneapolis in September 2011, Hirsch told the audience that he had been bullied as a child was part of the inspiration for the film. In an interview with the Twin Cities news website after the screening, Hirsch continued, "I feel that the hardest part of being bullied is communicating, and getting help.I can not register people's support people will say things like 'stop it , "Even my own father and mother. They are not with me. That is a big part of my desire to make a movie. It's cathartic every day. "Hirsch says he hopes the film grows beyond himself, inspiring advocacy, engagement, and empowerment not only in the oppressed and in their families, but by those who stood too often and did nothing He stated, "I hope we build something that is truly sustainable. I hope this takes on a life of its own. "
MPAA rating
On February 27, 2012, a Change.org online petition was made, directed to the CEO of the American Film Picture Association (MPAA) to reduce the film rating from R (due to multiple languages ​​as shown on the poster) to PG-13, since R ratings will prevent the audience the destination to watch the movie. The filmmakers lost their appeal for a PG-13 rating with one vote. On March 15, 2012, Butler had collected more than 300,000 signatures, but the MPAA initially hesitated to make a change. Joan Graves of the MPAA says that although Bully is a "great movie", the organization's primary responsibility is to provide information to parents about movie content.
On March 26, 2012, the Weinstein Company announced that it would release Bully without counting, in protest at the MPAA decision. This effectively confines the film to independently owned art and theater houses because AMC, Cinemark, and many other American cinema chains have policies on non-rated movie screenings. However, AMC announces it will allow underage children to watch movies after receiving a signed consent slip from a parent or guardian. Regal Cinemas does show they will play movies; However it will treat it as an R-rated feature.
In Canada (where each province assigns their own rank), on March 30, 2012, Bully has received only PG ratings (out of six of the ten provinces: Alberta, British Columbia, Manitoba, Ontario, Quà ©  © Bec and Saskatchewan) with no age restrictions but warnings for abusive language.
In April, The Weinstein Company reached an agreement with the MPAA. After scraping decency, the film received a new rank of PG-13 (for intense thematic material, annoying content and strong language - all involving children), which means that children of all ages can watch movies without adults. The Weinstein company later announced that the PG-13 Bully rated version would be released nationally on April 13, 2012. When released, the widest release was in 265 theaters.
Critical reception
Bully was received positively by critics. Aggregator reviews Rotten Tomatoes gave this movie 85% based on 127 reviews, with an average score of 7.1/10, making the film "Fresh Certified", stating "Smasher and elegantly filmed, Bully delivering an important message to an audience that may not be able to see it. "At Metacritic, the film received an average score of 74/100, based on 33 reviews, which shows" favorable public reviews ".
Roger Ebert said: "'Bully' is a sincere documentary but not a great movie We are sympathetic to the victims, and their parents or friends, but the film is helplessly seemingly treating bullying as a problem without a solution.
The film is parodied in the episode of "South Park" butterballs, including scenes where Kyle asks Stan (who creates an anti-bullying film) "If this video needs to be seen by everyone, why do not you put it in Internet for free? "Stan had no answer.
Awards and awards
References
Tautan eksternal
- Bully pada IMDb
- Bully di Rotten Tomatoes
- Bully di AllMovie
- Bully di Metacritic
- Bully di Box Office Mojo
Source of the article : Wikipedia
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