Thanks to The Diverse Voices from the Field project in the Education Department at Keene State College, the Putnam Theater was filled with students from the high school and the college.
One event of this project was to have a special screening of the critically-acclaimed documentary “Bully.”
Unless you’re a parent, school official or student, we sometimes forget that bullying is still as rampant as ever.
It’s truly a tragedy that kids like Tyler Long [17 years old] can only find peace through taking their own lives.
Sarah Morrison / Equinox Staff
While highlighting Tyler’s story, we also follow the lives of Alex [12 years old], Kelby [16 years old], Ja’Meya [14 years old] and Ty Smalley [11 years old].
Each of them have a distinct story to tell and, through their point-of-view, we get to live their experiences.
I feel gracious knowing that my school years were never this bad.
At the same time, it makes me sympathize all the more with them in different ways.
Alex gets on the bus, gets insulted, goes to school, gets insulted, wash, rinse and repeat.
Like most awkward children, he has a difficult time making friends and the verbal abuse doesn’t seem to help his self-esteem.
When Alex’s parents talk to the principal of the school, she might as well have been a real-life Nurse Ratched from the film “One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest.” At the screening, I heard groans and hissing whenever she spoke.
Rightfully so — she clearly doesn’t know how to deal with children. I’m not an education major and even I know she’s doing it wrong. Thanks to uneducated school officials like her, bullying still remains rampant.
So much so that students like Ja’Maya felt the need to resort to scare tactics in order to feel safe.
She once brought a handgun aboard a school bus and now has this on her permanent record. It made me think of how far a child would go to feel safe in our school system.
Just like Tyler, Ty Smalley also took his life at only 11 years old. It’s made even more devastating when Ty’s only friend brings his father out to a field to show him where they would play.
Then, this young kid ends up a pallbearer at his own friend’s funeral. I couldn’t even imagine doing that at his age.
If this doesn’t break your heart, I don’t know what will.
I know it hit me.
Finally, the story of Kelby is one that is all too familiar for teens all around the world.
Kelby came out in her teenage years and because of the town she lives in, word spread fast and she quickly became an outcast in the community.
Luckily for her, she still has a group of friends who accept her for who she is.
Yet we still live in an age where teenagers are still being persecuted for their own life choices.
The film plays out cross-cutting through the stories as we see them develop from beginning to end.
“Bully” was made to raise awareness for the cause and, in that respect, it did. The only thing that I would have liked to have seen was an interview with the bullies themselves.
Why are they doing what they’re doing? I feel like this could have added a whole new perspective to the issue of bullying.
But as a film goes, it is well-made and with good intentions.
The stories are interesting and there was enough shown to signal a rally for the cause.
If you’re looking for a documentary that talks about bullying in a mature fashion, “Bully” is the film for you.
Rating: B+
Matt Bilodeau can be contacted at mbilodeau@kscequinox.com
