It is important to raise awareness with respect to bullying as many students are or have been victimized or involved in bullying in some way. Increased awareness will lead to appropriate and necessary prevention and intervention techniques. Intervention methods already employed have been successful in reducing the prevalence of bullying by approximately 20 percent. Nonetheless, this reduction should not lead to reduced efforts. Bullying continues to affect a large number of students. In North America alone, bullying was reported by some five million students (Rigby & Smith, 2011). The documentary Bully (2011) was concerned with exactly this message. The message and content presented in this documentary will be evaluated in this paper.
Kelby Johnson, a young girl residing in Oklahoma, was bullied because of her sexual orientation. She tried to take her life three times. Kelby talks about her case saying: “They made it very clear that I wasn’t welcome at the school. When I opened my locker there was a note that said fagots aren’t welcome here. The teacher was calling all and he said: boys, girls and then paused and said Kelby.” She was not only bullied by her peers but also by her teachers. Teachers told her how they burn “fagots” in front of all students in the classroom. Her dad tried hard to help her by approaching the principal and he said: “…they all give me the same plastic smile.”
Tyler Long was another victim of bullying identified in this documentary. He committed suicide by hanging himself at the age of 17 years. His parents stated “unpunished bullying at the school led him to take his own life.” David Long, Tyler’s father, also tried to approach the principal thinking that he would be able to make a helpful change, but the answer always provided was that they can’t stop kids from saying bad words and bullying others. Pastor Jeff Johnson, from the local church, stated: “If bartenders are responsible for a drunk who goes out and kills an innocent person, how come the bullies are not responsible for the death of this precious child?”
Ty Field Smalley (1998-2010), a youth from Oklahoma, was yet another individual who was victimized. Ty’s story was not covered in detail in this documentary. Rather, the emphasis was placed on Ty’s friend. Ty’s friend indicated: “In the second grade I tried to fit in with so many people and that I was the biggest bully in the whole school. But once I got in the third grade, I started to realize what a jerk I was being to kids and what it could do. And in the fourth grade, I realized it will start to hurt someone so I started to be cool with everyone.” As such, Ty’s friend was impacted by the negative consequences associated with bullying. He learned that he could have potentially caused significant harm to other individuals if he would have continued to engage in bullying behaviour.
Although this documentary evoked strong emotions of sympathy from its viewers, the information presented did not present views of both the victims as well as the potential support systems of those victims. As mentioned previously, prevention and intervention techniques are implemented in school systems in order to target both bullies and victims (Rigby & Smith, 2011). The writers of this documentary did not appear to look in depth at school based interventions. The only view that I found was presented was that of parents who attempted to elicit support from school personnel, but who were unsuccessful in doing so. Furthermore, the documentary did not touch on community-based services which could be sought by the parents. For example, Alex Libby was an elementary student who was a victim of bullying. His peers bullied him due to his physical appearance. More specifically, his peers indicated that his face looked like that of a fish. Although he was aware that he was being bullied, he often made excuses for the bullies such as indicating that the bullies were only joking with him. Rather than assisting his son in solving his bullying problem by seeking support services, Alex’s father only pointed out the behaviors of his son’s peers were of a bullying nature. Acknowledgement of the behaviors does not necessarily support victims. Furthermore, it appears that the writers of this documentary were generalizing the lack of response from school personnel to all school.
One prominent underlying message in this documentary is the potential for severe psychological consequences to arise, which may in turn result in the reduction of the quality of life of the victims of bullying. Psychological distress can vary depending on the type of bullying experienced or the coping strategies employed by the victims. For example, Kelby, the young girl who was victimized due to her sexual orientation, did not commit suicide as a result of the bullying she endured, though severe. In contrast, Tyler, the young male whose parents attempted to elicit support from school personnel committed suicide by hanging himself. The factors contributing to whether an individual will or will not attempt suicide were not always made clear in this documentary. For instance, in Kelby’s case, the writers of this documentary suggested that Kelby had the support of her friends and that support assisted her in coping with her victimization. Conversely, no mention of coping or support systems was indicated with respect to Tyler’s case, other than his parents’ unsuccessful attempt to seek support from the school.
Additionally, the psychological distress experienced by the parents of the victims was a strong message. Such as the shocking image of the grief of Ty’s parents burying their eleven year old son. Furthermore, the image of Ty’s friend who was carrying Ty’s casket to graveyard was so powerful and strong impact on viewers.
The documentary described in this paper emphasized bullying as viewed by victims. Although the content and the message of this documentary are crucial in raising awareness with respect to the feelings and distress of victims, a thorough description of bullying was not presented. Research has suggested that prevention and intervention techniques have been successful in reducing the prevalence of bullying. This is not to say that continued research in this area is not warranted. However, school boards may be able to implement appropriate strategies to reduce bullying and provide more information to students who are victims of bullying so that they could locate appropriate supports to assist them in coping, once again assisting with the reduction and management of potential negative effects of bullying (Bradshaw, Sawyer, & O’Brennan, 2009; Carlyle & Steinman, 2007). My sister-in-law is a teacher for Hamilton-Wentworth Catholic District School Board (HWCDSB) and recently spoke to me about how cyber-bullying is taken quite seriously at the school she works for. In fact, she indicated that police were recently involved in a case with a female student in her grade six class. This girl was obliged to seek consultation and appropriate services through the school due to the fact that she indicated that she wished to committee suicide. As such, although I am quite sensitive to the bullying issue, I do not believe that efforts of school personnel should be ignored. School personnel may not always be effective, but to suggest that victims are unsupported is inaccurate in my personal opinion. A friend of mine whom is a behavioural therapist talked about different cases she experiences through her job at different agencies and the Wellington Catholic District School Board (WCDSB). She mentioned in her experience that psychological distress is linked to bullying and students who are victimized are more likely to get engaged in substance use, develop depressive symptoms, become suicidal, and cause self-harm. As well, students who are victims of bullying are less likely to remain attached to their schools or do well academically. Through my sister-in-law and friend’s experience I found that in contrast to the message conveyed in the documentary, professionals take the issue bullying quiet seriously.
Bully (I) Lee Hirsch, director. (2011) 98 mins - An exploration of victimization of bullying.
Carlyle, K.E., & Steinman, K.J. (2007). Demographic differences in the prevalence, co-occurrence, and correlates of adolescent bullying at school. The Journal of School Health, 77(9), 623-629. Retrieved from http://search.proquest.com
Rigby, K., & Smith, P.K. (2011). Is school bullying really on the rise? Social Psychology of Education: An International Journal, 14(4), 441-455. doi: 10.1007/s11218-011-9158-y
Kelby Johnson, a young girl residing in Oklahoma, was bullied because of her sexual orientation. She tried to take her life three times. Kelby talks about her case saying: “They made it very clear that I wasn’t welcome at the school. When I opened my locker there was a note that said fagots aren’t welcome here. The teacher was calling all and he said: boys, girls and then paused and said Kelby.” She was not only bullied by her peers but also by her teachers. Teachers told her how they burn “fagots” in front of all students in the classroom. Her dad tried hard to help her by approaching the principal and he said: “…they all give me the same plastic smile.”
Tyler Long was another victim of bullying identified in this documentary. He committed suicide by hanging himself at the age of 17 years. His parents stated “unpunished bullying at the school led him to take his own life.” David Long, Tyler’s father, also tried to approach the principal thinking that he would be able to make a helpful change, but the answer always provided was that they can’t stop kids from saying bad words and bullying others. Pastor Jeff Johnson, from the local church, stated: “If bartenders are responsible for a drunk who goes out and kills an innocent person, how come the bullies are not responsible for the death of this precious child?”
Ty Field Smalley (1998-2010), a youth from Oklahoma, was yet another individual who was victimized. Ty’s story was not covered in detail in this documentary. Rather, the emphasis was placed on Ty’s friend. Ty’s friend indicated: “In the second grade I tried to fit in with so many people and that I was the biggest bully in the whole school. But once I got in the third grade, I started to realize what a jerk I was being to kids and what it could do. And in the fourth grade, I realized it will start to hurt someone so I started to be cool with everyone.” As such, Ty’s friend was impacted by the negative consequences associated with bullying. He learned that he could have potentially caused significant harm to other individuals if he would have continued to engage in bullying behaviour.
Although this documentary evoked strong emotions of sympathy from its viewers, the information presented did not present views of both the victims as well as the potential support systems of those victims. As mentioned previously, prevention and intervention techniques are implemented in school systems in order to target both bullies and victims (Rigby & Smith, 2011). The writers of this documentary did not appear to look in depth at school based interventions. The only view that I found was presented was that of parents who attempted to elicit support from school personnel, but who were unsuccessful in doing so. Furthermore, the documentary did not touch on community-based services which could be sought by the parents. For example, Alex Libby was an elementary student who was a victim of bullying. His peers bullied him due to his physical appearance. More specifically, his peers indicated that his face looked like that of a fish. Although he was aware that he was being bullied, he often made excuses for the bullies such as indicating that the bullies were only joking with him. Rather than assisting his son in solving his bullying problem by seeking support services, Alex’s father only pointed out the behaviors of his son’s peers were of a bullying nature. Acknowledgement of the behaviors does not necessarily support victims. Furthermore, it appears that the writers of this documentary were generalizing the lack of response from school personnel to all school.
One prominent underlying message in this documentary is the potential for severe psychological consequences to arise, which may in turn result in the reduction of the quality of life of the victims of bullying. Psychological distress can vary depending on the type of bullying experienced or the coping strategies employed by the victims. For example, Kelby, the young girl who was victimized due to her sexual orientation, did not commit suicide as a result of the bullying she endured, though severe. In contrast, Tyler, the young male whose parents attempted to elicit support from school personnel committed suicide by hanging himself. The factors contributing to whether an individual will or will not attempt suicide were not always made clear in this documentary. For instance, in Kelby’s case, the writers of this documentary suggested that Kelby had the support of her friends and that support assisted her in coping with her victimization. Conversely, no mention of coping or support systems was indicated with respect to Tyler’s case, other than his parents’ unsuccessful attempt to seek support from the school.
Additionally, the psychological distress experienced by the parents of the victims was a strong message. Such as the shocking image of the grief of Ty’s parents burying their eleven year old son. Furthermore, the image of Ty’s friend who was carrying Ty’s casket to graveyard was so powerful and strong impact on viewers.
The documentary described in this paper emphasized bullying as viewed by victims. Although the content and the message of this documentary are crucial in raising awareness with respect to the feelings and distress of victims, a thorough description of bullying was not presented. Research has suggested that prevention and intervention techniques have been successful in reducing the prevalence of bullying. This is not to say that continued research in this area is not warranted. However, school boards may be able to implement appropriate strategies to reduce bullying and provide more information to students who are victims of bullying so that they could locate appropriate supports to assist them in coping, once again assisting with the reduction and management of potential negative effects of bullying (Bradshaw, Sawyer, & O’Brennan, 2009; Carlyle & Steinman, 2007). My sister-in-law is a teacher for Hamilton-Wentworth Catholic District School Board (HWCDSB) and recently spoke to me about how cyber-bullying is taken quite seriously at the school she works for. In fact, she indicated that police were recently involved in a case with a female student in her grade six class. This girl was obliged to seek consultation and appropriate services through the school due to the fact that she indicated that she wished to committee suicide. As such, although I am quite sensitive to the bullying issue, I do not believe that efforts of school personnel should be ignored. School personnel may not always be effective, but to suggest that victims are unsupported is inaccurate in my personal opinion. A friend of mine whom is a behavioural therapist talked about different cases she experiences through her job at different agencies and the Wellington Catholic District School Board (WCDSB). She mentioned in her experience that psychological distress is linked to bullying and students who are victimized are more likely to get engaged in substance use, develop depressive symptoms, become suicidal, and cause self-harm. As well, students who are victims of bullying are less likely to remain attached to their schools or do well academically. Through my sister-in-law and friend’s experience I found that in contrast to the message conveyed in the documentary, professionals take the issue bullying quiet seriously.
References
Bradshaw, C.P., Sawyer, A.L., & O’Brennan, L.M. (2009). A social disorganization perspective on bullying-related attitudes and behaviors: The influence of school context. American Journal of Community Psychology 43(3-4), 204-220. doi: 10.1007/s10464-009-9240-1Bully (I) Lee Hirsch, director. (2011) 98 mins - An exploration of victimization of bullying.
Carlyle, K.E., & Steinman, K.J. (2007). Demographic differences in the prevalence, co-occurrence, and correlates of adolescent bullying at school. The Journal of School Health, 77(9), 623-629. Retrieved from http://search.proquest.com
Rigby, K., & Smith, P.K. (2011). Is school bullying really on the rise? Social Psychology of Education: An International Journal, 14(4), 441-455. doi: 10.1007/s11218-011-9158-y
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