Educational Media Reviews Online

This is the perfect film, at the perfect time. Any instructor or student club that wants to open up a discussion on the enormous problem of bullying; including bystander complacency and the terrorizing effects of cyberbullying, will be thrilled with this film. The film combines real-life interviews with teens and on-point dramatizations.

According to a recent study, 66% of high school students who witness bullying believe that they should intervene but less than 25% actually do. One high school athlete in the film, a senior who was in her last months of high school, had been bullied so relentlessly that she temporarily had to leave school and hold off going to college for a semester. She said that the bullying usually occurred in front of other students. This would make sense since 85% of bullying from middle school all the way through the undergraduate years of college occurs in front of bystanders. Bystanders are a part of the problem but can become a part of the solution.

No matter what our age, we have all been witness to the tragic consequences of bullying and the results of bystander complacency. Some of us may have been the actual victim of bullying. The face of the bully may have changed. The cafeteria bully may no longer be the guy who has 6 inches on the rest of his classmates. In the case of cyberbullies, women are more likely to utilize a social network to harass a classmate than their male counterparts. In September 2010 a Rutgers University freshman who was cyberbullied by a male and female classmate, took his own life by leaping off of the George Washington Bridge. In the weeks prior to this event several other high school and college students had been harassed and bullied to the point where they wound up taking their own lives. One gentleman in the film, Carl Walker-Hoover had been bullied for years. His sister, who was a grade ahead, and his classmates, knew he had been a victim of bullying. Carl never told anyone how bad the bullying was. He, like the Rutgers freshman, was ashamed of the harassment and thoroughly humiliated. He was hopeless. On April 6, 2009 Carl Walker-Hoover took his own life. He left behind a sister and two parents who live with the guilt of not being able to save him from the bullying.

We can point our fingers at the bystanders who stand by any type of bullying event, but the bystanders themselves suffer from the bullying. They suffer from guilt. This film discusses how bystanders can help a victim and avoid guilt by simply talking to someone. One of the several packets included with this film asks participants to pick a film such as Bring it On (2000) or Mean Girls (2004); or a television series such as the Golden Globe winning Glee and the teen choice award-winning Gossip Girl; or a book such as one from the Twilight Saga series or the classic Romeo and Juliet and point out the bullying events and the bystanders in these sources.

The learning objectives of this film and its ancillary packet are that our students and community members be able to recognize that standing by without intervening in a bullying incident encourages a bully to continue. The packet will also help people accept responsibility in preventing bullying in their school or community and describes some of the newly enacted anti-bullying laws. The film and its packet refute common excuses for not getting involved when witnessing a bullying attack. It is a teaching tool for all of us to use to diffuse bullying and to empower all students to take a stand against it. The time is now. As educators, administrators, mentors, and community activists we need to be sure that victims of bullying and harassment know that others are there for them and that life gets better.