‘BULLY’: Documentary sheds light on problem

“BULLY opens a window onto the pained and often endangered lives of bullied kids, revealing a problem that transcends geographic, racial, ethnic and economic borders.”

BULLY is a documentary directed by Lee Hirsche and presented by The Bully Project. Its purpose is to bring awareness to the issue of bullying and its negative impact on students who experience it.

It features the stories of multiple teenagers who have been bullied in both middle and high school, as well as the families of  students who committed suicide because they had been bullied.

According to the Bully Project Website, “BULLY opens a window onto the pained and often endangered lives of bullied kids, revealing a problem that transcends geographic, racial, ethnic and economic borders.”

One thing that makes the film so hard-hitting is that school administrators in each of the bully cases being shown did little to nothing to solve the problem. The overall attitude that seems to be reflected in the film from administrators is that they are either powerless to make the bullying stop, or don’t think that the bullying is much of an issue at all.

Kamehameha Maui’s high school counselor Kumu Ladd Akeo feels that school officials should make sure students are protected in their educational systems.

“School[s] are required by law to provide [a] safe and nurturing environment for their students. It really is in the best interest of the school to play a major role in curbing or eliminating bullying in their schools,” Kumu Akeo said.

This film shows actual instances of the students being bullied and even of administrators not taking appropriate actions against it. Small details in the lives of victims that you grow to love, the relatable stories, the heart-wrenching realities, and the frustrating lack of support from school officials give the audience motivation to get out there and make a difference.

Senior Jai Wilhelm saw the film and thought it was a powerful reality-check on bullying and how harmful it can be. He thought it was especially important because of how it showed the administration’s lack of action for students suffering from bullying.

“I think the most important message this movie gives is that you can’t just ignore bullying to make it go away,” Wilhelm said. “That goes for teachers as well, because they didn’t really do much, and just ended up ignoring it until it happened again or until it was too late.”

Watch the trailer attached to this story, or on Amazon.com, you can get either rent this movie for $3.99 or buy it for $7.99.