Bully Summary Response
Claire Jones
Summary
In Lee Hirsch’s documentary, Bully, the rising problem of extreme bullying is highlighted, along
with ways to help stop the growing problem. Many victims of bullying usually
see no way out, causing them to self-harm, develop an eating disorder, or even
worse- commit suicide. Victims find it hard to speak up, ultimately making
things worse for themselves; alternatively, school authority figures make
excuses for bullies such as: “Kids will be kids.” Or “It’s just a phase.” Bullies
are rarely forced to see their harmful wrongdoing. Yet, together, people can
make a change in society: everything starts with one- bullying, victimizing, stopping.Though bullying is an enormous problem that will never fully end, people can come together to decrease the amount of bullying that happens today.
Response
In Lee Hirsch’s Bully, the horror of today’s society
is exemplified through the victim’s stories: when a child is the least bit different,
they will not be accepted. Throughout the movie, the main children- Alex,
Tyler, and Kelby- were bullied, and they all had one thing in common: being
different. Seventeen year old Alex had never been the cool jock with good
grades; his vulnerability put a target on his back, eventually leading him to
take his own life. Tyler had a birth defect, making him look a little different
than other kids. “The sad thing is… if they just got to know him, and be his
friend… he would probably be the most dedicated friend they ever had…” Alex’s
mother says it beautifully- these kids are just like us. Sexuality is what
makes Kelby different. Does that make her a bad person? No, it does not; but, kids
are raised to be scared of anything remotely unlike the norm. If the world can
Stand for the Silent, it will be a much better place; we just need to learn to
accept each other- no matter how “weird” that girl’s glasses are, or how “emo”
his music is, those kids are people, too. People deserve respect. The horror of
today’s society will never fully go away; though it can be decreased, if we
stand together to accept others’ flaws.
