Why Not Watch?
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BULLY is an intimate account on how bullying affects 13 million American children every year. Bringing human scale to this startling statistic, the film offers an unflinching look at how bullying has impacted 5 kids and their families.
Director: Lee Hirsch
Share this film. Give others the opportunity to learn from its story and message.
Visit The Bully Project, which offers plenty of useful information and links for everyone affected by bullying: children, parents, educators, and advocates. Consider donating to their cause.
Speak up when you witness bullying. Reach out to those around you, either by intervening if the situation allows or contacting the relevant authority (school, parent, or law enforcement agent).
Contribute to a safe online community. Do not tolerate cyber-bullying. Rather than engaging in an argument, report their behavior to the page administrator. If you are a page administrator make it clear that you will actively moderate your page to keep it safe.
Keep BULLY relevant. Urge teachers and community leaders in your area to have screenings of BULLY in order to help maintain an educated and informed generation.
“Lee Hirsch’s moving and troubling documentary about the misery some children inflict upon others arrives at a moment when bullying, long tolerated as a fact of life, is being redefined as a social problem,” writes A.O. Scott, who includes BULLY in the prestigious list of NYT Critics’ Pick films.
Read the full New York Times article.
In this Tribeca interview, Hirsch describes how he found the story, access to the characters and schools, and such insight into bullying.
In this powerful segment of This American Life, writer Lindy West confronts the man who stepped forward as her most cruel online troll.
Inspired by the film, The Bully Project offers a vast amount of tools and resources for students, parents, educators, and advocates.
Former teacher and school administrator, Franklin Schargel, offers an extensive list of helpful tips for schools, parents, and students to end the bullying epidemic.
Read more on The Huffington Post:
“…After hours spent boosting the positive comments and purging most of the brutish ones, the tide started to turn…”
Read how TED’s social media editor learned about how to stand up against online bullies after a talk addressing that very topic.
Despite BULLY’s R rating, due to the number of times the F-word is spoken on screen, Carol Lloyd of GreatSchools.org argues that its message is strong and true.
She pleads with parents to make an exception when it comes to BULLY, especially since school shootings have increased in the U.S., so that the film can reach the eyes and ears of those it targets: school children.
In this first-person Indiewire exclusive, producer Cynthia Lowen opens up about the making of BULLY….
“We decided now was the time to shine a light on this issue in such a way as to make bullying undeniable, and to debunk the myth that it is a ‘normal’ rite of passage, or just kids being kids. We wanted to give voice to those who were suffering in silence or shame, and hope that things could be different.”
Then go here to watch Lowen discuss the statistics related to bullying and how bullying thrives in certain environments.
"A MOVIE YOUR KIDS MUST SEE."
Time Magazine
"This movie really does have the power to save lives."
San Francisco Chronicle
"THE MOST IMPORTANT FILM OF THE YEAR."
The Huffington Post
