Bully (I) (2011)

A documentary on peer-to-peer bullying in schools across America.

Director:

Lee Hirsch

Writers:

Lee Hirsch, Cynthia Lowen

Stars:

Ja'Meya Jackson, Kelby Johnson, Lona Johnson

6 wins & 7 nominations.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Ja'Meya Jackson	...	Herself
Kelby Johnson	...	Herself
Lona Johnson	...	Herself
Bob Johnson	...	Himself
Alex Libby	...	Himself
Jackie Libby	...	Herself
Philip Libby	...	Himself
Maya Libby	...	Herself
Jada Libby	...	Herself
Ethan Libby	...	Himself
Logan Libby	...	Himself
Kim Lockwood	...	Herself
David Long	...	Himself
Tina Long	...	Herself
Teryn Long	...	Herself

Storyline

This year, over 13 million American kids will be bullied at school, online, on the bus, at home, through their cell phones and on the streets of their towns, making it the most common form of violence young people in this country experience. BULLY is the first feature documentary film to show how we've all been affected by bullying, whether we've been victims, perpetrators or stood silent witness. The world we inhabit as adults begins on the playground. BULLY opens on the first day of school. For the more than 13 million kids who'll be bullied this year in the United States, it's a day filled with more anxiety and foreboding than excitement. As the sun rises and school busses across the country overflow with backpacks, brass instruments and the rambunctious sounds of raging hormones, this is a ride into the unknown. For a lot of kids, the only thing that's certain is that this year, like every other, bullying will be a big part of whatever meets them at their school's front doors. ...

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Plot Keywords:

school | bully | bullying | victim | backpack | 

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Taglines:

It's time to take a stand

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Genres:

Documentary

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Motion Picture Rating (MPAA)

Rated PG-13 for intense thematic material, disturbing content, and some strong language - all involving kids

Details

Official Sites:

Official site

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

27 April 2012 (Iceland)

Also Known As:

The Bully Project

Filming Locations:

Georgia, USA

Box Office

Budget:

$1,100,000 (estimated)

Opening Weekend:

$116,472 (USA) (30 March 2012)

Gross:

$3,483,795 (USA) (15 June 2012)

Company Credits

Production Co:

Bully Project, The, Where We Live Films

Technical Specs

Runtime:

98 min

Sound Mix:

Dolby Dolby Digital DTS

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

Bully was originally rated R for language. The Weinstein Company appealed for a lower rating, as the R rating would exclude the very audience that is was intended for - high-school teens. The MPAA refused to alter the rating, so the distributor surrendered the original rating and opted for their film to be released 'Unrated' to the theaters. Finally, the filmmakers agreed to cut some, but not all, of the relevant language, and the MPAA did agree to re-rate the movie PG-13. The PG-13 version does keep intact all the language in the scene that was the main point of contention between the filmmakers and the MPAA, in which a 12-year-old is physically and verbally attacked on his school bus by his classmates.

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Quotes

Alex: They punch me in the jaw, they, er, strangle me and knock things out of my hand.
Alex: Sit on me.
Alex: I feel like I belong somewhere else.

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Connections

Referenced in The Simpsons: Love Is a Many Splintered Thing (2013)

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Soundtracks

"Busted Heart"
Written by Justin Rice and Christian Rudder
Performed by Bishop Allen
Courtesy of Superhyper

User Reviews

Could have and should have done more

I left the theater thinking that although "Bully" tackles a very serious problem among young people in our society, it didn't tackle it as completely as it could and should have. The film did a good job of identifying the problem of schoolyard bullying and bring it to national attention, but at no point did it offer any suggestions about how the problem might be solved, and at no point did it show examples of the many school districts that are actively working to solve the problem. In that sense, "Bully" is a prime example of what's wrong with our society in general - it's very good at identifying problems, pointing fingers and assigning blame, but it's not at all good at proposing solutions.

There is also a not so subtle political message - the film implies that bullying only occurs in Republican "Red" states such as Georgia, Oklahoma, Iowa and Mississippi. No examples of bullying are shown in San Francisco, New York or New England, although bullying undoubtedly occurs in those areas as well (as the Phoebe Prince incident in Massachusetts proves).

In short, to use a cliché, the film "asks more questions than it answers" and is therefore not likely to bring about any real change.