There were several links to news broadcasts including more than one link to the news anchor's reply to a bully. I also found links to the movies Bully and cyberbully. You can watch all of cyberbully on Youtube if you want to. There also ant-bullying commercials.
Most of the amateur bullying movies I found are the "I have a Secret" videos. These videos involve no talking from the person on screen; the person holds up cards telling their story. All of the stories are very personal and sad. They usually end with a message of hope or recommending a hotline or website that can help. The video below is an excellent example of these videos.
I did find a few videos that were done by high schoolers about bullying that were actual movies. The editing was simple, but the message just as strong as the "I have a Secret" videos. One of them was soft music, pictures of somebody's sister, and words telling her story. Others have quotes and stats about bullying and end with a call to action. The one below is one of my favorites. This one was definitely done by amateurs, but still had a strong message, both with the story and the stats. They were also careful to mention that it was a true story of a nameless boy that committed suicide at 13 due to bullying. After giving some stats, they use a guilt trip as a call to action.
Non of the videos I found were particularly funny. They all pulled at your heartstrings just as they were designed to do. I especially find the "I have a Secret" videos powerful. These videos have a profound effect because they are all personal stories. There seems to be a whole community of these movies. Teenagers are making their own videos because they are seeing them. Some of their posts talk about their reasons for posting the videos. One girl wanted to start the new year letting people know that there is help for those in situations like hers. While not all of the "I have a Secret" videos have to do with being bullied, they are about depression, suicide attempts and/or mental and emotional illnesses resulting from abuse of some sort (bullying fits the abuse category). I wonder how many of these kids make a video for therapy.
3 comments:
Wow, your post was wonderful! You couldn't have picked better videos to use for this. I think you found some wonderful material that really discusses the severity of bullying and the permanent damages that it can do. Where memes and fan art can be used to make subjects comical, I think it's only appropriate that the videos of bullying get straight to the point like the ones you have chosen. I loved the quote in your final video which read "Suicide is a permanent solution to a temporary problem." If those who bully others could really see the life-changing and in some cases life-ending effects they are having on their predictors then maybe they would see the reality of what they are doing. These videos portray that pain that they inflict quite clearly, and hopefully these videos along with the countless others that you mention will help to lessen this growing problem. Well done! These videos and this post was awesome!
These videos are all very powerful, but I wonder what kids who bully others would think of them. The "I Have a Secret" videos especially come from a very vulnerable place and I can see that weakness preyed on by both in-person tormentors and anonymous trolls.
I think this is one of the major successes of modern day technologies. I was bullied in Jr. High and High School (not badly, but a little bit), and I had no way to vent about it. But these days, a kid with a cell phone camera can make a video that shows how they feel and hopefully touch a few people as a result.
Yeah, we waste a lot of time creating and looking at memes, stupid fan videos, and whatever... but there are a lot of great things that come from internet culture. Like this!
Post a Comment