Most people think bullying stops in high school, or even after middle school. It doesn’t. Bullying just starts at that age, however people deal with bullies all throughout adulthood. Furthermore, by that age, the bullying is accepted. People have dealt with in the past so they deal with it now and don’t try to stop it. “Grow a backbone.” “Take a joke.” “Don’t be sensitive.” “Boys will be boys. Girls will be catty. That’s just the way they are. You can’t change how they act.” These are the common excuses when bullying occurs and these words are what we pass down to youth when we tell them to “deal with it.”
However, one woman wants to change the “bullying epidemic”, as she calls it. Amy S. Weber, an extremely talented movie producer of educational documentaries and founder of Radish Creative Group, believes that to stop bullying we need to change how society thinks. “Society creates excuses for bullying and makes it a part of life, which makes bullying seem acceptable. We are in denial. We believe if we survived bullying as children it can continue, but it doesn’t need to. It can be fixed if we stop being too busy with our lives to focus on fixing the problem.”
As seen in the movie, bullying is even worse now because of social media. Abusers can reach their victims at all hours of everyday until the victims start to self-destruct. It’s inescapable. Amy has been interviewing and talking to teens for over twenty years for her work in making documentaries. Getting immersed in their worlds helped her understand how big of an issue bullying is and the effect it has.
The really interesting about A Girl Like Her is that even though it is through the eyes of Jessica, the victim, one sees the point of view and opinion of Avery, the bully. Avery is the main focus of the film. Most movies about bullying are not shown through the bully’s perspective. For instance, Mean Girls is told through Cady Heron not Regina George and Cyberbully is told through Taylor, the victim. Getting to see the bully’s perspective was really interesting and thought provoking. It changes how you feel about the bully. In addition, the use of social media and how younger kids are so willing to post things online was prevalent in the film. “Young people don’t see the big picture when posting online. It’s like they are driving a car when they first get their license,” Amy says. “They think they are indestructible and the idea of consequences to do not exist.”
Another great thing about A Girl Like Her is that it was unscripted. “The young actors were brilliant at improvisation. Showing emotion in a drama is a craft. The audience needs to feel that emotion with the actor. It’s something not many actors can do and these actors did it without even having a script to follow.”
While the movie is a film about bullying, it is definitely not your typical bullying film. It’s not corny, it’s raw and authentic and your emotions will be touched. It is relatable to anyone who has been a bystander, a victim or a bully. A Girl Like Her comes out this Friday at the AMC in Boston Common. Be sure to order your ticket.