I was fortunate enough to see an advanced screening of Bully, which is set for release on March 30th, 2012 in Los Angeles.
If enough people go to see it, it may be released nationwide.
Director Hirsch’s goal is to get one million kids to see it.
I say shoot for 2m, Lee!
Review & Thought
Director Lee Hirsch nailed it. The movie is poignant, pertinent and terrifying. As an anti-bully educator, I realized that I am not doing enough. The tools we use feel frail in comparison to the onslaught of true peer-aggression. Make no mistake, this is not simple taunting – it is physical and verbal aggression.
These aggressors shown in the movie are brutal.
Is this just a Hollywood spin on bullying? Not from what more than 15,000 kids have told me.
The sad part is that most ‘bullies’ are actually good kids – they just get caught up in group-think. When one kid sees it happening and the target doesn’t fight back, the other kids suddenly realize its OK to pick on Johnny or Sally. We do this as adults too. That’s how riots happen.
Parents Kirk and Laura Smalley, who lost their child to bullycide are also interviewed. In a heartbreaking moment, Mr. Smalley notes, “If I were a politician – something would be done – but I’m just a nobody.” Yet, instead of sinking into sadness – the parents decide to give their silent child a voice. More HERE. Bravo! I hate that it takes this kind of tragedy to activate passion – but if the deaths of their children help save another, then maybe the parents can make some sense of the tragedy.
Bully’s goal is not to show how ignorant our parents and schools are about this epidemic. I believe it is to show how poorly we react as a society to peer-aggression. Most people don’t know what to do if their child is the target.
This movie provides a platform for figuring that out.
So, how do we end it? The eleven-year-old friend of Ty Smalley, who took his life, shared what I believe is the key to stopping the epidemic:
Everyone has to know we are equal.
Now, go see it. Take your kids. Start a dialogue with them.
The R rating is bogus. Yes, its intense, but this is what our kids face EVERYDAY. So should we.

Bully - Town Hall


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