Bullying or bullying is a social scourge that a large number of children and adolescents continue to suffer at school today. This problem, although it has always existed, has not received great social visibility until relatively few years ago. However, this does not mean that there have not been previous studies or people who have tried to reflect the suffering and situation of young people who suffer from it. And not only in the field of research, but also in arts such as cinema.
We can find a large number of films about bullying or in which it is portrayed either as something main or secondary to the plot of the film. That is why in this article We are going to review a selection of films about bullying or bullying
Bullying or bullying is understood as any act or behavior through which one or more people intentionally intend to cause some type of discomfort, pain or harm to another , generating a relationship of inequality in which the aggressor has greater power or dominance over said relationship than the attacked party. This relationship occurs repeatedly and continuously over time, taking advantage of the little possibility of escape that a habitual and closed context such as school entails.
These attacks can be carried out directly or indirectly and include acts such as physical aggression, insults, humiliation, blackmail, threats, theft or public humiliation. Likewise, with technological advances it has been possible to see how ICTs are also used in harassment, giving rise to cyberbullying.
The attacks suffered by the attacked party can have dire consequences on their personal and social development. The experience of harassment continued over time generates in the majority of cases a decrease in self-concept and self-esteem , as well as the perception of competence and self-efficacy. It is common for these minors to feel insecure and ashamed of the situation or in some cases of themselves. They generally show a higher level of anxiety and tend to have a reduced ability to concentrate, plan, and tolerate frustration.
Socially, it has been found that it is common for them to have a feeling of little social support and for their level of distrust of new social and emotional relationships to increase. In the long term, it is not uncommon for mood, anxiety or even personality disorders to appear, as well as an increased likelihood of substance abuse and eating disorders. In fact, one of the most dramatic consequences is suicidal ideation, which in some cases is put into practice (this being one of the reasons why awareness of the problem began to increase)
Below are a series of films that deal with the issue of bullying from different points of view. Some of them are largely realistic, but we can also observe the existence of some films that touch on the subject from different film genres, ranging from drama to science fiction or even horror. We warn that in the descriptions there are elements of the plot that may be considered SPOILER.
1. Cyberbully (2011)
Taylor is a seventeen-year-old teenager to whom her brother writes a defamatory message on a social network, which generates a response in the form of harassment towards her. After a while, a boy adds the protagonist on the same social network where the publication was made and they start chatting daily.
However, one day the supposed boy (who is actually a fake profile) publishes a message insinuating that they have slept together, something that will end up degenerating into a situation of continued bullying towards Taylor both within the social network and on the Internet. school, that will lead her to try to take her life (something that a friend and her mother avoid). This reflects a painful reality: cases of bullying can end up claiming victims in the form of suicides.
2. Bullying (2009)
Spanish film that reflects the life of Jordi, a young man who changes cities with his mother and who, when he begins to attend classes, will begin to continually suffer harassment from Nacho. The film reflects the lack of understanding of the phenomenon of bullying, the concealment of the situation and the consequences and attacks that some affected by bullying may suffer. Also allows you to see the different roles and positions taken by the different agents involved
3. Ben X (2007)
Inspired by a real case, Ben The young man takes refuge in a video game (ArchLord) as a method of evasion, meeting a girl to whom he will tell that he is willing to “finish the game”, that is, commit suicide. They both remain and Ben is about to take his own life, but he finally ends up not doing it and hatches a plan together with the girl and the participation of her parents to unmask your attackers Unfortunately, the real case from which the film is based did end in suicide.
This film is not only about bullying, but rather the use of information and communication technologies as a way to harm or take advantage of others. However, it has been put on this list because one of the four stories it tells us is that of Ben, a boy who is bullied at school and whom two classmates, pretending to be a teenager, They get a compromising photo taken that they later circulate around the school (although this fact ends up beyond their control).
Ben suffers different situations of harassment and ridicule until he tries to take his own life, ending up in a coma in a hospital after trying to hang himself. The film also offers us the vision of the two stalkers and the discomfort they face at how the situation has ended.
5. Cowards (2008)
Film that tells the story of Gaby, a red-haired boy who receives continuous harassment from Guille, a classmate who does not hesitate to harass him due to the respect he gets from the rest of the class. Throughout the film we see how Gaby fears going to school, and how part of Guille’s behavior is based on the fear of being a disappointment to his father. The situation continues over time and Gaby will decide to devise a plan to make his partner stop harassing him.
6. The class (2007)
“The Class” tells the story of Joseph, a high school student who is subjected to continuous harassment and attacks from his classmates. One of the attackers, Kaspar, finally takes his side and tries to defend him. From then on both are attacked and assaulted, eventually being forced to perform oral sex. However, they decide to take revenge with violence.
7. Carrie (1973 and 2013)
Horror film based on the novel by Stephen King, in it we see the theme of bullying mixed with science fiction and horror. Carrie is a teenager raised by an ultra-religious and abusive mother who in turn suffers bullying at school. The young woman has her first menstruation in high school, not knowing what she is due to a very conservative upbringing and being terrified by it. The other girls make fun of her and humiliate her, going so far as to record her event (in the 2013 version) and publish it.
Bullying situations at home and at school occur, while we see how Carrie has telekinetic powers. We also see how one of the girls feels guilty and asks her boyfriend to accompany Carrie to the prom (someone she is attracted to). When the day of the dance arrives, they both go, but some of the boys prepare a way to humiliate Carrie by pouring a bucket of pig’s blood on her. In the film we also see how the institute tries to hide the harassment, and the behavior and reactions of both the protagonist and the rest of those involved.
In this film we see how Trevor, the protagonist, Trevor, is a teenager who receives as a social science assignment to give and put into practice an idea to change the world. The boy plans to create a chain of favors in which each person does a favor for three others, and they in turn do a favor for three others. Something that you will begin to try to carry out in real life.
Although the film in question does not focus only on bullying, we do observe how Adam, one of the protagonist’s classmates, He is constantly humiliated and tortured by some classmates and how the protagonist does nothing to avoid it due to fear. Until the end of the film, in which he decides to intervene, with dramatic consequences.
9. Bully (2011)
More than a film, we are looking at a documentary that reflects different cases of bullying, the experience of minors and the point of view and experience of the parents of those attacked.
10. Precious (2010)
Film that tells the life of an obese and illiterate teenager, who is hated by her mother because she had two children as a result of the rape carried out by her father (one of them having an intellectual disability) and who also suffers different types of bullying due to his situation and illiteracy
This film takes us to see the story of Chrissa, an eleven-year-old girl who begins to suffer harassment from several classmates. We also see the different steps that parents and institutions take to try to solve the case
12. Audrie and Daisy (2016)
Documentary that tells the story of a real case, in which two teenagers were subjected to cyberbullying after being raped. Not only the history is observed but also the role and opinion of parents community, witnesses, classmates and even aggressors.
