Touches You

Best movie ever!

Simple and well acted, it has tension enough to knot the stomach.

Fun premise, good actors, bad writing. This film seemed to have potential at the beginning but it quickly devolves into a trite action film. Ultimately it's very boring.

Bullying is far worse than portrayed. The effects are much more profound and far-reaching. Contrary to the film's message, adults are fully responsible to stop and prevent bullying. Children have little to no power to stop bullying. I was mercilessly bullied at home and school more thoroughly and violently than as portrayed in this film, and internalized the dehumanization for life. I created a safe home for my child and took every step necessary, regardless of where and who, to prevent and stop every child and adult from bullying her; it worked. I didn't stop pressing until each issue was fixed. If I could do it, anyone can. The adults in this movie rationalized away their own responsibility, accountability, and bullying.

I was bullied myself as a kid. It affected me then, and the scars aren't completely gone. They probably never will be. That being said, those scars are small, and the bullying kids I knew back then has turned into good persons as adults. They are sorry for what they did, and I've forgiven them. Still, I will always remember it to some degree.I'm starting this review by recounting those experiences of mine to put in perspective how horrible the things the kids in this documentary experience are. Because my experiences are NOTHING compared to this. Deep down I knew that bullying can get as bad they do here, but it was a real shocker seeing with my own eyes. It's heartbreaking.We meet Alex, 13 years old. His appearance is affected by the fact that he was born very prematurely, and as all bully victims know; standing out always makes you a target. The kids bully him physically and mentally to the point where he just shuts himself off emotionally. The worst part, however, is the adults. The scene where the father tells him to stand up for himself, that he makes himself a target by not retaliating?! What the f-ck is that?! Children are NEVER to blame at all for being bullied! Is he supposed to stand up to the whole school himself? No, sir, you need to change your attitude if you want to help your own son. The responsibility lies with the adults, and with the adults alone. Of course, there is also the employees at school...they see it, but they do little or nothing at all. It just won't do.Then there's the girl with the gun...what is wrong with your laws, America? You don't hold 14-year old children legally responsible for their actions! Children don't get the privileges of adulthood (such as driving, the right to vote) so they shouldn't get the burdens either. What angered me the most though was that STUPID sheriff trivializing bullying. It's as clear as day that he doesn't understand that psychological wounds go much deeper than physical ones. If the American society could understand that guns don't make already civilized areas safer the whole story could have been avoided. Those views and laws on firearms were sensible in the Wild West, (where you actually needed guns for security) they are not anymore.Kelby...she's so strong! That town astounds me, I didn't think whole societies centered around 19th century-viewpoints still existed in the western world. An attitude change is needed, here are some points that WILL get results. 1. Kids will not be kids. If you know your pedagogy well, you can raise kids who won't be bullies. Children are a reflection of their parents or guardians. 2. Bully victims are never to blame for any aspect of what has happened to them, don't give them that impression. Don't worsen their situation. Take whatever actions needed to stop it yourself and deliver nothing but comfort. It is your responsibility as an adult. 3. Spread these messages.About me: I've worked with children for seven years in kindergartens. I've done several pedagogy classes (I am in fact doing one this very semester) on my way to becoming a high school teacher. This is my field of expertise.

Bully is a close up at the harsh conditions that many teens face throughout the adolescent life. It provides an inside view on the torment and bullying of kids. Parents, administration, and children are interviewed throughout, providing feedback from the people around the targets themselves. Overall I think the movie was an advocacy piece. Yet I'm not entirely sure it advocated a new plan to stop bullying more than it plainly showed the emotions behind bullied teens. A documentary records events, yes, yet if the director meant for it to create a change than I see no real push for that. It hit me on a whole set of emotional levels yet it did not make me go out with signs and a crowd demanding bullying by stopped. My views in bullying are already set and although this movie may have hurt emotionally, it did not inspire or strengthen my views. Bullying is wrong. Why? Because teenagers become hurt. How? The "how" is what the documentary showed. But it did not show why they were bullied. No bullies were interviewed. No parents of the bullies were interviewed. Where is the other side? Are we supposed to believe that these bullies have no heart and no soul to be bullying someone their own age so harshly? These are kids. People tend to forget that. Where is the footage of the bully's side of the story? The documentary was a doc you would watch if you wanted to cry, not one to be inspired by. Yes, it follows kids around and "documents" their hardships. Yes, they go around interviewing people. But who? And where? Administrators made out to be neglectful, dishonorable people; children to be monsters, and parents to be unapt at parenting. And all in republican red states. It did not get a full cultural view no did it get a full fair view of anyone. Only one side was shown! If it is a documentary, it's meant to DOCUMENT the events! So where are the other half of the events! I just think the film could have provided a larger perspective and a wider range of information, specifically including the bully' side of things. It falls short in those categories, which in my opinion, basically qualifies a documentary to be one. Emotionally it hit all the right spots. But. That's. It.

Today kids are killing themselves and each other at an alarming rate. The one thing all these cases seem to have in common is bullying. There was bullying when I was a kid, but 3 PM meant the end of the trouble. We had the rest of the day, the weekend, and the summer to recover. The advent of social media and cell phones has made the respite obsolete, as now, bullies can torture their victims 24/7. Bully is an award winning documentary that looks at the problems of bullying and shows the effects it has on children's lives. What I like about this film is that it showed a whole group of students from different economic, social, and ethnic backgrounds. What I took away is that anyone who is even slightly different in anyway, could be a target. What I didn't like was the solutions the film offers. Their solution is to tell someone and to stand up for kids you see being bullied, but anyone who has been bullied will tell you that those are not good ideas. Often times telling someone will anger the bully and make it worse, and as for standing up for other kids, often times that makes someone who wasn't previous bullied, a target. I think the answer is two-fold, in that first, parents need to tell their kids, from a very earlier age, that being unique, different, and even weird are admirable qualities in a person. I also believe the schools need to be tougher, because honestly, does anyone really think that giving a bully detention, telling them they're not nice, and that their hurting other kids really does anything? I think bullies need a taste of their own medicine, to feel those powerful emotions for even for just one day. You can talk until you're blue in the face, but you don't really know what something is like until you've experienced it for yourself.