Bully-2011

Director Lee Hirsch

Scott’s Review #419

Reviewed June 19, 2016

Grade: B+

Bully is an informative and topical 2011 documentary on the bullying problem that has plagued the United States in recent years and has thankfully received more attention as a result.

Shockingly, bullying has resulted in several suicides, which the documentary addresses.

The documentary mainly deals with a handful of bullied students and tells their individual stories. Unfortunately, too often teachers and school administrators either do not take the issue seriously or attempt to squander the matter to avoid more attention, according to the documentary.

Bullying is a nationwide problem in the United States.

I only wish the producers had chosen to focus some attention on the actual bullies for accountability, but surprisingly they did not.

This point was almost completely glossed over and only the victims were featured.

It would have been interesting to hear the perspective from the bully’s standpoint. Do they have issues at home causing them to bully? Are they bullied by others?

Regardless of this flaw, Bully (2011) is a well-made documentary that should be seen by anyone with kids, especially all teachers and school administrators.