Bully-2011

Director Lee Hirsch

Scott’s Review #419

Reviewed June 19, 2016

Grade: B+

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

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

The documentary focuses on a handful of bullied students and tells their individual stories.

Unfortunately, the documentary says teachers and school administrators too often either don’t take the issue seriously or try to downplay it to avoid more attention.

Bullying is a nationwide problem in the United States.

I wish the producers had focused more attention on the actual bullies and their accountability, but surprisingly they did not.

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

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

Despite this flaw, Bully (2011) is a well-made documentary that anyone with kids should see, especially teachers and school administrators.