12 movies about bullying that we all should see

Bullying or bullying is a social scourge that a large number of children and adolescents continue to suffer today at school. 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 movies about bullying or in which it is portrayed either as something principal or secondary to the plot of the film. That is why in this article We are going to review a selection of movies about bullying or bullying.

• Related article: "The 5 types of bullying or bullying"

What is 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 party has greater power or dominance over said relationship than the one attacked. This relationship occurs repeatedly and continuously over time, taking advantage of the little possibility of escape that is a habitual and closed context such as the school.

Said aggressions can be carried out directly or indirectly and include acts such as physical aggression, insults, harassment, blackmail, threats, robberies or public humiliation. Likewise, with technological advances, it has been possible to see how ICTs are also used in bullying, giving rise to the cyberbullying.

The aggressions suffered by the attacked party can have disastrous consequences on their personal and social development. The experience of continuous harassment over time generates in most cases a decrease in self-concept and self-esteem, as well as in the perception of competence and self-efficacy. Often these minors feel insecure and ashamed of the situation or in some cases of themselves. They generally manifest a higher level of anxiety and often see their ability to concentrate, plan and tolerate frustration reduced.

Socially, it has been found that it is common for them to have a feeling of little social support and that their level of distrust of new social and affective relationships increases. In the long term, it is not uncommon for mood, anxiety, or even mood disorders to appear. personality, as well as an increased likelihood of substance use and disorders food. In fact, one of the most dramatic consequences is suicidal ideation, which in some cases is carried out practice (this being one of the reasons why awareness of the problem)

Various movies about bullying

Below are a series of movies that deal with the issue of bullying from different points of view. Some of them are largely realistic, but we can also note the existence of some movies that touch the theme from different film genres, ranging from drama to science fiction or even the terror. We warn that in the descriptions there are elements of the plot that can be considered SPOILERS.

1. Cyber ​​Bully (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 guy adds the protagonist to the same social network where the post was made and they start chatting daily.

However, one day the supposed boy (which is actually a fake profile) posts a message in which he implies that they have slept, something that will end up degenerating into a situation of continued bullying towards Taylor both within the social network and at school, which will lead her to try to take her own 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 suffer continuous bullying from Nacho. The film reflects the misunderstanding of the phenomenon of bullying, the concealment of the situation and the consequences and attacks that some affected by bullying may suffer. Also allows to see the different roles and positions taken by the different agents involved.

3. Ben X (2007)

Inspired by a real case, Ben X tells the story of a young man with Asperger syndrome who suffers bullying often being harassed and sometimes forced to perform humiliating actions against his will of him. The young man takes refuge in a video game (ArchLord) as an escape method, meeting a girl to whom he will tell that he is willing to "finish the game", that is, commit suicide. Both are left and Ben is about to take his own life, but finally he ends up not doing it and hatches a plan together with the girl and the participation of his parents to unmask your attackers. Unfortunately, the actual case from which the film starts did end in suicide.

4. Disconnection (2012)

This film is not only about bullying, but rather about 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 suffers bullying at school and two classmates, pretending to be a Teen, They get him to take a compromising photo that they later circulate around the school (although this fact ends up escaping their control).

Ben suffers different situations of bullying and teasing 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 us the story of Gaby, a red-haired boy who receives constant harassment from Guille, a classmate who doesn't hesitate to bully him because of the respect he gets from the rest of the class 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 hatch a plan to make his partner stop harassing him.

6. The Class (2007)

"La clase" tells us the story of Joseph, a student at a high school who is subjected to continuous harassment and attacks by his classmates. One of the attackers, Kaspar, finally sides with him and tries to defend him. From then on both are attacked and assaulted, eventually being forced to practice oral sex. However, she decides to take revenge on her with violence.

7. Carrie (1973 and 2013)

Horror movie based on Stephen King's novel, in it we see the theme of bullying mixed with science fiction and terror. Carrie is a teenager raised by an ultra-religious and abusive mother. who in turn suffers bullying in high school. The young woman has her first menstruation in high school, not knowing what she is due to a very conservative upbringing and becoming terrified of 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 continue, while it is seen 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 concoct a way to humiliate Carrie by dumping 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.

8. Pay It Forward (2000)

In this film we see how Trevor, the main character, Trevor, is a teenager who receives as a social science job to give and put into practice an idea to change the world. The boy plans to make a chain of favors in which each person does a favor to three others, and these in turn to another three. Something that he will begin to try to carry out in real life.

Although the film in question does not focus only on bullying, we do see 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 facing 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 us about the life of an obese and illiterate teenager, who is hated by her mother because she had two children product 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 their situation and illiteracy.

11. Bullying in the classrooms (2009)

This film takes us to see the story of Chrissa, an eleven-year-old girl who begins to suffer bullying 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. It is observed not only the history but also the role and opinion of parents, community, witnesses, classmates and even bullies.