Not long ago, I stumbled upon a very cool article – Cinematography Comes To The Aid: What Movies Can Help Your Teen Go Through Bullying. As a mom, I was very curious about this topic and I realized that I could come up with my own list of such movies.
My kid is only nine but he has already experienced some bullying. Knowing how many kids face this problem every day, parents should be aware of this issue and talk about it regularly. Even if your kid is not bullied, it is important to teach them about the phenomenon and its possible consequences. The following movies can be a great way to start such a conversation.
Harry Potter (2001)
If by some magical coincidence, your kids haven’t seen the Harry Potter series, you cannot but introduce this world to them. They will not only be fascinated by the wizards, extraordinary creatures, and magical spells but can also learn some valuable lessons.
Harry Potter was bullied by his family and other kids at Hogwarts. He suffered a great deal of pranks, humiliation, and rejection. Nevertheless, he stays strong, fights all the enemies and finds comfort in his true friends. That is the best way to fight bullying and every kid should see and understand that.
Cyberbully (2015)
Cyberbullying is a modern way of bullying that involves no physical harm, but is as dangerous and hurtful. Cyberbully movie shows all the serious consequences that cyberbullying can lead to. This is a story of Casey who is harassed by unknown hacker online. This hacker threats her with posting her nude pictures online and shaming her.
Casey doesn’t know why it is happening to her until this person says that he helps victims of cyberbullying. She is confused, but then he shows her all the things that she has said and done online and how they influenced other people and even brought one girl to suicide. The movie is very important to see for both sides – bullies and bullied. It shows that an ostensibly innocent comment can hurt people’s feelings and bring to serious troubles.
The Duff (2015)
This one is a teen comedy about school hierarchy. Bianca finds out one day that she is labeled The Duff – ‘designated ugly fat friend’ to her beautiful girlfriends. Her world changes and she decides to do something about it.
On her way to becoming cool and popular (while her friends actually turn their back on her and bully her), she realizes that the most important thing is to be yourself and not to pay attention to all the stereotypes and myths. This movie is great for kids and teens who have self-esteem and bullying problems.
Odd Girl Out (2005)
This is another teen movie telling about teenage conflicts and intrigues. The main character, Vanessa, is rejected by all of her friends after they find out that she has a crush on the same boy as the most popular girl in school. She suddenly becomes an outcast and everybody calls her names and seems to hate her. It goes even further when they create a website and post humiliating pictures of Vanessa.
After a big amount of humiliation, pranks, name calling and a suicide attempt, Vanessa realizes that her desire to be friends with those people again doesn’t make any sense. She realizes that popularity is not everything and being a “cool kid” is not that important.
This movie proves how easily kids get into bullies and how cruel they can be. Kids who bully their classmates at school need to see this movie to realize that it’s wrong. And those kids who are being bullied can see that they are not alone and there are ways out.
The Karate Kid (1984)
This is a fun movie to watch with the whole family. It’s about a bullied teen Daniel who decides to learn Karate to be able to defend himself. His wise teacher, Miyagi, teaches him not only how to fight, but how to be powerful and strong mentally, too. Eventually, Daniel gets stronger and defeats his bullies at the karate tournament. The movie teaches kids not to run away from problems, but to face them.
The Craft (1996)
If you have an older teen who’s into rock music and dark things, The Craft can be a great way to start a bullying conversation. It’s about a girl who enters a new school and befriends three girls involved in occult things. They three are being bullied for different reasons and after the new girl gets hurt, too, they all get together, cast a spell and acquire witch powers.
They decide to get revenge and hurt the ones who have been hurting them. It all goes the wrong way leading girls to much different results than they expected. The movie can teach your teens that revenge is not the way to get things done and it only makes you the same as your offenders.
Bullying is among the most urgent problems in schools all over the world. Many kids have to deal with it on a regular basis and many then suffer from major psychological issues. Parents have to pay a lot of attention to teaching their kids about the wrong of bullying. And these movies can be a great way to start.
Featured photo credit: Girls with popcorn/Flickr via flickr.com
