Most documentaries are statistic based and have no emotional affect. “Bully” is a documentary that shows the lives of five bully victims; it’s a film where bullying isn’t just a statistic, it’s an emotion and a feeling for the bullied.
Kelby Johnson is a lesbian in Oklahoma (located in the “Bible belt”) who was raised by parents who were Sunday school teachers; Kelby was isolated by everyone except her four friends, one of them being “k-gay,” which means gay for Kelby.
Her story especially affected me because as a Christian, I was taught that this behavior is sin. Even though I support gay rights, I never imagined what it would be like for a girl to come out to parents who shared that same belief.
Other than Kelby Johnson, we got a glimpse of the lives of four other bully victims: Alex Libby Hopkins, Ja’meya Jackson, Ty Field-Smalley, and Tyler Long.
As a student that has been on both sides of the bullying line, this movie impacted me morally and mentally. The stories these kids told and the hurt you could see in their eyes and face spoke volumes that statistics never could.
A parent of a deceased victim began a program, unintentially on Facebook, named “Stand for the Silent.” This program is made to unite the bullied in an attempt to put a stop to nationwide bullying. You can check them out at: standforthesilent.org
