Bullying has become a very serious problem in our society. It has long been dismissed as minor and oftentimes inconsequential. Sadly, it has come to the forefront of current events. Moreover, bullying is commonly seen children. A recent interview with the director of the movie, Thomas Keith, Bullied sheds light on how serious the problem has become.
The effects of bullying sometimes have lifelong effect on a person and is often generational. Thomas Keith, “Bullied” director, reveals the history behind the film and perhaps is the ways of which to resolve or at least combat the problem of bullying.
“Unfortunately, I was working on another film and in a production meeting, I mentioned one of the things we have to bear is the consequence to people’s lives,” Thomas Keith said. “I realized this and how certain groups are marginalized. It got me to thinking how people are said are bullied, he continued.
After realizing that a stand-alone film on bullying was needed, Mr. Keith interviewed as many experts from around the country as he could. One person, Kurt Smalley, founder of Stand for the Silent, a support network for families who have lost a loved one to bullying, was very instrumental in offering input on the film. Mr. Smalley lost his child to suicide. His son had been severely bullied in school.
Further research and interviews resulted in Mr. Keith developing an expert panel on bullying. He stated that “a great number of people do not recognize bullying when it happens”. School district members, educators, and community leaders need to see the film, particularly the last fifteen minutes of it because it goes through options used in combating bullying,” Mr. Keith said.
Studies have shown that there has been a decrease in bullying when methods such as empathy, compassion, is used. Graduation rates go up, suicides due to bullying, go down. The learning environments become safe and comfortable for the victims of bullying. The movie states that an estimated 200,000 kids each year are bullied to point of going to an emergency room. Some bullying victims, the movie noted have pre-existing conditions and that antagonizing, bullying can serve as triggers for far worse behaviors. Mr. Keith offered that government and community leaders can help by modeling a positive exhibit for youth and young adults.
The movie Bullied traces the effects of bullying and brings home the reality of what can happened if ignored or unchecked. Thomas Keith is an educator who travels the country lecturing on the problem of bullying and can be reached at TomKeith.com or via [email protected]
For more information on Kurt Smalley’s organization, Stand for the Silent, go to https://standforthesilent.org/
Bullied will be available exclusively on TUBI Feb 12, 2021 from Global Digital Releasing.
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