When silence isn’t golden

“Bullied to Silence” premieres in Phoenix this Saturday (Photo: Tami Pivnick)

Another film about bullying is making its way to Phoenix this weekend, with two screenings at the Phoenix Art Museum. Its title, “Bullied to Silence,” was inspired by those who “choose not to have a voice” and those who’ve been silenced by suicide in the aftermath of bullying, according to writer and producer Susan Broude.

The film features people, including some in Arizona, whose lives have been touched by bullying. For each of them, reflects Broude, where was a psychological component. Fear. Anxiety. Low self esteem. Depression. It’s important, she says, to help both the bullied and the bully.

One story recounted in the film is that of an identical twin in Maine who “became a cutter” during fifth grade. Before Broude interviewed the 15-year-old teen, she’d been hospitalized with anxiety and depression for several weeks. In talking with her, Broude first heard of the taunting term “emo” that’s used by kids to describe peers who seem dark or disturbed somehow.

Another shares the journey of a boy “who had lots of OCD traits” and would sometimes bite himself. He too was hospitalized for “severe anxiety and depression,” but went on to become an “American Idol” semifinalist. He’s working now, says Broude, to show people they can get through it. “The only answer isn’t suicide,” she adds.

The movie is appropriate for youth ages nine and above, according to Broude, who adds that children that young have taken their own lives. It does have some strong language, but Broude says they worked hard to make the film “school appropriate.” It’s directed by Tami Pivnick.

The film focuses on verbal and cyberbullying. More than 90% of bullying cases start with verbal bullying, according to Broude, who adds that most of it can be stopped if someone intervenes assertively (rather than aggressively) within 60 seconds.

Too often, says Broude, adults model bullying for the youth around them. Parents do it. Teachers do it. Politicians do it. And TV shows are full of it. If we want to stop bullying, we’ll have to be the change. “Watch what you’re saying,” says Broude. Validate those who tell you they’ve been bullied. And step in immediately.

Broude notes that “Bullied to Silence” explores bullying “around the country and the world” — featuring youth and adults whose diversity of race, religion, sexual orientation and more represents “the full spectrum of humanity.” Bullying happens in our own back yard, but also far beyond it.

She’s hoping the film will forge a connection with those who see it, inspiring them to get involved and make a difference. Learn more at www.purplepeople.com and www.bulliedtosilence.com.

— Lynn

Note: Click here for information on the Teen Lifeline suicide hotline in Arizona and here to learn about the Arizona Suicide Prevention Coalition. Phoenix screenings are being presented by GLSEN/Phoenix and the Scottdale International Film Festival.

Coming up: New plays by Arizona women

The Bully Plays

Makers of the film “Bully” have announced that it’ll open March 30 in select theaters, and make its way to Harkins Theatres Camelview 5 in Scottsdale on April 13. Bullying is also the subject of a new collection of short works for young actors called “The Bully Plays,” compiled and edited by Linda Habjan and published in 2011 by Dramatic Publishing.

“The Bully Plays” includes two dozen 10-minute plays addressing bullying “between and among young people, their parents and siblings” from various perspectives — the bullies, the bullied and the bystanders. Issues addressed include gender, sexuality, physical condition, social status and more — plus ways technology has changed the nature and scope of bullying.

“Bullying is aggressive behavior intended to harm or show power over another person that is repeared over time,” according to Susan Sugerman, M.D., M.P.H., an adolescent medicine physician who wrote the book’s forward. Sugerman is also president and co-founder of Girls to Women Health and Wellness in Dallas. “Bullies,” she adds, “have a strong need to show their dominance over others or to get their own way.”

“Victims of bullying tend to be children who are less popular or new to a situation,” according to Sugerman. Youth with academic, physical, or social ‘differences’ may be at particular risk of being bullied — as are those who don’t conform to gender norms. “Victims,” adds Sugerman, “tend not to get along well with others, have few friends, and have low self-esteem.”

But why choose plays as a way to tackle the topic? “One way to approach such a universal problem,” says Habjan, “is to get it out into the open and provide young people with strategies to deal with it in creative and empowering ways.” And Sugerman concurs that “When art can be used to improve, not just imitate, life, we are all better off.”

Two of the 24 pieces in “The Bully Plays” were written by playwrights-in residence at Childsplay, a Tempe-based theater company specializing in “professional theatre for young audiences and families” currently celebrating its 35th season.

“Gasp, Farrah & Monster” was written by José Cruz González, whose “Tomás and the Library Lady” (based on Pat Mora’s book) opens April 7 at Tempe Center for the Arts. “The Bully Pulpit” was written by Dwayne Hartford, whose “The Color of Stars” opens a world premiere run at TCA April 22.

The diversity of plays included in this collection mirrors the breadth and depth of real life experiences facing today’s children and teens. There’s school violence, cyberbullying, suicide and more. Settings include ancient Greece, a teen girl’s bedroom, a school on lockdown, a circus, a courtroom and others. Each play lists characters, setting and time — making staging the works easy in theater, classroom or community settings. Cast size varies from two to 25+.

Titles include “Bystander Blues” (Trish Lindberg), “Flash Mob” (Elizabeth Wong), “The New Kid” (Richard Dresser) and “What Goes Around” (D.W. Gregory). Though written to be performed by and for young audiences, they’re also helpful for introducing student to reading works of theater and inspiring youth to try their own hand at playwriting. Most importantly, they serve as conversation starters.

Long before “bullying” landed front and center in the national dialogue, Mary Pipher, Ph.D. addressed tough issues facing adolescent girls in “Reviving Ophelia,” the first of eight books filled with insights gleaned from cultural anthropology and clinical psychology. Pipher describes “The Bully Plays” as “a tasty antidote to our toxic teen culture.”

“This collection of plays is funny, sad, powerful and important,” says Pipher. “Bullying is a catch-phrase for treating others as less than human. All of these plays help teenagers develop their moral imagination and see that there is no us/them. There is only  us.”

— Lynn

Note: For additional bullying prevention resources, visit Teaching Tolerance and the Anti-Defamation League. Click here for details about a March 30 screening of the film “Bully” at the Phoenix Film Festival.

Coming up: A teacher tale, Student art exhibits

Update: Click here to read “The Defenders” by Sharon L. Green. The article, which appears in the May/June 2012 issue of “American Theatre” magazine, addresses theater works that tackle bullying. 5/2/12

Art, film and bullying prevention

Learn how you can be a part of "No Name-Calling Week" 2011

The Anti-Defamation League is partnering with Scottsdale Community College for the sixth year of a film series titled “The Many Faces of Hate.”

The film “Bullied: A Student, a School and a Case That Made History” will be presented at SCC on Wed, Jan 26, from 6:30-8:30pm in the Turquoise Room.

The film recounts the story of “a student who stood up to his anti-gay tormentors and filed a federal lawsuit against his high school district.”

It’s free and open to the public, and includes a moderated post-film discussion.

The film is being presented as part of “No Name-Calling Week” — a national initiative inspired by a young adult novel titled “The Misfits.” This year’s “No Name-Calling Week” takes place Jan 24-28.

The project is headed by the “No Name-Calling Week Coalition” — created by the Gay Lesbian Straight Education Network (GLSEN) and Simon & Schuster’s Children’s Publishing (a company I call to mind each time I hear a Carly Simon song).

The project includes “a week of educational and art activities aimed at stopping name calling and bullying in schools” — which leaves me wondering about grown-up plans to curtail their own bad behavior.

I’m not so sure we set the best example as we cut each other off in traffic, gossip about friends over dinner or hurl wild accusations during political discourse. I’d rather see folks armed with crayons than with guns.

Individual students in grades K-12 are invited to participate in the “No Name-Calling Week 2011 Creative Expression Contest” before the Mon, Feb 28 deadline. Grown-ups, of course, are always free to color on their own.

The contest is “an opportunity for students to submit essays, poetry, music, original artwork, or other pieces that convey their experiences and feelings about name-calling, and their ideas for putting a stop to verbal bullying in their schools and communities.”

James Howe's book has much to offer tweens, teens and adults

The statistics about bullying are sobering, according to Melissa Medvin, associate regional director of the Anti-Defamation League’s Arizona regional office.

Medvin points to GLSEN studies showing that 65% of LGBT teens or those perceived to be LGBT report being verbally or physically harassed.

About one-third of the general student population reports being bullied.

Often bullying is based on perceived differences in race, religion, sexual orientation or physical characteristics. 

Medvin notes that victims of bullying have increased rates of absenteeism, use of dangerous and illegal substances, and suicide/bullycide — as well as lower grades and lower graduation rates. We all have a stake in reducing bullying in our communities.

Additional films in the series will be shown at SCC on Feb 16, March 23 and April 27. All are documentaries dealing with the subject of hate, and all are free and open to the public.

In the meantime, banish bullying from your own behavior. You can’t expect your children to do the right thing if you’re not leading by example.

— Lynn

Note: Click here to learn about free “Bullied” kits available (one per school) from Teaching Tolerance — a program of the Southern Poverty Law Center. Click here to learn more about GLSEN in Phoenix.

Coming up: Puppetry with a purpose