MovieChat Forums > Bully (2012) Discussion > Basically,don't raise your kid in a Red ...

Basically,don't raise your kid in a Red State

posted 11 years ago by ramalho_85
29 replies | jump to latest

As a non-American that's what I got from the movie.Yeah I suppose going to school in a poor area of a major urban city must be more dangerous but those Bible belt places have a knack for squashing any sort of diversity,distinct critical thinking skills,and a constant goal for greater conformity and hegemony.Maybe it's the Jock system you have in the US where a student can basically advance academically on his athletic performance alone instead of actual grades in his/her studies...Or maybe I'm just talking out of my ass,but I do know what is to be raised in a small town,albeit these class stratifications were not as pronounced as they are in the US;the jock,miss popular and the geek could fraternize without repercussions to their social status.But you know what they say:"small towns,small minds".I know I'm coming off as a snob but all the people that I knew that left or were curious to see the rest of the world(cliché,I know)appeared to become a lot more tolerant,the ones that never went and were never exposed to different types of thinking didn't grew at all,even with the internet they never veer off to places that challenge their world view and remain in a...I don't know shell?I hope I'm not coming off as a sort of New Age Hippie(even I don't have tolerance for quackery) but I would like to know if any of this has any validity

[–] ilikepurplexd 11 years ago

Why the fvck does everything have to boil down to damn politics. The film showed SOME of the bullying that goes on around the country, while most of the states happened to be red. Doesn't mean it doesnt go on in other states. I grew up/live in NYC and I, along with many other kids here were bullied during middle school/ high school. This is not exclusive to any location. Kids can be cruel little a-holes and that sadly will never change.

There are three types of people in this world- People who can count, and People who cant...

[–] Amills23 11 years ago

Yeah its not like all the major school shootings are in blue and bigger cities oh wait.

[–] belaglik 11 years ago

Yeah, you're talking out your ass somewhat, but I don't completely blame you for that if most of what you understand about America is based on what you see in the media. One of the major contentions that I have with this film is that it not only focuses mostly on red states (though I get the feeling that the Jackson family might have voted for Obama--just a hunch), but all the families represented are working class as if bullying is not also a middle and upper class problem. Even children of celebrities who attend exclusive private schools have said they were victims of bullies.

Of course, the problem is often worse at underfunded schools in less desirable areas where they cannot attract higher quality personnel and end up with dolts like the principal of Alex's school. Good lord, that woman shouldn't be allowed to run a daycare center, let alone a middle school! Not that I could do her job better, but at least I am not completely clueless about my own limitations.

As I noted in another post, bullying at inner-city "ghetto" schools is often written off as gang activity, though the victims of these crimes often do not have any gang affiliation.

[–] emaxwell1313 11 years ago

When it comes to bullying and bullying tv tropes. High school movies and dramas would often have you believe that bullying is almost universally more severe and vicious in Red State, conservative Christian small town type areas than on the coasts, particularly in towns that have little else going for them except sports successes. I think many movies like to show religious Christian types and successful athletes as being the most close minded, judgmental and sadistic bullies. Even though this movie was a documentary, I am at the very least skeptical of the notion that having the bullying cases take placer in traditional, conservative, small town places was not a coincidence. Nor do I understand why New York, Southern Florida and California and New Jersey among other places were so overlooked. To me it definitely suggested the possibility of a political or social agenda here.

Which is unfortunate as this actually was a really well made documentary that actually was helpful in shining a spotlight on key issues, including the horrific ineptitude of the school administrators. The Adults Are Useless tv trope is sadly not *that* unrealistic.

[–] President_Reagan 11 years ago

basically thats ridiculous. This isn't a political thing, and you shouldn't try to make it one. I'm from the reddest state of all, beautiful Texas, and the younger generation here is not like that.

[–] Mannequin 11 years ago

Bullying exists everywhere, from the poorest and worst, to the nicest of areas, in middle and upper class. It is absolutely NOT relegated to a single district or region in the country. The expression "kids will be kids" is true in the sense that behaviorism is the same wherever you go. You'll find bullying in your own country, your own region, and to blame it on some kind of social or economic status is a huge mistake.

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I rate it all. http://www.imdb.com/user/ur2136437/ratings

[–] 06986 11 years ago

The OP is utterly clueless about America and red/blue states. Try going to a public school in New Jersey, Boston, New York, LA, Oakland, Chicago, Detroit, Cleveland, Philadelphia, etc and see how nice and well mannered those kids are in those blue states.

[–] ndsopranorocker 10 years ago

Red state has nothing to do with it. Pennsylvania is blue, and even its most liberal parts are just as violent. Take it from someone with the experience.

[–] DroverChicago 10 years ago

Uhm... I live in one of the bluest cities in one of the bluest states in America. And I'll be goddamned if I'm going to let my kids go to the local high school, where being bullied would be the least of their day-to-day concerns. The local high school actually has a police holding cell. That pretty much says it all.