MovieChat Forums > Bully (2012) Discussion > Had no interest whatsoever in the black ...

Had no interest whatsoever in the black girl storyline


I feel bad for kids who are bullied, but when they fight back with violence I stop caring about them. That whole storyline was a waste of time. I didn't care about that family at all. They didn't even go into how she was bullied.

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I definitely wish that she had more exposure in the movie, because it was hard to connect with anything that she may have been going through. After seeing what Alex (specifically) went through and hearing what some of the other kids went through, I am willing to put my faith in the idea that she must have gone through some pretty bad tormenting if she was driven far enough to bring a gun on the school bus. I honestly never got the vibe that she was just a thin skinned kid that couldn't handle anything.

The thing that got me the most about her story was when the cop said that he didn't think there was any amount of bullying unless the other kids were beating on her that could drive a person to take the actions she did. And I think that one statement right there illustrated a big part of the problem with the issue of bullying. The people who have been tasked with helping victims of bullying often don't have a clue how bad it is and cannot empathize with victims.

"You're going to need a bigger boat." - Chief Brody

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I think it was there to reinforce one of the messages of the movie, which is that once a kid is bullied enough, they will do crazy things, especially if those things give them power over their bullies. One of the kids in the movies said "It made me want to become the bully.", I think that girl's story shows that bullied kids start to do things like that, and that it's another bad thing caused by bullying.

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This is exactly what I think too. These kids are bullied to the point that some kill themselves. Why is it a surprise that they try and take the power back with either violence or a threat of violence. Did it ever say her gun was loaded or was it just to scare? Its still not good either way but I was just curious. I wish they did more with her story too. I think its an important factor in all of this.

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@epitaph_78 I was interested when the officer talked about the charges:
22 counts of kidnapping(?!)
22 counts of attempted aggravated assault
45 total felony charges

And that she could (I guess if all the charges were made) go to prison for hundreds of years. You could actually shoot and kill someone and go to prison for less than that.

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She didn't lose she just snap as not one person did anything to help her. she just lost control and it can happen to people. to say you don't care makes you seem a bit ignorant and racist. maybe for the fact she was in jail? maybe the fact most school wouldn't allowe it.

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I think her story line was a cautionary tale. This is what can happen, this is how it escalates if parents, school, students don't step up to the plate and stop bullying. Either suicide or violence.

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I was just so relieved to find out that, in fact, the gun was never fired, and no one was shot. Though we didn't see a whole lot about her, I felt very sorry for Ja'Meya, and found it a worthwhile story to tell, especially given the frequent advice to bullied kids to "just stand up for yourself, let those kids know you won't put up with it!" Well, she followed that line of advice, when she couldn't get help from the authorities. The truth is, that's often bad advice, even absent firearms. Yes, sometimes it works out to a degree for a kid (though, how effective is it in changing the bullies' behaviors against other kids?). But it can get a kid even more seriously hurt, or get them in big trouble with the authorities who should have been dealing with the crap on their behalf; then they have a bad record, maybe suspension, maybe a criminal record. I think people who see that as a solution are often ignorant of the degree, diversity, and omnipresence of bullying behaviors some kids (and even adults) are dealing with. It's very simplistic, shallow thinking, and Ja'Meya's story makes a good point about that.




Multiplex: 100+ shows a day, NONE worth watching. John Sayles' latest: NO distribution. SAD.

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What I found fascinating about her was that her possession of the gun was not questioned. Isn't the mother who is portrayed as a grieving, loving mother who turns to God and community for support releasing her poor, victimized daughter who just snapped under pressure and, to be honest, the whole stunt didn't hurt anyone.
Now, how in the hell did that girl get her hand on the gun in the first place? Where are the laws that would punish careless gun owners? Have we not heard enough stories about toddlers, young children and teens shooting each other accidentally or on purpose? I whole-heartedly agree with the message of the documentary but I was furious no one even hinted at the mother's recklessness and homicidal negligence. So this particular girl had a happy-ish ending but what if it didn't? What if the girl fired and killed a bunch of other kids? I bet THEN everyone will start criticizing but at what cost?
The girl is a poor victim of bullies and extremely bad parenting (which is possibly the reason the girl got bullied in the first place).

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