'Bully' documentary to be released as unrated
It’s a documentary every kid in America should see. But not everyone will. We can thank the Motion Picture Association of America for that.
“Bully,” a 2011 documentary about the nationwide epidemic of bullying, was originally given an R-rating because of its language. Well, what do you except — it’s a film about bullying. And the MPAA slaps the 17 and older standard on any film that contains more than two F-bombs.
Though the Weinstein Company documentary will be released to the public as unrated, the change in term is not much better than the R-rating. Individual theaters will have to decide whether or not they choose to screen the film.
With bullying on the rise — not to mention cyberbullying — it leaves us with the question of what is being done on a national scale to curb this horrific trend?
Sure, there’s the possibility of anti-bullying legislation, but how will the school-mandated policies be in enforced if there is no money?
Documentaries often act as a precursor of monumental change. And “Bully,” a documentary that follows five students who face bullying on a daily basis, is the spark this country needs to show students and schools that bullying is a problem that cannot be swept under the rug.
