What happens when you take a group of minority kids after school and give them the resources to tell a story through video and their own music (hip-hop) about a problem that they and children and teenagers live with everyday, everywhere? This is the question Ray Thomas Jr. and his Xposure Foundation have been working on for the past nine years. Unfettered by test prep, standards, and curriculum goals, Xposure's programs give kids a voice and the tools to address issues that impact them the most. One of their latest products is a 51 minute film "Dear Bully: The Tables Have Been Turned," which was premiered at a local Multiplex yesterday here in the town of Greenburgh, NY, where I live. Note, Xposure has received 5 NY Emmy nominations for earlier films.
It is not without irony that I viewed this insightful film by and about children and teens addressing this problem while the oval office is currently occupied by a bully, whose bully pulpit is Twitter and television; reality media that expose his total lack of empathy.
"Dear Bully" works on many levels. First there is humor. A music video of "Big Bad Butch the Bully Johnson" is a cartoon depicting a hulking monster with an evil eye who is so bad "that when he looks in the mirror he scares himself."
It is not without irony that I viewed this insightful film by and about children and teens addressing this problem while the oval office is currently occupied by a bully, whose bully pulpit is Twitter and television; reality media that expose his total lack of empathy.
"Dear Bully" works on many levels. First there is humor. A music video of "Big Bad Butch the Bully Johnson" is a cartoon depicting a hulking monster with an evil eye who is so bad "that when he looks in the mirror he scares himself."
"JUST HOW BAD IS BUTCH THE BULLY JOHNSON?" is the question asked and answered in this over-the-top poke-in-the-eye catchy rap.
Live action shows the many deeds bullies do: tripping, shoving, knocking books out of their victims' hands, helping themselves to lunch money. The camera focuses on the victims while the audience sees the backs of the bullies, their faces obscured for the most part, slightly dehumanizing them. The hero of the story, "Ace" is so authentically played by Malcolm Small, now in high school, that they have footage of him when he actually was in grade school in a flashback showing his apprehension as he entered his new school (at the urging of his mother) anticipating an unwelcoming response from his classmates as the "NEW KID, " a common target of bullies.
Ace is a leader and he organizes other victims to figure out how to fight bullies. He encourages the others to give vent to their anger and their natural desire to hit them back harder. But Ace tells them that "violence begets violence" so they must find another way. Since Ace is a good student, he is bullied into revealing his test paper for the bullies to copy. His vengeance is sweet and satisfying (no spoiler from me!)
In his dreams, Ace becomes president of the US and is about to sign an anti-bullying bill, having grasped the concept that when it comes to bullies vs. victims "we have the numbers." I couldn't help but think of the post I wrote last week, Putting Citizenship Back into the Curriculum where Dr. David Liu spoke of the enormous surge of civic engagement as a reaction to our Bully-in-Chief. Xposure kids are manifestly in the spirit of the times.
The live action is interspersed with fully-rendered music videos that are at times poignant, at times joyously uninhibited, and always full of youthful energy. Ray Thomas's fingerprints are all over every part of this production so it has the personal integrity that connects with humanity at large. The film's anti-bullying law requires that victims write their bullies a letter, which bullies are required to read before they enter mandatory "empathy training for bullies." Here's a sample of the verse:
Ace is a leader and he organizes other victims to figure out how to fight bullies. He encourages the others to give vent to their anger and their natural desire to hit them back harder. But Ace tells them that "violence begets violence" so they must find another way. Since Ace is a good student, he is bullied into revealing his test paper for the bullies to copy. His vengeance is sweet and satisfying (no spoiler from me!)
In his dreams, Ace becomes president of the US and is about to sign an anti-bullying bill, having grasped the concept that when it comes to bullies vs. victims "we have the numbers." I couldn't help but think of the post I wrote last week, Putting Citizenship Back into the Curriculum where Dr. David Liu spoke of the enormous surge of civic engagement as a reaction to our Bully-in-Chief. Xposure kids are manifestly in the spirit of the times.
The live action is interspersed with fully-rendered music videos that are at times poignant, at times joyously uninhibited, and always full of youthful energy. Ray Thomas's fingerprints are all over every part of this production so it has the personal integrity that connects with humanity at large. The film's anti-bullying law requires that victims write their bullies a letter, which bullies are required to read before they enter mandatory "empathy training for bullies." Here's a sample of the verse:
My take-away of "Dear Bully" is pure empowerment: "If they don't like you for being yourself, be yourself even more," so say the students of BeYou High. This is must-see for kids everywhere; it is a non-polemic, non-didactic, non-preachy communication that is guaranteed to transmit its potent message to a rapt audience.
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