Final Paper EPSY 5150
My goal in writing this paper is to take a look at movies and explore how they, especially those dealing with subject matter that young people are struggling with in school, serve to influence our culture today. Teen pregnancy, bullying, cliques and other teen issues have recently been prominent in current mainstream movies. I've decided to explore how these and other genres of films could be used by counselors, educators, and parents. As a teacher, I have experienced the questioning looks that peers and others give when you say you’re having your class watch a movie. The old notion that you’re taking the easy way out is never far from someone’s thought, even if it is in jest. It reminds me of the poor image some Phy. Ed. teachers have because of the old school teacher who has two captains pick teams and then rolls out the ball. I’ve tried to explore some different ideas about how to various films can be useful.
Teen Pregnancy
Three recent films have dealt with the issue of pregnancy; Juno, Bella, and Knocked Up. Juno the only one that actually involves a teen dealing with the issue of pregnancy, but I feel the other two offer interesting aspects.
Bella (2008)
This film is lesser known than the other two. It stars Edwardo Verastegui as a former soccer star turned waiter in a small restaurant in New York. Co-star, Tammy Blanchard, plays Nina, who is a waitress at the same restaurant. She is fired about the same time she finds out she is pregnant. It is an interesting story and in my opinion very well done. It won the People’s Choice Award at the Toronto film festival. This was the same award that Chariots of Fire won that gave it recognition leading to an Oscar. Obviously, Bella didn’t share the same level of success and didn’t receive any Oscar attention. It was picked up and promoted by pro-life groups, even though the director, Alejandro Monteverde, did not have that idea in mind. He wanted to make a love story. In an interview from the LA Times, Edwardo Verastegui said “my goal is to elevate and heal, and respect the dignity of Latinos in the media”. He felt strongly about making a positive movie rather than a typical gang banger Latin lover type of movie. He also delivered a keynote speech at the Whitehouse as part of adoption day. I would recommend this film for several reasons. Although it is rated PG13, it is appropriate for most any age level. It takes a look at a young woman in a desperate situation even though she is probably in her twenties.
Knocked Up (2007)
This film is rated R and very raunchy, in my opinion. Like Bella, the main characters are a little bit older. It deals with an unexpected pregnancy. Since it is a comedy, you know what you’re in for. The mother, Allison, played by Sue Smith, finds she’s pregnant after a one night stand. She decides to keep the baby. One interesting twist is that she and the father start a strange sort of relationship. It takes an interesting look at the relationship in this situation. I would not typically recommend this movie but it does have some redeemable qualities. The father, played by Seth Rogen, is an out of work, pot smoking, illegal immigrant with a plan to make a website his money-maker. He is so unprepared to be a parent it is funny. Unfortunately, I see that situation in St. Paul time and time again. For an older student who has watched the movie, I think it would be interesting to discuss the movie in terms or preparation for parenthood. Although the movie is funny and would provide material for discussion, because of the content I wouldn’t recommend using it in school.
Juno (2008)
Here is a movie that would be a wonderful opportunity to use in a variety of ways in both junior and senior high.
It provides a glimpse of what it might be like to be pregnant in high school. It certainly provides the opening for a lot of conversation. What would you do if you were in Juno’s situation? How would your family react? Diablo Cody won the Oscar of best screenplay. She reported that she wrote most of it in a Target café in the Twin Cities. I think that local tie in would make it even more appealing to use with students living in the Twin Cities.
The role of the bully has been prominent in the majority of our lives. At some time or another, most people have encountered a bully, unless they're always the one doing the bullying. Hollywood has made countless movies that deal with bullies in one way or another. My Bodyguard is certainly one of the classics where it is a central theme. Others include the Karate Kid, A Christmas Story, the Back to the Future triology, etc. Peter Parker is even the victim of bullies in Spiderman, at least for awhile. Recently, some movies have taken a more serious look at bullying which can be comical but also can be deadly serious.
Mean Girls (2004)
Mean Girls came out in 2004 starring Lindsey Lohan. We were encouraged to see this movie, as school counselors, during a course at the U last year. Our professor thought it did a good job of capturing the way girls treat each other in school. My first impression was that I felt the movie was not very significant in comparison to some others I saw while working on this project. There were some realistic aspects, like the burn book and the representation of the queen bees known as "the plastics". After reading an article in the NY Times about Rosalind Wiseman, I started to feel different about the movie. Wiseman ran a group for girls designed to combat the mean behavior depicted in Mean Girls. She is co-founder and president of the Empower Program, which is a non-profit organization designed to stop the youth culture of violence (McCracken, 2008). I suppose Mean Girls achieved it's purpose. It was a successful film and really put Lindsay Lohan on the map. It followed a familiar formula in many bully movies where the bully reaps what he/she sows. I suppose that is what people want to see. I would stop short of recommending the movie to anyone but I do feel it does possess some positive qualities if one was inclined to see it.
Wiseman's Empower class is about ostracism, cliques, and gossip (Talbet, 2002). Mean Girls definitely deals with all three.
Bully 911: Stop Being a Victim
I was not able to view the whole DVD but several self-defense clips are available on youtube. On the Bully 911 website, three rules are prominent: The first rule is to use your words, the second rule is to run away, the third rule ....you learn self-defense. Johnny Gyro and his wife Noel created Defense Incorporated to teach self-defense skills. They also created the Bully 911 program where parents and kids can work together when confronted with a volatile situation. Although Johnny Gyro was bullied himself when he was younger, he took up the martial arts and eventually became world karate champion seven times. On his web site he says "I am the first to suggest that all fights be avoided, but it is equally ignorant that your child will not be subject to some form of bullying in the course of time they spend at school. Therefore, if it were to get violent, students need to learn some basic self-defense to make sure that no one can hurt them." They sell the Bully DVD for $24.95. It seems like a good program but I have never heard of anyone who has used it. I thought it has potential to be a helpful resource. As I said, there are many youtube clips available, as well as a website at www.bully911.com/about.htm
Bully (2001)
Another film that I wasn't able to see is titled "Bully". This film is based on true events in Florida in 1993 where a group of youths actually killed an alleged bully, Bobby Kent. I was able to procure a copy of the book from the library. I read it in about a week. Jim Schultz wrote a book that chronicled the events called "Does anyone deserve to die? Bully: A true story of high school revenge". The book starts with vivid descriptions of the bizarre life style of several high school students living in Florida. Two boys, Bobby and Marty, were steroid using, women abusing, muscle heads. The author describes Bobby's brutality towards Marty over the course of many years of friendship. At times, Marty tried to distance himself from Bobby. The best solution he came up with was to try and convince his parents to move away. Bobby and Marty met some women, Lisa and Ali, at their sandwich making job. Eventually, Lisa realized that the only way she could get Marty away from Bobby was to kill him. It sounds incredibly simplistic in a disturbing and infantile way, and it was. Unbelievably, Marty goes along with the plan as does several other friends. Bobby certainly had some problems, but the group never even really approached using any reasonable problem solving strategies. I thought it was interesting that they referred to movies and television for examples when they contemplated how to accomplish their crime.
Bobby definitely had some problems, especially if Shultze's book is reasonably accurate. I did some research on the net after reading it and found some court transcripts of the case. I didn't read it all but the main details were exactly the same as the book. Bobby was a bully. Maybe not the typical school bully, but a bully non-the-less. Most of the young people in the book were high school drop outs. That was one thing that Bobby didn't have in common. He had planned to finish high school and he was working on a realistic career plan with his father. He raped, beat, lied, stole, manipulated, took illegal drugs, and abused his friends, and he was killed by a bunch of young kids who didn't appear to comprehend what they had done. Lisa Connelly, Marty's girlfriend, was the one who thought up the whole plan. After she had been in jail for three weeks, she told her lawyer "I've done the jail thing" and expected him to get her off. The group of about eight were all sentenced to various prison sentences. The climax of the book is Marty's trial where the prosecutor is seeking the death penalty. He did receive the death penalty for his role in the killing. I found that the decision was appealed and that he is now serving a life sentence.
One other aspect of the case I found so interesting was the defense attorney's plan to use "urban psychosis" as a defense for the murder. Apparently, there was a case where that was used as a defense. Basically, urban psychosis is like post-traumatic stress disorder and is brought on by constant exposure to violence. I guess the person would not be held responsible for their crime because of this "psychosis". Anyway, Shultz said the defense lawyers dropped the idea when word got out and it became a big joke because Marty and the rest of the kids were all from good neighborhoods.
I think this story merits some attention from educators, school counselors, etc. but I 'm not really sure of the best way to use this book/movie. The movie is rated R, but there is also an unrated version. It is much too graphic to show in schools and I would hesitate to recommend it to any student. The story, though, would be an interesting one to discuss for several reasons: the problem solving strategies that could have been used, the need for and lack of adult supervision in this situation, the influence of movies and television, and strategies for dealing with bullies. As a school counselor, I feel that it would be interesting to use this story with a group dealing with bullying. I could give a short synopsis of the book and show a video clip or two followed by a discussion and/or group work. Due to the horrific and mature elements, the maturity level would have to be taken into consideration.
Mean Creek (2004)
Mean Creek was the best of the bully movies I watched as part of this project. I happen to be telling some friends, fellow movie lovers, about the project I was working on. They told me that Mean Creek would be a great one to see. The bully in the movie was named George Tooney. He mentioned that he had a learning disability in the movie. As the movie went on, you could tell that George also had some social skill difficulties. It seems as though the writer of the film, Jacob Aaron Estes, must have had some familiarity with children with special needs. I have not seen such a realistic portrayal in a movie in working with youth with disabilities for almost 20 years. George was invited along on a birthday boat trip of the victim of his bullying. On the trip, George was charming at times. He even gave Rory Culkin's character, Sam, a present. You got the feeling he was a lonely bully who now, with a real opportunity to make friends, wasn't such a bad guy. Just like a person with a social skill difficulties, it wouldn't be too long before he insulted or annoyed someone. There was one scene that I found particularly interesting. One of the boys asked George why he hit him in the past. George said it was because the boy probably did something to give him a reason. The boy said there was no reason. George couldn't comprehend that. Then Sam chipped in by saying that George does mean things without reason all the time. George fired back with a mean insult.
I found an interview with the writer/director online called Creative Revenge. Although I didn't find anything about Jacob Aaron Estis's knowledge or experience with children with disabilities, he did have some first hand experience with a bully. Jacob told the story of a bully he met on the basketball court when he was 24 years old. He said the bully had a lot of emotional problems and was very verbally abusive. For some reason, he targeted Jacob and the bullying continued. Eventually, Jacob left the court and resorted to plotting his revenge in the form of a screen play. One of the lines in the movie, "no one talks to people that way George" came directly from the basketball court bully. When Warren Curry asked Jacob how to deal with a bully, he has some insightful thoughts. He said that people need to think things through carefully before acting and try to resolve things in a non-violent way. That's the best way to approach it (Curry, 2004).
Roger Ebert wrote a favorable review of the film. He compared it to the River's Edge and Bully as recent movies that deal accurately and painfully with the consequences of peer driven behavior (Ebert, 2004). Although I havn't seen River's Edge yet, I read that, like Bully, it is based on true events. Although Mean Creek wasn't based on actual events, it looked has a much more realistic feel than Mean Girls. Ebert goes on the say that this movie would be an invaluable tool for moral discussions in schools, for discussions of situational ethics and refusing to go along with the crowd. The movie was rated R because of multiple uses of the F-word. Ebert felt the movie used dialogue that was accurate and seemed disappointed that it received an R rating. I was surprised at the rating as well. The film could still be used as an effective teaching tool because there are many clips that could be shown in isolation. Mean Creek may not be for everyone because there are some disturbing situations. The trailer is attached to give a feel for the movie.
Rats and Bullies: The Dawn Marie Wesley story (2004)
Rats and Bullies tells the story of a 14 year old young girl who committed suicide a by hanging herself in her bedroom with a dog leash. She left a suicide note naming three bullies, also friends, whose continual harassment led her to take her own life. In an unprecedented court case, the three girls were prosecuted in Canada. They used restorative justice for one of the bullies. I was not able to find a copy of the film to watch.
Roberta McMillan wrote and produced a documentary exploring the case. The film takes a look at female bullying and ways of preventing the awful end it can cause. Dawn-Marie's mother, Cindy Wesley, helped form an organization called Parents Against Violence Everywhere (PAVE) in response to this tragedy. I tried to find more information about PAVE, but all I found were a lot of other places that use that same acronym. It must either be a smaller organization without a website or non-existent.
One of the girls was found guilty of threats and criminal harassment. One was acquitted and the third also found guilty. Dawn-Marie's suicide note said "If I try to get help, it will get worse. They are always looking for a new person to beat up and they are the toughest girls. If I ratted, they would get suspended and there would be no stopping them. I love you all so much" (wikipedia, 2008). I hope to find this film because I would like to use it in my job as a counselor. Even though the story has been told on Oprah and the John Walsh show, it doesn't seem like very many people know of it.
The method of sentencing elected by the victim's family was extraordinary. The victim and one of the accused was Aboriginal so the victim's family requested that they used a First Nations Sentencing Circle. During this event, the family members of both the victim and the accused as well as the Judge, the Prosecutor, the Defendant's attorney and the Defendant, sat and passed an eagle feather twice around the circle, whoever held the feather had a chance to speak. This provided an opportunity for the victim's family and the accused to talk directly to each other.
Other Tough Issues
Another category of films I chose to look at was films that deal with the issues our youth are facing right now, i.e. drugs, home life, peer relationships. I watched a few films from some different eras. Since I had never watched Blackboard Jungle, I took the opportunity to view this classic film from the 50's. I also watched Suburbia (1974), River's Edge (1986), Heathers (1984), and Thirteen (2003). Heathers certainly fit into the bullying category as do the others to an extent.
Suburbia (1974)
Penelope Spheeris wrote and directed Suburbia. I found the movie, although dated, interesting for several reasons. She turned out to have quite a career, writing for Rosanne as well as directing Wayne's World. She directed a punk rock documentary called Decline of Western Civilization. The Vandals, DI, and other punk bands performed in Suburbia. The movie was about a bunch of runaways who live in an abandon house. The called it the TR house which stood for "The Rejected". There were only three professional actors in the movie. The rest were punk rock kids chosen to give an authentic feel (Fitzgerald, 2008). I thought it was an interesting movie to watch although pretty violent and includes some disturbing, almost shocking scenes. It's similar to several other movies I've viewed for this project in that there are some pretty dysfunctional families that the youth come from. The following film clip is kind of long but it gives a good feel for what the movie is like. One of "The Rejected" named Shiela had killed herself and this is what happens at the funeral.
River's Edge (1986)
Like Suburbia, this film is about young people and their alienation from grown-ups and responsibility (Maltin, 2001). This film is was loosely based on a real murder in 1981 where the murderer, Anthony Broussard, killed his girlfriend, Marcy Conrad, and then took several friends to see the body, some threw rocks at in and some covered in up with leaves (Null, 2008),(NY Times, 1982). Although eery and disturbing, I thought the film was interesting and worth watching, especially for Crispin Glover's performance. See clip for some great words of wisdom he gives to John, the one who committed the murder.
Thirteen (2003)
Nicki Reed co-wrote this film along with Catherine Hardwicke. It was based on Reed's experiences and those around her when she was thirteen. The film was about a young lady, Tracy, who starts at a new school in an innocent way. She sees how the other kids flock around the most popular girl, Evie Zamora, and sets out to befriend her. The film is a vivid portrayal of the slide you could easily imagine a young, attractive girl would take who desperately wants to be popular and leave her geeky childhood friends behind.
In some of my school counseling classes, we have touched on some of the shocking behaviors, like cutting, that occur with young teenage girls today. Since I don't have personal experience dealing with a cutter, I think it was helpful for me to watch this movie. It was difficult to watch at times. Normally, I wouldn't want to recommend a movie that makes a person feel uncomfortable but this film is an exception. It is rated R for drug use, self destructive violence, language and sexuality - all involving teens (imdb, 2008).
Holly Hunter was excellent as Tracy's mother, if fact she won the Academy Award for best actress in a supporting role. When she and Evie's mother planned an intervention, it was a great portrayal of how poor parents continue to make poor decisions. After revealing that they had found all Tracy's drugs, someone said, "it's good we found your stash rather than the police". I can't help but think that situation happens all too frequently.
Blackboard Jungle (1955)
Blackboard Jungle was released in 1955. It is a film about a new teacher named Richard Dadier, played by Glen Ford, who attempts to change things at a school plagued with violence. Vic Morrow plays "Artie West" who is the ring leader in the school. Sidney Poitier plays Gregory Miller who Ford tried to make into a positive leader. This film was the first in the genre of a teacher facing an impossible situation.
I read an interesting article about the film that addressed whether the film was based on reality, whether it supported recognized theories of criminal behavior, and how it became a cause of alleged youth crime (McCarthy, 2007). I chose to discuss this film last because I found it so thought provoking and in encompasses many ideas from the other movies.
In the beginning of the movie, the boys in front of the school were in a fenced in area dancing and acting rowdy to the tune Rock Around the Clock. The image of the fence separated the rowdies from the law abiding public. When several reached through the fence as a woman walked by, they appear almost animalistic and are even referred to as "those wild animals" by a teacher. McCarthy felt this depiction drew from the Italian criminologist Cesare Lumbroso's theory, influenced by Darwin, that criminals are biological throwbacks who failed to develop on the evolutionary tree. When I watched the movie, the scene was puzzling because it just seemed so over the top, the reaching through the fence, guys dancing with each other, someone walking on their hands, etc. McCarthy's assertion, or suggestion, or however related to Lumroso's theory seems pretty extreme to me but kind of interesting to consider none the less.
McCarthy pointed out that all the rebellious youth in the film were boys. In fact, the only women in the movie, at least with prominent parts, were one of the teachers and Dadier's with, both who are victimized.
I thought it interesting that the schools name was changed for the movie. In the novel, it was called North Manual Trades High School. They dropped the word "trades" for the movie to avoid stigmatizing vocational schools (McCarthy, 2007). They changed the name but there were still several scenes where the trades were present. Dadier could barely be heard because of the loud woodshop next to his classroom. To me, this says that the influence of movies, both perceived and real, has been prominent in our culture for many years. That such a small detail would cause anyone to worry is amazing.
McCarthy didn't feel the film really delved deeply into the psychological explanation of human behavior. He referred to the work of Albery J. Reiss in 1951 that postulated youth, with a tendency to engage in criminal behavior, suffered from a weak super ego that impaired their ability to follow social norms. Reiss, who worked in both the Carter and Reagan administrations, had an amazing career in criminology (Sherman, 2005). McCarthy suggested Artie West as someone who could have been diagnosed with some type of mental disorder but the film never went there. I feel that other movies and books I read for this project also included characters who, like West, are close to some type of mental disorder. In Mean Creek, George talked about his disability. In the book about the murder of Bobby Kent, the defense lawyers thought about using the "urban psychosis" defense. On account of their crazy and violent life styles, one could argue that both Bobby Kent and Marty Puccio had at least some mental instability. Of course, you can't dismiss the roll that steroids and other drugs played. One area that Reiss studied carefully were offenders who enticed others to commit their first crime. All of the movies I just mentioned included characters who led others down the path to their first experience in criminal activity. Interestingly, one of the major changes from the novel to film in Blackboard Jungle was that their was no mention of West being the gang leader in the novel.
McCarthy pointed out several crimes in the movie, a few were additions that weren't in the novel, that emphasize the rational choice theory, i.e. people decide on their own how they are going to behave. The film made some mention itself about theories for the cause to the youth crime. For example, the detective said that the fathers went to war, the mothers to the factories, and it was left to the gang leaders to raise the kids. Dadier said that "they get clobbered at home" indicating abuse. Their was also suggestion of West being high by Miller during the intense fight scene at the end of the movie.
McCarthy made an interesting observation of a scene in the movie that proved to be another personal learning experience. During the fight scene in the alley, a neighbor closed the window and turned the light. It was probably an attempt to avoid getting involved. McCarthy mentioned this as an eerie prescient to the murder of Kitty Genovese in 1964 in Queens. I read about this shocking case where many neighbors hurt Kitty screaming for help as she was murdered and did nothing. Eventually, on person called the police. The case became famous because it was alleged that 38 people heard and did nothing to help.
Similar to the hearings about the negative influence of comics and television, there were hearings three months after Blackboard Jungle's release. It was banned in Memphis, Atlanta, and other cities. According to McCarthy, with the benefits of hindsight, it appeared that those who thought the film triggered crime were wrong. As the production code broke down during the decade after Blackboard, the violence in movies, video games, and cable television has escalated to an almost unbelievable level, and yet, with an overall drop in crime rate, today's youth may be the most law abiding yet (McCarthy, 2007).
At risk of giving away the ending to those who have not seen the movie, I thought the way the Dadier finally reached the students was interesting. He used a movie of Jack and the Beanstalk to teach a lesson. They finally responded positively. The renewed interest in learning even carried over into the old bitter teacher's class. I thought it was a great example of using film as an educational tool, even though West's conclusion from watching the movie was that crime does pay. After watching the film with a friend recently, I was surprised to learn that it was on a list for students to watch over spring break for extra credit at a local ALC. Even though it is over fifty years old, I think it is very interesting film, especially when you think about how it has influenced so many people.
In conclusion, I feel like I have just scratched the surface with this project. I could easily write a weekly blog about a particular movie and it's relevance to education in some way. I watched other movies that I didn't write about because they just didn't seem to fit in for one reason on another. For example, Hearts in Atlantis was a decent movie with a bully in it, however, it didn't leave a lasting impression of significance for me. When I did find a film I felt was significant, I would do some research. In that research, I often found myself pursuing other resources like good books. Thanks to the internet with all that information at your finger tips, each time you sit down at the computer your on another adventure that can spin off into several different directions.
One example of a wealth of information is the subject of female bullying. In her book Queen Bees and Wannabees, Rosalind Wiseman writes about the powerful role that cliques play in the lives of girls. She feels they are worst in sixth, seventh, and grade. This book would be a valuable resource of a school counselor, teacher, and especially for parents of a young lady. Another resource that may be helpful is entitled Mean Girls Grown Up by Cheryl Dellasega which, obviously, is for older women still dealing with similar issues from their teens years.
Speaking of real life crime, as I was doing the research for this project I learned something about the Columbine killers I did not know. Dave Cullen wrote an article titled The Depressive and the Psychopath: At last we know why the Columbine killers did it. In his article, he talks about most peoples perception of why they did it, i.e. taking revenge against high school bullies. According to Cullen, the FBI and its teams of psychologists and psychiatrists believe Harris and Klebold knew exactly what they were doing. They planned to murder hundreds of people on that day. Fortunately, they were not never good with bombs. Klebold, the article asserts, was depressive and suicidal. He blamed himself for his problems. Harris, on the other hand, was cold, calculating, and homicidal. In short, he was a psychopath (Cullen). Ever since Columbine, I have been worried about copycats. It seems to me that once something like this happens, as horrific and unbelievable as it is, there is a chance that more disgruntled and sick young people will resort to the most extreme option they can think of when they feel they loose all hope. As educators and parents, I feel we have a responsibility to be aware of what our young people are into. That means being aware of pop culture.
There were more areas of interest closely related that caught my attention as I was working on this project, like cyber-bullying. That is an area I hate to leave out because, as parents and educators, we have to be aware of it. I'm sure I'll have cause to explore further, especially if I'm able to make the move to a school counselor position in the future.
References
Cullen, D. (2004). The Depressive and the Psychopath: At last we know why the columbine killers did it.
Retrieved 4/10/08 from
http://www.slate.com/id/2000203/
Curry, W. (2004). Creative Revenge: Jacob Aaaron Estes and Mean Creek.
Retrieved 4-28-08 from
http://www.einsiders.com/features/interviews/estes.php
Ebert, R. (2004). Mean Creek.
Retrieved 4-28-08 from
http://rogerebert.suntimes.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20040826/reviews/408260302/1023
Fitzgerald, S. (2008). Suburbia
Retrieved 5/3/08 from
http://www.fast-rewind.com
imbd (2003). Thirteen.
Retrieved 4/3/08 from
http://www.imbd.com/title/tt0328538/
McCarthy, K. (2007). Juvenile Delinquency and Crime Theory in Blackboard Jungle.
Retrieved 4/1/08 from
http://www.albany.edu/scj/jcjpc/vol14.html#vol14is4
Shultze, J. (1994). Does Anyone Deserve to Die. Bully: A True Story of High School Revenge. New York.
Wikipedia.org/wiki/River's_Edge.
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