When you think of school bullies, you probably don’t envision someone like Natasha Bravely, the face of this program. Now in her early 20s, Natasha speaks directly to the camera to recount and examine her past behavior as the ringleader of a group of bullying friends in middle school. She talks about meeting classmate Jane in sixth grade and becoming friends with her; both girls were popular and good students.
But it all came crashing down when Jane got a major role in the school play, causing Natasha to become irrationally upset, angry, and jealous. In retaliation, she told her friends that “we don’t like this girl” and with encouragement from Natasha, a group of girls began shunning Jane, spreading rumors, and exhibiting mean girl behavior. Near the end of eighth grade, a class meeting was held, and Jane stood up and announced to the class and teachers that she had been bullied for three years. Natasha was disciplined and forced to apologize.
Fast forward to high school and Natasha began looking more closely at her role as a bully, and she offered sincere regrets and apologies to Jane and the two became good friends, a relationship that continued beyond high school. More than just providing static headshots of Natasha, the film also relies on clever black and white illustrations, animated cartoons, and photographs as well as background piano music.
Captions are also included, such as one that defines social bullying as behavior intended to harm someone by damaging their relationships with others, spreading rumors, and excluding and withholding friendships. Social bullying, while common, is difficult to detect. Natasha explores her motivations for past behaviors, realizing she acted this way as a means of taking away the pain of feeling bad about herself and being in control. Because the focus is on girls bullying each other, this probably works best for that audience, but boys as well can benefit from learning more about the causes, effects, and types of social bullying. Recommended. Aud: I, J, H