BULLY & SHAM AND SHAME OF TRUE STORIES
Finally watched the 2001 film Bully, directed by the guy who did Kids (and Whassup Rockers).
Intrigued, I did the googles and yahoos and imdbs. Sadly, Google is a HORRIBLE search engine for any depth of content that might be on a remote site. HORRIBLE. Wikipedia provided links to a site that I had to use the wayback machine at the internet archives to see, about freeing the supposed ringleader of the group.
Sadly, it's all a case of disinformation, intending on misleading EVERYONE.
I awoke this morning thinking this Larry Clark fellow is onto something. The sex is raw and fairly accurate. Alas, therein lies a big problem which the film and the rest of the world is short to pick up on: these girls are victims of sexual abuse. It takes the "sexiness" out of whole deal when you realize "oh, wait. This is all a product of rapes."
The author is a dickhead. Just cuz your old doesn't mean you're smart. Larry Clark is who he is. I guess that's the messed up thing behind these movies. They're capturing the rawness of that age. Alas, they're ignoring the sadness behind the behaviour. Is rampant sex the cause or merely a symptom?
I won't read the book because the "free" site shows his bias and ignorance. I've spent four hours reading up on this shit online, and well, it leaves me rethinking how I think about sexual depictions on screen, prostitution, and portrayals of women. Granted, NONE of this is in the movie.
Bully shows the distancing effect these kids have with their realities, and the frustrations they meet when they finally reach out to their parents. It's a private joke. You can teach a baby sign language, but it doesn't matter because most parents won't listen. (One baby sign class promo tape had this example of a baby saying he needed a change, but the mother just changed him, but the GRANDMOTHER said check his diaper. The baby needed a change. Well, fuck you very much, but you gotta listen and be inconvenienced to check out the statement.)
This is the counterpoint to Alpha Dog, or A guide to recognizing your saints, which is a "true" story that holds true to the theme of "communication" and lack of. The significant thing of A guide is that the lead character actually LEAVES. He disappears. Runs away. All because of lack of communication. No one listens.
Alas, the case of Bully went down in 1993. I was the same age as some of those kids, but I deliberately avoided hanging out with my peers. Why? Didn't want to get caught up in other people's petty bullshit.
So you can watch Bully and be in awe of how they convinced these actors to bare all and simulate sex on camera. Or you can rethink it and realize they ignored these girls' tragic histories and how they used to cover up for a crime. And how they ignored the real story and real pain.
Or you can just say "Oh, those f-d up South Florida kids" and try to dismiss it. But it's just sad.
Oh yeah. "Thank you for smoking" is clever and hilarious. The followup by the Waiting for Guffman crew was a bit too sad. There was a spirit of defeat, which Guffman did not have despite a similar ending. Really kind of scary, so I didn't laugh much.
Intrigued, I did the googles and yahoos and imdbs. Sadly, Google is a HORRIBLE search engine for any depth of content that might be on a remote site. HORRIBLE. Wikipedia provided links to a site that I had to use the wayback machine at the internet archives to see, about freeing the supposed ringleader of the group.
Sadly, it's all a case of disinformation, intending on misleading EVERYONE.
I awoke this morning thinking this Larry Clark fellow is onto something. The sex is raw and fairly accurate. Alas, therein lies a big problem which the film and the rest of the world is short to pick up on: these girls are victims of sexual abuse. It takes the "sexiness" out of whole deal when you realize "oh, wait. This is all a product of rapes."
The author is a dickhead. Just cuz your old doesn't mean you're smart. Larry Clark is who he is. I guess that's the messed up thing behind these movies. They're capturing the rawness of that age. Alas, they're ignoring the sadness behind the behaviour. Is rampant sex the cause or merely a symptom?
I won't read the book because the "free" site shows his bias and ignorance. I've spent four hours reading up on this shit online, and well, it leaves me rethinking how I think about sexual depictions on screen, prostitution, and portrayals of women. Granted, NONE of this is in the movie.
Bully shows the distancing effect these kids have with their realities, and the frustrations they meet when they finally reach out to their parents. It's a private joke. You can teach a baby sign language, but it doesn't matter because most parents won't listen. (One baby sign class promo tape had this example of a baby saying he needed a change, but the mother just changed him, but the GRANDMOTHER said check his diaper. The baby needed a change. Well, fuck you very much, but you gotta listen and be inconvenienced to check out the statement.)
This is the counterpoint to Alpha Dog, or A guide to recognizing your saints, which is a "true" story that holds true to the theme of "communication" and lack of. The significant thing of A guide is that the lead character actually LEAVES. He disappears. Runs away. All because of lack of communication. No one listens.
Alas, the case of Bully went down in 1993. I was the same age as some of those kids, but I deliberately avoided hanging out with my peers. Why? Didn't want to get caught up in other people's petty bullshit.
So you can watch Bully and be in awe of how they convinced these actors to bare all and simulate sex on camera. Or you can rethink it and realize they ignored these girls' tragic histories and how they used to cover up for a crime. And how they ignored the real story and real pain.
Or you can just say "Oh, those f-d up South Florida kids" and try to dismiss it. But it's just sad.
Oh yeah. "Thank you for smoking" is clever and hilarious. The followup by the Waiting for Guffman crew was a bit too sad. There was a spirit of defeat, which Guffman did not have despite a similar ending. Really kind of scary, so I didn't laugh much.
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