Sunday, June 05, 2005
Bully For You
Filming for The Sensei, a film about a gay student in the '80s who takes up martial arts to defend himself against bullies, has been shitcanned in Jefferson County, Colorado. The official party line from the school district is that it isn't because the film deals with gayness or AIDS, but because Columbine is in the county, and the film might reopen old wounds.
Now, I'm going to say that I cannot begin to imagine what the people who live in Lakewood, CO have had to go through since Columbine. You have the idea that the world is perfect, and then everything is shattered in a stunning act in violence. Of course you're going to be oversensitive in the future, and fear that the tragedy might repeat itself.
Then again, that has absolutely nothing to do with what's going on here. In fact, it makes everything a bit more questionable. While evidence exists that Eric Harris and Dylan Klebold were probably just psychopaths who wanted to go down in history, the theory that still stands is that they were driven to it by bullying. Indeed, many school shooters did what they did to get revenge at their tormentors, real or perceived.
What the Jefferson district is doing here, however, is not dealing with the fact that bullying probably drove two young men to take the lives of thirteen other people, and then themselves, by encouraging discussion about bullying and how to reduce it. What they're doing is dealing with bullying by saying it doesn't exist. Yes, the fact that the film is being shot in a district that's known violence in the halls of learning is a bit unwise. But it should be used as an opportunity to inform, not hide.
Yes, the film's director might have wanted to choose a different district. But if the members of the Jefferson County school board means what they say, then it shows that even in the face of violence, it's better to deny than discuss. And if they don't mean what they say... well, then it's just as bad, but for different reasons.
Now, I'm going to say that I cannot begin to imagine what the people who live in Lakewood, CO have had to go through since Columbine. You have the idea that the world is perfect, and then everything is shattered in a stunning act in violence. Of course you're going to be oversensitive in the future, and fear that the tragedy might repeat itself.
Then again, that has absolutely nothing to do with what's going on here. In fact, it makes everything a bit more questionable. While evidence exists that Eric Harris and Dylan Klebold were probably just psychopaths who wanted to go down in history, the theory that still stands is that they were driven to it by bullying. Indeed, many school shooters did what they did to get revenge at their tormentors, real or perceived.
What the Jefferson district is doing here, however, is not dealing with the fact that bullying probably drove two young men to take the lives of thirteen other people, and then themselves, by encouraging discussion about bullying and how to reduce it. What they're doing is dealing with bullying by saying it doesn't exist. Yes, the fact that the film is being shot in a district that's known violence in the halls of learning is a bit unwise. But it should be used as an opportunity to inform, not hide.
Yes, the film's director might have wanted to choose a different district. But if the members of the Jefferson County school board means what they say, then it shows that even in the face of violence, it's better to deny than discuss. And if they don't mean what they say... well, then it's just as bad, but for different reasons.
