On March 27th, 2015 Amy S. Weber’s movie A Girl Like Her was released upon the world. Turning heads, breaking hearts and inspiring change, all within 91 minutes. The movie follows the story of two teenage girls. Avery Keller, the popular cheerleader, and Jessica Burns, her victim. The two were once best friends but after a misunderstanding, Avery does everything in her power to torment Jessica. The movie is a lot of back and forth clips, showing the story in both perspectives. The victim who attempts to commit suicide, and the bully who isn’t all that she seems.
A girl like her shows bullying and its effect from every perspective. The bully, the bullied, the parents, and the school. It is truly an eye opening movie. And I believe every student, both in high school and college, as well as adults, should watch A Girl Like Her. Bullying is a growing problem that most don’t even understand exists. When you put the numbers to it, you can see how terrifying it really is and why it needs to change.
One out of four students report bullying, but only 36 percent of students who are bullied actually report it. And while schools have been trying to crack down on bullying, most teachers cannot report it if they do not see it. With the advancements in modern technology, bullying has found its way online and made it harder to catch. About 43 percent of those bullied say that they also get bullied online. Students get bullied for everything from appearance, to grades, to interest. The students who receive the most bullying are those in the LGBTQ community. Nine out of 10 LGBTQ students are bullied, and over half of LGBTQ students who are bullied in school are also bullied online. And over half of the students attacked online have failed to report it to an adult. One third of students have admitted that they have overheard another student threaten to kill someone. Every seven minutes a student is bullied and only 15 percent of the time is there some sort of intervention. This leaves these students feeling alone and vulnerable.
Victims of bullying are up to 9 times more likely to try to commit suicide than a non-bullied student. They are also up to 4 times more likely to self-harm over those who were not bullied. Self-harm can be anything. Cutting, biting, burning, and so much more. Bullying is killing people, and people are still getting away with it because community does not understand it’s severity. Students need to see that they need to come forward, and adults and peers need to look closer and protect those in need.
Those who are the bullies also need to be noticed. Bullies normally do what they do because they are unhappy with something in their own life. Both the bullied and the bullies need help from councilors. Victims for the after effects of bullying, and the bullies to uproot the underlying reason that they are bullying others and to help them overcome and cope with the issues in their own life.
Anti-bullying programs have helped but sadly have not been able to portray the severity of this issue to our community. I believe the movie A Girl Like Her could be a huge step in changing the next generation. 65 Percent of young adults aged 16-24 use Netflix. This means 65 percent of us have access to this movie online. Every student and young adult should watch this movie in an effort to spread awareness and promote a better future.
Please go watch A Girl Like Her, which is available on Netflix. Share with your friends in effort to spread the awareness.
Suicide Prevention Center Hotline:
1-877-727-4747
Suicide Prevention Lifeline:
1-800-273-8255
Teen Line:
1-800-852-8336
Trevor Lifeline:
1-866-488-7386
