So we have a beautiful (!) Veteran's Day in Upstate New York. It's one of those days where brilliant sunshine dances with the first snowfall that's stuck - late for this part of the country. Stay at the window, kids, 'cause you'll see a lot of change in a very short time.
Anyway, this is the day that we set aside to honor the veterans who have given so much to protect our way of life. Let's take this moment to do that, shall we? Thank you.
But frankly, for many of us, it's a day from work, assuming you're one of the roughly 60% who have a job. Yes, I'm taking liberties with statistics. Get over it. But my charming and truly lovely wife is working today while I sit around and watch movies. Life is good.
Digression alert!
There is an underground parking facility where I work, which is staffed by valet/guards, or guard/valets. The young man who is there in the evenings and I have had a couple of discussions, basically because I was teasing him about watching South Park and other shady cartoons when he should be fending off vehicle break-ins - if we had any. So one night I was berating his taste in entertainment (like I watch Masterpiece Theater!) when he said he liked other forms of filmwork. Assuming his taste might run to X-Men and Adam Sandler comedies, it was a surprise to hear he, too, liked movies that make you think. As an example, he mentioned 'Bang Bang You're Dead'.
Now, I'd never heard of this, but based on the title I thought it might be a British movie similar to 'Lock, Stock and Two Smoking Barrels', or 'Snatch', or an American crime comedy like '8 Heads in a Duffel Bag'. As they say, don't judge a movie by its title.
He lent it to me and I watched it. And parts of me wish I hadn't, but I'm so glad I did.
This is not a movie review, but rather a subject review. The movie revolves around Trevor Adams, a loner in school, who had made a bomb threat the previous year. He's shunned as a result. He's offered the lead in a play called 'Bang Bang You're Dead' (a real play, by the way) who goes on a Columbine-style shooting spree. It's life imitating life, and art masquerading as art, with a movie within a play within a movie. The cross-pollination of play and movie could have tanked the movie, but it doesn't. As an aside, and the only real critique of the movie, is that there are some parts which are forced, some stereotypical and hokey, but as the man said, it will make you think. And that, my friends, is the purpose of this writing.
Bullying is nothing new. Exhibit A: Cain and Abel. Cyber-bullying is real, is ever-present and likely will only evolve into worse. We've gone from picking on someone because of being overweight, differently abled, homely to public ostracism. Gentle teasing to swirlies, schoolyard fights to semi-automatic weapons. We won't even get into gang warfare, even though there are commonalities. And while some may applaud bullies getting their comeuppance, usually it doesn't involve mass shootings at school or acts of terrorism. But those things do exist. They have happened. And they will continue, no matter how many metal detectors are involved, or how many 'school resource officers' are employed.
Everyone know someone who has been bullied. A certain amount of teasing is not a bad thing, as long as the victim develops a thick enough skin. Fortunately, that's how I made it to adulthood. There was one kid in school, Kenny Boyd, who terrorized me, basically because I let him. And as my class just celebrated its 40th anniversary (which admittedly does qualify me for geezerhood), it's something I remember with a shudder today. But I got over it. Even my best friend (and you know who you are, Paul!) used to call me short, fat and ugly. Short and fat I'll cop to. Ugly, well, that's what beards are for. But because my own wonderful mother teased me, I did develop that thick skin. She always said that was her intent, although I have my doubts. But now that I'm a relic, it really is wonderful to be able to take verbal abuse and to make yourself the butt of a joke.
But not everybody who is bullied gets out of it like I did. There are those who, because of a confluence of genetic makeup, personality, location or just plain bad luck, snap. Loners may search out other loners, even unknowingly. Just as Preppies gather with their own, Jocks with Jocks, and so forth, some are drawn together by their own circumstances. And the results can be deadly.
I don't pretend to know anything about the psychology of bullies or the bullied. As far as I know, there are no answers. With the advent of the internet and the free sharing of ideas, Columbine can happen anywhere. And that scares me to death.
The play that this movie was based on was written based on a real incident, and as a response to it. The play, written by William Mastrosimone, can be downloaded freely here. The play that's in the movie has been performed in schools around the country. It should be required viewing in middle school, hopefully early enough to make an impression.
Please, see the movie. See the play. Encourage your local schools to include it in their curriculum.
Make sure you bring your thinking cap, and a tissue.
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