Pushed to the Brink: Bullycide on the Rise

This item is included in the following series/curriculum: Bullying Prevention Tool Kit

Grade Level: 7-College
Running Time: 19 minutes
Captions:

Select Format

DVD	8159	$139.95
Stream 1 Year-1 user	8159online	$139.95
Stream 1 year-5 users	8159online 1-5 users	$419.85

Available for Streaming Video Rental

Request Free Online Full Length Preview

Watch trailer below

Several recent tragedies have focused the nation’s attention on the growing trend of bullycide—the term that describes those desperate instances of young people taking their own lives to escape from relentless harassment by their peers. This timely video follows multiple storylines to deliver the message that bullying can have enormous and tragic consequences. Viewers learn the facts surrounding two recent bully-provoked teen suicides. Commentary from Dr. Joel Haber, a clinical psychologist and recognized national expert on bullying, identifies various forms of bullying—from obvious physical assaults to more indirect forms such as cyberbullying, spreading rumors, exclusion or verbal taunts. This unforgettable program includes important tips for dealing with bullies and urges students to join together and become proactive defenders of victims before they reach their breaking point. Most importantly, it opens the door for an important dialogue among all viewers—those who may be participants, witnesses or victims of peer intimidation and hostility.

Includes:

video, plus teacher’s resource book, student handouts and pre/post tests in digital format

DVD contains Spanish subtitles.

Reviews

Kristina and Jeffrey were victims of bullying. We see photos and hear from their mothers who are trying to understand how taunts from schoolmates resulted in their suicides. The ubiquitous problem of bullying among youth is explored in a straightforward manner. The mothers of the two victims articulate the trajectory of torment their children endured, and attempt to share possible ways to stop bullying. Dr. Joel Haber, a clinical psychologist, discusses different types of bullying. Four teens explain how bullying hurt them and how they moved beyond the pain. There are many different forms of bullying, and there are physical, verbal and exclusionary tactics all designed to humiliate the victim. Cyberbullying may be the worst of all because these comments and images travel with lightning speed to a wide universe of recipients. Methods to combat bullying are presented. It is emphasized that victims of bullying must be defended by others. The tone of the DVD is direct without being preachy, and the use of corny simulations is avoided. A welcome tool to help fight this pervasive problem.

- Robin Levin, Fort Washakie School/Community Library, WY
School Library Journal

The two programs, Pushed to the Brink and Are You a Bully? Test, work together to help address bullying among middle school students. They may be used separately by teachers or guidance counselors to educate students about what counts as bullying, the feelings associated with bullying and being bullied, as well as frank discussions of adolescents’ vulnerability to the exclusionary tactics and power plays that form the core of bullying behavior.

The screen time is shared between victims of bullying, reformed teen bullies, parents and the psychologist and bullying expert Dr. Joel Haber. Discussions between Dr. Haber and bullying victims may also be useful as a model for adults initiating discussions with young people about bullying. Feelings are the main focus of the conversations as well as insights into the motivations and tactics of a bully and the resulting feelings and increasing isolation of the victims.

Solutions are offered for students who witness bullying, those who are victims and for those who recognize their own behavior as bullying. In Pushed to the Brink, suicide is specifically discussed as a consequence of bullying, and computer social networks, such as Facebook, are shown to be powerful tools for bullies. Parents of two young people who committed suicide due to bullying talk about both their own and their children’s experiences and reach out with advice to students who may be victims of bullying.

These two films would be useful for an academic college collection that supports a counseling or education curriculum as well as a junior high or high school media center as a resource for parents, teachers and administrators tackling the problem of bullying in schools. Overall, the mix of adolescent’s first-hand experience mixed with pro-active advice and a professional psychologists explanation of bullying and being bullied offers a point of entry for many audiences

Ciara Healy, Librarian for Psychology and Neuroscience, Duke University

Educational Media Reviews Online (EMRO)