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CM . . .
. Volume X Number 12. . . . February 13, 2004
It's September, the first day of a new school year. Three sleepy teenagers slowly roll out of their rumpled beds and head off to start another year at their high school located in a pleasant middle-class neighbourhood. For many students, September signals a fresh start, and for Mary Williams, there's the inevitable nervousness that comes with being the "new kid" at a high school with well-established social groupings. But for Tyler Hall and his weird (okay, totally geeky) best friend, Paul, another school year means receiving another year of physical and verbal abuse from Ryce Anderson and his goon squad. Both Ryce and Tyler can't help but notice Mary who is genuinely sweet, a bit shy, and very attractive. The school's Literature Club provides Mary and Tyler with an opportunity to work together on a project, and soon, they have more than just a great presentation on Renaissance drama going for them. Ryce's jealousy of their relationship leads him to find a new way of continuing his persistent bullying of Tyler. This arch-bully enlists the help of Nessy, a female admirer who, with her circle of friends, invites Mary to become a part of their special group. Flattered by their attention, she does, and then, as part of a mean-spirited plan, Ryce asks Mary for a date. Tyler is, of course, consumed with both fear and jealousy; his only outlet for his anger and his vengeance fantasies are through on-line chats with someone named "ArchAngel." Whoever ArchAngel is, he certainly understands Tyler's frustration at the situation and provides him with support and empathy. When Mary decides not to take up Ryce's invitation, her false friends turn on her, demonstrating that female bullies can be just as cruel and manipulative as their male counterparts. Meanwhile, Tyler is ambushed and beaten so viciously that police intervention finally ends his nightmare. Tyler shares his triumph with ArchAngel, but, in an ironic twist of fate, his last e-mail message is never delivered. ArchAngel dies by lethal injection in an American prison: his crime, committed years ago, was the murder of another high school student. Bullying - physical and psychological - is a real problem in high schools everywhere. After the 1999 shootings at Columbine High School, high school student Will Beauchamp was inspired to make a movie about high school's dark side. Pariahs is a "slice of life" in a high school, and the cliques, the language, and the hanging out at the mall are all authentic. Although the characters sometimes bordered on the stereotypical, the actors (all of whom volunteered their time to the project) really did a credible job of portraying adolescent life. Notably, and distressingly, absent in this film were adults in whom the victims could confide, or who would intervene effectively (where were the supervising teachers in that cafeteria scene where Ryce and his buddies push and shove their way through the lunch line?) Tyler's frustration and his isolation were genuine, and, as the situation worsened, it was impossible not to hate Ryce, his gang, and the bitchy, manipulative Nessy and her mindless group of followers. As well, one of the film's big pluses is its Canadian content and context; school violence happens in our country, too, but current films on the topic are all American-produced, and prevention measures such as name tags and metal detectors are just not as common in Canadian schools. I asked Wendy Johnson Brown, guidance counselor at Kelvin High School, and one of the co-ordinators of a school-based anti-bullying initiative to view the video, and to share her impressions of the film with me and CM's audience. She agreed that Pariahs makes clear the cruelty of student bullying, as well as the pain and humiliation that victims experience. But, like me, she found Pariah's running time much too long and that the pace of the story needs speeding up. Will Beauchamp needs to edit those music riffs, Tyler's dream sequence, the Lit project collaborations, and the scenes where Tyler is corresponding with ArchAngel: they slow down the story, although they are beautifully filmed. Were the film edited down to a running time of 30 or 40 minutes, Beauchamp would have a more commercially-viable product with a definite Canadian market. Tighter editing would result in a story with greater impact, without losing any of its message. Still, these are minor quibbles, and after viewing the film, both of us felt disturbed by the violence, saddened by Tyler's and Mary's victimization, and cheered when the police hauled Ryce out of the school in hand-cuffs. No student should ever feel as though he or she is a pariah, a social outcast, especially if he or she is the victim of abusive behaviour. Teachers, parents, and anyone working in anti-bullying programs watching this video will hear the pained and frustrated voice of the "pariahs" in this story. Let's hope that they respond. Note: Because of the profane and sexually explicit language, the video should be previewed before use with any audience, and warnings as to the content should be provided. Recommended. Joanne Peters is a teacher-librarian at Kelvin High School in Winnipeg, MB, where Wendy Johnson Brown is a Guidance Counselor.
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