Cyberbully (2011 film)

Cyberbully (stylized as cyberbu//y) is a teen drama television film that premiered on ABC Family on July 17, 2011. ABC Family collaborated with Seventeen magazine to make the film, hoping the film would "delete digital drama". The film tells the story of a teenage girl who is bullied online.[1] The film was released on DVD on February 7, 2012.

This article is about the 2011 movie. For the act of cyberbullying, see cyberbullying.

Cyberbully
Promotional poster
Written byTeena Booth
Directed byCharles Binamé
StarringEmily Osment
Kay Panabaker
Kelly Rowan
Theme music composerJames Gelfand
Country of origin
  • United States
  • Canada
Original languageEnglish
Production
ProducerJesse Prupas
EditorSimon Webb
Running time87 minutes
DistributorMuse Entertainment Enterprises
Gaiam
Release
Original release
  • July 17, 2011 (2011-07-17)

Plot

Taylor Hillridge is a teenage girl who lives in St. Louis, Missouri, with her single mother, Kris, and her younger brother, Eric. She is close friends with two other girls, Samantha Caldone and Cheyenne Mortenson. Earlier, Taylor made a seemingly innocuous comment to one of her classmates, Lindsay Fordyce, to which Lindsay took great offense.

For her 17th birthday, Taylor is given a computer from her mother. At first, Taylor is excited by the independence of going online without her mother always watching her. Meanwhile, her crush, Scott, asks her to the dance, to which she says yes. Cheyenne is happy for her, but Samantha does not like Scott because she previously went out with his friend, who later dumped her after he had sex with her. Taylor soon finds herself the victim of cyberbullying when she becomes a member of a social website named Cliquesters.

Things begin to go wrong when Eric hacks into her account and writes "I'm a naughty girl, somebody should spank me" on her profile, having been angry at her when she refused to let him use the laptop. She condemns him for the hacking and Eric is then severely punished by Kris. Students at school write horrid comments about her and she becomes afraid to face her friends at school. Taylor also meets a boy named James online and thinks he is just being nice, but winds up spreading a rumor that Taylor slept with him and ended up giving him "the clap". Taylor gets pegged as a "slut" and "whore" as a result of the bullying. The abuse that Taylor receives from the hands of her schoolmates pushes her to a breaking point. Scott also tells Taylor that he cannot take her to the dance because of an excuse that obviously sounds made up (that his mother is forcing him to take another girl) and Cheyenne and Samantha begin to turn their backs on Taylor.

Overcome with depression, Taylor posts a video online saying that she can no longer live with herself. Samantha sees this and quickly goes to Taylor's house and finds her trying to commit suicide by overdosing with pills, but cannot get the cap off; in the ensuing scuffle, the pill bottle spills on the floor, scattering pills over the bathroom floor. Taylor is then sent to a hospital. Taylor's mother learns of the incident and takes on the school system and state legislation to prevent others from experiencing the same problem as her daughter. Taylor's mother recommends that she go to a support group and obtain help. Meanwhile, Samantha finds Scott at a cafe and insults him for leaving Taylor. Taylor finds that Caleb, one of her classmates who is gay, is going through the same exact thing, only he is targeted for his sexuality. Taylor finds support in the group and deals with the bullying much better. Samantha confesses to Taylor that she was the one who created the "James" profile and set Taylor up. Samantha feels guilty and becomes a victim of cyberbullying herself. Taylor finds out about this and tells her about her support group and eventually forgives Samantha, rekindling their friendship.

Samantha and Taylor return to school, where they are quickly teased by Lindsay in the cafeteria. Samantha urges Taylor to ignore her, but Taylor does the opposite and confronts Lindsay, calling her out for her online abuse. Scott, Cheyenne and Caleb appear and side with Taylor, condemning Lindsay for her bullying. Their actions are received well with other students present in the cafeteria, who spread the word about Taylor's courage and Lindsay's misdeeds, eroding Lindsay's support within the student body. Meanwhile, the state legislature passes a bill criminalizing cyberbullying, which is then signed into law in honor of Taylor and all victims of bullying.

Cast
  • Emily Osment as Taylor Hillridge, a 17-year-old girl who gets her own laptop computer for her birthday.
  • Kay Panabaker as Samantha Caldone, Taylor's best friend.
  • Kelly Rowan as Kris Hillridge, Taylor's mother. She divorced her husband three months ago.
  • Jon McLaren as Scott Ozsik, Taylor's crush.
  • Meaghan Rath as Cheyenne Mortenson, Taylor's friend.
  • Nastassia Markiewicz as Lindsay Fordyce, the main antagonist and the queen bee at Taylor's high school. She constantly harasses people online.
  • Jade Hassouné as Caleb. He is a gay student at Taylor's school, and is also a victim of cyberbullying.
  • Robert Naylor as Eric Hillridge, Taylor's brother.

Reception

The film received a generally positive review from Common Sense Media, who gave the film a 4 out of 5 star rating, stating "Cyberbully is a great jumping-off point for talking to teens about the very real dangers that exist online. The movie does a good job of working in most of the hot-button issues related to this topic, including the anonymity that exists online, the legal loopholes that enable cyberbullying, the social pressure on teens to partake in digital relationships, and the emotional devastation that bullying inflicts on its victims and their families."[2]

Cyberbully gained 3.4 million views on its official release date. It was TV's number-one telecast for the 8-10 p.m. time slot and became the week's number-one TV film, and the second most viewed TV film of the 2010 and 2011 season.[3] The film has gained popularity in recent years through online streaming, with an unofficial upload of the film on YouTube having amassed over 79 million views.

Promotion

ABC Family created "badges" that people could add to their profile pictures on sites like Twitter and Facebook; the badge says "[delete] digital drama!".[4]

On July 14, 2011, ABC Family hosted a live event called "The Rally to Delete Digital Drama" in Glendale, California. The rally included appearances from Shay Mitchell, Tyler Blackburn, Daren Kagasoff, Skyler Samuels, Grey Damon, Katie Leclerc, Vanessa Marano, Emily Osment, and more. Emily Osment performed her song "Drift", as well as other songs. There was also an autograph signing and gift giveaways.[5]

Music

Emily Osment released a song called "Drift" which was featured in the film. It was released on July 12, 2011. The film also features "Breathe Me" by Sia. Television spots of the film contain the song "Perfect" by Pink.

Awards and nominations
Award Year Category Recipient Result Source
Prism Awards 2012 Best TV Movie or Miniseries Cyberbully Nominated [6]
Best TV Movie Performance Emily Osment Won [6]
Young Artist Award Best Performance in a TV Movie, Miniseries or Special – Supporting Young Actor Robert Naylor Nominated
Canadian Society of Cinematographers Best Cinematography in TV Drama Pierre Gill Nominated
Directors Guild of Canada Direction - Television Movie/Mini-Series Charles Binamé Nominated
Canadian Screen Award 2013 Best Performance by an Actress in a Featured Supporting Role in a Dramatic Program or Series Kelly Rowan Nominated
Best Direction in a Dramatic Program or Mini-Series Charles Binamé Nominated
Best Writing in a Dramatic Program or Mini-Series Teena Booth Nominated
Best Dramatic Mini-Series or TV Movie Michael Prupas, Jesse Prupas, Joel S. Rice Nominated
Best Performance by an Actress in a Leading Role in a Dramatic Program or Mini-Series Emily Osment Won

See also
  • Megan Meier

References
  1. Jacobs, Tom (June 30, 2011). "Don't miss ABC's Family movie "Cyberbu//y" on July 17th, 2011". Askthejudge.info. Retrieved January 29, 2012.
  2. Ashby, Emily. "Cyberbully - Television Review". Commonsensemedia.org. Retrieved January 29, 2012.
  3. Seidman, Robert (July 19, 2011). "ABC Family Original Movie 'Cyberbully' is Week's No. 1 TV Movie Across Key Demos and No. 2 Movie of the 2010/11 Season in Females 12-34 - Ratings | TVbytheNumbers". Tvbythenumbers.zap2it.com. Archived from the original on May 3, 2012. Retrieved January 29, 2012.
  4. "ABC Family - Cyberbully - Delete Digital Drama". Abcfamily.go.com. Retrieved January 29, 2012.
  5. "Rally to Delete Digital Drama". Abcfamily.go.com. July 13, 2011. Retrieved January 29, 2012.
  6. "EIC Announces Nominations for 16th Annual PRISM Awards Including Performances by Claire Danes, Tommy Lee Jones, Nick Nolte, Helen Mirren, and Russell Brand". Prweb.com. Retrieved July 21, 2013.
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