Behind the web of cyber bullying
CHANTAL ABITBOL
THREE years ago, a family friend approached film director and writer Ross Bark with a disturbing story about her daughter who was being bullied at school.
There was the usual name-calling and taunting. But the abuse also took on another dimension: using electronic tools — such as text and online messaging -— to further humiliate the victim.
“It got to the point where she wasn’t able to go to school,” says Ross, 34. “It opened my eyes that these sorts of things are happening across all schools.”
And as a string of incidences in Australia proves, this is often with dire consequences. In July, a 14-year-old girl from Geelong took her own life after reportedly being teased over the internet.
A few months earlier, two teenagers were expelled from an elite school in Sydney after allegedly bullying a fellow student on a social networking site.
Ross’ friend appealed to him to make a film about the issue. “She told me, ‘I don’t want other parents going through what I’ve just gone through.’ So I started to research from there.”
Ross teamed up with his younger brother, Darren Bark, 22, a lawyer and producer, and spent countless hours interviewing victims, conducting surveys at schools and consulting child psychologists.
The result is Best Enemies -— a short film about a girl whose world is thrown into chaos when her best friend turns on her and spreads lies using online and text messaging.
The duo is set to launch the film at Hoyts Entertainment Quarter with Point Zero Youth Services on September 30, with a panel discussion to follow. Among the special guests expected to attend are media personality Deborah Hutton, producer Miriam Stein, director Steve Pasvolsky and Shadow Minister for Community Services Pru Goward.
“What I didn’t realise is just how scarring this can be,” says Ross, who has worked on a number of youth-related films through his multimedia/film production company Bark Productions.
“This type of bullying is very much psychological. It is generally predominantly done by girls, and it actually affects the way they maintain their relationships into their 20s and 30s … [as well as] workplace relationships and other relationships down the track.”
Darren adds: “If left unchecked, bullying is an issue that is going to explode.”
Recent findings from a Queensland Institute of Technology survey suggest that about 14 per cent of those students queried had been a victim of cyber bullying, while about 25 per cent knew someone who had. Another 50 per cent declared it was on the increase.
Psychologists say the consequences of such bullying can be significant -— from self-harm and increased dependence on alcohol or drugs, to low self-esteem, social withdrawal, depression and even suicide.
“There’s a lack of consequence [in teenagers], and that’s the biggest problem,” says Darren. “This film aims to show the consequences before they’re actually affecting people and prevent it from happening again in the future.”
Last November, the brothers and their crew shot the footage over a three-day period at various locations including their parents’ bedroom.
“Imagine changing my parents’ bedroom into a 16-year-old girl’s bedroom with Zac Efron on the walls,” chortles Ross.
Another location, perhaps fittingly, was the brothers’ old school, Masada College in St Ives, from which both graduated more than a decade apart.
Despite their age difference and the longs hours spent together on the set and in production, the brothers, who dipped into their own savings to get the project off the ground, say they make a good team.
“From my side, it’s about the filmmaking process and making the best film that we can. Having my brother on board has allowed me to expand that and figure out how we can influence policy-makers and raise awareness,” says Ross. “We’ve got quite a unique relationship.”
The brothers are also working with psychologists to develop a pilot education program on the issue incorporating workshops, discussions and a film screening.
They argue current strategies aimed at tackling the problem aren’t working. But using Best Enemies as an educational tool, they say, could be the key to reaching out to teenagers.
“Although it’s educational, there’s also an entertainment component, and they’re willing to see it through and absorb more,” says Darren, who is also coordinating a youth forum with former opposition leader Dr Brendan Nelson to discuss cyber ¬≠bullying issues. “[The film] talks to teenagers on their level.”
Ross adds: “We hope it will inspire structured discussion about the causes and effects. Young people, parents and teachers can use this film with anti-bullying programs to talk directly about the issue, rather than theoretically.”
Psychotherapist Caryn Walsh, who helped develop the pilot education program with the brothers, says there is a growing need for such programs.
“Because face-to-face bullying has traditionally been the central concern in both organisations and schools, the idea of cyber bullying has not yet been significantly recognised as being as problematic,” she says.
“[But] frightening figures show cyber bullying is on the increase, and it is proposed that [these figures] will further [rise] as technology becomes faster.”
The film has already been pre-screened at a number of schools including Masada. So far, the response has been positive.
“It reinforced the need to think before you act and to try to resolve issues,” says Masada College principal Wendy Barel.
“Cyber bullying is a great concern and focal point for all schools. Thankfully, it hasn’t been a major problem [at Masada], though we have been made aware of a couple of incidents that we were able to deal with. We have strongly urged our parent body to supervise their children’s use of the computer at home where most of the action happens, and I think this has greatly helped to limit and control the situation.”
Ultimately, however, it was always a personal mission for the brothers. “We’re emotionally tied to this,” says Ross. “It comes from someone close to us that wanted this to be done. That is what has driven me from the start.”
Best Enemies will be launched at Hoyts Entertainment Quarter, Sydney, on Wednesday, September 30 at 7pm.
For more information: www.gofundraise.com.au/BestEnemies.
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