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Upcoming Movie ‘Bully’ Gets “R” Rating


As you already know, the Yak is very anti-bully, working with many different reality stars and the online community at large to help bring awareness to the problem of bullying and help to seek out ways to end it. As you may also already know, there is a movie coming out at the end of the month, Bully, highlighting bullying around the country, it’s victims and what we can do to help stop it. Here is the trailer:

Recently, the MPAA has assigned a rating of “R” to this movie. Harvey Weinstein petitioned the MPAA ratings board to soften the rating to PG-13 in hopes to reach more kids that are in these situations or know of situations happening around them. The MPAA refused. However, a 17 yr. old student from Ann Arbor, Michigan has stepped up and created an online petition to lower the rating over at Change.org.

Katy, a high school junior, who has not seen the movie but has suffered bullying herself, launched a petition urging the MPAA to reconsider. So far, more than 130,000 supporters have signed on all within only three days of the petition’s launch.

In her explanation, Butler cites an incident where bullies slammed a locker door on her hand, breaking her finger. “I can’t believe the MPAA is blocking millions of teenagers from seeing a movie that could change — and, in some cases, save — their lives. According to the film’s website, over 13 million kids will be bullied this year alone. Think of how many of these kids could benefit from seeing this film, especially if it is shown in schools” Katy writes.

This is not Katy’s first rodeo into Anti-Bullying. Last year, when Michigan legislature proposed an Anti-Bullying law with a religious exemption, Katy petitioned to have the religious exemption removed from the law. The law did pass without the exemption.

The MPAA did respond to the petition in a blog post, stating basically that just because there is an “R” rating, that won’t stop children from seeing the movie. They cited that schools can still book the movie to show in classrooms and parents can decide if they want their children to see it. The reason the MPAA decided on the “R” rating was because of 6, yes, only SIX uses of the “F” bomb. Apparently the rating rules state that one use is a PG-13, more than one it gets the R. The trouble with the MPAA’s theory about the movie still be booked in schools is that some schools have a blanket policy of no R Rated movies.

Weinstein could of course edit out the expletives to achieve the PG-13 rating, like he did with ‘The King’s Speech’ a couple of years ago, but he says he won’t. “I don’t think we should. Whatever. I think this is realistic. I think it’s authentic. And I think we should win this battle rather than start editing the movie” Weinstein said on Piers Morgan. “The Archdiocese of Cincinnati, the School Board of Cincinnati saw the film. The people there were arranging for 40,000 people to see the film if it got rated PG-13. Now those 40,000 kids can’t go to see the movie. They can’t go without their parents” he added.

If Weinstein can’t sway the MPAA, will Katy be able to? What do you think? Is 6 expletives excessive? Will you take your child to see the movie?

Bully is scheduled to be released on March 30th. If you would like to join Katy’s petition to lower the rating of the movie, CLICK HERE.

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Anti-Bullying Week: Yakster’s Share Their Stories

As promised, throughout the week, we are featuring stories from our very own members in our YakkityYaks forum. These stories are volunteered from people who call our website their internet home and it is just another example of our personal feel and family attitude we pride ourselves in.

Just a reminder, the stories are unedited and real truths. We have only changed the names of those involved to protect their identities.

Here are two different accounts from Yaksters, both who wished to remain anonymous.

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Okay, so here’s my story.

As a child I was and continue to be a bit hyper. I had some things happen to me that shouldn’t happen to any child and it affects me to this day. Made me very insecure with myself, who I was, what value I had as a person and whether or not I could ever trust someone enough to be intimate and not necessarily in a sexual way but moreso in a way that you fully expose yourself to a person (again, not that way) and trust that they wont’ belittle or make fun of you. I wanted to fit in with the kids at school but I never knew the right thing to do or say around them, couldn’t be myself really because I always thought that since things had been done to me I may not have been worthwhile enough to really like. I did have friends, but I was never popular or cool.

When I was in the fifth grade I went through a phase where I’d wear different color socks, swimsuit coverups as part of an outfit, and other oddities…thought that would make me cool but nothing ever seemed to work with the popular kids. They’d tell me I was weird, ugly, smelled….and the times they’d include me in things were the times they could use me for something I had. Such as, as stupid as this sounds, my collections of things like the California Raisins figures, Garbage Pail Kids cards, etc. They’d pretend to like me and because I wanted to be cool I’d give them some and then they’d make fun of me again afterwards.

It got worse in junior high. Puberty and body odor set in, B.O. was my nickname from 8th grade on. I had clinical acne in the 8th grade, and man they had a field day with that one. I’d get crushes on boys, and they’d ask me to “go with them” only to find out it was a joke. In the 8th grade I was out of school for a week due to an eye virus that nearly went through this paper thin bone that lies between your eye socket and brain, and when I went back my friends, fellow nerds, were concerned but many told me to my face I wasn’t missed.

I had I think a sum total of two or three dates in high school too and the thing is, I was a late bloomer. When I was about 16 I got a figure, in fact I remember one time I had to walk up to the teacher’s desk in high school and two of the popular guys said “She might be a freak but she’s got a great ass”…..but I still was so awkward, could never connect with a guy b/c I would always get a scared feeling in my stomach.

So while I was never told to kill myself or any of the nonsense you see today, I never quite fit in. The resonating effect of that hits to this day too. If you’re told over and over you’re not perfect, that you’re a dork, geek, spaz, ugly, you smell, acne face you start to believe it. I’m thankful I have a family who tells me just how wrong those people were, even without saying it, but showing it. But I’m still self conscious, still really want to fit in with people, and I still can’t trust some in certain areas b/c of something that happened, that should never happen and will I ever get past that? I don’t know.

But I will say this, for anyone that’s been bullied, or is right now. It gets better b/c all those people who made my life hell, who made me want to die and I did try twice and thankfully failed, have since grown and matured. All the “dorks” and popular kids now hang out whenever they can get together…..

~Anonymous Yakster

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I was in seventh grade, and an eighth grader was always pushing me into lockers, walls, anywhere else I happened to be at the time. He also called me every name in the book. Finally, I got fed up with it all. He came up to me one day and tried to physically push me around again. I got up into his face and told him if he wanted to push me around anymore, he would have a fight on his hands because I wasn’t gonna take it anymore. From that day on, this guy left me alone.

~Anonymous Yakster

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If you too would like to share your story with us, we would love to hear from you. You can contact us through the contact form at the top of this page, or send your story to JDMontgomery@yakkityyaks.com. The more stories there are, the more we can show others they are not alone in this fight.