Cyberbully (film)

cyberbu//y
Promotional poster
Distributed by	Muse Entertainment Enterprises
Directed by	Charles Binamé
Produced by	Jesse Prupas
Written by	Teena Booth
Starring	Emily Osment Kay Panabaker Kelly Rowan
Music by	James Gelfand
Editing by	Simon Webb
Country	United States
Language	English
Release date	July 17, 2011 (2011-07-17)
Running time	87 minutes

Cyberbully (stylized cyberbu//y) is a film that premiered on July 17, 2011 on ABC Family. ABC Family worked with Seventeen Magazine to make the film, and hopes it will "delete digital drama". The film tells the story of a teenage girl who is bullied online.^[1] The movie was filmed in Montreal^{[citation needed]}.

Plot

The film follows Taylor Hillridge, a teenage girl who receives a computer for her birthday from her mom. Taylor is excited by the independence of going online without her mother always watching her. However, Taylor soon finds herself the victim of cyberbullying while visiting a social website. She becomes afraid to face her friends including her best friend Samantha and is pushed to a breaking point. Taylor almost commits suicide by overdosing with pills, but cannot get the cap off, and is sent to a hospital. Taylor's mom learns from the incident and takes on the school system and state legislation to prevent others from going through the same problem as her daughter.^[2]

Cast

• Emily Osment as Taylor Hillridge
• Kay Panabaker as Samantha Caldone
• Kelly Rowan as Kris Hillridge
• Jon McLaren as Scott Ozsik
• Meaghan Rath as Cheyenne Mortenson
• Jade Hassouné as Caleb
• Nastassia Markiewicz as Lindsay Fordyce
• Robert Naylor as Eric Hillridge
• Caroline Redekopp as Karen Caldone
• Ronda Louis-Jeune as Becca

Critical Reception

The film has been given generally positive reviews, with many saying that the movie was very educational, but still entertaining. Common Sense Media 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."^[3]

Promotion

On July 5, 2011 Charlotte Russe created "delete tees" which were available at malls across the USA. The shirts come in black and white with the words "[delete]" on them. Also on July 5, 2011 Verizon Wireless customers can text “Delete” to 3332 to pledge that they will help end digital drama. Twitter accounts can now get a "Twibbon" to their page, that says to stop cyberbullying.^[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 made a surprise musical performance where she performed her song "Drift" and more. There also was autograph signing and gift giveaways.^[5]

Viewer Reception

Cyberbully gained 3.4 million views on its official release date. It was TV's number one telecost for the 8-10 p.m. time slot. It became the week's number one TV movie, and the second most viewed TV movie of the 2010 and 2011 season.^[6]

Music

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

References

1. ^ http://www.askthejudge.info/dont-miss-abcs-family-movie-cyberbully-on-july-17th/10028/
2. ^ http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1930315/synopsis
3. ^ http://www.commonsensemedia.org/tv-reviews/cyberbully
4. ^ http://abcfamily.go.com/movies/cyberbully/blogs-details/delete-digital-drama-abc-family-and-seventeen/806550
5. ^ http://abcfamily.go.com/movies/cyberbully/blogs-details/rally-delete-digital-drama/811355
6. ^ http://tvbythenumbers.zap2it.com/2011/07/19/abc-family-original-movie-cyberbully-is-week%e2%80%99s-no-1-tv-movie-across-key-demos-and-no-2-movie-of-the-201011-season-in-females-12-34/98393/

External links

• Official Website