Is That Cool to be Bullies?

This article is clearly not about movie. I'm not gonna talk about a movie which is discuss bullying theme. What I'm gonna discuss now is my respond about suicide of a boy that just happened last week in America. He is Jamey Rodemeyer, 13-years boy who committed suicide after being bullied.

Each fall nowadays, as the students return to school, bullying issue makes the news again. It is usually related to tragic suffering of minority kid with no power to defend. Despite the age of bullies, still, bullying isn't just a cruel but also a crime.

Who was Jamey Rodemeyer? Jamey was just ordinary boy, not ordinary, lots of difference he once had. He wasn't 'masculine' in physically way. He don't do sports, he don't like 'manly stuff' others likes. He was into Lady Gaga. He said she was his hero. Gaga's music made him more rigid as the time goes by, due to bullying he always get in school. Ya, he was kind of nerd guy I guess. 

People didn't like him. Not because his attittude. I'm pretty sure he was trying to be so nice to others, but too bad no one give him a value. I don't know for how long or for how many years he already suffered for this. But what I heard from news, he reportedly was bullied with gay slurs for more than a year. Gay? Was Jamey a gay? Ya, he was. Four months ago, precisely on May, Jamey uploaded a 2-minutes video that describes the suffering he had been through for a long time. The video was uploaded to YouTube by the project that filters so many people who want to share their expression, compassion, even their belief of life. The project well-known as "It Gets Better". Jamey is one of those people. The purpose of this project is to give a hope. To those people who joins this project, it means they convinced theirself to be strong and don't give a shit to everyone else's evil words. So, why did Jamey changed his mind to took his own life? 

Yes, he changed. After the video uploaded in cyber-space, Jamey got so many rude respond of his sexuality. People intimidated him, I bet they were people in the same school. I'm pretty sure Jamey only felt his hope he got from "It Gets Better" for a little time, and then, intimidation flood on his soul. Though he found solaces in internet, like Formspring, Twitter, and Blog, apparently it didn't get any better. His friends and anti-gay people in school then started to bullied him in different space, which is cyber-space. Oh-my-god, you bullied him in real-life, and then it wasn't satisfied you? Not enough to make you laughing a lot? I feels like I wanna punch them all until now, even though they already apologised and Jamey's family forgave them. The cruelest words was headed to Jamey's Formspring, Among the messages left were :

• "Kill your self!!!! You have nothing left!"
• "Listen to us, you're a bad person, you don't belong here, jump off a bridge or something!"
• "Go kill yourself, you're worthless, ugly and don't have a point to live."

Ya, it was his Formspring that attracted the most hurtfull feeling. He was very active on the social media networking, lets say Twitter and Tumblr (did I already say that?). If I were him, I would be as upset as Jamey was. Can you imagine how painful Jamey felt? I'm not trying to be so dramatic. This news just upset me down. I just saw his Twitter account, and scrolled it down to see his tweets. The account dominated with his expression of being bullied. Some of them were :

• "You make me so proud when I'm getting bullied"
• "Already started school and they're already making fun of me again"

The last tweet of him were took time on Sept 18. 2011, the same day he took his own life. He mentioned @ladygaga on his last tweet :

• "@ladygaga bye mother monster, thank you for all you have done, paws up forever"

Can you still imagine how bad it was for him? After then, he committed to suicide. America is shaking, Buffalo in particular. I don't know what way he chose to did his suicide, but one source says that the body found outside his house. 

I forgot to tell you, I found this news from my friend in Chicago. He was not really give attention to this, but its funny I am the who who turned very excessive to respond this story. Because of this, I searched the same cases and I found some. My biggest attention goes to Ryan Halligan, was 13-years old boy who committed suicide after being bullied in both real-life and cyber-space.

He took his own life in October 7. 2003 by hanging himself on bathroom. He was born in December 18. 1989, in New York City. Sometimes I wish his family weren't decided to move to Essex Junction, Vermont. Ya, there was the city Ryan passed his short life. He attended Albert D. Lawton Middle School and there were the story began. Ryan's interest just as the same as Jamey Rodemeyer was. He was not good at sports, he was really into arts and kind of pop music, he wasn't 'manly' at all like everyone elses think what is the truly definition of that word. He was very sensitive guy, as his father describes himself. People in the school saw Ryan as the target of their mischief. The fact that he was a bit different to the most boys made the others thought that he is gay, although the real fact he wasn't. The bullies continued their behaviour for almost two years and I guess Ryan kept to be strong as the time goes by. 

In December 2002, Ryan asked his father to buy him a boxing set for Christmas gift and his request was fulfilled. After that, Ryan and John Halligan, his dad, took basement as the practice place, and they did the routine practice for 2hours every night. And then Ryan got defending ability, John told him not to use his boxing skill for hatred, but just in case if somebody disturb him. It worked, for a little time. Ryan had a fight with the bullies and it was ended by school staff. Following the fight, Ryan confessed that he and the bullies were became a friends. It was just a trick. The bullies were still kept their need to do bullying. 

During the summer of 2003 Ryan was getting bullied again, in cyber-space. John told media that his son were spending much time on social networking like Aol Messenger and some other thing. Then for the first time he were being cyberbullied, and in school also. John found out his son once ran out from school with tears. Ryan had a crush with popular girl named Ashley and they were doing chat regularly. But apparently she was also a mean. Ashley pretended to be like him but later in school he humilliated him with some friends and shouted "loser" to Ryan. 

The following time, he begun to communicating with cyberspace friend and they were exchanging some information about how to painlessly suicide. He also browsing some source in internet that taught the same thing about suicide. The climax took time on October 7. 2003 when everybody elses were sleeping and John dissapeared to work. His sister went to the bathroom and found his body hanging in there. There were plenty of suicides cases like this. Megan Meier committed suicide after being cyberbullied on MySpace. Phoebe Prince also died because of suicide after being harassed and bullied with the fact she dated popular guy. How silly was that?!

I've been asking to those bullies, what is the point to bully? To satisfy you? It is obviously none of your business to interrupt other's  weakness or the minority. With you push someone on the hallway or into lockers, or shout some painful words directly in front of someone face, would it make you feel mighty and better? Does bullying give people an advantage? Hell to the no. The exact reason of bullies to do that is to making fun of people. They must be think how it feels not only in their side, but in their target mind. People who bullied Jamey Rodemeyer, Ryan Halligan, and the others should be held accountable for their actions, their hates, and all harm they have caused. Very difficult to answer if everyone were asking "who is to blame?" or "who should be arrested?". The age of the bullies is a factor in what police cannot do and make it a lawsuit, than definitely can be so hard to get. The most heartbreaking words comes from John Halligan mouth, which are: "Nothing can ever bring back our Ryan. Nothing will ever heal our broken hearts". I really hope to those bullies who still making fun of this out there, please stop it. Very sad about Jamey who took his life because being teased about his sexuality. Sexuality is a choice and not a sin, and not fun to laugh at it. I told my mother about Jamey, and the thing that shocked her out wasn't the bullying case nor why did a innocent boy ended his life bravely. What my mom asked; "How can he turned into gay? Why he loved boys?". Sorry to say, doesn't mean to be brash, but her mindset of sexuality is as same as dumb people's way of thinking. Please give them your respect if you don't want case like this come to you. Whether you be the victim or the suspect, I don't know. 

All of these suicide and cyberbullying issue has been received international attention. Once you, the bullies, come to the TV screen, no one would give you a respect. Instead, the hatred they will punch to your mind just like the same as you did. Please, find your maturity and be perceptive. 

Source :

• Ryan Patrick Halligan dedication website made by his dad
• Jamey Rodemeyer Twitter account
• Wikipedia : Ryan case, Megan case, Phoebe case
• and other sources that cannot be explained.

[Feature] MY MOVIE LIFE

Sebelum memulai artikel ini, saya mau ngaku kalau sebenernya ini contekkan dari salah satu rubrik majalah film yang paling saya suka: TotalFilm. TotalFilm adalah satu dari dua majalah yang selalu saya beli tiap bulan, selain Cinem**s yang makin lama makin nggak jelas isinya. Bukannya gimana-gimana, apa yang dibahas oleh majalah film Indonesia tersebut banyak yang nggak penting. Apalagi setelah saya mendapat banyak sumber film yang lebih bagus dan berkualitas. Rasanya untuk sekelas majalah yang harusnya bisa saya cap sebagai "pro", majalah tersebut harus bisa dong bahas yang lebih penting, misalnya isi atau kualitas secara menyeluruh. Tuh majalah kalo nggak ngomongin budget film, cast film, dimana syuting dilaksanakan, siapa distributornya, dll. Wtf?!

Oke mungkin fakta bahwa TotalFilm adalah asli dari Inggris bisa jadi alasan. Tapi bila itu dijadikan alasan, sama aja ngaku orang indo nggak bisa menyamakan kemampuan berpikir orang inggris sana dong, hahahaha! Jadi nggak nyambung kan sama apa yang mau dibahas. Feature blog saya berikut ini saya 'adaptasi' dari rubrik Buzz: My Movie Life di TotalFilm. Mungkin yang langganan tahu lah. 

The films 

that make Daniel Putra forget about reality...

THE FIRST MOVIE THAT I REMEMBER SEEING

SHREK (2001)

Agak lupa sebenernya film apa tepatnya yang pertama kali saya tonton. Tapi yang paling saya ingat sih Shrek. Tepatnya tahun 2001 lalu pas saya masih SD, diajak temen gereja nonton bioskop di PIM (Pondok Indah Mall). Dan Shrek sekaligus menjadi film pertama yang saya tonton di bioskop atau lebih tepatnya pengalaman pertama saya masuk bioskop! Well, namanya juga sepuluh tahun lalu, ceritanya pun sebenernya agak lupa. Yang paling diingat mungkin adegan yang nari-nari di lumpur itu, iya nggak sih?

THE MOVIE I SHOULD HAVE SEEN BUT HAVEN'T

HARRY POTTER SAGA (2001-2011)

THE SHAWSHANK REDEMPTION (1994)

Belum pernah sekalipun saya tonton harpot dari yang pertama sampai yang mutakhir. Bahkan sampai pernah ada tayang marathon di tv apa gitu, saya tetep nggak nonton. Mungkin karena emang dari kecil nggak ngikutin, alhasil jadi males untuk ngejar tujuh filmnya. Harry Potter, well, franchise yang rasanya wajib tonton dan katanya salah satu film fantasi terbaik kan? Pernah ada yang bilang gini ke saya, " jangan ngaku manusia abad sekarang kalo nggak pernah nonton Harry Potter". Hahahaha mau diapain lagi. Oiya tidak hanya karena nggak ngikutin dari kecil, sebenernya dulu dilarang nonton beginian yang berbau sihir (orang tua saya memang oldschool sekali!). Di situs IMDB The Shawshank Redemption peringkat satu film terbaik sepanjang masa versi mereka. Di blog temen-temen, banyak yang masukkin nih film ke film favorit. Temen saya bulan lalu dateng ke sekolah heboh banget sama nih film. Udah saya download sih dari bulan lalu, tapi males aja sampe sekarang nontonnya, antara nggak ada waktu dan....ya itu, males.

THE MOVIES THAT ALWAYS MAKES ME CRY

Nah, bagian ini yang agak susah bagi saya. Saya tuh orangnya nggak bisa nangis sama film, sesedih, semiris, atau semenderita apapun orang di sebuah film. Nggak tahu kenapa kayaknya saya tipe orang hemat air mata kali ya. Tapi ada beberapa film yang sangat menyentuh saya, pengen nangis tapi nggak bisa. Ada tiga: Hachiko A Dog's Tale, Brokeback Mountain, sama Into The Wild. Walaupun begitu, ketiga film ini tetap saja tidak bisa memenuhi konteks "always makes me cry".

THE MOVIE EVERYONE HATES THAT I LOVE

THE CHRONICLES OF NARNIA (2005-....)

Narnia adalah film fantasi yang bisa dibilang sangat anak-anak, yang agak susah dinikmatin orang-orang pro ato yang nyari sensasi film tinggi. Dulu ada yang bilang narnia bisa jadi lawan harpot ke depannya. Hmm, saya akui nggak bisa. Walaupun saya blm nonton harpot, harus diakui banyak pengakuan positif untuk harpot. Tapi tetep aja saya suka Narnia, selain menghibur dan sebuah genre kesukaan saya dulu, yang jadi sisi lain bagi saya untuk suka Narnia adalah si C.S Lewis sendiri (salah satu author fav saya). Saya sudah baca versi novelnya, bener-bener menghibur. Dan lagi, Narnia terbentuk dari modifikasi dan penggabungan cerita Alkitab dan mitologi Yunani. Narnia yang paling bagus menurut saya yang kedua, sayangnya jadi anjlok pas Narnia 3.

THE MOVIE THAT I WOULD LOVE TO SEE REMADE

DEATH NOTE

DETECTIVE CONAN

Ini dia dua karya Asia yang saya suka. Dimulai dari versi komik yang emang 'kelahiran' mereka, kemudia dibuat versi kartunnya sampai dibuat live-action film yang saya bilang agak sampah. Walaupun tetep mereka-mereka yang buat, maksud saya orang asia juga, tapi kok kayaknya live-action nya jelek ya. Mungkin banyak yang nggak setuju dengan pikiran saya yang ngarep nih dua kartun di remake Hollywood. Maklum, banyak banget karya-karya Asia yang diubah jadi sampah sama mereka. Contoh yang paling gampang seperti Priest yang baru keluar bulan lalu (belum nonton tapi banyak yang bilang sampah), ada juga Dragonball Evolution yang bagaikan bantar gebang, bukan sampah. Di luar semua itu, saya pengen terlampau pengen untuk ngeliat versi bule dari semua kartun ini. Berhubung genrenya misteri dan termasuk dalam golongan manga smart yang pake otak dan ceritanya rumit, mungkin agak bagus kalo dipilih director yang nggak sampah. Fincher/Nolan? Ah pasti mereka nggak tertarik. (Andai saya punya kekuatan bisik setan jarak jauh)

THE MOVIE I'D TAKE TO A DESSERT ISLAND

DAVID FINCHER'S FILMS

Woo hoo, Fincher! Nonton film-filmnya bisa buat saya lupa mau minum ato ngambil cemilan untuk dijadikan sampingan. Cukup nonton filmnya, udah bisa buat saya puas. Kayaknya mau apapun keadaannya pas lagi nonton, tetep aja nggak bakal ganggu saya untuk nikmatin film-filmnya dia! Oke agak lebay ya.

THE MOVIE I'D SEE AS A LAST REQUEST

Mungkin sesuatu yang sejenis Risky Business bahkan Toy Story. Film2 yang memakai genre mereka sebagai cara terselubung untuk ngasih sesuatu yang udah mereka set sebagai isi utama film mereka.

THE MOVIE ALL KIDS SHOULD SEE AT SCHOOL

Untuk bagian ini, mungkin cukup nonton sesuatu berbau kartun kayak Toy Story yang emang salah satu masterpiece per-kartun-an yang wajib diliat dari kecil. Ada juga Diary of A Wimpy Kid yang masih tergolong baru. Menurut saya untuk konteks anak kecil, nggak perlu film tinggi-tinggi bagi mereka. Cukup satu kata "menghibur", bisa ngisi masa-masa kecil ya kan. Intinya, jangan paksakan anak kecil untuk nikmatin sesuatu yang nggak bisa mereka ngerti.

THE MOVIE I LOVE THAT NO ONE'S HEARD OF

ALL THE RIGHT MOVES (1983)

Sebuah classic '80-an tentang masalah standard anak-anak sekolahan jaman dulu. Hmmm love, pregnancy, sport, etc. Sebenernya filmnya standard dan nggak ada pesan yang terbilang penting. Tapi untuk sebuah film yang rilis masa itu, kayaknya yang ini tergolong jarang. Saya suka soundtracknya, apalagi yang judul "All The Right Moves" serta lagu-lagu lain yang buat saya nyaman nonton. This one is a good film to watch if you like teen-sport-drama which is rare 30years ago.