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| MEAN CREEK (2004) | |
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Bullies have entered the minds of many through news coverage of tragedies
such as the Columbine shootings in 1999, maybe even through painful
personal experience, or perhaps by being the spectator of someone
bullied. The social implications of bullying are tremendous as they have lead many young people to commit grave and horrible acts of violence
in order to prevent teen harassment directed towards them. Thus,
prevention of bullying is a major undertaking that needs to be addressed
at every school as some students might become targets for teen discrimination
in forms of physical, social, and emotional abuse. Prevention of
bullying must be taught through the enlightenment of the issue and the
consequences that bullying might produce, and this information cannot
afford to be sugar coated or pleasant, as bullying is an anguishing and
tormenting issue that sometimes has deadly consequences.
On a sunny school day during a recess for some middle school students when George (Josh Peck) sets up his camera to film himself shot some hoop, Sam (Rory Culkin) discovers the camera standing by itself. Curiously Sam begins to examine the camera, which quickly turns ugly as George screams to Sam not to touch the camera followed by a severe physical beating while Sam is called several derogatory names. This is not the first time George has beaten someone, or called someone names. It appears that this is something of a norm for George, which Sam detests as he wants to teach George a lesson that what he does is not appropriate. Sam's brother and his friends concoct the idea of luring George by inviting him on a boating trip on Sam's birthday, and on the trip they plan on teaching George a lesson by using his own methods. The trap is set up to perfection, but when they get to meet George they discover a sad character. The group's plan change as they decide not to go through with the plan in sympathy for George. The journey down the creek by the small party of teens becomes a tormenting experience as the story moves in waves. Where each wave brings a new and unexpected emotion as it discloses more about George's persona. Feelings of sympathy, anger, and disgust bounce off the audience's mind with calculated precision as Jacob Aaron Estes lets the story run its course while its looming direction seems unavoidable. Mean Creek follows the footsteps of several other films that aim their attention towards this deplorable teen behavior. Bully (2001) by Larry Clark is a much darker and nastier story in regards to bullying where the teens take the law into their own hands. Gus van Sant directed Elephant (2003) that won the Golden Palm in Cannes 2003, which depicts the calm before the storm in a similar manner as what happened in Columbine in 1999. Estes brings the audience a different perspective than van Sant and Clark did in their films as he brings the two different parties together on an enlightening journey where they discover the awful truth about bullying and violence. Mean Creek provides the opportunity for enlightenment in regards to bullying in a genuine and unpleasant manner and should be considered to be seen by most teens. However, MPAA has given the film a R-rating, which limits the number of teens that will be able to see the film. This is unfortunate as Estes seems to have given a sincere version of how bullying can be detrimental in more than one way as it can affect -- the bully, the bullied, and the spectator. |
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| Jacob Aaron Estes | |
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USA |
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| REVIEWED | |
| 1/26/2005 | |
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The Internet Movie Database. |
