Schools
Standing Up to Bullying
Weston resident Alexander Boston and his mother, Christine spoke to Patch about their short film project "Stand Up," filmed at Weston High School.
Eight-year-old Weston resident and Rogers International School student Alexander Boston had enough of bullying, so he decided to do something about it.
For Alexander, "doing something" meant writing a script and making a short film, "Stand Up," with the help of his parents, filmmaker Johnny Boston and producer Christine Fulton. The five-or-six minute movie was filmed at and the surrounding grounds.
Weston High School senior Ricky Rivera is co-producing the film.
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"This all came out of Alexander's head," Fulton told Patch. "We want to use it as a teaching tool."
Alexander, who is just finishing second grade, said he thought that "it would be nice to make a movie about bullying," because he wants "people to know that bullying isn't right."
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"When people are bossy, or tell you that you can't do something, that's bullying," Alexander said. "It's a story and a [documentary] at the same time."
Many of the children in the film are from Weston, and are friends of Alexander's.
The film tells the story of a bully and her sidekick. As the film progresses, the sidekick, who is uncomfortable with her friend's behavior but is afraid to speak out, learns to stand up for others, and herself.
Alexander and his parents are planning to edit the film over the summer, and release it in August with the help of community groups and the schools. They are "also looking at YouTube," Christine said.
The family is also looking at the project as a way for kids to get more involved in the arts.
"All kids are creative naturally, and we want to foster that at an earlier age," Christine said, noting that there aren't many opportunities for children to pursue filmmaking; the Boston family is considering developing a summer filmmaking workshop for students in future years.
However, the primary goal of the project is to help kids "stand up" to bullies, and to teach kids that peer-led "group support" is the best way to combat the behavior, instead of "internalizing" events that may force a child to believe that "it's all their fault," she said.
Christine said that they are hoping to feature documentary-format interviews with the children who are appearing in the film.
"We want them to talk about what's really going on," Christine said. "We don't want kids to feel isolated and alone."
Alexander had another idea.
"Everyone deserves respect," he said, simply.