Contemporary wisdom suggests that if you want to truly learn a new skill, then it is best to learn such things from the mass media, especially movies. There are many references about bullying in popular culture and methods that show children how to deal with bullies. Here’s a list of some ideas about countering bullying that movies get entirely wrong.

Adult Intervention

There is nothing unnatural about asking an adult for help when a child feels that he/she is about to get beaten up. One such movie is The Pacifier (2005) in which Vin Diesel (Shane Wolfe), a navy SEAL, is given a job to guard the family of a renowned scientist.

The young boy in the family is rebellious who is bullied at school by his classmates and gym coach for opting to act in a musical. When things get out of hand, Wolfe challenges the gym coach to a wrestling bout inside school premises and humiliates the coach in front of the entire school by beating him in a fair fight.  

Since we are not living in a fairy tale, things can take a wrong turn for the worst in real life situations. In real life the best option is to discuss the situation with parents, who can then go to the principal’s office and report the happenings. So, how to stop bullying from happening? Find peaceful resolution to the problem.

Run for Your Lives!

“If all else fails, run for your lives” is another common advice belted out by adults when kids face bullying. You are considered a fighter if you have an imposing physique as a kid and a runner if your physique doesn’t appear threatening enough. The idea of a runner has been aptly portrayed in the film Forrest Gump (1995) that is about a simple man who is not very intelligent. The protagonist is played by Tom Hanks who has a problem with walking in his childhood. He makes friends with a beautiful neighborhood girl who protects him against bullying. In an important scene in the film, young Forrest is walking with his girlfriend while wearing braces on his legs. They come across a group of bullies riding bicycles who want to have a piece of the crippled boy. At this point the girl screams out to Forrest to run (and run he does during the entire length of the film). He lives to become a successful man.

Once again, this approach doesn’t necessarily work in real life situations because bullies have inflated egos and nurture personal vendettas. One cannot keep running for their entire lives and make it big.

Words Are Sharper Than a Sword

If you have a fast mind and a sharp tongue, then there is no need to worry about bullying because you can always cut bullies into pieces through a verbal tirade of nerve-wrecking vocabulary. The best example of this approach is depicted in the film The Karate Kid (1984). The protagonist is played by Daniel LaRusso (Macchio) who is a high school senior. He befriends a beautiful cheerleader and manages to fan the wrath of her ex-boyfriend, Johnny Lawrence (Willaim Zabka).

The lead actor keeps on ignoring the taunts of the bully for a while until he reaches a breaking point and decides to launch a verbal attack on the villain. In one such scene shot in the school cafeteria, LaRossa loudly insults the best bully. The bully fails to react to the sudden attack and gets shut down.

To be honest, the protagonist would have been beaten down flat in real life.