KEY FEATURES TASK JASMINE NAME OF FILM AND

KEY FEATURES TASK JASMINE

NAME OF FILM AND YEAR OF RELEASE Name of film: Cyberbully Release date: July 17, 2011

Main characters: Taylor Hillridge (Emily Osment), Samantha Caldone (Kay Panabaker), Lindsay Fordyce (Nastassia Markiewicz), Kris Hillridge (Kelly Rowan). Gender: All characters above are girls. Ages: All characters above are roughly 17 except Kris who is middle aged. Costume: Taylor, Kris and Samantha dress casually in t-shirt and jeans whereas Lindsay dresses in preppy clothes. Personality: Taylor and Samantha act normally, they try to blend in with the crowd. Kris is a very kind, genuine person but is at work a lot of the time. Lindsay likes to stir things up and is a bully.

PLOT Taylor Hillridge is a teenage girl who enjoys everything. When her mother buys her a laptop for her birthday, people start to cyberbully her. Her best friend Samantha stood up for her whilst everyone else left her. Her other close friend Cheyenne walked out on her as she couldn’t cope with all of the attention they were getting. Her crush Scott was put off by the rumours and admitted he didn’t want to go to the dance with her and that he is now going with someone else. Earlier on in the film it is revealed that Taylor’s dad left her family when she was younger. Samantha creates a fake account and ridicules Samantha, pushing her over the edge. Taylor can no longer cope with the negative comments and tries to overdose on medication. Samantha watches a video of Taylor saying goodbye to everyone and calls Kris (Taylor’s mum) who runs out of work to rush home. Ambulances are called and her brother (Eric) sees her on the floor with the medication whilst Samantha knocks the bottle out of her hands and lets Taylor cry into her arms. Taylor is admitted into hospital and has to go to group counselling. She meets another boy from her school who is being bullied and they become friends. At the end of the play a group of people stand up to Lindsay and a law is passed against cyberbullying. All relationships are healed, for example Cheyenne and Samantha all make up with Taylor and Scott and Taylor get together.

MAIN THEMES The main themes of ‘Cyberbully’ are: ― Love (friendships, relationships etc…) ― School (‘High school’/college) ― Teenage years (Crushes, arguments etc…) ― Fear (threats, peril etc…) ― Weaknesses and desires (strengths, weaknesses etc…)

SETTINGS The main settings are: ― School (mainly lunch hall) ― Taylor’s house (most scenes happen here) ― Lindsay’s house ― Hospital ― Group counselling room

ROLES Hero: Taylor Hillridge Villain: Lindsay Fordyce Reward: Law against cyberbullying Father figure: Kris Hillridge Helper: Caleb (last name unknown) Donor: The support group leader/people who got the law passed. False hero: Samantha Caldone.

STAGES Stage 1: Equilibrium – life is normal: At the beginning of the film before Taylor receives her laptop. Stage 2: Disruption – a problem happens: When Lindsay starts to bully her. Stage 3: Recognition – think about how to resolve the problem: When Taylor thinks suicide is the answer. Stage 4: Repair – Go ahead and resolve the problem: When Taylor attempts to kill herself. Stage 5: Restoration – Life returns to normal: When Taylor goes to a support group, stands up for herself an gets the law passed.

CODES AND CONVENTIONS Things that tell the audience they’re watching a teen film: • Objects (technology, schoolwork) • Clothing (hoodies, casual t-shirts) • Settings (school, the way the rooms are decorated) • Music (dramatic, pop/punk) • Dialogue (the way they speak, the things they say) • Camera angles (long shot, close ups) • Groups of people (popular, jocks, nerds)

MODES OF ADDRESS AND TYPE OF NARRATIVE Modes of address: There are no montages, direct address or voice-overs in Cyberbully; during the whole film, all of the cast speak to each other directly without addressing the audience; they don’t break the fourth wall. Type of narrative: Cyberbully has a closed structure; there is a definite ending and no sequel.

MESSAGES AND VALUES Cyberbully informs people of all ages about cyberbullying and that suicide is not the answer. It shows that there are people that are in the same situation as you and that there always people out there who can and who can help you. It also shows you how to deal with bullies. The moral of the story is that bullying is wrong and can lead to awful consequences; bullies will always get punished and if anything did happen to one of the victims then the bullies would have to live with the guilt for ages and the hatred of many people. There’s always another way out.

EFFECT ON AUDIENCE The effect that Cyberbully has on the audience is mixed emotions. Towards the beginning there is a slight amount of excitement as it’s Taylor’s birthday. In the middle there is hatred towards Lindsay and Samantha and sadness towards Taylor as she had done nothing wrong. At the end of the film it gets extremely sad because of the high tensions and big amount of suspense and build-up, hoping that Samantha will get there in time to stop Taylor.