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email BY Molly Crane-newman NEW YORK DAILY NEWS Thursday, September 1, 2016, 11:04 AM
A 7th grade Illinois student who felt he was being bullied released a powerful video and its message is hitting home.
“We all knew what was going on — we knew about the beatings, and we knew who was doing it — we knew who locked him in a cupboard, and we know who sent him really bad tweets and messages,” the video begins.
“But I think we all expected somebody else to do something about it.”
Jonah Maxwell.
(courtesy of Bright Red Design Inc.)
The poignant piece took Jonah Maxwell, of St. Charles, Illinois, seven months to write, direct and produce, and it's had a big impact since its release — with teachers around Chicago and in classrooms as far away as Ireland, Australia and Brazil showing their students in an attempt to make a change.
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“He has been bullied in elementary school and has seen kids get bullied in middle school and via social media,” Maxwell's mother, Jenny Maxwell, told the Daily News.
“He feels very strongly about this topic and he wants to try encourage kids to speak up if it's happening to you or if you're doing the bullying, to stop!” she said.
The poignant piece took Jonah Maxwell, of St. Charles, Illinois, seven months to write, direct and produce.
(Maxwell Productions Ent./Youtube)
The nearly seven-minute-long video, which tells Maxwell's story along with many others', features visuals of faceless bullies taunting and teasing school kids as he narrates their stories in the background.
“You have to believe that good people, who are willing to help you, are around — you just have to find them,” the 12-year-old says in the video.
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The St. Charles student urges children who feel they are being bullied and may feel isolated to speak up and seek help, and he uses the video to highlight the rise of online teasing — a facet of bullying which did not exist a decade ago.
The nearly seven-minute-long video, which tells Maxwell's story along with many others, features visuals of faceless bullies taunting and teasing school kids as he narrates their stories in the background.
(Maxwell Productions Ent./Youtube)
“It made me cry and it has given so many people hope and courage. We are delighted! If it helps one child it will have been worth it,” Maxwell's mother said.
“The Bully” video comes on the heels of the death of Daniel Fitzpatrick, a 13-year-old boy from Staten Island who took his own life in August after teachers at Holy Angels Catholic Academy ignored his pleas for help regarding school bullies.
The budding film director hopes the video will encourage victims of bullying to speak up.
(courtesy of Bright Red Design Inc.)
In his suicide note, Fitzpatrick described how boys in his class made his life a living hell — constantly tormenting him about his weight and humiliating him on a day-to-day basis.
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“The teachers… they didn't do anything,” he said, before writing that he “gave up.” Tags: illinois viral videos bullying chicago Send a Letter to the Editor Join the Conversation: facebook Tweet PC Richard and Son Sign Up Follow Us Facebook Twitter Instagram Pinterest YouTube Keep in Touch Newsletter Apps Subscribe Feeds Support & Contact Contact Us Careers Media Kit Site Map Terms of Use Ad Choices Terms of Service Privacy Policy Daily News Covers © Copyright 2016 NYDailyNews.com. All rights reserved.
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