Cyberbully (film)
Encyclopedia
Cyberbully is a film that premiered on July 17, 2011 on ABC Family
. ABC Family worked with Seventeen Magazine to make the film, and hopes it will "delete digital drama". The film tells the story of a teenage girl who is bullied online. The movie was filmed in Montreal
.
Common Sense Media
gave the film a 4 out of 5 star rating, stating "Cyberbully is a great jumping-off point for talking to teens about the very real dangers that exist online. The movie does a good job of working in most of the hot-button issues related to this topic, including the anonymity that exists online, the legal loopholes that enable cyberbullying, the social pressure on teens to partake in digital relationships, and the emotional devastation that bullying inflicts on its victims and their families."
customers can text “Delete” to 3332 to pledge that they will help end digital drama. Twitter
accounts can now get a "Twibbon" to their page, that says to stop cyberbullying.
On July 14, 2011 ABC Family hosted a live event called "The Rally to Delete Digital Drama" in Glendale, California. The rally included appearances from Shay Mitchell
, Tyler Blackburn
, Daren Kagasoff
, Skyler Samuels
, Grey Damon
, Katie Leclerc
, Vanessa Marano
, Emily Osment
, and more. Emily Osment made a surprise musical performance where she performed her song "Drift" and more. There also was autograph signing and gift giveaways.
released a song called "Drift" which was featured in the film. It was released on July 12, 2011. The movie also used "Breathe Me" by Sia
. TV spots of the movie contain the song "Perfect" by Pink
.
ABC Family
ABC Family, stylized as abc family, is an American television network, owned by ABC Family Worldwide Inc., a subsidiary of the Disney-ABC Television Group division of The Walt Disney Company...
. ABC Family worked with Seventeen Magazine to make the film, and hopes it will "delete digital drama". The film tells the story of a teenage girl who is bullied online. The movie was filmed in Montreal
Montreal
Montreal is a city in Canada. It is the largest city in the province of Quebec, the second-largest city in Canada and the seventh largest in North America...
.
Plot
The film follows Taylor Hillridge, a teenage girl who receives a computer for her birthday from her mom. Taylor is excited by the independence of going online without her mother always watching her. However, Taylor soon finds herself the victim of cyberbullying while visiting a social website. She becomes afraid to face her friends including her best friend Samantha and is pushed to a breaking point. Taylor almost commits suicide by overdosing with pills, but cannot get the cap off, and is sent to a hospital. Taylor's mom learns from the incident and takes on the school system and state legislation to prevent others from going through the same problem as her daughter.Cast
- Emily OsmentEmily OsmentEmily Jordan Osment is an American teen actress, singer-songwriter and voice actress born in Los Angeles, California. After working in several television films in her childhood, she gained fame for co-starring as Gerti Giggles in Spy Kids 2: Island of Lost Dreams and Spy Kids 3-D: Game Over...
as Taylor Hillridge - Kay PanabakerKay PanabakerStephanie Kay Panabaker , better known as Kay Panabaker, is an American film and television actress. She is the younger sister of fellow actress Danielle Panabaker.-Early years:...
as Samantha Caldone - Kelly RowanKelly RowanKelly Rowan is a Canadian television and film actress and former fashion model. She is best known for portraying Kirsten Cohen on The O.C.-Early life:...
as Kris Hillridge - Jon McLaren as Scott Ozsik
- Meaghan RathMeaghan RathMeaghan Rath is a Canadian film and television actress. She has co-starred in the television series 15/Love, The Assistants and currently Being Human.-Acting career:...
as Cheyenne Mortenson - Jade Hassouné as Caleb
- Nastassia Markiewicz as Lindsay Fordyce
- Robert Naylor as Eric Hillridge
- Caroline Redekopp as Karen Caldone
- Ronda Louis-Jeune as Becca
Critical Reception
The film has been given generally positive reviews, with many saying that the movie was very educational, but still entertaining.Common Sense Media
Common Sense Media
Common Sense Media , commonly known as CSM, is a San Francisco-based non-profit organization which serves as a guide for parents that has reviews for most media types, including books, movies, video games, music, and websites, and rates them in terms of violence, sex, and profanity. The website...
gave the film a 4 out of 5 star rating, stating "Cyberbully is a great jumping-off point for talking to teens about the very real dangers that exist online. The movie does a good job of working in most of the hot-button issues related to this topic, including the anonymity that exists online, the legal loopholes that enable cyberbullying, the social pressure on teens to partake in digital relationships, and the emotional devastation that bullying inflicts on its victims and their families."
Promotion
On July 5, 2011 Charlotte Russe created "delete tees" which were available at malls across the USA. The shirts come in black and white with the words "[delete]" on them. Also on July 5, 2011 Verizon WirelessVerizon Wireless
Cellco Partnership, doing business as Verizon Wireless, is one of the largest mobile network operators in the United States. The network has 107.7 million subscribers as of 2011, making it the largest wireless service provider in America....
customers can text “Delete” to 3332 to pledge that they will help end digital drama. Twitter
Twitter
Twitter is an online social networking and microblogging service that enables its users to send and read text-based posts of up to 140 characters, informally known as "tweets".Twitter was created in March 2006 by Jack Dorsey and launched that July...
accounts can now get a "Twibbon" to their page, that says to stop cyberbullying.
On July 14, 2011 ABC Family hosted a live event called "The Rally to Delete Digital Drama" in Glendale, California. The rally included appearances from Shay Mitchell
Shay Mitchell
Shannon Ashley "Shay" Mitchell is a Canadian actress and model. She stars in the ABC Family original series, Pretty Little Liars as Emily Fields.-Early life:...
, Tyler Blackburn
Tyler Blackburn
Tyler Blackburn is an American actor and singer. He is known for his roles as Jesse Pratt in Peach Plum Pear and as Caleb Rivers on the hit ABC Family series Pretty Little Liars.-Career:...
, Daren Kagasoff
Daren Kagasoff
Daren Maxwell Kagasoff is an American actor. He currently stars as Ricky Underwood on the ABC Family teen soap, The Secret Life of the American Teenager.-Early life:...
, Skyler Samuels
Skyler Samuels
Skyler Rose Samuels is an American actress. She is known for her recurring role as Gertrude "Gigi" Hollingsworth in Wizards of Waverly Place on Disney Channel and for appearing in the feature films The Stepfather and Furry Vengeance. She also starred in the ABC series The Gates...
, Grey Damon
Grey Damon
Grey Damon is an American actor. Grey was born on September 24, 1987 and currently resides in Los Angeles.- Career :Damon is known for starring in the hit television shows True Blood, Friday Night Lights and most recently, The Nine Lives of Chloe King as Brian. He also had roles in 90210 and ABC's...
, Katie Leclerc
Katie Leclerc
Katie Lynn Leclerc is an American actress. She has appeared on several television series, including Veronica Mars and Fashion House. In 2011, she received a lead role on the show Switched at Birth, starring as Daphne Vasquez....
, Vanessa Marano
Vanessa Marano
Vanessa Nicole Marano is an American actress. She has appeared on the TV series Without a Trace, Gilmore Girls, Scoundrels and The Young and the Restless, among others. She is currently a main character on Switched at Birth, where she stars as Bay Kennish.-Personal life:Vanessa Marano was born...
, Emily Osment
Emily Osment
Emily Jordan Osment is an American teen actress, singer-songwriter and voice actress born in Los Angeles, California. After working in several television films in her childhood, she gained fame for co-starring as Gerti Giggles in Spy Kids 2: Island of Lost Dreams and Spy Kids 3-D: Game Over...
, and more. Emily Osment made a surprise musical performance where she performed her song "Drift" and more. There also was autograph signing and gift giveaways.
Viewer Reception
Cyberbully gained 3.4 million views on its official release date. It was TV's number one telecost for the 8-10 p.m. time slot. It became the week's number one TV movie, and the second most viewed TV movie of the 2010 and 2011 season.Music
Emily OsmentEmily Osment
Emily Jordan Osment is an American teen actress, singer-songwriter and voice actress born in Los Angeles, California. After working in several television films in her childhood, she gained fame for co-starring as Gerti Giggles in Spy Kids 2: Island of Lost Dreams and Spy Kids 3-D: Game Over...
released a song called "Drift" which was featured in the film. It was released on July 12, 2011. The movie also used "Breathe Me" by Sia
Sia Furler
Sia Kate Isobelle Furler or simply Sia, is an Australian pop, downtempo, and jazz singer and songwriter. In 2000, her single, "Taken for Granted" was a top 10 hit in the United Kingdom. Her 2008 album, Some People Have Real Problems peaked in the top 30 on the Billboard 200...
. TV spots of the movie contain the song "Perfect" by Pink
Pink (singer)
Alecia Beth Moore , better known by her stage name Pink , is an American singer-songwriter, musician and actress....
.