discussion Is the bullying in Stranger Things over-the-top and unrealistic?

[Eóghan]

There's an ongoing debate online about how bullying is depicted in Stranger Things overall, mostly on twitter and reddit.

 

Some people say how it's addressed in the show is doin a huge disservice to the topic by showing one-dimensional bullies in caricatural situations; the consensus is that it's borderline cringe-worthy and unrealistic in it's depiction.

 

Other people are chiming in, mostly boomers who were teens in the 80s and 90s, and they say it's actually very accurate and things were actually way worse than in the show, bullying had a different nature involving physical violence most of time. They're talking about generational trauma, they say that things only got better for the kids until somewhere around 10 to 15 years ago. It wasn’t just socially accepted back then, it was socially expected. They say the only thing unrealistic in the show is the presence of therapists in school which didn't exist at all.

 

Do you think bullying got better for us, should we consider the kids of today lucky or things are even worse because of the digital and it's anonymous nature? cyberbullying is silent but doesn't that make it more dangerous?

 

 

 

 

 

 

[JBJT2786]

"

Anyone who says this unrealistic :

 

Tell me you weren't born in 70s-90s without telling me you weren't born in the 70s-90s challenge.

 

Kids were literally this cruel back then. The problem is more of this is triggering some 30-50 year Olds PTSD from being bullied as a kid. This type of bullying technically stopped because of Columbine and the internet. 

 

Cyberbullying isn't as bad because you can easily turn off the computer or delete your account. You can't do that with physical bullying unless you fight back. And you better fight good cuz if you don't it'll get worse. And if you do and they're the popular kid, you'll still be the "loser" but no one will mess with you.

[Harry]

bullying is kinda different across the globe tho i always has this thought in my mind when I watch white people bullies in movies/series like “oh so that’s how they bully white kids in school”

[hardbrit]

It's actually tame to how it REALLY goes down. Kids still are very much affected by this disease.

[Alaska.]

Isn't Stranger Things an homage to the 80s? I wasn't alive then but books by Stephen King were super popular and they were known to have bullies who were borderline psychotic. Even if it wasn't the reality, it definitely was an overused concept in media.

[Mr.Link]

The US is so obsessed with tackling “bullying” at schools and yet they refuse to ban guns

[shinyshimmery]

that argument is so dumb... EVERY high school show on netflix depicts some form of bullying. The bullying EL goes through in S4 is extremely tame, and honestly... at least it wasn't homophobic bullying. Kids are much worse than that, especially nowadays with social media and technology. 

Edited May 31, 2022 by shinyshimmery

[satellites.™]

Its tame, there was a time when teachers would WATCH kids be abused and literally just yelled "stop" at most.

 

No phones to record what happened to you, no social media to complain and expose bullies, no friends to share trauma with. Being cornered in a bathroom or locker room as a young, KNOWN to be gay guy in a Tennessee high school could literally be as scary as being at war in Iraq to a high school student.

 

Yes, today is bad, but you guys are more afraid of EQUAL beefs or social media beefs, not 5 guys chasing one dude down because he was smiling and beating him to a pulp before his own dad beat him again for getting beat up.

[Totami Legend]

23 minutes ago, Mr.Link said:

The US is so obsessed with tackling “bullying” at schools and yet they refuse to ban guns

[Sugden]

not really there is still bullying that severe going these days around the world

[Cryptique]

the girl got superpowers but y'all are complaining about the over-the-top bullying for not being realistic which we have seen for a lot of TV Shows/Movies already?

[Oktober Knight]

I grew up in the 90s and was heavily bullied in school and I can tell you that it could get this bad. Though the milkshake was a bit over the top, some kids would make your life absolutely miserable all day every day by embarrassing you, shoving you, calling you names, tripping you, etc. 

 

I'm sure in today's world it has gotten better since bullying is mostly frowned upon and teachers notice it more often (in my days they would turn a blind eye). 

[Beyonnaise]

I haven't watched Stranger Things since it first debuted but I think in general "bullying" has always been portrayed unrealistically. It's not usually a tough kid beating up on a weaker one. In my experience sometimes the worst bullying happens among people who are supposed to be friends. This will sound silly as a comparison but I think it's more realistic in South Park, where Kyle and Cartman are "friends" but are constantly bickering and bullying each other, but there's not a significant power imbalance between them despite Cartman being objectively worse.

Edited May 31, 2022 by Beyonnaise

[brazil]

That's how most people outside of the US perceive US schools, bullying, popular kids being the most desired and prom

[UnusualBoy]

The bullying comes in different ways and only if you've been through it you know what it feels like so no, I don't think it's over the top and unrealistic, especially when kids can be totally evil towards others.

[Pendulum]

It's not a generational issue. Kids are cruel. Period.

[EdgeofTeeth]

Not unrealistic at all, kids really can be this awful. I'm sure bullying takes different forms now since the internet is so prominent / bullies are cowards and can hide behind a screen, but I definitely saw (and experienced) similar things to those depicted in the show. 

[Buffy]

It’s not unrealistic. Eleven was getting bullied for a much longer time off-screen than the scenes shown. Kids can be super cruel. I would know. I was bullied elementary through high school. 

[Ghiles]

Kim Garam would like to have a word with you  

[Jagger]

Not really especially in the 80s 

 

I was bullied/humiliated by the popular kids and I wasn't even that weird. I was very middle of the road. The super weird kids were TORMENTED 

Edited June 1, 2022 by Jagger

[Pop Life]

As someone who was physically assaulted regularly in junior high school to the point of black eyes and broken teeth (and more degrading acts that I won't talk about here) I can tell you that the bullying in most TV shows is nowhere near as bad as the real thing.

[Gladiator]

Although I was never bullied to that degree, I do know of a few people who were. Even one who dealt with something very similar to what happened at the skating rink. I agree with the majority of people who say that it can be even worse than that for many kids, especially in that time period.

[fountain]

It’s not unrealistic, it just seems cringeworthy because bullying itself is cringeworthy, so when you are watching it take place of course that reaction occurs. When I was in high school the bullying was similar, it would be violent and physical and threatening, and really quite psychotic. I think one thing that is somewhat overlooked in the depiction of bullying though is that it isn’t usually just one person like how these shows demonstrate, but rather whole groups of people, and it isn’t just “popular” people or people who know you, either. I could be walking down the corridor and somebody could hit me and I wouldn’t know their name and I most likely have never have spoken to them in my life and they could be older than me or younger than me, too. It was everywhere and it was everyone. 

[Miracle]

I haven't watched the show, and as they have mentioned before, such extreme forms of bullying were more common at the time the series happen but it's true that there's a decidely unrealistic portrayal of what bullying is nowadays. Very rarely bullying turns into beating the **** out of someone or making them gag in disgusting toilet water, therefore labelling other more subtle but equally sinister ways of bullying as "kids being kids" "boys will be boys"

 

 

[Bloo]

I was born in the 90s and had bullying very similar to what was in the latest season when I was in middle school.