As part of the IMHO project, I watched and discussed with teenagers a film by German filmmakers, Experiment 2: The Wave. It seemed to me that we had an important and frank conversation with high school students about totalitarianism, authoritarianism and mobbing. I recommend that you watch the film with your children, but keep in mind that it is tougher than Tod Strasser's book “The Wave”, which was based on. The IMHO project allows children not only to watch films about basic human values for free (“The Reader”, “Golgotha”, “Ocean”), but also to talk about them with smart adults. This time, these adult and caring interlocutors were me and the project organizer Masha Tereshchenko.
I would like to share my impressions of the conversation with teenagers aged 14-16. We discussed the causes of totalitarianism and authoritarianism in society and moved on to the topic of mobbing.
The guys were not impressed by the violence of their peers from the film. They admitted that they had faced violence and bullying in their lives. They openly admitted that they were both among the “persecutors” and among the victims. When asked who is most often an outcast in the classroom, they agreed that this is “new”. We started looking into this situation and it turned out that the guys were afraid to make contact with the “new guy” because they were afraid of rebuff from him and might run into his “unfriendliness”. They agreed that it was their suspicion and distrust of someone new that prevented them from reaching out to him first. They are looking closely, and during this time there is always someone in the classroom who will openly oppose them in order to increase their popularity. And if this “someone” is a leader, he will form the preconceived opinion of the “majority”. And those who have been looking closely all this time and did not seem to have participated in the bullying will turn into silent “observers”. And, as we know, there can be no “observers” in mobbing. In mobbing, everyone is an accomplice. And it is often very difficult to get out of this group of “observers”, as children are afraid of the judgment of their peers. It turns out that they are afraid of a lot of things, as they look at themselves through the eyes of their peers. We talked to the guys about the benefits of being alone, how useful it can be to be alone with yourself and how important it is to “become your own friend” (Seneca) so as not to depend on the opinion of the crowd.
One of the interlocutors admitted that he had to transfer to another school because he was bullied. He couldn't answer the guys' question “why?” Of course, this question should not be asked, since most often they bully “for nothing”. Each of us in any team can be bullied. The boy said that his new school is also hard, but not as hard as the old one. I was pleased that he helps his peers who have been bullied on social media. He gives them very correct advice: immediately cut off contacts with anyone who starts writing nasty things to you on the Internet.
I was also pleased that some of the guys read Tod Strasser's books “The Wave”, V. Zheleznikov's “The Scarecrow”, and W. Golding's “The Lord of the Flies”. I was once again convinced that it is necessary to watch movies about violence and bullying with children to make them think about something that, due to their age, they rarely think about, as they accept bullying as the “norm” of life.
I was disappointed that all the guys resolutely refuse to ask adults for help or advice in a mobbing situation. Unfortunately, they don't trust adults. They don't believe we can help them in any way. That is why it is very important to regain trust or gain it again so that the child feels protected and can talk about their problems or the trouble a friend or classmate has been in. We should not leave them alone with this adult misfortune!
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