Goodbye Bullying, Hello Drama

Parents nowadays, though looking out for their child's best interests, cannot relate to much of the current adolescent terminology and as a result are unable to communicate with them effectively.  The term "drama" is a perfect example of this dissociation between the age groups.  When teens hear about drama, they automatically think of gossip and altercations between friends, enemies, etc.  When parents hear about drama, what often comes to mind is the idea of a TV show, movie, or play.  The term this older society is comfortable with using is "bullying."  Yet bullying and drama should not be confused because drama is something much deeper.  Bullying in its traditional sense is referring to the open, unrepentant act of forcibly stealing some one's possessions or inflicting harm on them (physically or emotionally through insults).  Drama is sneaky; it doesn't work in the open but rather bombards one's emotions in order to isolate and manipulate one's feelings.  Often, drama starts as a slight problem before snowballing over a period of time into something hurtful. 

In Dannah Boyd's article, "Bullying as True Drama," she says that teens use the term drama as a coping mechanism that "allows them to distance themselves from painful situations" (Boyd 2).  Dismissing hurtful conflicts as drama lets teens show that such concerns are petty and don't matter (2).  Students will not admit that they are being bullied in school because then that is admitting that they are weak and inhabit a lower social rung.  Bullying is often associated with childhood behavior and most teens would never want to damage their reputations.  Drama lets one feel that they are part of an important grand spectacle that only certain people are in on instead of realizing the truth behind their actions.  It is this hurtful reality that subtly continues until the person (or person's) targeted reach their breaking point.

The film that best exemplifies the act and impact of teen drama is the movie, "Mean Girls."  It demonstrates how fully drama can invade some one's life and impact their behavior for the worse.  The characters use sly, back-handed comments to insult and manipulate the others instead of employing full-on attacks.  The social hierarchy that drama depends on is shown during a lunchroom scene at the beginning of the film.  Boyd's "drama as a coping mechanism" is shown through the main characters' "burn book."  In this book, the popular group of girls create a book full of pictures of classmates and their corresponding insults.  This is how they justify their cruelty; because they aren't openly saying these things to people in school.  All this changes when the book is exposed and hatred floods the school.

It is important to note that the title of the film is, "Mean Girls" not "Mean Teens."  Female characters create all of the rumours and drama circulating around the school. The men are often the instigators of such drama but rarely get too involved.  I find this to be accurate in my social experiences yet not to the extent that this film shows.  We are all responsible for drama whether we like it or not.  If you don't admit it then you are part of the problem concerning us now: identifying the signs and consequences of drama before more are lost. Students must know the consequences of drama to correct poor social behaviors.  Cousenlors of older generations must update their definition of "bullying" in order to provide effective help.  Unless drama is recognized for what it truly is, more individuals will pointlessly fall victim to its wrath.