Bullied by Carrie Goldman

Author:Carrie Goldman
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: HarperCollins

It’s a story in which those with the most power too often have the wrong kind of power—they are bullies, narcissistic athletes, “dogs,” or “players”—the ones who call the shots and get the scantily clad, booty-jiggling, music video girls. It’s a story that teaches boys that they need to avoid humiliation at all costs, seek revenge if wronged, dress to impress and intimidate, be tech savvy, show wealth, and take risks, all the while pretending they don’t care about any of it.12

This identity story simply does not jive with an anti-bullying message. I spoke with Josh Golan, associate director at Campaign for a Commercial-Free Childhood, about the WWE’s new anti-bullying partnership. “Be a STAR is a curriculum that goes along with a film called That’s What I Am,” Golan told me. “The film is made by the WWE, and it stars Ed Harris. In the copy I received, before the film began, there was an ad for a WWE videogame.” Golan is very concerned about the partnership, describing the WWE as a “celebration of humiliation.”

Still, it is hard to turn away a company that wants to spread an anti-bullying message, especially when that company has the ability to reach millions of people. The WWE could become credible participants at the table of kindness, critics say, if they make serious script changes going forward. Given that the WWE has built an empire on depictions of bullying disguised as athletic competitions, it may be impossible to satisfy the goals of an anti-bullying platform while keeping the brand intact. The existing brand is wildly successful, so the WWE may not have an incentive to make fundamental changes merely to appease a proportionately small number of outspoken critics.

Just one week after WWE made a “No Homophobia” pact with the Gay and Lesbian Alliance Against Defamation (GLAAD), a WWE commentator sent a tweet to a colleague calling him a “faggot.” When the commentator was called out on his language, he sent a tweet to his followers that stated in part: “I apologize to any and all who were offended by my tweet. It was obviously not meant the way it was taken.”13 Although it may be the case that the two men were engaging in the type of insider joking that often includes homophobic comments, this does not change the fact that outsiders found it offensive, and it reinforces the pressure on boys not to be considered a “homo” by their peers. The tweet incident aside, the WWE has millions of devoted fans who are outspoken in their defense of WWE’s Be a STAR campaign. The corporation clearly employs marketing geniuses; now it is time to hire scriptwriting geniuses.

In the end, the WWE and Mattel are just two companies, but they represent the vast power that corporations hold to influence cultural messages. Ever the optimist and slightly the skeptic, I curiously await the future to see if these companies can inculcate the ideals of the anti-bullying campaigns they profess to support. Slick marketing campaigns, or instruments of change? We shall see.

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