This powerful film begins by defining body image as “a picture of one’s own physical look established by self-observation and by noting the reactions of others.” Bold graphics and colorful images create an attention-grabbing introductory montage. Teens with eating and/or body image problems frankly describe issues related to the desire of girls to be thin and the desire of boys to be bigger, faster, and stronger. They discuss dangerous behaviors such as bulimia, binge eating, and the use of steroids. A video clip of a freelance digital artist who airbrushes and tweaks photos of the posteriors of celebrities helps to debunk the myth about those perfect body images that have been foisted upon teens by the media. Professionals in the field also offer input and possible solutions. This compelling program can be used by school counselors and health and family and consumer science teachers to make students aware of the dangers of negative body image.–Patricia McClune, Conestoga Valley High School, Lancaster, PA

Click here to view the School Library Joural review

Pollystaffle rating: (3 out of 4 stars)

Shortly after the school shooting at Columbine High School in Littleton, Colo., filmmakers JC Pohl and Erahm Christopher decided to tackle the problem of violence in the classroom. In 2006, they completed the highly praised documentary short “Teen Truth: An Inside Look at Bullying and School Violence.” Since then they’ve reached more than 250,000 students with their message by visiting schools, screening the film and discussing the issues.

While their efforts on the subjects of school bloodshed continue, the award-winning duo hopes their new film is able to inspire and save lives in a different way. Their follow-up looks at the important topic of substance abuse. Though it doesn’t have quite the power as their first production, “Teen Truth: An Inside Look at Drug & Alcohol Abuse” does pack an effective combo punch by entertaining and educating its viewers.

Christopher’s quick-paced film covers the downward spiral of an addict with great results. Instead of having some authority figure say “Drugs are bad, mmmkay” like “South Park” counselor Mr. Mackey, “Teen Truth: Drugs” uses a subjective journalist approach and presents facts and various points of views without ever getting preachy.

Like “Teen Truth: Bully,” this film uses music of Darren Fung, statistics, real 911 phone calls and footage shot by teenagers with great results. “Teen Truth: Drugs” also features visuals depicting illicit drug use, photos of car crashes caused by alcohol, as well as candid interviews with addicts, emergency room doctors and an undercover narcotics officer. All of the footage is weaved together to reveal the slow and unpleasant picture alcohol paints.

It all begins the same way for every addict – just one sip. Many say their friends or parents were doing it, so they wanted to give it a try. “Monkey see, monkey do,” one of the recovering addicts in the films states. Whether it was by sneaking a wine cooler from Mom, being given a brewski from big Brother or offered beer at an underage keg party, 65 percent of the youth who drink say they get alcohol from friends or family.

It doesn’t take long after that first taste for an individual to become a user of alcohol. Once they do, beer becomes as common as soda when hanging with friends. Recreation then grows into need. Once a week becomes twice a week. Then it becomes every day till eventually everything is about getting high. Nothing else matters. The alcohol more often than not progresses into marijuana, which then leads to cocaine, crystal meth, crack or heroin.

But like the old anti-drug campaigns used to declare: “No one ever says, ‘I want to be a junkie when I grow up.’” Nobody intends to become an addict. “It won’t happen to me.” “I’m not an addict.” “I can control it.” “I just drink to have a good time.” This is what they all say at some point. Each and every one of them that eventually ends up losing control of themselves. As a result they risk and often times lose their dreams, their friends, their family, their health and their future.

The lucky ones make it to a treatment center with physical, emotional and mental damages that are irreversible. They live out the rest of their lives fighting addictions, overcoming their physically deteriorating bodies and trying to heal the wounds they’ve inflicted on their loved ones. The unlucky ones end up homeless, in jail, in prison or institutions. The unluckiest – 135,000 people a year to be exact – just don’t make it at all and are laid to rest in a cemetery.

What led Christopher and Pohl to make the first “Teen Truth” film was the absence of a teen perspective in the media when in comes to school violence and bullying. To truly open the lines of communication on an issue, you have to make sure the voiceless are heard. Christopher and Pohl achieved that and the final result was the most understanding portrayal of school violence ever captured on film. “Teen Truth: Bully” went on to be a winner at the 2007 Golden Eagle Awards, which are known for excellence in documentary and other informational film and video productions.

With “Teen Truth: Drugs” they took a similar approach. They incorporated not only the perspectives of teenagers, but also those of recovering addicts, which ends up giving the film its power.

All of the addicts express that if they could to do it all over again, they would not have gotten involved with alcohol and drugs. “It starts off fun. but when it’s all over, the only person that’s paying the price is you,” one woman explains. Another female addict states: “A lot of my life is down the drain and I could never get it back.”

Even more touching are the words of another recovering addict. “You don’t realize, maybe when you have just a beer or just a hit of a joint where that’s going to take you,” she says near the end of the film. “Just one hit or one beer can change your whole life.” The film closes with her breaking down. “It’s so hard,” she states. “I just want to cry. It’s just hell. It’s a life of hell and it never goes away. Even when you stop, it doesn’t go away. Don’t ever start. Then you won’t have to stop.” Sometimes it is hard to believe it is that simple, but it is.

- CCF, January 2008

“Your misery and hate will kill us all!” 
- My Chemical Romance
“Everyone is always making fun of me because of how I look… well I will get you back.” 
- Eric Harris

The world is filled with too much hate. You can chose to deny that, pretend it doesn’t involve you or anyone you know and look the other way as society destroys itself. Or you can accept it and do your part to change it. Sure, that might be a bit reminiscent of a Michael Jackson song, but as filmmaker Erahm Christopher asks, “If you’re not trying to make a difference, then what are you doing?”

Christopher sees teenagers as an important key to making any change for the better happen. The more we understand them and the better they understand themselves, the more open the lines of communication become. That’s essentially what a movement spearheaded by Christopher and his Horizon Intertainment producing partner John C. Pohl is all about. Their documentary “Teen Truth,” which is being distributed by B1 Films, and is planned to be the first in a series of short films produced in collaboration with teenagers for use as educational material, tackles the topics of bullying and school violence. A second film looking at drugs and alcohol is already in the works and a third on suicide will follow with a possible feature coming later down the road that would even incorporate sexuality.

Though these are all very important issues that have been sort of swept under the rug in the past and are heavily in need of discussing, perhaps none are more over due than bullying and violence. There are many who don’t see the connection of these two issues, which is evident with the lack of understanding in both the media and the entertainment world and the increasing number of incidents. Over the course of the last decade, more than 200 children have been wounded or killed in school shootings with eighty-seven deaths stretching over seven countries and twenty-three states. It seems to happen so often now, it doesn’t even faze us. We have become numb and desensitized that it’s just added to the list of things that kind of evoke a “what’s new?” response. “News flash: a professional athlete gets busted for doing something illegal, a seemingly happily married couple gets divorced, an entertainer gets plastic surgery, the United States drops bombs on another country, the Houston Texans lost and a kid shot up his school. So what’s new?” It’s sad to think, but it sure feels like no one cares.

Enter Christopher and Pohl. Shortly after the school shooting at Columbine, the idea behind “Teen Truth” was conceived. The goal was to give teenagers a chance to express themselves about the issue. They selected five teens from various backgrounds and ethnicities after 150 interviews. Those teens were given the tools to document their senior years using the internet and video cameras. What Christopher and Pohl found was no shock. The students had a lot to say on a number of topics and a lot of what each felt ran parallel despite differences in demographics. All were coping with rejection, loneliness, harassment and various forms of bullying. To go with the footage shot by the teenagers, Christopher and Pohl conducted interviews with various educators and psychologists to see what they had to say. They also used teenagers to film a reenactment of a student, played by David Machado, carrying out a high school massacre. These scenes, partly directed by teenager Shane Williamson, who also served as assistant editor, were then intercut with actual footage and 911 tapes from the Columbine tragedy, along with interview clips from witnesses of the Santana High School shooting in California. The final product is a simply brilliant must see for parents and their children that will hopefully soon be playing in every school district.

After watching “Teen Truth,” I thought back to all of the educational videos shown to me through my entire career as a student. They were always dull and laughable with poor production qualities. They lectured and never entertained. Many students would sleep through the films, while others found better things to do like passing notes. But this film is different as it manages to be educational and entertaining. Statistics such as “30 percent of teens are involved in school bullying” or “52 percent of teens feel pressure to look certain ways” pop up on the screen, while soundbytes from various individuals share view points. The film also runs down assorted forms of bullying like teasing, intimidation, exclusion, spreading rumors and physical attacks, while noting bullying causes isolation, anxiety, anger and can lead to students wanting to kill. Christopher uses quick cuts, graphics and subtitles to emphasize certain quotes and the haunting music of Darren Fung. Somehow the whole thing manages to come off slick, yet raw at the same time. It feels less like something a high school student would be forced to watch at school and more like something they would chose to watch at home.

More importantly though, “Teen Truth” is the most understanding portrayal of school violence ever captured on film. That’s because Christopher isn’t looking to place blame with his film. He’s not interested in scapegoats. No mention of any types of music, movies, entertainers or video games that possibly influenced any shootings are ever brought up. Christopher’s film is more of a sympathetic hand reaching out, hoping to help in whatever way possible. Mostly what we get are teenagers candidly sharing their thoughts and voicing their opinions – which is all any of the gunmen ever seemed to want to do in the first place.

When Eric Harris and Dylan Klebold walked into their high school in Littleton, Colo. on April 20, 1999 and proceeded to kill 12 of their peers, a teacher, and wound 24 others, a lot of people didn’t understand why. Seven years after the event, the contents of Eric and Dylan’s journals were finally made available to the public. Both were filled with sadness, loneliness and hate from being rejected by peers. Eric penned, “Whatever I do people make fun of me,” while Dylan wrote, “I don’t know what I do wrong with people, it’s like they set out to hate and ignore me.” These writings clearly show individuals that are hurting. They felt alone. They felt rage. They wanted acceptance. They wanted to be noticed. They wanted to be heard.
One of the girls interviewed in “Teen Truth,” making a general statement about all teenage gunmen, probably said it best. “They wanted to make their statement and say, ‘This is the way you treated us.’ And they feel that this is the repercussion of not treating people like they’re actually human.”

Perhaps now more people will begin to understand that. In Michael Moore’s Oscar winning documentary “Bowling for Columbine” Marilyn Manson was asked what he would have said to Eric and Dylan to prevent the Columbine tragedy from happening. Manson replied, “I wouldn’t say a single word to them, I would listen to what they have to say and that’s what no one did.” Though too late for Eric, Dylan and the other students enraged to the point of violence, “Teen Truth” is giving high school students a voice on the subject. Now hopefully someone is listening.

- CCF, September 2006

“What are you trying to say, I’m crazy? When I went to your schools. I went to your churches. I went to your institutional learning facilities. So how can you say I’m crazy?”
– Suicidal Tendencies

“…Don’t expect the end of the world to come one day out of the blue – it’s been happening every day for a long time.”
– Marilyn Manson

What can we do to stop school bullying?

How can we stop it?

Well, that’s impossible to answer, folks. Everyone has answers, yet no one
has solutions. In many ways “Teen Truth” is a waste of time for that simple
fact. It sets up more dilemmas than it does answers. Bullies are everywhere,
even out of school, and they are just a part of life.

How can we ease the pain? That’s the actual question.

We can ease the pain and prevent horrible events by listening to the victims,
noticing signs of distress, and ultimately not punishing them when they’re
thinking of murder as a possible answer. Zero tolerance? It’s bullshit. Why
should the victims be punished? Why give them a larger sense of anger and
resentment and nurture their feelings that the world is against them?
We can prevent another Columbine and Virginia Tech if we actually sat down
and listened to people and treated the warning signs with an immediate
response, even the joking declarations of murder, and not point fingers. If only
life were that easy.

As a person that was bullied day in and day out for three years, “Teen Truth” is
a special that was all too familiar. So familiar indeed that it gave me a fair
share of goose bumps. Pushed down stairs, stabbed, punched, kicked, shoved,
mental abuse, physical abuse, the whole lot, “Teen Truth,” in the end doesn’t
provide the real answer, nor does it provide the right questions, but it manages
to recollect all too familiar scenarios for me.

Can you prevent bullying and school violence? No, to think you can is to live in
a fantasy world. Can you prevent another horrible tragedy involving mass
murder, and innocent lives taken under the gun? Yes, by listening. It’s
invaluable, folks. Listening to thoughts, listening to complaints, and listening for
their hints, it’s an effective tool.

“Teen Truth” is a special that really should be required viewing for all classes
in school, but it’s not as simple as what’s presented to us. Some victims don’t
have a full grasp on the consequences of striking back at tormentors, and some of them don’t even care about the consequences, only about retribution.

Many don’t want to admit that they’re tempted to kill, for fear of the alarmists in
our world who feel suspension is prevention.

With stats, video of the Columbine shootings, and interviews with actual
victims of school violence, “Teen Truth” really does hope to break those too
ashamed to admit their feelings, out of their shell and help them to come
forward, and possibly show what carnage can be inflicted when we don’t do
what we can to prevent using violence as an answer.

“Teen Truth” is not an easy film to review. It has no answers, it has no easy
solutions, but it has the potential to help. The rest of it, however, is all up to us
in the end.

Someone out there is crying for help, and we have the chance to listen to what
they have to say.