"Bully" The Documentary

Hey, guys. So, guess what. There's an AMAZING new movie coming out soon. March 9th, actually. It's a documentary entitled "Bully". It follows the lives of 5 young kids who are constantly and brutally bullied to no end. Watch the trailer here.

Looks like a good movie, right? The MPAA gave it an R rating for "language used by the children in the film". So now this movie can't be shown in schools, no one under 17 can go see it without a parent, and it can't reach the audience it really needs to reach under these limitations. Luckily, people are not standing for this. They're doing everything in their power to get this movie rating changed to PG-13 and I am now one of those people. This movie is to show kids not to give up and that if they're being bullied there's a light at the end of the tunnel, they're not alone, and they can overcome. It's also to show adults that strict anti-bullying laws need to be put in place and enforced so that children don't need to suffer in school. School should be a place for learning and socializing. It should be a home away from home, not somewhere you're afraid to go.

This ends now.

Meet Jocelyn and Harasstronauts

One of the toughest struggles young people have in the world today is the struggle to express themselves.  One young person who is overcoming the obstacles is Jocelyn. A few months ago, Jocelyn shared some of her story with our readers. 'God is Not a Bully' recently contacted Jocelyn for an update to her story and we gave her a few more questions to ponder! We're looking forward to posting an updated interview with the creator of Harasstronauts!   

We wanted to know more about what Jocelyn had to overcome to get where she is today. We also wanted to know more about her songs and what they symbolize for her. We also asked Jocelyn for her advice to young people starting out with the same dreams. 

We've pieced together a recap of some of the things Jocelyn shared with God is Not a Bully blog in the past:  

Tell us a little about your "story." Who is Joycelyn?

"Uh, well I was born in PA, and attended a private school when I was younger. I moved to NJ when my mom got a different job. I have two older sisters and a younger step brother. I’m planning on going to college for Culinary Arts. I’m 16 right now, but people always seem to think I’m at least 4 years older than I am. I am a spiritualist and very superstitious. I am currently practicing food photography and I am planned to teach a high school photography class next year."

What inspired you to start a band? What is the meaning of its name?
"In all honesty, I don’t know. I guess it was just a thing that I decided I wanted to do one day...I guess I just really like making weird music, haha...I started to play music and the synthesizer the summer going into my Junior year. I have always loved playing...I found that it came naturally to me and I just began to play more and more often. 

The name is Harasstronauts. It is just a play on words. Harass coming from how I have felt most of my life. And Astronauts: Referring to my love for astronomy, which is what mainly sparked my creativity. To be honest, I just really love how the word sounds. It's a nice way for me to visualize one I have it all put together and sometimes it inspires me for more ideas."

Do you communicate more through your music alone or the lyrics?
"...I have always been someone who wrote. I just am a horrible lyric writer. Whenever I write stuff that isn’t completely from the heart, it just turns out so horrible. Instead, I decided to just explain my feeling through the sound of my music. Almost everything is instrumental. I just like how it all sounds in the end.

By the end of the summer, I want to have my first CD recorded and possibly on iTunes. I am probably going to give my albums out for free. Personally, I love listening to free music. I have actually found a local band that I completely love. I also want to play at some show. But I don’t know what venue wants to hear my kind of music.
I hope that everyone checks out my facebook page ...I'll update as much as I can and keep everyone informed. I want to release my music as soon as possible. You can also follow my Tumblr blog. www.whiteleviathan.tumblr.com"