On Friday, December 2nd, my Social Justice group showed the whole 8th grade a short film called, “Trevor”. We made an introduction explaining why we were showing them the film, and what the plot was. There were a few technical difficulties, but it mainly went smoothly. We planned questions in advance that we would ask the grade after the film was played. We had watched the film twice before to look for some scenes or important details we wanted to show the class. After the film we asked them these questions; Why do you think there was a funny coat/cover to the film? What different stereotypes did you notice? Why do you think they used them? What was the adult influence like in the film? And, do you have any questions or comments about the film? After we asked each question, we called on people to see what they thought. We had a big group discussions about each thought of the short film. Some of the responses were; there was a funny vibe to it to make it seem less dark and upsetting. Also, it was a concept called “dark humor” which was used in the Part-Time Indian book that we read. There were gay stereotypes that made the main character seem more relatable. He liked Diana Ross, was flamboyant, was very passionate and liked theater. They put those in to make it seem more realistic, or to show the relation to the real world. Trevor’s parents didn’t support him, they pushed him in the wrong direction. They even called a priest to try and “fix” him. But nothing was broken, and the priest was doing the wrong thing by explaining many things to “Trevor”. Also, in the end there were many reactions to the ending. Trevor ended up not killing himself, and instead one person, helped him realize that he needed to live. For the Social Justice teach-in I hope to teach the kids that one person is all it takes to help someone’s life become worth living. I hope to mention the suicide rates of LGBTQ teens compared to other teens being bullied. I hope to also show them that LGBTQ kids and teens can push through any obstacle that faces them, and find that one person to help them realize that they need to be in the world. The film was really educating and it shows that many kids are treated like that each day. But we need to try and prevent it, by supporting our friends and family.
