by Adam Amel Rogers, Originally posted by The USC Annenberg Norman Lear Center

Our nation's young people are living in a war zone. School bullying is at epidemic levels, educators largely lack resources to intervene and cyberbullying ensures that the tormenting continues well after the school bell rings. No one has the silver bullet answer, but the search for solutions has launched anti-bullying efforts from the White House, Facebook and numerous education groups at every level. However, the most visible soldier in the battle against bullying has indisputably been the entertainment industry. While being visible is not necessarily synonymous with being effective, there is no doubt that the entertainment industry has brought unprecedented awareness to the issue.

In recent weeks, this entertainment-induced awareness evolved out of Dan Savage's celebrity-laden It Gets Better campaign. Harvard University hosted the official launch of Lady Gaga's Born This Way Foundation, which serves as "a bottom-up movement to try to make it cooler for young people to be nice." Gaga has been a leading voice in anti-bullying efforts-including her notable lobbying of President Obama for stronger anti-bullying legislation. Also, an upcoming documentary from the Weinstein Company titled, Bully has created a major buzz with a haunting trailer and a growing battle with the MPAA, which has produced over 300,000 petition signatures to reduce the film's "R" rating so young people can actually watch the movie.

One entertainment event that has already had a major impact is the emotional climax in the teen bullying storyline on Glee. The show forces audiences to suspend disbelief a bit more than most shows, and it has addressed many important issues in arguably problematic ways (e.g., teen sex, disabilities, etc.), but Glee has handled each step of the bullying storyline with extreme care. Most recently, in a beautifully shot three-minute sequence, high school football player Dave Karofsky was outed as gay, bullied and cyberbullied, which caused him to attempt suicide. Though many have criticized the show for jamming so much important content into an episode that also contained a singing competition, a teenage wedding (almost) and a texting-while-driving car accident, the suicide attempt was portrayed in a realistic and powerful way. Max Adler, who plays Karofsky, brilliantly conveyed how hopeless and scary the situation was and how the character could have thought there was no other way out. Thankfully, after the longest commercial break ever, it was revealed that Karofsky's father found him before it was too late. The choice to have the suicide attempt fail is extremely important because the real life situation is already so hopeless that it would have been irresponsible for the show to resolve the storyline with tragedy.

The episode also displayed the aftermath of educators and friends searching for what they could have done to prevent it. Administrators proceeded cautiously out of fear of copycat attempts and the lack of acceptance from Karofsky's mother was shown to play a role in his suicide attempt. Perhaps most importantly, a public service announcement about The Trevor Project featuring Daniel Radcliffe aired during the episode. A leading suicide prevention hotline, The Trevor Project reported a 300% increase in phone calls and a 667% increase in web traffic on the night the episode aired. Overall, the episode delivered bullying and suicide prevention awareness to 7.4 million people in one fell swoop.

At the USC Annenberg Norman Lear Center, we study how entertainment impacts society and in our recent study of the film Food, Inc., over half of respondents said the film "changed their life." This is the latest in a long list of scholarship showing that entertainment can cause behavior change. This is why it is so important for shows like Glee to tackle important issues in poignant ways.

columnist Dan Savage certainly hopes so. Savage's brainchild, the "It Gets Better" campaign, has become the most virally active anti-suicide

approach in recent weeks. Savage and his husband took to YouTube to showcase the trials and tribulations of their personal coming out journeys and to directly tell young gay people that it gets better. Thousands of people have followed Savage's lead and created their own "It Gets Better" video messages, including my humble contribution. The best part about the campaign is that it has an actual chance of working. By hosting the campaign on YouTube and sharing the best videos on Facebook, "It Gets Better" is penetrating sites that are already daily destinations for the target demographic.

The campaign also plays an important role in engaging adults in the fight to create awareness. The option of creating a personal video empowers people, who otherwise would feel pretty helpless, to feel like they have the power to make a difference. It also can be very cathartic as Fort Worth City Councilman Joel Burns found out when he gave his "It Gets Better" speech during a council meeting. Burns emotional personal story has been viewed on YouTube 1.5 million times, it is featured on TED.com and he has been interviewed by a slew of national media programs. More importantly, Burns has reported that he has already heard from young people who were impacted by the video.

A criticism of the "It Gets Better" campaign is that telling young people to just wait it out doesn't do anything to stop the torment they are enduring today. This is why a group of young people have taken Savage's campaign to the next level by creating the "Make It Better" project, which provides the tools to young people to take back their schools from bullying and not have to wait for it to get better.

Social media is the natural home for these and other campaigns, because cyber bullying is a substantial part of the problem. Facebook is working with gay advocacy organizations to reduce anti-gay cyberbullying, but it is not easily navigated terrain for social networks. A Facebook representative said, "We have policies that prohibit hateful content and we have built a robust reporting infrastructure and an expansive team to review reports and remove content quickly." But he added that it is important to strike a balance between removing egregious posts and still maintaining users right to free speech.

The campaigns are also playing out in entertainment media. Glee has promised to dedicate an entire storyline to the troubles of anti-gay bullying, several celebrities have cut PSAs for The Trevor Project, which is the main organization dedicated to eradicating gay suicide, and even more celebrities have produced their own "It Gets Better" videos. Anderson Cooper and Ellen Degeneres have used their respective platforms to be extremely vocal on the harms of anti-gay bullying and each has already achieved results. Cooper's casual mention of a movie trailer's use of "That's so gay" prompted Universal to remove the phrase from the trailer for Vince Vaughn's "The Dilemma," while Ellen's heartfelt message to gay teens was another viral wildfire.

Recent events have caused other celebrities to act out of character. Celebrity blogger Perez Hilton put on his most responsible looking outfit as he proclaimed that he will substantially change the way he runs the website that made him a millionaire. Perez realized the hypocrisy of condemning bullying while making his living by bullying celebrities.

Another surprising moment could also be the most effective in this entire meme. Last week, FOX News rabble-rouser Glenn Beck reported on the awful anti-gay attacks in the Bronx, where three men were systemically beaten and sodomized with foreign objects. After explaining the despicable details of the crime, Beck looked deep into the camera and asked, "who are we and who are we becoming?" He said the attacks represented "a whole new level of evil" and he said, "This is not only anti-gay, it is anti-human. It is bigotry for sport."

Glenn Beck was not speaking to the youth of America, but he was perhaps speaking to the parents of America. The Trevor Project reports that over 2/3 of the calls to their suicide line are from the Midwest and South, also known as Glenn Beck country.

This multi-platform approach has successfully created a national dialogue and hopefully some hearts and minds have been changed, but the challenge will be maintaining a lasting action plan to stop the bullying after the meme floats away.

by Adam Amel Rogers, Originally posted on change.org
Three white male teachers in a predominately Latino elementary school in South Los Angeles have been suspended after they chose to mock Black History Month by honoring O.J. Simpson, Dennis Rodman and RuPaul. The racial implications of this story have turned it into catnip for media who would be better served reporting on how the school in question is going to deal with more crippling budget cuts.

I suppose it is good that mainstream media is covering this story though -– it is unacceptable for these teachers to mock Black History Month with the violent image of O.J. Simpson or the bizarre choice of Dennis Rodman. But why is RuPaul’s inclusion part of the story? Yes, there are numerous prominent African Americans who have made significant contributions to the history of this country, but I count RuPaul among them.

RuPaul should be honored for Black History Month, Gay History Month (which is apparently October), or any other month.

I am sure that the anti-gay talking heads would blabber on about how RuPaul should not be a role model for children, but as Johnny Weir said recently, “Every little boy should be so lucky as to turn into me.” RuPaul should stand proudly and say the same.

RuPaul is a great American success story. She went from being “a little Black girl in the Brewster projects of Detroit, Michigan” to an uber-successful performer and TV star who has revolutionized one of the most creative and forward thinking artistic industries in our culture. You would think conservatives would swoon at the “pull yourself up by your own high heel straps” aspect of her story.

Ru’s story teaches children that they can truly be anything that they want to be, regardless of the hand they are dealt in life. She has been an inspiration and a pioneer throughout her career. Growing up, my generation was definitely light on the out gay celebrity front, and especially light on gay celebrities of color -– but Ru was always there. RuPaul has bravely and unapologetically been herself in the face of intense hostility throughout the years. She has taught us to look at gender in a more fluid way, look at life in a more glamorous way and to look at ourselves in a more loving way.

As these teachers prepare to lip synch for their jobs, I have a final message for them: “If you don’t love yourself, how the hell you gonna love someone else. Can I get an Amen?”

Photo credit: Loren Javier