MovieChat Forums > Bully (2001) Discussion > Describes South FL teen culture to a tee

Describes South FL teen culture to a tee

posted 15 years ago by allenk893
24 replies | jump to latest

I have lived in FL for the majority of my life and I have to say this film captures Floridian teen culture to a freaking tee. Whatever you see in this film, please believe, it is not an exaggeration. With the exception of the killing of whatshisface, mostly everything that happens in the movie happens in FL all the time. South FL primarily. I was so shocked how accurate this all was. All the characters in this movie, I have known ppl like it or currently know JUST LIKE THEM. I know this movie was based on an actual thing that happened but you know that Hollywood tends to over-exaggerate or mess up real-life stories with added drama elements and smoke and mirrors. Well not this one. You come to South FL. Stay for a while. Hollywood, West Palm, Miami, they all have teens exactly like in this movie living life of the edge, not giving a *beep* sexing, DRUGS (Weed is a fact of life), and all the other good stuff. The only difference between this movie and real life is that here it goes by ethnic culture. The various things they do might be more prominent in one racial group than the other. Such as Brazilians, Haitians, Puerto-Ricans, Cubans, etc. I don't want to get into that but I was so amazed because this movie captured the culture so realistically.

Oh yeah I have to address something else. Somebody on another thread was complaining about the music and how it sucked and it was stereotypical. Not exactly. Please go to Hollywood FL or West Palm and see the white kids and what they actually listen to. Most of them that live the life the teens in the movie did, do in fact get high and listen to a bunch of rap/hip-hop music. That's what they do here! Everyone knows. My high school, alot of the white kids (boys primarily) wore baggy jeans and dressed hip-hop and gangster. Probably the main majority of the school was black so they were around black people all the time. And you can call me racist or bias or whatever but you come down to Boynton where I went to school, they are GHETTO. Every black stereotype you can think of manifest itself in South FL! And white kids who are minorities of course have friends and associate with alot of black kids so that's how I figured they dress like them and act like them.

[–] MrsMonroe74 15 years ago

ghetto? not the movie, but the book keeps stressing the fact they were "middle class"
there were no blacks in this movie. so they weren't minorities.

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I yam what I yam.

[–] allenk893 15 years ago

I didn't say THEY (characters in the movie) were literal racial minorities. The ghetto I was referring to is my school in Boynton and the people I was referring to were white folk at my school. I don't know about Hollywood, FL. My aunt used to live there and I saw kids like the teens in the movie all the time. White kids down in S. FL are exposed to hip-hop culture most likely on a daily. When you go to school with as many hispanics and blacks as here, I think some kids begin to imitate them either directly or indirectly. You don't have to go to majority-race populated school for it to happen. It's everywhere. You could be middle class, low class, etc. It's there.

[–] manofsteel4455 14 years ago

are you blaming blacks and hispanics?

I'm gonna die unless you kill me!

[–] allenk893 14 years ago

For what? Hip-Hop culture? Yes, we started it. Am I blaming them for white kids in South Florida imitation? No. It's their own fault. The white kids here have no significant identity or culture so it's expected they would imitate their ethnic counterparts. That's how it always is. It doesn't matter how racist you think I am or sound, you come down here and see, that's exactly how it is.

[–] pfarnell 9 years ago

but the book keeps stressing the fact they were "middle class"

not all of them. Ali, Marty/Bobby, maybe Lisa and her cousin..

Not Heather Swallers, that's for fkn sure...that chick's back-story is brutal..

[–] zeek112 14 years ago

It's funny how correct you are. I was one of those kids, although I am now an adult living in north carolina, but that was my life. Growing up we all dressed "hip hop" and listened (still do) to hip hop, everyone smoked weed and most people did coke and took pills, we all had hooked up cars we drove around in, its just how things were.

I actually grew up in the neighborhood where this was filmed (in Pembroke Pines FL), right around where it happened. My older sister knew some people involved, and I grew up with a few people that were in the film(the hitman's brother, Marty's brother, and a few extras) so we all loved this movie when it came out. We knew people in it, it was filmed at the places we hung out and shopped at, the grocery store they were in was the same Publix that we bought lunch at. What I'm getting at though is when this came out, we thought it was normal, same thing with Kids, I could never understand why people made such a big deal about these films. But now as an adult, living in a place full of very close minded people, I see what all the fuss is about. There was really no moral to this, other than it makes me smile when people argue how fake these types of films are, when it actuality they are damn near a documentary, maybe just not where you are from.

[–] Jodiann88 14 years ago

yup! couldn't have said it better.

[–] crh2582 14 years ago

I agree with the original poster.

I grew up in Hollywood Fla at the time of the murder, although I went to a different High School therefore didnt know the people themselve expect threw friend of a friend.

No matter what the original poster is correct. Possibly a side effect of the drinking water but that is 100% the culter of the area. While me and my friends didnt listen to the music we still lived our lives in the same manner. Im not proud of the fact and a little amazed to still be alive after it was all said and done.

[–] creegah-3 14 years ago

Dude, the Publix in the movie (and the book) was on Sheridan between 56th and 46th. These are Hills kids and lived around the school, not Pembroke Pines. The killing took place on Sheridan, just east of Douglas.

Come and get one in the yarbles, if ya have any yarbles...

[–] crh2582 14 years ago

Wonder why they went with that Publix. The "kids" werent hills students (I was) they should of used the Young Circle location.

[–] zeek112 13 years ago

Yeah, I know this was years ago...

Anyway, the publix this was filmed at is on Sheridan but between Palm and Hiatus, it was filmed there because they filmed most of the movie in the neighborhood.

Also, these weren't hills kids, they went to south broward. I said I grew up near where it happend... within 5 miles, I think when talking on the internet (to the whole world) 5 miles can be considered 'near'.

[–] crh2582 11 years ago

Your right. I got my neighborhoods mixed up.

[–] mikebourkefan 13 years ago

i probley would have avoided those kids for musical taste alone. i was more of a hard rock kid

[–] nobodies666 13 years ago

They were all rap weirdos.

Where I go. My spirit is free, I'm coming home. Where I go. Remember me but let me go.-Lacuna

[–] chris99989 14 years ago

I really appreciate the messages from people who grew up in South Florida.
I found this movie quite shocking, but something about it felt genuine.

[–] shakesphere1-geo 14 years ago

Florida as a whole can be a party paradise for young adults so I can say this movie doesn't exaggerate. I about the same age as the real Bobby and Marty so I can believe that racing cars, doing drugs, sex and drinking all happened. Florida isn't the Bible beat by any means.

[–] 14 years ago

[deleted]

[–] DanandKirb 13 years ago

Totally agree with the OP, I was born and raised in Pennsylvania, but I've been living down here in South Florida (Davie to be exact) and no offense to anyone who was born and raised down here, but to this day I still can't get over all the scary and psychotic trashy young maniacs that reside down here, here in the small little hick town of Davie which is outside of Fort Lauderdale, we've got so many aggressive and violent drunk rednecks who like to race their trucks in the parking lots, and I know drugs are a problem everyone, but it seems to be a hell of a lot more rampant down here, weed's more of a chaser than anything down here, E and Roxies seem to be the most common drugs of choice down here, especially among the girls. Speaking of the girls, some of the girls you found down here in South Florida take the term shallow to a whole new level, it's scary just how free-spirited and conceited a lot of them are, and by free-spirited (I mean they're so casually about walking around half-naked in public places). Florida is a great place to visit, but in all fairness it's a pretty terrible place to raise kids, in fact the majority of natives I know down here, have been to jail before.

[–] georgiapeachntx 13 years ago

When I was a teen, I too lived in Davie. That was the mid-1990's just after this true story took place in nearby Weston. Luckily I didn't live there too long. It doesn't sound like much has changed since then. What ya'll have described is eerily similar to the scene there in the 1990s.

[–] Ginger42256 12 years ago

100% Agreed Kirb! I feel the same way living down here. Thank God I am not a natural born Florida native! I pride myself on being nothing like the people that live in this *beep* *beep* hole.

by solesister "get thee to a nunnery!"

[–] TimViper1 11 years ago

The same way Tarantino became famous for his "real life" type dialogue, I don't think anybody captures real teenage dialogue and attitudes the way Larry Clark does. The characters talk as naturally (and stupidly) as real teens do. Some people are like "oh how could those kids be so dumb?", but still today you see all these stories today about kids who rape a girl or beat up a kid or something like that and send pics/videos to their friends on their iPhones and brag to their other friends. They don't think rationally like a normal adult, that's the whole point.

[–] coldgreenwater 11 years ago

Are you guys all for real? If so then where the hell have you lived, meaning what kind of areas? Okay, I am not from Fl (actually from Germany) but I used to live in Florida for half a year during college, in the gorgeous Fort Lauderdale, and I really did not think that people anywhere in Florida were generally as crazy and as much of a wreck as in this movie. Shallow, yes, totally, walking around half-naked also totally normal, but I always thought they were very friendly and open and I really liked most people there. I also lived in California during HS for some months and people there (and in Nevada too) are a lot less likeable I would say. And I don´t think Florida has as much of a problem with wannabe gangsters as CA has. By no means. Drugs also did not seem to be an issue in Florida when I was there. Maybe I just lived in the right area, I don´t know. Hollywood has some more not so nice areas but I would not generalize here. Palm Beach, though I only have visited a few times, actually seems nothing like the way people make it out to be here. If anything I would say it´s the opposite.
Florida actually is a place where stereotypes are true, like people being very vain and you see a lot of golddiggers with their sugardaddys on the beach, sex on the beach is also no problem at night, in Fort Lauderdale that´s quite normal. BUT I never ever thought drugs were more of an issue in Florida then elsewhere and I did not see any kids as messed up as the kids in this movie at all. And my part-time-job was being an assistant-teacher. I guess this film just shows kids from a really bad area, but those exist everywhere.
So people don´t be scared to come to Florida, it´s gorgeous and people are actually very helpful and nice there.

[–] lilicedude227 10 years ago

I can honestly say this film was a very realistic portrait of South Florida teens. I was pretty much one of these teens. All of my friends in high school smoked weed all the time. We would always drive around really high. We would drive around while smoking weed because it was fun. Some of my friends drove drunk and high all the time like it was a very normal thing to do.

I was doing weed, cocaine, pain killers, adderall, ecstacy, when I was a 10th grader. Three girls I knew liked doing cocaine and we snorted grams together lots of different times. We would drive around all coked up because it felt good. I would drive reckless constantly sometimes nearly doubling the speed limit. There were a couple times I straight up street raced a friend or someone in traffic going over 100mph in 45mph city street zones.

After high school the drugs became even more weird. Things like acid, THC oil, molly, ketamine, shrooms, and DXM. South Florida can be a really dangerous, screwed up place. It has been a roller coaster ride living down here. I have been sober from all drugs for about half a year now and don't plan on going back. Had to cut friends out of my life because they were just dragging me down with them.

But I 100% agree with the OP that this movie absolutely is very honest and not at all exaggerated. This movie was a true story so their is no denying that these kids did these horrendous things.

[–] pfarnell 9 years ago

I vacation right around there,is one reason this book was so interesting to me, but I do not hang with teens..

thank-you for your background comments..