Megan's Story (2011)
Megan is a 13-year-old American girl whose life involves the typical teenage drama of friends and boy crushes. Unfortunately she also has an attention deficit disorder an aggressive mood swings. Megan gets bullied at school, and when an attractive, sensitive and nice boy from a nearby town starts messaging her on the Internet, she quickly delves deep into this cyber-relationship. The boy seems to understand her perfectly. When he turns his back on Megan, she gets desperate, and her actions lead to tragic results. Later on it turns out that the whole relationship was a hoax, and those behind it are closer to Megan than her family ever thought was possible.
Megan’s Story is about bullying taken from the school to the Internet. It is about bullying perpetrated by adults and teenagers alike. It is also about community, trust, and the loss of both.
8 F, 11 M. Available: FIN, EN, GER, SWE
Excerpt
OUTSIDE THE GYM. EVENING.
Megan and Bea.
BEA
Megan!
MEGAN
Hey Bea!
BEA
I heard you’ve been flirting with Joey.
MEGAN
Who told you that?!
BEA
So you weren’t looking at him during lunch?
MEGAN
I can’t help it if he stares at me.
BEA
He’s my boyfriend!
MEGAN
He stares at me every day during lunch.
BEA
You are so full of it!
MEGAN
What, don’t you think I can get a boyfriend?!
BEA
(You always think all the guys like you!)
MEGAN
So you don’t think someone could like me?!
BEA
Megan! I’m warning you, stay away from him!
MEGAN
You don’t own him!!!
BEA
If you ever look at him again I’m not your friend anymore!!!
MEGAN
Whatever! I don’t need your crappy friendship! You can die for all I care!!!
BEA
Megan, wait!
MEGAN
Fuck off!!!
EVENING. THE MATTHEWS RESIDENCE
Mary, Steve, Alvin, later Megan. Mary is preparing dinner. Steve is scanning the classifieds.
ALVIN
Mom, is it almost time to eat yet?
MARY
We’ll eat as soon as Megan gets home from practice.
ALVIN
Dad, can I get a bike?
MARY
You can use Megan’s bike.
ALVIN
It’s a girl’s bike.
MARY
We can’t afford it now; your dad doesn’t have a job.
(Exit Alvin. Pause.)
STEVE
What were you saying?
MARY
Do you think there’s a bullying problem?
(...)
[Translated from the Finnish by David Robertson and Kristian London.]
Press clips
“"Megan’s Story throws questions into the air: What do people even talk about when they are not bashing other people? And what kind of harm may be caused by helicopter parents who want too much involvement in their children’s life? Why is emotional control lost so easily online?”
“Timonen’s poetry anthology Oodi rakkaudelle (‘An ode to love’) and his play Lammassaaressa (‘In Lammassaari’) already made the schizophrenic pedagogical methods familiar to us. Now the pedagogical subject is exposed in ways made popular by Brecht, as Megan’s Story reveals a system in which people seek their rights.”"
“MySpace tragedy tells of real life”
Maria Säkö, Helsingin Sanomat 29 April 2010
"“Even though Megan’s Story takes place in the United States, cyberbullying also happens in Finland.”"
"“Because of its rough subject, Megan’s Story is not a children’s play.”"
“Faceless bullying”, topical feature
Heini Hutinen, Keskisuomalainen 24 February 2012
"[Megan’s Story] describes the strangeness of the US legal system as well as people’s inability or unwillingness to take responsibility for their actions. At the same time, it reveals the feeling of powerlessness of the victim’s family and what the death of a child does to a family. The grief is too great to be shared.”"
“Bullying can kill you: Megan’s Story leaves opening night audience silent”
Maija-Liisa Westman, Keskisuomalainen 26 February 2012
