Audrie & Daisy (2016)

This film does not examine the effects of online bullying. Online bullying is 8% of this film. This film is a story of two 14 year old girls who had such horrible parents that they were allowed to get drunk/high and drive over to 17 year old boys' houses, where again parents were not around as they got drunk/high, and then the boys took advantage of the girls and had forced sex with them while the girls were passed out. All the while sad music plays and still photos of girls with sad faces and cloudy-day videos of small towns are littered with popup posts from twitter and facebook of people trolling the individuals involved with the cases (to which there are no sources, so it definitely leaves the viewer wondering if they are fabricated). The filmmakers fail with this documentary because they refused to dive deeper into the cases and learn about the other sides of the story. This is very one-sided... but that is intentional as it portrays teenage depression and angst associated with statutory rape. The worst aspect of this documentary is that the parents were never held responsible for their underage children's actions. All throughout the film the parents are talking about all the bad things that happened to their children, but one can't help but to wonder why the filmmakers never asked these parents why they are such horrible parents. This definitely falls under the liberal female-empowerment retribution category, but even there it does not do the topic any justice because it is one-sided, biased, and caters to the idea that parents play no role in the self-destruction of their teenage children.

Apart from being so sad and heartbreaking, it is far more than a simple documentary. It is a life lesson that many aren't aware of. It is something you are never taught in school, although similar things happen around you often. "Taboo" would be the word for this case. I can not believe that in ours today society we still face problems like this. And what's more disturbing is the fact that no action is taken by those who have the power to do something in this sense, leaving the "wounded" with scars on their souls and, even worse, with the accusation that they are liars and came intentionally with this bs just to be given attention.

A tragic and infuriating documentary about two teenage girls who first faced sexual assault and then became pariahs (along with their families) for having the audacity to anger one of the city's most important families. But the most disgusting part of this film deal with the horrid sheriff slut-shaming the victims while defending the rapists because, hey, boys will be boys and the girls asked fro it anyway. The fact that creeps such as this still hold positions of power in this country, albeit a conservative part of the country, is even more disheartening. The fact that some find a documentary about two, victimized teenage girls 'liberal propaganda'...well, these are the ones with political agendas that ignores the facts. People who explain away rape and humiliation of teen girls are potential offenders in my opinion. A must-see for parents and their children say 12 and up.

A sobering documentary about the perils of being a young girl and believing the world is her friend. (Full disclaimer: I am friends with the mother of young Paige featured in this documentary as we are from the same hometown of Albany)Audrie & Daisy recounts two different instances in which a young woman parties with the guys and is made to pay for it with shame, humiliation, degradation (by her peers and community) and even death (in the case of Audrie).Tougher-than-we-can-ever-imagine Daisy survives her ordeal alongside her best friend, Paige, who is also raped the same evening (because boys will be boys) although luckily her rapist admits to his crime and she therefore doesn't find herself in legal turmoil. Yes ... revolting and disgusting. Daisy and her family (her brother is a solid chap) find themselves harassed and hounded by a community -- Maryville, MO (40 some minutes from home) where someone burns the family's house to the ground in spite!!! -- that refuses to believe their football stars could possibly be rapists. In towns like this athletes are small-town heroes and dynastic political families wield a lot of power.Audrie & Daisy spends much time upon Daisy and the aftermath of her sexual assault/rape (she was 14 at the time, Paige 13) as it also interviews law enforcement officers in Nodaway County, MO (a bunch of idiots) who "won't point fingers" but don't mind naming names ... of girls who apparently lead boys astray. Much of it is shocking. Much of it is unbelievable. All of it is disturbing.Brave and beautiful girls. Harsh and ugly world.