On Monday November 4th, at 10 am, The Space Cinema on the occasion of the day “United against bullying” will show a preview for schools throughout Italy of the controversial film “The boy with pink trousers” that was presented at the Rome Film Festival and completed. in the middle of a heated debate after the preview for schools scheduled at Cinema Edera was canceled at the request of some parents in the secondary school “Serena”.
The film tells the true story of Andrea Spezzacatena and the title refers to the moment when the red trousers given to him by mother Teresa turned pink due to incorrect washing. Andrea decided to wear them anyway, without thinking about the reactions of his schoolmates, which however became violent and persistent, ending with the young man’s suicide after he opened a Facebook page called “The boy with the pink trousers”. It is therefore an important training and teaching opportunity to explore current issues such as bullying and cyberbullying with children in the sensitive transition from childhood to adolescence, and to start a debate aimed at those who are victims of similar incidents but above all. for those, even unconsciously, bullies themselves. In Rome the first screening for schools was greeted with thunderous applause and homophobic insults aimed at the main character on the screen. In Treviso, however, the film scheduled at Cinema Edera was boycotted by a group of parents who did not consider the content of the story suitable for their children.
Mayor Mario Conte had ensured that the film would be shown to students during a screening organized by the Municipality. On Monday 28 October, however, what added fuel to the fire was the news of the school previews of “The Boy with the Pink Pants” organized across Italy in The Space circuit cinemas. The Silea multiplex will be one of the few cinemas on the circuit that will not show the film on November 4 because it has not received participation from local schools. A missed opportunity for the students of the Province of Treviso and in almost all other Italian cinemas there will be previews of the film for schools. “The Boy with the Pink Pants” will be released in Italian cinemas on Thursday 7 November.
The comments
Rachele Scarpa, member of the Democratic Party from Treviso, also returned to the issue: «Too often we still hear the spread of homophobic and discriminatory feelings towards the minimized LGBTQ+ community in our country. The film “The Boy with the Pink Pants” is an opportunity to break the silence and shine a spotlight on the daily difficulties faced by many girls and boys in our country, which sometimes turn into tragedies like the one described in the film . We must not be afraid to talk about these issues in our schools, but to promote attention and the fight against hateful discrimination even more widely. Bullying becomes even more deadly when it feels supported by society’s indifference. We can leave no doubt about this. I hope that the “Serena” school will decide to retrace its steps and that the students will be able to see and discuss the film together.”
The city councilor of the Democratic Party, Marco Zabai, says: «The choice of the Serena schools’ management to cancel the participation of the classes in the screening of “The boy with pink trousers” can only cause sadness and dissatisfaction. When that news event happened I was 22 years old and I remember the profound state of anxiety I felt at the time, remembering how much words can hurt. The words of Deputy Mayor Gentilini from a few years before were still ringing in my head, suggesting the “ethnic cleansing of the bottom”. A lot has changed since then but homophobic hatred has not increased, as we were recently reminded by the terrible graffiti seen in Prato della Fiera or along Viale Trento e Trieste and the many cases of suicide among young homosexuals that happened. happened in our country. The fact that the request came from several parents tells us a lot about the need for education in this sense not only to focus on children, but on society as a whole. I therefore recommend that the school not only involve the students but their parents at the next screening. Talking about these issues is not only appropriate, but necessary. Indeed, more than courage, it takes common sense and determination to understand that hatred and discrimination are poisons that destroy communities. Starting with our own.”
«The event that happened is very serious and it is the result of the anti-gender propaganda carried out by the majority of the government. We are mocking a group of adults who think that talking about homophobic bullying confuses their children or even puts them at risk.” Micol Papi from the Veneto Secondary School Students’ Network asserts: “We are facing a school system that is completely disinterested in talking about sexuality and affection, which he considers useless to explain to teenagers what it means to have a healthy relationship with others, i. a city site that showed its homophobia in the past few months, with obscene graffiti written again and once again on the walls of the city. In this sense, the government and the ministry have emphasized their inability to listen to the student component, recommending the guidelines for a project that is, to say the least, shameful, disorganized and heterogeneous. its usefulness is questionable. In a complex period full of changes like the one middle and high school students go through, the latter must have all the tools possible to inform themselves, and to approach the world of sexuality in a positive way, for this reason. years we move and bring educational assemblies on efficacy, sexuality and consent into schools, with trained staff and a non-heteronormative approach.”