Bully
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[edit] Introduction
Bully is a first-person video game produced by Rockstar Vancouver in 2006. It revolves around 15-year-old Jimmy Hopkins, who is sent to Bullworth Academy, an American boarding school, after he has been expelled from a previous string of schools. When he initially arrives at Bullworth, Jimmy is picked on for being the new kid, and suffers the wrath of the bullies. At the end of the first section of the game, he fights them, though a bigger problem has emerged-- his best friend has turned on him and plans on taking over the school. For the rest of the game, Jimmy's story is based around dealing with the cliques in the school who are feuding, and trying to stop his former friend from bringing him down.
[edit] Controversy
Before the game was released, it was deemed offensive and innappropriate by many family and nonviolence groups, because it was suggested by them that the game made light of school bullying, and encouraged it. Jack Thompson, an American lawyer, called for the game to be banned and campaigned loudly and openly about this. When the courts ruled that the content in Bully was "no worse than what could be seen on late-night television," Thompson began arguing that the game contained innappropriate sexual content as Jimmy was able to kiss boys as well as girls in-game.
[edit] Title Changes
In some countries, Bully has been banned outright, and in others, it was released under the title of Canis Canem Edit initially. In recent incarnations for the XBox 360 and Wii platforms, however, it has been released as Bully: Schlorship Edition in countries where it had previously been released as Canis Canem Edit.
[edit] Fandom
The Bully fandom appears to be relatively small, though both fanfiction.net and livejournal contain fanfiction written about the characters.
The majority of this fanfiction is slash, possibly due to the fact that the majority of the cast are male.
Prominent pairings include:
Gary/Pete: The game's primary antogonist paired up with his loyal but wimpy sidekick. In canon, Gary makes a few comments which could be construed as suggestive towards Pete, and members of the fandom have suggested that Pete is gay due to his mannerisms and dress sense.
Jimmy/Gary: The protaognist and antagonist who despise one another and are constantly trying to get the better of one another.
Derby/Bif: two members of the Prep clique who are always seen side by side, and who are rumoured by other students in the game to be "gay for one another."
