Review of Hello Herman (2012) by David M — 21 Jan 2013

Michelle Danner's Hello Herman explores the controversial topic of school violence and homicide with a fictional story about a boy named Herman, who is bullied to the point of bringing a gun to school and murdering several of his classmates.

The story parallels non-fictional events, however, such as the 1999 Columbine High School massacre as well as the 2012 Taft Union High School shooting. That being said, the film holds a major significance in regards to addressing pressing contemporary issues, as it touches on potential causes and remedies for the problem of violence in youth culture.

Are video games these days too violent? Are bullies and teachers too insensitive? Are parents too uninvolved in their children's lives? Should teenagers be punished or psychologically treated and rehabilitated after committing such heinous acts? The audience is prompted to ask itself these questions and more as Herman relays major life events and circumstances up to and including the moment he massacred about forty students and faculty at his high school to a reporter for an online news story.

However, the movie does not answer these questions or appear to provide a viewpoint of its own, as it establishes itself as an unbiased impetus for discussion of an all too common phenomenon. We, as a society, are left to decide how to address this issue, as Hello Herman brings high school violence to light seemingly in attempts to further push communities all over the world to stop ignoring the topic and start seeking solutions.

Overall, I would highly recommend seeing this film, as Michelle Danner does an excellent job directing this haunting tale of the potentially severe consequences of bullying.