Rehtaeh Parsons Archives - Sean Kelly On Movies

The tragic story of Nova Scotia teen Rehtaeh Parsons is told in No Place to Hide: The Rehtaeh Parsons Story. Rehtaeh Parsons was a teenager living in the Halifax suburb of Cole Harbour, who hanged herself because she was being bullied by school mates and called a “slut”. Rehtaeh’s story received widespread media attention, including the attention of Anonymous, and it brings to light issues of cyber bullying and rape culture. No Place to Hide: The Rehtaeh Parsons Story tells a relatively fresh story, with Rehtaeh Parsons’ suicide happening only last year. Of course, the true story began when Rehtaeh went to a party when she was fifteen and ended up being sexually assaulted. When a photo of the incident spread, Rehtaeh gained the reputation of being a slut and the police did not do anything to persecute those responsible. The situation went from bad to worse until Rehtaeh finally hanged herself in the bathroom. Even after the widespread social media attention Rehtaeh’s story received, her family was still the victim of online trolling and death threats. Rehtaeh Parsons was a victim of both victim blaming and online bullying, which are indeed serious issues, with the former also being a subject of this year’s The Hunting Ground. At only 47 minutes in length, No Place to Hide doesn’t really address this issue outside of Rehtaeh Parsons’ story. Also, with Rehtaeh’s parents stating for a support for a proposed Internet bill in Parliament, the film does end up coming off quite a bit like propaganda by the end. Ultimately, even though this is a very sympathetic and tragic story, there are other documentaries that cover this issue much more completely. ★ ★ ★ 1/2 | FAIR Screenings: Sun, Apr 26, 7:30 PM – TIFF Bell Lightbox 2 Mon, Apr 27, 1:15 PM – TIFF Bell Lightbox 3 Sun, May 3, 1:00 PM – The Royal Cinema