An music video dramatizing a group of schoolgirls bullying another girl has sparked an outcry from a Taipei-based girls’ high school, who said its school uniform is used in the film clip.
The music video, for singer Starr Chen’s (陳星翰) single Ego-Holic featuring singer Jolin Tsai (蔡依林), shows a group of school girls beating an obese student. All the girls are shown wearing what the school says are Taipei Municipal Zhongshan Girls’ High School uniforms.
The Association of Taipei Municipal Zhongshan Girls’ High School Teachers has demanded an apology from the music video’s producer.
It also called on faculty members, students and alumni to report the offending video on social media for inappropriate and libelous content.
“The honor of an organization does not hinge on its uniform. I guarantee that there is absolutely no chance that your respected school’s reputation could be harmed by a single piece of visual media,” Chen said yesterday on Facebook.
The production team said it hopes people pay more attention to the message against bullying, rather than references to a specific school, Chen said.
A new version of the video that blurs the school’s name on the characters’ uniforms is to be released to replace the original, Chen said.
“Bullying is not good, but it was very common at my school and in my class. My intention is to raise public awareness about the things that are happening around us and to make people value themselves and love themselves. No defamation or malice was intended toward the school and I am sorry that my former classmates felt hurt or offended,” Video director Hsieh Yu-en (謝宇恩) said on Facebook.
However, in an official statement issued yesterday, the school said it has a 119-year history of promoting excellence and leadership for Taiwanese women and that the video’s portrayal of violence and bullying on its campus is slanderous and inappropriate.
Zhongshan Girls’ High School is a place of education and the staff are vigilant about bullying, the school said, adding that excessive violence has “negative effects on society.”
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