Not Like Everyone Else

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Not Like Everyone Else
Genre	Drama
Running time	2 hours (with commercials)
Director(s)	Tom McLoughlin
Producer(s)	Tom McLoughlin Gary M. Stangis
Writer(s)	Jamie Pachino
Starring	Alia Shawkat Illeana Douglas Eric Shweig Ritchie Montgomery Gary Grubbs Simone Carter Lucas Till Laura Wiggins Josh Blaylock J.D. Evermore Douglas M. Griffin Nakotah Larance
Music by	Sean Callery
Country of origin	United States
Language(s)	English
Original channel	Lifetime Television
Release date(s)	July 10, 2006
Official website
IMDb profile

Not Like Everyone Else is a 2006 TV movie that aired on Lifetime Television and starred Alia Shawkat. It is based on a true story of events that happened to Brandi Blackbear in 1999-2000.

[edit] Plot

Spoiler warning: Plot and/or ending details follow.

Shortly after Columbine, Union Intermediate High School (in Broken Arrow, Oklahoma) was one of many schools around the country increasing security measures to prevent school shootings. Brandi wrote horror stories similar to those of Stephen King, and dressed in a slightly Gothlike way, and wasn't afraid to be herself, or to stand up to bullying by popular kids... so naturally, those kids didn't like her. Given the school administration's paranoia about violence at the time, and the types of stories she wrote, it wasn't hard for lies about threats of violence to get Brandi suspended. When some of the kids later saw her checking out a book on world religions, including Wicca (as research for her stories), they immediately branded her a witch, and eventually accused her of casting a spell that made a teacher sick. Almost all the kids at school were now afraid of her, and she was once again suspended. Finally, her parents went to the ACLU, where they were told they had a good case against the school for violating her civil rights. The ACLU sued the affluent school for $10 million, even though the Blackbears weren't sure they deserved that much based on what Brandi had suffered... but the ACLU argued that the school wouldn't take any lesser claim seriously. When the school offered a settlement, the Blackbears refused. They weren't interested in the money, despite needing it; what they really wanted was to have their story heard in court, so that people would know Brandi had done nothing wrong, but that the school had. Unfortunately, the judge ruled to dismiss the charges rather than going to trial, and ordered the Blackbears to pay $6000 in court fees, which they really couldn't afford. Eventually it was agreed to drop the fees if the Blackbears dropped their appeal.