Boys Alone

Soul Purpose Productions Ltd.

Boys Alone is a riveting film of an English social experiment in which 10 eleven-year old boys are invited to be "home alone" without adult supervision for a week in a suburban house. The boys came in a variety of shapes, sizes, and backgrounds. They had different previous experiences in being away from home.

The film tests the common belief that a pack of boys left together in a house for a long period of time, will self-destruct, as they did in Lord of the Flies. In any group of boys, it is thought, fierce hierarchies will quickly form. The strongest and most assertive will survive; the most sensitive and vulnerable will suffer. But is it true? And if it is, how exactly does that process happen? What about the practicalities of daily life, like preparing meals or keeping themselves clean? The cinema verite camera allows us to observe their behavior up close. After a week together, when the experiment is finished, they return to their parents who are incredulous at what happened. The house has been trashed and the boys are physically and emotionally exhausted. Sociology and psychology students will find fascinating material in this film.

50 min. Video or DVD. Sale $295. Video rental $75.

"Highly recommended….demonstrates the belief that peer pressure has a role in the antisocial behaviors of adolescent males." Hope M. Cook, Eastern Connecticut State University, EMRO