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The Super Bowl commercial starring William Shatner is a valuable device for promoting resilience.

Many bullied children get upset when their names are made fun of.

William Shatner now embraces the name-insults that would outrage him in his youth.

The commercial is an excellent opportunity to get kids to understand and embrace humor towards themselves.

One of the main attractions of the Super Bowl is the funny commercials. William Shatner, of Star Trek fame, is now 94 years old and starred in a hilarious Kellogg’s Raisin Bran commercial that has made the news. While the purpose of the commercial was to bring relief from constipation, it deserves recognition and applause for its unintended benefit for victims of bullying.

One of the most common symptoms of bullying is having one’s name ridiculed. A large percentage of bullied children who come to me for help suffer from this. Many news stories have appeared about kids facing name-ridicule, and I have written articles in this PT venue in response to ones about kids named Trump and Isis.

As a kid, William Shatner was terrified of being called Will Shat. In an interview with him about the commercial, Entertainment Weekly informs us:

Shatner says that he had "tremendous" apprehensions about leaning into his name's nastier side. "I haven't lost those apprehensions…I mean, I used to get into fights when I was a kid in the locker room. They'd kid me about that. I'd say, 'Don't call me that!' and I'd fight them. It was a sore spot as a child. And then adults stopped doing it. But it lurks, and for them [the Kellogg commercial creative crew] to find it was, in itself, a kind of discovery."

Shatner says that he had "tremendous" apprehensions about leaning into his name's nastier side.

"I haven't lost those apprehensions…I mean, I used to get into fights when I was a kid in the locker room. They'd kid me about that. I'd say, 'Don't call me that!' and I'd fight them. It was a sore spot as a child. And then adults stopped doing it. But it lurks, and for them [the Kellogg commercial creative crew] to find it was, in itself, a kind of discovery."

How are kids to find relief from the intense aggravation of name-ridicule? Shatner wonderfully shows the way in the commercial, as I will be explaining.

What do we prefer for our children?

At my seminars on bullying for parents and teachers, I often ask a series of 12 questions to elucidate what they would really prefer for their children and students. One of them is,

What is an emotionally healthy person? Someone who:A. Demands to be treated like they’re perfect, and gets upset whenever someone criticizes or makes a joke about them B. Someone who knows they’re not perfect, can handle criticism, and can take and make a joke about themselves

What is an emotionally healthy person? Someone who:A. Demands to be treated like they’re perfect, and gets upset whenever someone criticizes or makes a joke about them

B. Someone who knows they’re not perfect, can handle criticism, and can take and make a joke about themselves

Virtually everyone answers B. It is the essence of resilience. People who fall into the A category are emotionally fragile and/or excessively narcissistic. They demand to be treated as though they’re perfect and can’t stand anyone pointing out their imperfections. Thus, it is easy to upset them, so they readily become victims of bullying. Additionally, they can be unpleasant to be with, as we must walk on eggshells around them to avoid facing their tears or their wrath.

This question also highlights why bullying has become a more serious problem during the same period during which society has been fighting hardest to eradicate it. The antibullyism that has engulfed society for the past quarter century has instilled in us the conviction that we all have a right to dignity regardless of obvious differences, faults, and imperfections; no one has a right to make fun of us for any reason. In other words, it promotes the A response, unintentionally fostering increased bullying.

But no one is perfect. We can all be made fun of. The emotionally healthy among us can take and make jokes about themselves. And this is the wonderful example that William Shatner, “Captain Kirk” of Star Trek fame, has given the world in this Super-Bowel commercial.

Shatner plays a hero who comes to the rescue of constipation-sufferers the world over by bringing them that tried-and-true stool loosener, Raisin Bran. The kernel of the joke is that he goes by a cooler, Brad-Pittier version of his name, Will Shat. Suddenly appearing in some family’s home, he announces his presence with, “Will Shat, in the house!” As he materializes on top of a van, an observer calls out, “Will Shat, on the car!” Upon another surprise appearance, someone asks in disbelief, ”Will Shat?” He responds, “Every day!”

How to Handle Bullying

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Now, at his ripe old age, not only is he no longer afraid of being called Will Shat, he eagerly embraces it. Why? It’s certainly not because of the fee for acting in the commercial, as he is already mega-rich. It’s an opportunity to make millions of us laugh, to bring us joy for a few moments.

Every kid who suffers from name-ridicule, and all bullied kids in general, deserve to be shown this commercial, at least those who are old enough to understand the humor. It can be shown as well to kids in a counseling or social skills group. To help them process it, they can be posed with the following questions for thought.

Has this commercial made you respect William Shatner less, or more?

Do you think that William Shatner played in the commercial because he is foolish or lacks self-respect?

If someone makes fun of your name, does it mean that they hate you?

Do you enjoy being with people who need to be treated like they’re perfect?

Do you like humor? If so, is it funny when people look smart, talented, and happy, or when they look stupid, clumsy, and miserable?

There’s a famous saying, laughter is the best medicine. Why would it be healthy for us to laugh when people look bad?

Why might it be healthy for others to make fun of us?

In teaching kids to embrace jokes about their names, we should inform them that they don’t have to enjoy it, no matter what is said, nor do they have to let it go on forever. Sometimes the joke is simply not funny. So, the response could be, “Come on, I’m sure you can think of something funnier than that to call me!” Or if it’s going on too long, the response could be, “That’s really funny, but it’s getting boring. Can you think of something new to call me? Or just call me [my real name]?”

The most important thing is not to get upset or angry, to show that you are happy to be the brunt of funny jokes, and that you can even make jokes about yourself. And once you are able to laugh at yourself, you are likely to see that your friends are more likely to let you make jokes about them in turn.

Sometimes, when running groups for bullied kids, after making sure they can all handle insults, I would play a game with them. They are required to take turns insulting each other, with the instruction that they if they get upset, they earn a point. The one with the fewest points is the winner. But not only would no one get upset, they would laugh their heads off. For some, it was probably the hardest they had laughed in their lives.

It can also be eye-opening to show celebrity roasts to bullied kids, after making sure the roasts are age-appropriate. A safer alternative might be Yo Momma, an MTV show from a couple of decades ago in which contestants try to outdo each other with insults. So, have fun while creating more resilient and happy kids.

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