Educational Media Reviews Online

This video is both a biography and film study of Shawn Nelson, a 35 year-old plumber from Clairemont, California, as well as an urban study of San Diego and Clairemont in particular. In May 1995, Nelson emerged from an eighteen-foot mine shaft that he had dug in his backyard hoping to find gold, and stole a tank from the local National Guard armory and went on a rampage through his neighborhood, destroying cars and property until the police stopped and killed him. This minor news story is used as material in the film to provide extensive political, economic and social context on the Clairemont, California community, which went from a boom town stimulated by the fat defense budgets of the 1950s and 1960s, to a contemporary community of jobless blue-collar suburbanites, shuttered defense plants, police on patrol, and drug abusers. Nelson's story is told through interviews with his family, neighbors, and friends, while at the same time the story of Clairemont, California is chronicled through video reels, police interviews, and historical commentary.

This film has relevance to many other communities across the country, who are affected by the end of the Cold War and the shutting down of many defense bases and plants. It is an interesting and provocative portrayal of the life of one individual, as well as the effect on an entire community.