American Totem: Reckoning with Gun Cultures 2019
Distributed by The Video Project, 145 - 9th St., Suite 230, San Francisco, CA 94103; 800-475-2638
Produced by Sue Hilderbrand
Directed by Sue Hilderbrand
Streaming, 79 mins
Middle School - General Adult
Constitutional rights; Gun control; Gun ownership
Date Entered: 01/04/2021
Reviewed by Christopher Lewis, American University Library, American UniversityThe intention of American Totem is to inform the debate on gun control in the United States. It avoids a polemical attitude favoring one side or the other and instead attempts to include enough voices from across the spectrum of American society to show why such sharply contrasting views exist on the subject of gun ownership.
The filmmaker, Sue Hilderbrand, is a political science professor who hosts a radio show on current issues and she was determined to present a balanced and informed picture. She purposefully removes her own voice from the narrative and instead uses interviews with leaders of gun advocacy groups, victims' rights groups, and academic researchers to help the viewer understand what motivates individual attitudes about gun ownership.
The United States is the center of the world for private gun ownership for good reason. The invention of interchangeable parts and mass production of guns began in the US with companies like Colt, Remington, Smith and Wesson, and Winchester and their histories have paralleled the history of the country from the beginning. Guns are a heritage industry in the US and are deeply ingrained in American folklore. Depending on a person’s background, gun ownership can represent a rite of passage, virility, empowerment, and a political tool. The pitched antipathy some non-gun-owners have toward gun owners is returned in kind. Some gun owners believe owning a gun is a patriotic obligation and those who don’t are unAmerican. However, it is demonstrated that the fend-for-yourself ethos, embraced by so many Americans, is a myth created and sustained by gun manufacturers, Hollywood movies and television, toy makers, news outlets, and politicians.
There is an irony about the self-defense myth that is made plain in the documentary and that is the essentialness of community to each of these groups. The need to be a part of a community is a natural phenomenon and when a person becomes estranged from a community is when guns pose the greatest risk. One undeniable hazard that relates to gun ownership and community is suicide. Suicide by gun accounts for two thirds of the gun deaths in the US and there has been a steady rise among disenfranchised white men with less education, unemployed or underemployed, and unable or unwilling to seek help.
Another major focus of the program is the history of gun ownership and the homicide rate among African American men. What guns and the police represent to African Americans is far different from what they mean to most white Americans. Beginning in the Reconstruction era, prominent black leaders implored their followers to arm themselves for self-defense. A factor that is highlighted is that the organized posses that pursued runaway slaves often evolved into local police departments. The murder rates and incarceration rates among African American men are exponentially higher and the unemployment rate is double what is for white Americans. Clearly there are systemic problems that are exacerbated by the easy access to guns.
There are many documentaries on gun rights and gun control but almost always they favor one side or the other. This program doesn’t focus on solutions but rather attempts to broaden the understanding of why opposing groups hold their opinions in order to find ways to reduce gun violence with respect to each group. The use of the academic researchers is particularly effective in framing the narrative. The film is well crafted and the narrative is compelling. Recommended for both public and academic libraries.
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