Recently, shootings in various parts of the United States have been staged almost every day, which has aroused great concern and heated discussion in the United States and even the world.
On April 8, local time, US President Joe Biden delivered a speech at the White House, announcing the first round of gun control measures since taking office. "Gun violence is an epidemic in the United States and embarrassing internationally," Biden said. In the United States, an average of about 316 people are shot every day and 106 people die every day. ”
As we all know, the United States is the country with the largest number of gun owners in the world. According to statistics, the number of guns in the United States has approached 400 million, exceeding the total population of the United States by 330 million people. At the same time, Americans, who account for only about 4% of the world's total population, have 40% of the world's civilian guns.
According to The New York Times, more than 1.5 million Americans have died from gun-related suicides, murders and accidents since 1975, more than the 1.4 million deaths attributable to all wars in the United States since the Civil War combined.
Map of deaths in U.S. shootings from January 1 to April 13, 2021 (Credit: Gun Violence Archive)
Gun proliferation and gun violence have always been a chronic disease of American society, but they have never been solved, and behind the gun control dilemma is a game of politics, culture and interests.
In China, it is inconceivable that citizens are free to carry a gun, but in the United States, it is a fundamental right of citizens to own a gun. Due to political system factors, the Second Amendment to the U.S. Constitution gives U.S. citizens the right to liberty defense and the freedom to own firearms.
Guns, arguably the core of American culture, are an essential part of American life. The United States has a very large gun market, and gun sales advertisements can be seen everywhere. Although a gun license is required to buy a gun, the procedures are not complicated and the access is diverse.
Hollywood movies are rife with violent elements such as a lot of shootings
Secondly, due to the characteristics of the federal system, the state governments have their own way of regulating the legal control of guns, and regional differences also make it difficult to form a unified system of gun management.
In addition, the National Rifle Association, the main opponent of the gun restriction movement in the United States, has more than 4 million members, arms dealers, and a large amount of money, enough to influence the election, and is a powerful group that the government does not dare to easily violate, resulting in a particularly complicated gun ban process.
National Rifle Association
The following 10 films and documentaries, or adapted from the shootings that shocked the world, or recreated the worst shootings in American history, point to the persistent diseases of American society. I hope that those chilling pictures in the film can give people reflection: gun control, can not be delayed!
01
American killing
Directed by: Sheldon Renan / Leonard Schrader
主演: Chuck Riley / Ed Dorris / Thomas Noguchi
Country/Region of Production: United States / Japan
It is a thriller documentary about murder, assassination, racial and religious violence during the Economic Depression in the United States in the 1960s and 1970s.
The film reviews the assassinations of former U.S. Presidents John F. Kennedy and Ronald Reagan, former U.S. Attorney General Robert F. Kennedy, famous black leaders Martin Luther King Jr., and rock singer John Lennon, as well as the murder of the wife of the great director Roman Polanski and the infamous Davidian incident, through the presentation of bloody violent crimes, in-depth analysis of the theme of opposing the legalization of guns.
02
Columbine Campus Incident
Director/Writer: Michael Moore
Starring: Jacobo Arbenz / Mike Bradley
Country/Region of Production: Canada / United States / Germany
Eric Harris (left) and Dylan Clywood (right)
On April 20, 1999, Eric Harris, 18, and Dylan Klebold, 17, armed with firearms and explosives at Columbine High School in Colorado, killed 12 students and a teacher, injuring 25 others, and then committed suicide. The incident is considered one of the bloodiest school shootings in U.S. history.
CCTV surveillance footage of the shooting scene
The documentary won the 75th Academy Awards for Best Documentary Feature, the Audience Choice Award at the 50th San Sebastian International Film Festival, and was shortlisted for the main competition section of the 55th Cannes International Film Festival.
Directed by Michael Moore
Director Michael Moore looks at the background, environment, and public reaction to the Columbine school shooting, delving into the nature of violence in the United States, attacking the absurdity of the U.S. gun control system and the proliferation of guns. And using guns as a symbol, it explores the connection and contradiction between American freedom and self-destruction, gradually revealing the columbine massacre and the root cause of high-violence crime in the United States.
03
elephant
Director/Writer: Gus Van Sant
Starring: Alex Frost / John Robinson / Eric Dren
Country of Production: United States
John skipped class and was forced by his father to return to school; Elia liked photography, taking some people and landscape photos inside and outside the school to return to the school to wash themselves; Michelle was snubbed and depressed, and went to the school library to help work; Jordan had just made a new girlfriend, Kelly, and was talked about by girls such as Nicole...
Outside the walls of the campus, Eric and Alex, the often bullied "brothers in distress", were fascinated by Nazi imagery and violent games, and had ordered guns online. After the nap, the two made a simple plan, dressed in American field uniforms, armed with submachine guns, walked into the campus and began to kill.
The film won the Palme d'Or and Best Director in the main competition unit of the 56th Cannes International Film Festival, and the French National Education System Film Award. The film did not shoot an outline or script, and the dialogue was prepared by the students on an ad hoc basis. Although the film is fictional, many of the details come from the horrific Columbine school shooting.
Unlike Mike Moore's documentary, which points the finger at the gun epidemic in the United States, Gus van Sant, who directed Mindcatcher, presents a seemingly calm but hidden murder campus life in a more compassionate and soothing tone and a semi-documentary-style multi-faceted follow-up angle.
04
Broken Soul Gunfire
Director: Guy Fairland
Writers: William Mastrosimone
Starring: Ben Foster / Tom Kavanaf / Randy Harrison
Country/Region of Production: UNITED STATES / CANADA
Adams, a rebellious high school student, once spewed out wild words to blow up the school, so he received special attention from his parents and teachers, and his classmates avoided him, except for a fringe group "Trog". When the conflict between Trog and other groups escalated, Adams became the scapegoat for all violence.
However, Adams's drama teacher, Duncan, wanted to help him and invited him to play an important role in the play. In a short film shot to perform a play, Adams chose the school shooting as the subject of the shooting. His short film reveals a series of terrorist activities organized by "Trog" and puts himself in a very dangerous situation...
Different from the general school shooting film, the film does not focus on the process of shooting, but presents various injustices in the family and the school, and deeply analyzes the dynamics behind the violent crime of juveniles.
05
Runaway campus
Director/Writer: Imma Rigg
主演: Vallo Kirs / Pärt Uusberg / Lauri Pedaja
Country/Region of Production: Estonia
Joseph, a high school student, was often bullied by his classmates, but he swallowed his anger. Caspar, who was originally in the ranks of bullies, finally couldn't stand it and helped Joseph, but was inexplicably caught up in a peer game that was even crueler than the adult world.
The two gradually approached, becoming a community of life that resisted side by side. After a highly insulting bullying, the intolerable Joseph finally pulls out his father's gun...
Based on true events, the film won the 2007 Warsaw International Film Festival International Film Critics' Fibisi Award and the Special Jury Prize in the competition section. Also the subject of school shootings, the film does not hype up violent juvenile crimes, but faithfully restores the ins and outs of school bullying incidents across ethnic and cultural countries.
There are no bystanders in school violence, either victims or perpetrators. Who should be judged in the face of school violence?
06
Assault: Civil rights at gunneck
Director / Writer: Chrissy Keniger
Protected by the Second Amendment to the U.S. Constitution, Americans have the freedom to carry guns. At the same time, because of the proliferation of guns, the United States has become the only developed country with frequent gun wounds, and more than 30,000 people die under the gun every year.
Through the narration of American rapper and actor Ice-T, the film focuses on current gun laws and the rise of movements to limit the rights guaranteed by the Second Amendment, and guides audiences to rethink gun control issues and the impact on civil rights and freedoms.
07
Living in america's "murder capital"
Directed By: John Ritchie
Writers: John Ritchie / Brent Joseph
The seaport city of New Orleans in southern Louisiana is known as the "Capital of Murder" in the United States for its crimes such as robbery, rape, arson, and shooting. According to statistics, the murder rate in the city is 4 to 6 times higher than the national average. 80% of the victims were black males, and most were teenagers.
Winner of Best Picture at the 2013 Chicago International Social Change Film Festival, the film depicts violence in New Orleans of banditry and frequent shootings, and reflects the serious social problems faced by many American cities.
08
School tower shooting
Director: Keith Maitland
Writers: Keith Maitland / Sarah Wilson
Starring: Violet Bean / Louis Arnett / Blair Jackson
On August 1, 1966, after killing his wife and mother in his home, Charles Whitman, a U.S. Marine Corps veteran, climbed the University of Texas at Austin Tower and killed 16 people and injured more than 30 others, until a civilian familiar with the tower's configuration and two police officers risked their lives to subdue it.
The film won Best Documentary at the 26th Gotham Independent Film Awards, Best Animated Film at the 37th Boston Film Critics Association Awards, and the 29th Chicago Film Critics Association Awards.
The prototype of the policeman who shot the gunman was questioned at the scene of the press conference
Director Keith Maitland, combined with real archival information and witness testimony, truly recreated the horrors of the school tower shooting, the heart-wrenching incident and the group portrait of the horror moment in the form of animation.
09
Ms. Sloane
Director: John Madden
Writers: Jonathan Pereira
Starring: Jessica Chastain / Gugu Mbata-Lau / John Lisgo
Country/Region of Production: USA / France
Ms. Sloane (played by Jessica Chastain)
A political thriller full of tension and reversals.
U.S. political lobbyists specifically lobbied members of Congress for the benefit of business groups or non-profit organizations. Heavyweight lobbyist Ms. Sloan does everything and wins every time.
Shootings in the United States are on the rise, and gun control is a highly controversial topic. Ms. Sloane was hired to support legislation and conduct rigorous background checks on gun owners, against a group of powerful predators. They were fierce and vowed to put her to death. Ms. Sloane, who has never lost, bets on the end of her lobbyist career...
The film focuses on the special group of American political lobbyists, and the actress Jessica Chastain was nominated for Best Actress in a Drama Film at the 74th Golden Globe Awards for her clever, moving image and convincing performance.
10
Norway 7/22 bombing shooting
Director: Paul Greengrass
Writers: Paul Greengrass / Seiesta
Starring: Anders Danielson Lee / Jonas Strand Grey
Country/Region of Production: Norway / Iceland / United States
On July 22, 2011, a far-right extremist, Anders Bellin Breivik, detonated a car bomb in Oslo, killing eight people, followed by a systematic massacre of 69 innocent teenagers on the suburban island of Ute, known for its multiculturalism and the cultivation of future leaders. Within a day, 77 people were killed and more than 200 injured.
However, After his arrest, Anders confessed everything but refused to confess guilt, but instead presented himself as a "patriot" without any guilt for the crimes he had committed, turning the police interrogation and trial into a theater for promoting self-political ideas.
Vergar (Jonas Strand Greer)
In the "Ute Island Massacre", in order to protect his brother, the young man Who was seriously injured and unfortunately disabled embarked on a long and painful road to recovery. With the help of family and friends, he finally overcame anger, tears and torture, regained his life, and confronted the killer in court.
The film was shortlisted for the main competition section of the 75th Venice International Film Festival and won the Free Expression Award at the 90th National Critics Association Awards. The film not only focuses on the shooting itself, but also presents from the perspective of a survivor how the whole country responds and solves after the incident, how the victims face life again, and how terrorists face legal sanctions.
Text: Fore Magic Song
Editors: Fore Magic Song, Li Wei