Both in front of and behind the camera, a diverse group of people and ideas have contributed to the film. The director and the creative producer are women. Voices in the film include a balance of men and women, rural and urban areas, pro-gun and gun control, Black and White voices.

"The debate about guns is distracting us from the issues we really should be focusing on, which are how do we create a society where we have less violence, where people feel like they’re included?"

-Dr. Saul Cornell

The day after a gunman killed 20 children and 6 adults in the Sandy Hook Elementary School in Newtown, Connecticut, talk radio host Sue Hilderbrand was scheduled to interview an expert on 'peace ecology'.  With news of the horrific events weighing heavily in the studio, a rational discussion of peace and non-violence was not possible.  Hilderbrand broke down on live radio. 

 

Only five months earlier, a gunman killed 12 people in a movie theater in Aurora, Colorado.  And a year earlier, 8 people were gunned down in a hair salon in Seal Beach, California.  And before that, and before that...

 

Like many Americans, Sue thought the solutions to these public mass shootings were obvious.  So, in 2015, a small team of filmmakers began the journey to document them.  But what they found is not what they expected.

 

The Investigation

With an earnest quest to understand gun violence, and a few credit cards, the American Totem team traveled across the country, talking with all kinds of folks about firearms.  From northern California, to Texas, to New York, and to points in between, what became clear is that firearms are more than simply tools.

 

For many Americans, there is an emotional connection to this object, transcending time and place, and representing family and tribe.  Firearms are symbolic of identity, community and belonging.  To other Americans, they are symbolic of violence and racial oppression.

 

 

People interviewed include gun rights and gun control activists; experts on suicide, domestic violence, American history, and folklore; philosophers and gun club members.  The film's approach is non-partisan and does not take a position on gun control (those films have already been made).

 

Underlying Narrative

Generally speaking, the current gun debate can be boiled down to one side arguing for fewer guns and the other side arguing for more guns.  Statistics are thrown in and quickly countered with different statistics.  Our documentary film does not recycle this debate but instead focuses on the American identity connected to the firearms, and how that identity is being challenged in this time of change.

 

 

American Totem traces the American gun narrative back to early 20th century marketing by the gun industry and to Hollywood movies and television. Marketing campaigns and masculine icons like John Wayne romanticized the rugged individual and taught young boys how to be a 'real man'. Firearms are a totem, a sacred object, in the American story.  It should surprise no one that those objects are not easily given up.  Not even with statistics. 

 

Creating & Destroying Community

American Totem explores the costs of the American gun narrative to communities under stress, making the connection between guns and domestic violence, mass shootings, and suicide. It also highlights the power of this same object to create a sense of community for many people in a time of political, economic and social change.

 

 

Today, Americans are afraid.  According to a recent Gallup poll, most gun owners report owning firearms for self-defense, and not for hunting, even though the murder rate is half of what it was at its peak in 1991 (FBI).  Because democracy requires a willingness to engage with people with whom you may disagree, many question whether an armed society can be an open society.

 

 

Where We Are Now

The film is nearing the end of the post production phase. The storytelling is finished but we need finishing funds. We need to elevate the production values so it can be received by a wider and more diverse audience. 

 

 

Why is this important?

Without an understanding of the American gun story, the number of gun-related deaths will not come down.  American Totem refocuses the discussion towards this understanding.  We need your support to get us there. 

 

If you agree, JOIN US!

 

 **All contributions are tax deductible**

Follow & Share

American Totem is participating in the Hometown Heroes Crowdfunding Rally, in partnership with Seed & Spark and Duplass Brothers Productions.  In addition to reaching our financial goal, we need to secure 1,000 followers on this page by October 17th.  This will make us eligible for interest-free loans when we get to the distribution stage.

 

If you believe that the national gun debate needs to be refocused to a conversation, please CONTRIBUTE now,  FOLLOW this campaign, and SHARE this page with your friends and family. 

 

Thank you for supporting American Totem.

 

 

Voices in the Film

Melina Abdullah, PhD - Pan-African Studies, California State, Los Angeles

 

Rakem Balogun - Co-founder, Huey P. Newton Gun Club

 

scott crow - Author,

Setting Sights: Reflections and Histories on Community Armed Self Defense

 

Julianna Crowder - Founder, A Girl and A Gun

 

Yafeuh Balogun - Co-founder, Huey P. Newton Gun Club

 

Soraya Chemaly- Journalist and Author, Rage Becomes Her

 

Firmin DeBrabander, PhD - Maryland Institute College of Art, Do Guns Make Us Free?

 

Bigg Flawliss - Rapper/Actor

 

Saul Cornell, PhD - Fordham University, 

A Well-Regulated Militia: The Founding Fathers and the Origins of Gun Control in America

 

Pamela Haag, PhD - Author, The Gunning of America

 

Mark Kaplan, PhD - UCLA Luskin School of Public Affairs

 

Tina Maldonado - Firearms Instructor

 

Fatima Mann - Co-founder, Counter Balance: ATX

 

Joan Neuberger, PhD - University of Texa, Austin, Gun Free UT

 

John E. Price - History, Penn State University

 

Harel Shapira, PhD - Sociology, University of Texas Austin, Waiting for Jose

 

Robert Trausch - Community Organizer

 

Cody Wilson - Director, Defense Distributed

 

Join us as we refocus the gun debate!