Filmmaker Cathryne Czubek examines the relationship between American women and firearms in A Girl & a Gun, combining interviews with mini-profiles of both enthusiasts and those who have experienced tragedy in their lives because of guns. Czubek devotes more time to the former, including a Tai Chi trainer with a violent ex-boyfriend, a young champion skeet shooter, and a writer who feels ownership is a choice between “target and non-target” status. On the other side are an African American mom whose daughter is a paraplegic after being shot as an innocent bystander, and a prison inmate serving time for killing her girlfriend with a shotgun. Viewers also meet a New York City nurse who finds relaxation at the shooting range but never exposes her children to guns at home, and an Alabama mother who takes her kids into “the boondocks” to shoot rifles for fun. The interviewees articulately voice the reasons behind their choices, and their stories bring up issues related to empowerment, violence, gender roles, and protection. Along the way, authors Mary Zeiss Strange, Laura Browder, and Katharine Gates help provide perspective, linking the topic to the history of American crime, the creation of advertising designed to instill fear, and the entertainment industry's role in promoting alluring imagery. And a visit to an exposition featuring pink guns and accessories highlights changes in the marketplace that many find unnerving. Serving up a provocative examination of a complex subject, this is highly recommended. Aud: C, P. [Note: this is also available with public performance rights for $200 for public libraries and $350 for colleges and universities from Collective Eye Films, www.collectiveeye.org.] (M. Puffer-Rothenberg)
A Girl & a Gun
(2012) 76 min. DVD: $24.95. First Run Features (avail. from most distributors, Sept. 17). Closed captioned. Volume 28, Issue 5
A Girl & a Gun
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