A Crime disguised as Entertainment

by Michael Vizcarra/PNN Media Intern

Cool, hip music in the background.  Rapid-cut clips of men fighting and doing stunts flash on the screen.  A gratuitous T&A shot.  An MTV video?  A commercial on TV?  NO.  These are the previews you see when you go to www.bumfights.com, the website selling Bumfights:  A Cause For Concern, Volume 1, an hour-long video showcasing gruesome footage of homeless people fighting with each other and performing dangerous stunts.

Watching the video clips from the website made me sick and disgusted, sick and disgusted with the exploitation of homeless people.  In one scene, a homeless man breaks his ankle in a fight.  Another scene shows a homeless man smoking crack.  Another homeless man, named Rufus the Stunt Bum, performs stunts for the camera including ramming his head into walls or riding a shopping cart down stairs.  The filmmakers even do a parody on "The Crocodile Hunter" called, "The Bumhunter," where a man, dressed in safari clothing, hunts homeless men on the street, binding, gagging, and marking them.  The Las Vegas filmmakers, 23 year old Ray Laticia and 24 year old Ty Beeson, were "interested in the inherent humor of something that hasn't been touched upon in mainstream entertainment, which is homelessness."  

This is entertainment? 

I think these two filmmakers should be charged with crimes.  First and foremost, criminal solicitation.  The common-law crime of solicitation occurs when one requests or encourages another to perform a criminal act, regardless of whether the latter agrees.  There has been much debate on whether the producers of the video solicited homeless men to engage in fights with other homeless men.  But if that is the case, then they could be charged.  The crime of solicitation is never construed so as to require an overt act.  As soon as one makes the request or proposal, the crime is complete.

Another crime they could be charged with is conspiracy.  The common-law crime of conspiracy is defined as an agreement between two or more persons to do either an unlawful act or a lawful act by unlawful means.  Let's say, for example, the filmmakers requested or encouraged Rufus the Stunt Bum to fight another person (criminal solicitation), just the act of planning on doing this and preparing to film it would be considered conspiracy.  The Las Vegas police and the Clark County District Attorney would only need someone in the video to file a complaint with them and they would consider prosecuting the filmmakers or anyone who was involved with the making of the video.  The charges could move on to kidnapping (as in the case of the Bumhunter) and assault and battery.

But the filmmakers contend that all the homeless men appearing in the video did so by their own choice.  They also signed consent forms and agreed to the use of their images.  Also, they were compensated with food, clothing or money ($20 to $100) after the taping, say the filmmakers.  But even if they were paid and signed the consent forms they could still sue for assault, says Sgt. Eric Fricker, who oversees the Las Vegas Metropolitan Police Department's homeless-focused detail.

A main concern about the contents of these videos is the mental state of the homeless men.  "There has been a long history of the exploitation of people with mental illness," says Leroy Moore, our resident poet, writer, organizer, advocate and lecturer.  Leroy is not unfamiliar when talking of these issues.  A disabled person of color himself, Leroy formed a Bay Area organization for and by people of color with disabilities called Disability Advocates of Minorities Organization, DAMO.  DAMO's main goal is to empower, educate, advocate and bring together communities of color on issues concerning people with disabilities.  He says the problem stems from the de-institutionalizing of homeless people with mental illness.  With nowhere to go, no transitional plan, and no housing, they were left to fend for themselves on the streets.  The American Disabilities Act, ADA, "hasn't talked about people with mental illness," he says.  ""They are the last minority group that hasn't been touched by laws."

I also spoke with Jennifer Friedenbach of the Coalition on Homelessness about the Bumfights videos.  She says the video furthers the hatred to a particular group of people (the homeless).  The fact that they (the filmmakers) can get away with exploiting the homeless is appalling, she says.  If another video were made using other groups of people, for instance Hispanics or African Americans, there would be more of an uproar, she states.  "In order to get on the front page, you make fun of people.  That's how politicians use poor people to garner votes, that's how the media garners readership," she says.  I asked her what she thought of Ray Laticia's comments, in an interview with the Las Vegas Review-Journal, when he said, "To people who are going to take offense, I'd say, 'What have they done for the homeless?'"  Ms. Friedenbach replied, "How is he to know?  Doing nothing is better than doing something hurtful. "

The Bumfights producers are also full of contradictions.   In one interview with BBC News Online on May 25, 2002, Mr. Laticia explains, "It is not done to be shocking.  It was done to show an aspect of society that people would otherwise not see."   But in another interview with www.wired.com on June 5, 2002, Mr. Laticia says, "The video is designed to shock.  We're quite aware that some people find it hilarious and some people find it disgusting.  That's what sells videos."  In another interview with the Las Vegas Review-Journal, Laticia states, "This project is a means to an end.  We want to be feature filmmakers.  We're going to cash in and then cash out and go make some movies."  But, if that were the case, then why would this video be entitled Volume 1?  Hmm.  Documentary or exploitation?  Entertainers or criminals?  I would hope the answer is clear.