DVD Review: A Girl & A Gun

A Girl & A Gun is an intriguing documentary film about women and firearms. It opens like some wonderful pseudo-noir romp, with a great sexy tune and a series of shots of women with guns – female hands holding guns, loading them, aiming them. It’s interesting that the film starts with these images, because it later shows us a series of familiar images of women with guns from mainstream films – The Professional, American Beauty, even Star Wars – as a way of demonstrating the common conceptions of guns in relation to women, conceptions the film debunks.  A voice tells us, “People are still convinced that women with guns is an exotic thing.” Another voice says, “We live in a culture where guns are a symbol of masculinity and American identity. So where does that leave women?”

The film features interviews with many women on the subject of guns, including many gun owners. The women tell us what they love about guns. One says, “The weight of it, the smell of it.” Another says, “To me, to see a woman with a gun is exciting because it’s like seeing a bearded woman in this freak show. The rules are being broken.”

One of the women we’re introduced to is Robin Natanel, a tai chi instructor whom we see shopping at a gun store. She laughs with the sales clerk, saying, “This is kind of like shoe-shopping for me.” She owns a gun because of fear. Her ex-boyfriend had broken into her home. She makes a good point when she says, “I never really thought about it, that the police only come after the bad thing happened.” She went for a stun-gun first, but those are illegal, and she points out the weird brand of lunacy that allows you to kill someone, but not stun someone. Later we see her with a special gun purse.

If the idea of a gun purse strikes you as odd and a bit scary, you’re not alone. But that’s not all. The film has footage from a gun show in which there are rows of guns that are designed specifically for women – yes, with pink handles. Plus, there are pouches that include a spot for lipstick as well as for ammunition. It would be hilarious if it weren’t so creepy.

There is indeed something very creepy and disturbing about this. Like when 19-year-old Emily Blount refers to her gun as her “best friend” and her “first boyfriend.” Yikes. She strokes the gun as she says this. Or the shot of Sarah McKinley with a baby in her right hand, pistol in her left. Or the scene of a woman in Tennessee wrapping a gun as a Christmas present for her son, who is seven years old. (And this is a woman whose brother died from a gunshot wound when he was a teenager. What’s more, she’s a nurse. What is wrong with people?)

And then there is Violet Blue, a blogger who says she loves guns because of what they represent. “It’s owning my freedom. It’s owning my power. It’s owning my womanhood.” It’s interesting to me that women who love guns are just as off-putting and twisted as men who love guns. She says, “You move through the world as a target when you are female. Period.” And yes, she also has cats.

The film doesn’t just focus on female gun owners, but also includes women with different perspectives on the subject. For example, Laura Browder (professor, author) talks about how in the 1980s gun manufacturers began trying to market for women, playing on their fears. Jennifer Bishop Jenkins (the Director of Programming, Brady Campaign to Prevent Gun Violence) also talks about how fear is at the base of ad campaigns (and we see a number of print ads aimed at women). The film goes into a bit of the history of women with guns, including a short bit about how in the 1920s there was a concern about the possibility of female criminals. This stuff is really interesting, and I’d actually like more.

The film also tackles the subject of women and guns from a victim’s standpoint. Stephanie Alexander is a victims’ rights activist whose daughter was shot. Her daughter, Aieshia Johnson, survived, and is in a wheel chair. Later in the film Aieshia talks about her experience, and shows the spots where the bullet entered and exited her body.

A Girl & A Gun includes a little about women in the military, mentioning the growing number of women serving in combat situations. I would really like to have had more on this particular subject.

The film does feel a bit episodic. It touches on a lot of areas, but draws no conclusions. That being said, the film is worth watching, whatever your position on guns may be. By the way, the title comes from a famous quote that is usually attributed to Jean-Luc Godard: “All you need to make a movie is a girl and a gun.” Oddly, that quote isn’t mentioned in the film.

Special Features

The DVD includes a music video for “A Girl & A Gun” by Julia Haltigan, as well as six deleted scenes. Often when I watch the deleted scenes on a DVD I think that the filmmakers made the right choice in the cuts. With this film, I feel some of this stuff could have stayed in. So be sure to watch the deleted scenes after you watch the movie. The scenes include two high school students who consider shooting a sport, a shot of workers at the Smith & Wesson factory, and some information on the Brady Campaign. There is also a brief interview with Sandy Froman, the second female president of the NRA. She talks about the incident that led her to guns.

A Girl & A Gun was directed by Cathryne Czubek and was released on DVD on September 17, 2013 through First Run Features.