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It seems that several heartless men are preying
on the desperation of homeless men. Called
Bumfights.com,
these uncaring men pay homeless men to fight each
other and perform other cruel, harmful stunts.
These acts are videotaped and the tapes are then
sold over the Internet. WARNING: Contains violence,
adult language and nudity. Must be 18 to be
purchase, parental discretion is strongly advised.
International shipping is available. The following
is an excerpt from The Las Vegas Review,
It's a brutal video depiction of street life,
portrayed through rapid-cut, handheld camera
images.
With the Stratosphere looming in the background,
a vagrant struggles to escape the punishing
punches, kicks and body slams of his attacker. In a
flash, the scene changes. Another man standing in a
dark alley smacks himself in the head as he
realizes his hair is on fire.
The fast-selling video featuring grisly footage
of homeless men fighting on the streets of Las
Vegas and performing other stunts has angered some
advocates for the homeless and alerted authorities
to potential crimes by the filmmakers and their
subjects.
Las Vegas filmmakers Ray Laticia and Ty Beeson
say that in only three weeks they've sold nearly
10,000 copies of their video, "Bumfights: Cause for
Concern, Volume 1," some to viewers as far away as
Europe. The recent graduates of the film schools of
the University of California, Los Angeles and the
University of Southern California have marketed the
work they describe as a "hilariously shocking" look
at "drunk bums fighting" and "bum stunts," using
only the Internet and posters around Las Vegas.
"Society has a fascination with homeless people,
people living on the streets, almost a perverse
fascination," Laticia said. "People don't get a
chance to see much of that. We thought it would be
exciting to get a glimpse of that kind of
life."
The action includes one scene in which a man
sustains a broken ankle in a fight. In another, a
purported crack addict smokes the drug and
defecates on a sidewalk. There is a homeless man
extracting his own tooth with a pair of pliers, and
another man tattooing the title of the film on his
forehead.
Another homeless man, referred to as Rufus the
Stunt Bum, performs a series of feats for the
camera, including repeatedly ramming his head into
a wall and a fast food drive-through menu, riding a
shopping cart and a skateboard down a steep incline
and spray painting the bedding of other homeless
men.
In several scenes producers appear to instigate
the action. A segment titled "The Bumhunter"
parodies television's "The Crocodile Hunter," with
a man in safari clothing binding, gagging,
measuring and marking various homeless men on the
streets of Las Vegas before "releasing them into
their natural habitat."
The 23-year-old filmmakers, who got their idea
after witnessing violent altercations among men
living on the street, said all of the homeless men
appearing in the video did so by their own choice
and agreed to the use of their images by signing
consent forms. Some of them were compensated for
their acts.
"We have a few bums that we've been working with
for a while, and they are willing to partake in
different nefarious activities for the camera,"
Laticia said. "And when they do, we either provide
them with cash or food or clothing. We don't force
anyone."
But Craig Walton, a professor of ethics and
policy studies at the University of Nevada, Las
Vegas, said even if the homeless aren't forced to
perform, it's inaccurate to describe people without
adequate shelter, food or clothing as having
choices.
Source: www.lvrj.com/lvrj_home/2002/May-05-Sun-2023/news/18662641.html
Their 800 number is 800.709.4008. Also, download
the videos without making a purchase, the extra
bandwidth will eat into their profits.
* * *
Thanks to Jim Bracewell, at The
Men's Center.com for the heads-up on this one.
We are asking all concerned men and women to send a
protest email to Bumfighters at: support@bumfights.com
or 702.258.9375 or Bumfights P.O. Box 81888 Las
Vegas, NV 89180
* * *
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