(THIS ARTICLE IS MACHINE TRANSLATED by Google from Norwegian)
We live in a time where firearms are more common than ever before. Every year, twelve billion bullets are produced – almost two bullets per person. At the same time, only six of the world's 15 leading arms manufacturers signed and ratified the UN Arms Trade Agreement at the beginning of 2015, which came into force on December 24, 2014. Nearly half a million people lose their lives annually because of a firearm. Author Iain Overton believes the consequences of firearms are getting too little attention globally: “There have never been as many firearms as they do today. The firearms are glorified in Hollywood and used by politicians to pursue foreign policy. The number of deaths in Central America has increased by 100 percent over the past decade. Yet we never hear about the shooting episodes that occur there. I think we have forgotten in many ways the role of firearms in acts of violence. We hear about a shooting episode, and think someone was killed. We do not think enough about what role the firearm played in this killing. There is evidence that firearms aggravate violent situations. Too often, firearms transform men, and men's ways of demonstrating power, for the worse. The status of the firearm is interesting. Despite the number of lives lost each year as a result of firearms, a gun manufacturer has far less stigma attached to it than a cigarette manufacturer has, ”Overton points out. Through a long career as a journalist and documentary filmmaker, he has acquired broad knowledge of both firearms and the often fatal consequences that their use can have. In the crossfire. The last time he was shot was while in Iraq to report on the presence of British forces in the country. The episode he chooses to highlight as the most memorable, however, is a robbery he faced in Papua New Guinea: Three so-called naked men threatened all of Overton's assets with the help of angry faces and homemade rifles. The property was returned when a local policeman threatened to set fire to neighboring villages if things were not returned. Today, Overton is Director of Investigation at the Norwegian-funded and London-based NGO Action on Armed Violence. Now he is also Norwegian in the book A bloody journey through an armed world, which will be launched at Font publishing house on 22 April. "The global trade and influence that firearms have affects a large number of people in different ways," Ian Overton told Ny Tid. "A firearm in Central America can take thousands of lives, while a firearm in Iceland takes few lives and is mostly used for hunting and sports. A gang member in El Salvador and a person who goes hunting in Iceland, probably have quite different views on what a firearm is. Likewise, another mass murderer like Anders Behring Breivik has a different view of weapons than what a South African doctor who fixes gunshot wounds has. The firearm affects lives in many different ways. With this book, I want to bring these ways together and see the impact of the firearm as a whole – as the sum of its many parts, "he says. On film. Firearms are also a frequent guest on the movie screen, whether as an element in a brutal shooting episode or as a spotlight on tough gangsters. But how random is this? The American weapons manufacturer Smith & Wesson is said to have hired a company called International Promotions, a company specialized in product placement, to get their weapons on the screen. In 2010, Brandchanel, a website that maps product placement, reported that the Austrian weapons manufacturer Glock was present in more than 15 percent of this year's top films. "Hollywood's impact on the firearms culture cannot be underestimated. When American film gangsters use sawn-off shotguns, real gangsters begin to do the same. The dirty truth is that this is something the gun companies know all too well. That's why they also try to forge close ties with the filmmakers, "Overton explains, adding:" I've seen gang members aim at each other with their firearms from the side, and it's worth the stumbling block, since it's a bad and not very smart one. sighting technique. "Later I found out that this had its origins in movies – it was filmed in such a way that both the gun and the actor were to be captured by the camera at the same time," says Overton.
"In the end, you are left with the notion that you need a firearm to survive." Iain Overton.
He has no doubt that exposure to weapons through film can lead to a normalization of handling of weapons. "The 'cultivation' of firearms we are exposed to through the mass media has far-reaching consequences. Several studies have been done on what happens to children when they are exposed to violence through the media. The conclusions are that these children become more aggressive and that it can have consequences for their health. This is supported by six leading child health organizations in the United States, "says Overton. "The ever-increasing prevalence of weapons in film normalizes their use. In the end, you are left with the notion that you need a firearm to survive. " USA. Police in the United States have received harsh criticism after several unarmed people were shot and killed by US police officers. According to the organization Stop Mass Incarceration Network, more than 90 unarmed people have been shot and killed by US police since January. On April 15, hundreds of people in Union Square in Manhattan demonstrated against what they see as escalating violence among U.S. police, especially against colored Americans. Between 2012 and 2013, nearly 1500 people in the United States were killed as a result of clashes with police. An entire chapter in A bloody journey through an armed world is also devoted to the use of weapons in the police. "A tendency is that the police in societies where the incidence of weapons is high, easily approach a 'shoot first, ask afterwards' trend. I do not have exact figures, but I would argue that there is generally a connection between many handguns and frequent shooting episodes in the police. We see this especially in the USA and in Brazil, "says Overton. "Has it become too easy for the police to resort to weapons?" "I think this is an issue that in recent years has gained greater national significance in the United States. There is no doubt that the police in the United States have been involved in incidents where unarmed men, women, children and grandmothers have been shot by the police. It is rather rare that the police officer has been prosecuted. Recent events, which have also marked the news picture, will probably change this, "Overton believes. Heinesen is a journalist at Ny Tid.
