The Firing Line

Say what you want about hipsters and American Apparel but Vice magazine’s web counterpart VBS.tv is pumping out a plethora of quality content. Series such as Epicly Later’d, Inside Afghanistan and the previously posted Vice Guide to North Korea are prime examples of the site’s approach to web programming.

Spike Jonze, of music video and Jackass fame is the site’s creative director. His influence can be seen in the sites visually comfortable layout. The backdrop looks like something from a hipster flat, a white brick wall with bookcases strewn with film cameras, CDs, and records. Advertising banners are perched on the bookshelf or plastered up on the wall like posters. The sites video is framed in the middle of the layout to look as if it is playing on a wall mounted flat screen TV. This setup is aesthetically pleasing because it creates a vibe that feels less like the Internet and more like real life. You are still staring at pixels but the atmosphere created by the home decor is much more comfortable than what surrounds the Youtube screen.

The following episode of Americana is one of the most interesting produced by the site. It offers a peak into gun culture through the lens of a New York shooting range called the Firing Line.



I personally found the conversation with Peter Stechler and his young grandson Tommy the most interesting. Tommy, who appears to be about eight or ten years old, mentions that he shot an uzi. In the wake of the accidental death of and eight year old who shot an uzi at a Westfield, MA gun show last October this was alarming.

Tommy and Peter also show the difficulty of passing on safe gun ethics with the following exchange:

Interviewer:What do you like best about shooting?

Tommy: Well, I’m not a black belt yet and I need to defend myself with a gun.

Peter: (Reservedly interrupting) No, you can’t do that.

Tommy: I’m just kidding, but still, its just its fun.