Ethics and Entertainment: Bum Fights
Erin Lynn
Issue date: 11/29/06 Section: Perspectives
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Exploiting homeless people for entertainment has become a lucrative endeavor, and Manhattan College students are among its consumers.
In 2002, the DVD series "Bum Fights" was unleashed onto the online market, selling hundreds of thousands of copies. Its primary creator, Ryan McPherson, who claims to be "just a kid with a camera," made $1.5 million when he and the other creators sold the rights to the series several years ago.
In a recent survey of 50 Manhattan College, 21 had seen or heard of the "Bum Fights" series. When asked if they believed it was ethical to exploit homeless people for entertainment, the most common response out of the 21 who had seen it was "It's not ethical, but it is funny."
Four participants, however, believed that it is quite an unethical practice.
Rufus Hannah, the "star" of the series, explained to the Quadrangle the extent of this exploitation. The various "stunts" which he performs in "Bum Fights" were quite real, he says, and quite painful. Each was performed after McPherson, then a high school student, offered him alcohol, waited until he was sufficiently intoxicated, and then proceeded to tell Hannah to do things like bang his head against a wall, while McPherson filmed.
At five or ten dollars per film, Rufus, then suffering from alcoholism, did as McPherson dictated. This included a getting tattoo, still present, across his knuckles which read "Bum Fight." Rufus Hannah has since sobered up, taken on a steady job, and settled a lawsuit against McPherson and the "Bum Fights" creators.
No longer homeless himself, Hannah is now an advocate against the violence and exploitation of homeless people. According to the National Coalition for the Homeless, there has been a significant increase in violence against homeless people since "Bum Fights" became popular. In the past six years, reports the NCH, there have been 167 homicides of homeless people. President Michael Stoops calls these a "vile teen fad" which he believes were heavily influenced by the videos.
In 2002, the DVD series "Bum Fights" was unleashed onto the online market, selling hundreds of thousands of copies. Its primary creator, Ryan McPherson, who claims to be "just a kid with a camera," made $1.5 million when he and the other creators sold the rights to the series several years ago.
In a recent survey of 50 Manhattan College, 21 had seen or heard of the "Bum Fights" series. When asked if they believed it was ethical to exploit homeless people for entertainment, the most common response out of the 21 who had seen it was "It's not ethical, but it is funny."
Four participants, however, believed that it is quite an unethical practice.
Rufus Hannah, the "star" of the series, explained to the Quadrangle the extent of this exploitation. The various "stunts" which he performs in "Bum Fights" were quite real, he says, and quite painful. Each was performed after McPherson, then a high school student, offered him alcohol, waited until he was sufficiently intoxicated, and then proceeded to tell Hannah to do things like bang his head against a wall, while McPherson filmed.
At five or ten dollars per film, Rufus, then suffering from alcoholism, did as McPherson dictated. This included a getting tattoo, still present, across his knuckles which read "Bum Fight." Rufus Hannah has since sobered up, taken on a steady job, and settled a lawsuit against McPherson and the "Bum Fights" creators.
No longer homeless himself, Hannah is now an advocate against the violence and exploitation of homeless people. According to the National Coalition for the Homeless, there has been a significant increase in violence against homeless people since "Bum Fights" became popular. In the past six years, reports the NCH, there have been 167 homicides of homeless people. President Michael Stoops calls these a "vile teen fad" which he believes were heavily influenced by the videos.