In 'Basic Pistol,' a Sociologist Takes Aim at Gun Training

UT Austin sociologist Harel Shapira turns a gun range into a field site in 'Basic Pistol,' a documentary that reads firearms training as a cultural practice worth close study.

By Tom Whitfield

September 25, 20261 min read

In ‘Basic Pistol,’ a Sociologist Finds Hidden Lessons in Gun Traininggwire / Openverse

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Harel Shapira is a sociologist at the University of Texas at Austin
His documentary is titled 'Basic Pistol'
The film is set at a gun range and examines hidden lessons in gun training

Sociologist Harel Shapira, who teaches at the University of Texas at Austin, steps out of the seminar room and onto the firing line with his documentary Basic Pistol. The film sets its sights on a gun range, using the rituals of firearms instruction as material for social analysis.

Shapira's dual position frames the project. As an academic, he studies the cultures that surround guns in America; as a filmmaker, he places himself inside one of those cultures, camera in hand, at a venue where the everyday business of training unfolds.

Source: NYT Arts

documentary, guns, sociology, filmmaker