Death Athletic: A Dissident Architecture is a 2023 American documentary film written, produced, and directed by Jessica Solce about the life of 3D printed gun inventor, Cody Wilson, over a period of around 7 years, from 2015 through 2022.
| Death Athletic: A Dissident Architecture | |
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| Directed by | Jessica Solce |
| Written by | Jessica Solce |
| Produced by | Jessica Solce |
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Production company | |
| Distributed by | Encode Productions |
Release date |
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Running time | 102 minutes |
| Country | United States |
| Language | English |
Synopsis
editThe film primarily follows the life of Cody Wilson, famous for having invented the first mass-market available 3D printed gun called the Liberator back in April 2016.[1] Solce follows Wilson for a period of 7 years from around 2015 through to 2022. Over the 7-year-period, Wilson speaks of his beginnings as a "troll" and "mischief maker" to a troll seeking "bigger marks", moving from random online targets to organizations like the United States Federal government and gun control laws writ large. The film interviews many of the other figures beyond Wilson alone that have worked on the related 3D printed gun and CNC milled gun projects, such as the ghost gunner, that Wilson's company Defense Distributed had been working on in that timeframe.[2]
An additional key underlying theme of the film revolves around the concepts of freedom of speech, and how Wilson has been advocating and arguing that his real purpose is not related to the mere distribution of guns, but that the act of distributing or making files (or code) available to the public over the internet, is an action that ought to be thought of and considered protected under the first amendment to the United States Constitution, and thereby protected speech, and not just a second amendment or gun rights related battle.[3][4]
Production
editSolce followed Cody Wilson around for the filming for at least 7 years from the period beginning around 2016 until release of the film in 2023.[5] In those years Wilson had faced numerous lawsuits from state, local, and federal government sources, and numerous attorneys general as well as faced personal allegations of sexual misconduct in 2018.[6] Death Athletic was Solce's second major film release, after No Control (a film about gun control laws in the United States and the broader implications of whether or not to regulate or increase armed civilian numbers), a film released in 2015.[7][8]
The film was produced by Solce's production company, Encode Productions.[9]
Release
editThe film was released to streaming services for digital rental or purchase on October 21, 2023, with purchase directly from the director at her website, or available from more conventional services such as Amazon, YouTube, or the iTunes store the same month.
Funding
editAs of 2021, the film had received funding from some prominent bitcoin and cryptocurrency companies, Samourai Wallet in particular.[10] Prior to this funding assistance from Samourai Wallet, it was reported that Solce had been funding the production entirely out of her own pocket.[10]
Movie promotional poster controversy
editAccording to director Jessica Solce in an interview with podcaster Michael Malice, the original movie poster had to be changed out in order to have an acceptable one that the various distribution channels would accept, such as Amazon etc. The original movie promotional poster had an x-ray image of a hand holding a Liberator plastic pistol and was aiming the gun from the side profile view. This was considered to be too "controversial" or "dangerous", so Solce was forced to change out the original movie poster (seen below on the left) for a simple image of a ghost gunner CNC milling machine which is seen (below right) with a 80% lower receiver ready to be finished by the machine and turned into what the United States government legally considers to be the part that is considered the "gun" by the letter of the law.[11]
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Original movie poster, considered to be "too controversial" for its prominent display of a hand holding a plastic 3D printed Liberator pistol under an x-ray. -
Updated movie poster, used in place of the original. The updated poster does not display any visual appearance of a gun, but rather does still display what the United States government considers to be a gun, a ready-to-be-completed 80% lower receiver (of an AR-15-style rifle in this case).
See also
editReferences
edit- ^ Greenberg, Andy. "Meet The 'Liberator': Test-Firing The World's First Fully 3D-Printed Gun". Forbes. Retrieved November 3, 2023.
- ^ "The 'technopolitics' of Cody Wilson". Reason.com. October 31, 2023. Retrieved November 3, 2023.
- ^ Taylor, Magdalene (September 21, 2023). "Are 3D-Printed Guns Really About Free Speech?". Vice. Retrieved November 3, 2023.
- ^ "Death Athletic: A Dissident Architecture with Jessica Solce". TFTC – Truth for the Commoner. September 27, 2023. Retrieved November 3, 2023.
- ^ "Death Athletic: A Dissident Architecture". Yahoo Entertainment. November 22, 2023. Retrieved November 22, 2023.
- ^ Fernández, Stacy (September 12, 2019). "3D-printed gun designer Cody Wilson gets probation in child sexual assault case". The Texas Tribune. Retrieved November 3, 2023.
- ^ Solce, Jessica (October 21, 2023), Death Athletic: A Dissident Architecture (Documentary), Benjamin Denio, John Sullivan, Cody Wilson, Encode Productions, retrieved November 22, 2023
- ^ Solce, Jessica, No Control (Documentary, News), Cody Wilson, Greg Bokor, Leah Gunn Barrett, Encode Productions, retrieved November 22, 2023
- ^ "Encode Productions". encodeproductions. Retrieved November 3, 2023.
- ^ a b "Bitcoin Wallet Maker Finances 3D-Printed Gun Documentary". Yahoo Finance. October 13, 2023. Retrieved November 3, 2023.
- ^ "Your Welcome" with Michael Malice #280: Cody Wilson & Jessica Solce, retrieved November 4, 2023
External links
editDeath Athletic: A Dissident Architecture - Official film website