United States of guns

“God create man –Smith & Wesson made mankind equal”.In half of all American households there is at least one firearm. More than, 30.000 Americans die of wounds caused by gunshots every year. Eleven children are killed by firearms in the United States every day. SVT’s US correspondent Folke Rydén and photographer Dan Jama spent one year compiling material for this documentary about Americans’ complicated and emotional relationship to firearms, about the romanticization of weapons and the horrifically high price which the American people seem to feel is acceptable for their right to carry weapons.This is an example of true journalistic teamwork between reporter and photographer, where a combination of images and the comments of those involved move the action forward. Reporter Folke Rydén manages to put his personal stamp on the program in spite of not actually editing it.The program has also attracted a great deal of attention both in Sweden and abroad. It was produced and broadcast at a time when Swedes are increasingly taking the law and, for example, immigrant policies, into their own hands.