Bumfights (vol. 1-4)

Bumfights Vol1: Cause for Concern (2002)
Bumfights Vol2: Bumlife (2003)
Bumfights Vol3: The Felony Footage (2004)
Bumfights Vol4: Return Of Ruckus (2006)

Bumfights is a film series produced by Indecline Films. The videos feature teenagers and homeless men (most notably Rufus Hannah and Donnie Brennan) in the San Diego, San Francisco, Los Angeles, and Las Vegas metropolitan areas fighting and attempting amateur stunts in exchange for money, alcohol, and other incentives. The first video, Bumfights: A Cause for Concern (2002), was produced by Ryan McPherson, with friends Zachary Bubeck, Daniel J. Tanner, and Michael Slyman, as Indecline Films. Shortly after sales began to escalate, Indecline Films allegedly sold the rights to two investors,[1] who went on to produce three sequels.

The videos immediately gained criticism from mainstream organizations. The US-based National Coalition for the Homeless (NCH) has stated that the Bumfights videos disseminate hate against the homeless and dehumanize them.[2] In April 2006, the four original filmmakers agreed not to produce any more "Bumfights" videos or distribute videos already made, and to pay three homeless men depicted in the videos, under a settlement announced shortly before a lawsuit was due to go to trial.

The videos have been banned in a number of countries including the United Kingdom, Canada,[4] and New Zealand. The internet auction site eBay routinely cancels listings which contain copies of the video, citing their policy which prohibits the sale of materials which promote or glorify violence.[5] In the state of California, both felony and misdemeanor charges were filed against the producers, as well as civil lawsuits; in 2005,[6] the producers were sentenced to six months in prison for having failed to complete the community service to which they had previously been sentenced.[7] The filmmakers maintain that the production of the video was a mutually beneficial arrangement and that the homeless people depicted freely chose to participate.[8]

The Bumfights films have likewise been blamed for inspiring a number of violent teenage attacks on the homeless, in the United States.[9] A group of suburban Nevada teenagers, who called themselves "311 Boyz", also faced criminal charges, including attempted murder, after filming several violent exploits inspired by Bumfights. The suspects attempted to make a profitable video by instigating fights around their neighborhoods, in some instances imposing on unwilling participants.

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