[None of the Above raw #60]

This tape features raw footage for the documentary "None of the Above," an in depth ethnographic look at non voters in this country. This video features footage and interviews with Michael and Holly Bowser of Morro Bay, California. Election day #1.

00:00Copy video clip URL Tape begins with footage from inside cameraman Patrick Creadon’s hotel room in Morro Bay, California. He is there to spend time with the Bowsers on Election Day 1996. Patrick tests out the equipment before heading out to work in the morning. He gathers some b-roll of the town as the polls are opening.

03:25Copy video clip URL Creadon gathers footage from around a polling place on election morning. This lasts for several minutes.

05:04Copy video clip URL Cut to footage from inside the Bowser home as the kids get ready to leave for school. Holly sends her youngest, Cassidy, off before sitting down with Israel in the living room before school. We watch as the children walk to school together. Holly also speaks with a fellow neighborhood mother outside of her home. This lasts for several minutes.

21:13Copy video clip URL Cut to a shot of the front pages of a few newspapers that day.

22:04Copy video clip URL We watch as Michael Bowser and Creadon do a little bit of gun shooting together. Patrick talks to Bowser about of number of different issues including: his take on Election Day, his family, his employment, and his financial situation. When asked if Election Day is a special day, Bowser responds by expressing his disdain for the campaign commercials and that he’s glad the cycle is over. He goes on to talk about the effect of the polls on his family and gives his opinion of the candidates involved. Bowser also talks about his views on limiting campaign financing, marijuana legalization, and clean water bonds. The two go on to shoot a couple of rounds.

36:30Copy video clip URL Bowser goes into more detail about why he chooses not to vote. “Yeah I don’t see anybody up there that really is concerned with anything I’ve got in mind. You know, most of the people seem to, they’ve got their own agenda; it’s power, it’s money, you know, and it doesn’t have anything to do with what happens to me in particular.” The two continue to shoot a few rounds.

42:08Copy video clip URL When asked whether it scares him to teach his children about guns, Bowser emphatically replies by saying no and explaining his point. “Absolutely not. Absolutely not. I want them to know what a gun is when they pick it up so that there’s no–a lot of times that’s why kids get hurt. They don’t know what that gun’s going to do. These guys do. You know, there’s no mystery.”

46:33Copy video clip URL Bowser is asked about his future aspirations. Bowser talks about wanting a nice piece of land for his family, wanting to stay employed, and wanting his kids to get a chance at college. He goes on to talk about the recent family court dealings with the children. Bowser goes into detail about his children getting the opportunity to work through their feelings about their mother’s past relationship. Bowser is proud of the fact that he has been able to have a positive effect on the children. He later goes on to talk about the family’s current reliance on welfare and some of their future aspirations.

58:39Copy video clip URL Tape ends.