Jewish World Review July 23, 2003 / 23 Tamuz, 5763

Tresa McBee

Tresa McBee
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Spoofing a spoof: Hunting for the truth


http://www.NewsAndOpinion.com | It's easy to believe. Weird is relative. Odd barely exists.

What's hard to believe is that anyone would be shocked something like the supposed Las Vegas-based Bambi hunts could exist. Surely recent television programming demonstrates people will do anything for exposure or fame or money. Whatever it takes, someone will offer.

Sin City in all its risqué glory was brought beyond its neon limelight into national headlines last week by one Michael Burdick, who says a hunting spoof video has turned into the real thing.

Burdick's "Hunting for Bambi" video was designed to make fun of actual camouflage-heavy hunting videos, only with naked women instead of deer and paintballs instead of bullets. But when men found out about Burdick's charming enterprise, they wanted the real thing, so he began booking outings where men could hunt naked ladies in undisclosed Nevada locations.

Burdick insisted to the Las Vegas Review-Journal that the hunts are real and men pay up to $10,000 for the opportunity to nail a darting female, who's paid $2,500 if she avoids a paintball and $1,000 if she doesn't. One woman told Las Vegas' KLAS-TV, which broke the story and witnessed the 18th hunt, that, indeed, the paintballs sting. Really bad.

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Fortunately, the tennis shoes-only rule was amended to allow women to wear eye goggles and helmets. That concession came after Burdick realized that warning hunting men not to fire at Bambi's head just might not be enough protection from the especially enthusiastic.

"It's basically like a game show," David Krekelberg, spokesman for Burdick's company, told MSNBC. "There's a whistle, and maybe 20 minutes to an hour later, we have a girl with a big red welt on her butt, or maybe none." Neat. And all captured by a three-camera video team for Mr. Hunter to take home to his buddies as spoof proof.

One such hunter told KLAS-TV that scoring a hit is darn sexy, and founder Burdick explained that most participating men are the submissive, quiet types. "For the individual who's used to saying 'I can't go out with the boys tonight' or the wimp of America, it's a chance for him to come out and vent his aggression and really take charge and have some fun."

It's always the quiet ones, isn't it? Beneath the shy exterior simmers a naughty nurse — or sadist wannabe. We all have different needs.

In true sound bite form, KLAS-TV interviewed a clinical psychologist who warned combining violence with sexuality isn't good for men unable to distinguish fantasy from reality. For real? Like, that could cause problems? America: The land of experts.

Some folks are obviously miffed over the almost-naked hunts in the desert and want something done. Krekelberg says they're held on private property in southern Nevada, but the federal Bureau of Land Management is suspicious, considering most of Nevada is federally owned. Krekelberg won't say exactly where on private land, because, he told Reuters, "there are nuts out there who would come in and throw a wrench in there."

Yeah, gotta watch out for the crazies.

A few women's groups are unhappy — the events made Women's eNews' Outrage of the Week — and Las Vegas' mayor — who's garnered his fair share of publicity — says this is just going too far. Which says something in a city that boasts whatever happens there stays there.

Turns out the Bambi hunts might never have happened at all. Some are wondering if Burdick's Real Men Outdoor Productions Inc. staged a sham to increase sales of his spoof videos. The informative debunking Web site snopes.com argues the hunts are a hoax — the kind perpetrated before.

That's possible. The sensational attracts without much scrutiny, precisely because Bambi hunts could happen. Girls get increasingly wild — that's someone's daughter flashing on national television! — and guys will do any asinine stunt to qualify as a jackass. There's no limit to what people will swallow, roll in, compete for, humiliate themselves for or get naked for. Must I point out: Someone was willing to be Bambi, if only to scam.

Come on. This is the age of manufactured reality. You expect something real?

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JWR contributor Tresa McBee is a columnist for the Northwest Arkansas Times. Comment by clicking here.

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05/02/03: He, she, it: When pronouns exclude
04/01/03: Not on par: Going for the green
03/28/03: Hollywood hates when we don't listen
03/19/03: Blame Elizabeth Smart
03/06/03: Challenging views: Offense as defense
02/20/03: Aggie agitation: Not exactly Kent State
02/13/03: Like a Lamb to the slaughter
02/06/03: Testy TV riles feminists
01/30/03: R. Kelly as inspiration doesn't fly
01/23/03: A (bleeping) outrage: One act of protest
01/16/03: Lost in the fissures of a failed system
01/09/03: Dueling strategies: Two approaches to crime and guns
12/26/02: Barbie and teddy: The new generation of toys
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12/03/02: Hold your (kid's) head high
11/21/02: Sticks and stones injure over at Harvard
11/14/02: Girls will be boys
11/06/02: Ask the fake pros
10/31/02: Abused again: Domestic Violence Awareness Month's discrimination
10/24/02: Men have finally caught up
10/16/02: The mental illness of a relationship
10/09/02: Little monsters
10/02/02: Synonym salad
09/25/02: America has no right to criticize any country
09/18/02: Hey, Bill: Time to enter the No Ego Zone
09/11/02: Reliving 9/11 again and again and ...
09/04/02: The price of success: When being a responsible father is not enough
08/28/02: When separate can be equal --- and better
08/22/02: Egypt and Saudi Arabia: Curious inconsistencies
08/15/02: Hey, fellas: Beware the fairer sex ain't always fair
08/08/02: Why women will remain the at-risk gender
08/01/02: Girl: The new four-letter word?

© 2002, Northwest Arkansas Times