Documentary ‘Thoughts and Prayers’ explores industry built around school security

Amna Nawaz:

A new documentary looks at how gun violence has led to school lockdown drills becoming a universal part of childhood in America. That sparked the creation and explosive growth of an entire industry of active shooter preparedness products now worth an estimated $3 billion.

Man:

Lockdown 1 is by far our most popular. It works on any door.

Man:

Sirens and strobes throughout the organization are now initiated.

Man:

It can move. It has handles, and you literally could move with the table if so desired.

Man:

Right after Sandy Hook happened, teachers and schools started calling us.

Man:

When Sandy Hook happened and we realized that the children were at risk, we said we have got this great technology.

Man:

And now we're in 4,000 schools across the country.

Amna Nawaz:

The documentary called "Thoughts & Prayers" is available to stream now on HBO Max. I recently spoke with the filmmaking team behind it, Zackary Canepari and Jessica Dimmock.

Zack and Jessica, welcome to the "News Hour." Thanks for joining us.

Jessica Dimmock, Co-Director, "Thoughts & Prayers": Thank you.

Zackary Canepari, Co-Director, "Thoughts & Prayers": Thanks for having us.

Amna Nawaz:

So I wanted to get into the story behind the film more in just a moment.

But, Zack, kick us off here and just tell us a little bit more about some of those pitches we just heard, some of the products we just heard about, the fact that this is a whole industry most people don't even know about that's cropped up in recent years. What more should we understand about that?

Zackary Canepari:

Yes, and the film documents sort of the various different training programs and products and cultural effects of all these things across America due to gun violence.

And the products, the scene that you guys just watched was from the National School Safety Conference, which is a very typical sort of American conference, where they go to the hotel, they have got the lazy river, they have got the pool party, and then they have vendors. And those vendors are pitching products to schools and other businesses looking for ways to help prevent or stop or slow mass shootings.

Prevent is probably not the right word, because it's more like slowing mass shootings down. But those products are all on the marketplace trying to find homes in schools across America.

Amna Nawaz:

I mean, in the world of products that you saw, did anything surprise you that this thing exists?

Jessica Dimmock:

I think what was most surprising was, like, the calm and collected manner with which people would kind of assume that any of this would work.

There's one thing that's a shield that kind of opens up and theoretically could stop an AR-15 bullet. And, theoretically, the demonstrator is talking about how a kid aged 10 could run his fellow classmates out to safety. And, like, when you really play that out in your mind, you're like, wait, wait, wait.

OK. So AR-15 bullets are flying at this shield and this kid is supposed to be just ramming through them? Like, when you really stop and think about the scenarios and what it would actually take for any of this stuff to really be effective, I think that's what's so surprising.

Amna Nawaz:

Well, Jessica, I mean, the industry is there because, as you report in the film, 95 percent of American schools now run lockdown drills. There have been some 236 school shootings in the last seven years where at least one person was killed or injured. That's according to Education Week.

Take us behind the film for a moment and tell us about what made you want to make this film in the first place.

Jessica Dimmock:

Yes.

So Zack and I have a child. And like many American parents, when she was approaching school age, we started to think about the inevitability of drills and started to think about what it actually would be like to look at these. And we went down the wormhole that I think a lot of parents do, which is like, what's the plan? How is she going to stay safe?

And then once we started digging into that, we realized that there was this whole kind of world of safety and preparedness, which in some ways we are looking at with some cynicism, but ultimately the industry is not necessarily the problem. The industry exists because there's a lack of meaningful gun reform and people are trying to solve a problem.

We have some doubts that this is the actual way to solve this problem, but we understand in some ways why the industry exists.

Amna Nawaz:

I mean, I will share, I remember when my oldest was just 4 years old and she came home to talk about her first drill in pre-K, when they told her, this is what happens if an animal gets into the school, you have to hide and be quiet and it just broke my heart.

Most parents don't get to see the drills that these kids are going through across the country. Zack, you witnessed these. You saw a lot of them firsthand. Take us inside. What is that like for the kids?

Zackary Canepari:

I think it's very — it's unique because it simultaneously is the darkest thing that we can imagine and also pretty mundane.

The kids are — especially as they get older. They have been doing them for years. For the young kids, it's got this spooky quality, but the kids don't totally even really understand what it is that they're practicing for.

With the older kids, they have been doing this twice a year for their entire school career. And they have gotten to the point like in high school at this point, I think a lot of schools recommend that the kids actually pick up something to use as a improvised weapon. It's really just to stand there and hold it.

But the idea that this is even in the psyche of these kids over years and years, I think, is really what we're pointing at. These individual drills, they don't always look like much. They're pretty short. But I think the collective experience over many, many years, and even just, again, just talking about it and thinking about it, hearing about other shootings, I think that's what's the most damaging.

But, yes, the drills are just now part of our ritual, American ritual.

Amna Nawaz:

I mean, some of the most powerful moments in the documentary are when we hear from these kids directly.

I want to play for folks just one of the interviews you did with a student named Julie. Take a listen.

JULIE, Middle School Student:

I really want to be a teacher, elementary schoolteacher. I really like little kids, and I like working with them. I like letting them express themselves and teaching them to help them succeed in life.

But, again, that will be frustrating because of school shootings. I have to do a bunch of trainings for them, get ready. And especially if I'm a teacher and one of the kids get hurt, I will be very guilty, even if it's not my fault. It would just be like, I could have done this to protect them. And I would really — I would feel guilty.

Amna Nawaz:

Jessica, tell us about what else you heard from the other kids when they would talk about these drills and also just the possibility of something happening in their schools.

Jessica Dimmock:

Yes, well, a couple of things that the kids are so clear on, which was really eye-opening for us as people that didn't grow up doing this, one, they're worried about it all the time. They're in rooms and they're always kind of thinking about where the exit is. Could I jump out of that window? Is this building high enough for me to survive something like that? Can I run out the door?

So that kind of constant mental noise is something that they — is pretty universal. They talk about it a lot. They also talk about close calls. While shootings at schools themselves are rather rare, they absolutely — as all Americans know, they do happen.

And the amount of kind of close calls that these kids are around, someone had a kill list, someone made a threat on social media, a janitor at school had a plan, this kind of proximity to the violence was also really striking.

And I'd say the third thing that really blew us away is that the kids are clear about why this goes on. They're very clear about that this is a problem about guns and that this is a uniquely American phenomenon.

Amna Nawaz:

Zack, what about the impact on teachers? What did you hear from them?

Zackary Canepari:

Well, I think, for the teachers, teachers are on the front lines of so many American culture wars. It was masks and book bands and obviously this as well.

And so what I found so striking was the teacher in our film saying that there's been a huge drop-off with teachers. And the ones that are in this program, the program in the film is in Utah where they train teachers beyond just active shooter preparedness. They train them to use guns.

And the ones that are in this program for her were the ones that were left, being that this is what we're willing to do to protect our kids and continue to educate kids. I mean, what a crazy — that all they're trying to do is educate, be teachers and there just not totally — there's no way that they're prepared for — this kind of ask is just above and beyond.

Amna Nawaz:

Jessica, in all the conversations with students and teachers and others, is there consensus on what they want to see changed, on what they want public officials or leaders to do or to act to stop this from happening? Or is there a resignation that this is just part of their normal life now?

Jessica Dimmock:

I mean, I think that there is a resignation that has deeply set in, which is partially it has to do with why we made this film and the way that we approach it.

I think, when we think about drills, what's important for everyone to understand, including your listeners, is that all of the things that we show in our film, which are very commonplace in America, are all predicated on the idea that this violence cannot be stopped or that this violence is just coming and what we need to do, instead of prevent it, is to practice for it.

And so I think what we really want is to for people to feel enraged that — and hopeful that we don't need to live this and that there is a different way to live that's free from this kind of violence.

Amna Nawaz:

The film is called "Thoughts & Prayers." It's streaming now on HBO Max.

Filmmakers Zackary Canepari and Jessica Dimmock, thank you so much for making the time to speak with us about it.

Jessica Dimmock:

Thank you.

Zackary Canepari:

Of course. Thank you.