Insane Clown Posse are quite the curious case.
In this day and age, we can now look at members Violent J and Shaggy 2 Dope as two relatively normal (if not outspoken) dudes who, compared to how some of their peers’ careers have shaken down, are also relatively harmless. We can also look at their followers – Juggalos – as a group of like-minded individuals who have found a fellow group of misfits in which to mis-fit in. But that wasn’t always the case, as a new documentary, United States Of Insanity, explores. For a while there, ICP and their followers were considered a threat to the morals of society – a threat so serious the Juggalos were deemed a gang organisation, invoking the ire of the FBI.
Centred around the duo themselves, who have also earned the dubious title of “The World’s Most Hated Band”, Directors Tom Putnam and Brenna Sanchez slowly navigate through the head-scratching decision for one of the world’s most powerful authorities to set their sites on a group of music lovers. The situation saw J and Shaggy thrust from ne’er do wells to champions of the first amendment as they filed a federal lawsuit against the FBI, with the help of ACLU on account of their gang organisation status.
While seen as somewhat of a joke to those outside of the Juggalo milieu, the FBI designation had considerable impacts on those within, with fans of ICP losing jobs, facing jail time and losing custody of their children – all on account of being perceived as “gang members”. United States Of Insanity follows ICP as they investigate exactly why they were deemed gang leaders, and how they can undo the damage the label has done.
“Our goal is to put the audience through our own paces of discovery during the seven years we filmed with ICP, their fans, their lawyers and the government agencies pursuing them,” Putnam said via Deadline. “ICP’s extensive archive of music videos, home movies, documentaries and feature films are layered throughout our movie as well, helping us paint a unique story of two high school dropouts achieving their own American dream while bringing people along for the ride.”
The documentary will debut at the forthcoming Fantastic Film Festival before seeing a wider release.
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