“I Wasn’t Ready”
In this episode there were a multitude of examples of Marxist
theory. One thing I noticed was
specifically in the jail. There is an
entire class system formed within the prison.
There was a distinct separation in the ethnicities of the inmates. Multiple times in the episode, Piper was told
to go sit with the white people. Another
thing that stuck out in the episode was false consciousness. This was happening specifically between the
police and inmates. The police affected
the consciousness of the prisoners by treating them like they are trash. Maybe the inmates act like they are “lower”
in society because the “ruling class” puts them down as human beings.
The two classes, bourgeoisie and proletariat, are shown in
the jail culture in this episode. The
bourgeoisie would be the officers and those who run the prison. The proletariats are the inmates. One of the characters said in the beginning,
when they were in the van, that they (the inmates) have to do everything. The inmates are exploited over and over
again. In the article, “Assessing the Organizational Culture in a Jail Setting,”
the authors talk about the misalignment of the perceptions of inmates in the
staffs eyes.
Another concept that stuck out to me was alienation. Alienation
is represented through Piper. She is not
the “typical” inmate in the show. She
tried to make friends and failed. At the
end of the episode, Piper runs out while the other inmates are laughing at
her. In the entire episode, despite
talking to people, she seems to be the odd one out.
Stohr, M., Hemmens, C., Collins, P., Iannacchione, B.,
Hudson, M., & Johnson, H. (2012). Assessing the Organizational Culture in a
Jail Setting. The Prison Journal,
358-387. doi:10.1177/0032885512448614
I find it interesting you included the officers as part of a different class. For some reason, when I watched the first episode I didn't categorize them as a separate class. Since the officers did treat the other inmates, especially Piper in the photo scene, like trash, they can be represented as part of the ruling class and the other inmates as the lower, less experienced class.
ReplyDeleteI like how you analysis two classes: bourgeoisie and proletariat. Also I like your explaination on Piper is represented as Alienation.
ReplyDeleteI agree with your view of the class system, especially between races. I would say there are class conflicts all over the place in the show: between races, between newer and younger inmates, and even between the guards and inmates as a whole.
ReplyDeleteDo you think it is her job in prison that alienates her or her behavior?
ReplyDeleteTo me, it was her behavior. She was shy and seemed afraid of everything (which is understandable).
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