Kaitlyn Hunter Blog 4

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When discussing Marxism, it is a common to bring up jail culture. Marx's theories revolve around two societal classes: the bourgeoisie (the ruling class) and the proletariat (the working class). Similarly, in terms of incarceration there are the correction officers and the prisoners. Marx emphasizes the use of false consciousness by the ruling class to convince the workers that their place is natural and therefore unchangeable. In the popular T.V. show Orange is the New Black the prison staff uses their power to control the inmates leaving them helpless to objection.  

One element of the false consciousness is the officers' use of 'Shots' or disciplinary marks on any inmates who act up or question their authority. Robin Sharpe, a former inmate and writer of 'The Jail Journal' confirms this when he talks about the understanding that asking why and questioning authority in prison was risky. Sharpe also brings up the fact that inmates are apolitical and tend to blame their misfortune on a specific officer or their own actions rather than the prison system itself. Marx attributes this to the overwhelming obsession workers have on their individual concerns that prevents them from realizing why they are in these situations in the first place. In Orange is the New Black, the inmates focus on beauty products, obtaining illegally made cigarettes and other goods. Their obsession with commodities acts as a distraction to the fact that they are heavily restricted by the prison staff. Not all the prisoners share this illusion and one of the inmates even exclaims that she is an inmate and therefore she has nothing. However, even within the prison system, a sub bourgeois class exists. The inmates Red and Vee each have a small group of inmates who they employ as drugs and goods smugglers. In order to maintain their control they convince their team that they are a family and it is better to work with family than be on your own.  

http://www.robinsharpe.ca/jail/Jail_Culture.html