Thursday, January 12, 2012

Politics and Prisoners

I was drawn to watch a documentary outlining the art of tattooing in Russian prisons and its implications for the prisoners and the prison system in Russia. I found it on an excellent website entitled , Documentary Heaven.com. The documentary was called , "The Mark of Cain".


What struck me profoundly was how the culture of tattooing and its power in the world of Russian prisons is waning and becoming a symbol of shame as opposed to its earlier influence in the prison hierarchy. What also struck me was how some believed that conditions were actually better under the Stalinist regime.


" A film composer is the dictator of reality"



I realise that documentaries are biased in their own personal ways through the selection of their material.


But what also left me pondering was the suggestion of how prison life reflects a microcosm of the broader society.


It seems the brutal realities of survival and change in a prison mirror the game play of the outside world.




Similarly, the realities of American society and its exploitation of its prisoners - usually from the most vulnerable sections - are depicted with a bitter sweet irony in the following clip, to explore the implications of the land of freedom and opportunity .








Now where is all of this leading ?


Just a couple of thoughts to reflect on captured by these quotes........






and


Two men look out the same prison bars; one sees mud and the   other stars.


 

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