Reading 8

Paul Mason’s article discusses how to rate the prison films. Mason points how inaccurate the issues of genre and oversight in prison films.  Some of the prison films are not a recognizable genre.  For example, one major conflict with prison films is deciding what proportion of the film should be based on the class of prison films. The article states how escaped prisoners and riots are very popular in news media. However, media generally ignores stories on inmates in prison. A writer named Nellis states in the article how imprisonment is difficult to image in viewers, and prisons were modernized during 1900’s to 1930s. Some of the themes of prison show escapes riots, violence, wrongful conviction and etc. Mason states how films give the audience a systematic process of a new inmate that enters into prison. Paul Mason states the prison films tends to be more entertaining for viewers because most haven’t been in prison. I agree with Mason because we can take it for granted that we know the prison only be watching shows or TV. Within the article there was an example from The Name of The Father. The characters in The Name of The Father were stripped naked at the entrance of prison then they changed into their prison uniforms and put in jail this is how the dehumanizing process began.

Rafter’s explains characters, plots and themes that make prison films. Most traditional prison films are based in riots and prison escapes. She stated four things the prison films offer us: to identify with a perfect man, perfect friendship, fantasized about sex and rebellion. An example of perfect friendship in The Last Mile was when inmates were helping each another when guards wore overpowering them in a negative way. Just as in Mason’s article, Rafter stated riots and prisoner escapes makes headline in media. Rafter discussed corrupted wardens, snitches and gangs. She also states there are three stock themes; rebellion against injustice, power in the prison over and appearance versus reality. Rafter’s argument is finding the perfect hero inside the prison. For example how the innocent learns to adapt in the prisons and forms friendships. Another is how prison media relates to the masculine rather than the feminine.  

Another example of Mason is the film called Shawshank Redemption. This film illustrates the dehumanizing process of new inmate into prison. Even the film the justice system was corrupt. It showed the masculine side of prison, how the men came very close to each other. The film shows how there is “wise prisoners” that are being taught by a senior inmate. This film connects with Rafter’s chapter by the four things the prison films offer us, by leaning more toward friendship. In Shawshank Redemption film friendship mainly theme. Both prisoners became best friends, even thought hey didn’t belong in prison.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2mL_916GFaA this clip is the same as the example Mason and Rafter used in their articles. From this clip it showed me how to never give up on your freedom. The clip showed how a prisoner becomes dehumanized and just became another number in the prison. The clip also showed how prison films are repetitive and using the same setting to give the prison a negative aspect. 

READING 7

In the Greenfield and Guy’s article they explained how media take criminal stories and expand them to make a film so it will be watched in a cinema. Lawyers wrote the whole article. The main point of this article was how the lawyers were in the media willing to be seen as the good guys by solving cases. From my understanding I noticed how lawyers would take a small certain case and make it into a big issue. They solved that case to make themselves known. Greenfield and Guy stated the fact that the lawyers were not ethical, meaning they would play with their own rules to make justice within their case. For example Killing of the Mockingbird, found evidence the accused to be found innocent and not be placed guilty for being a different race.  Television lawyers played the role of saving the innocent from jail. Even for good lawyers, defending a case could be bending the rules to make case seem successful. The viewers like to watch trials due to the justice being fairly applied and anticipation of the outcome of the case. The media makes films because the society wants to see others people suffer rather than themselves.  I feel that couldn’t agree or disagree because it is very interesting to see how the justice system works. On the other note I wouldn’t like how media can puts a stereotype on lawyers to be a certain way.  I feel that media overall has cons and pros to shape an individuals views.

The film Presume Innocent can be explained by Greenfield and Guy’s article. The film involved a murder story. Which was expanded into a major public criminal case. The accused murderer’s law firm corrupted the evidence and testimony for the accuser to not face punishment. The accused lawyer was unethical because he bent the rules in order to be viewed as a good lawyer. He didn’t be forth evidence against his wife, who was the murder of the mistress. The film was made to portray the mythological romanticized law system in the 1990’s, which allows viewers to acknowledge the fault within lawyers and law system. At the end of the film we portrayed how he wouldn’t now tell who the real murder was to protect his child. However, accused is facing punishment because he is living the consequence from his actions.

Another example of Greenfield and Guys’s article is Until We Meet Again.  The main character was accused of killing her husband but could not remember the event. She sought help form a report agency, which discovered she was not the killer. There was controversy over who the real murders were. Two doctors were killed because of their affairs with a young nurse. It turned out that the real killers were her two best friends. The reporter bent the rules to solve the case. I feel in overall how lawyers or reporters do whatever it takes to make their story be successful even if they are placed in danger.  Seeing these two films I have an assumptions that lawyers and reporters should use ethical and moral chooses before risking if the justice being safe. 

Reading 6

In the article “CSI and moral authority: The police and science,” Caverder and Deutsch explain how “CSI” is one of the top 10 television programs. The focus is on how the CSI show uses images and the cultural meaning of the crime to play into police and science investigations. The argument of this article is whether science should or should not play a role in closing a case. The article explains how some of the CSI scenes are not valid, because CSI uses forensic science to make viewers think sciences can prove who committed the crime. They also state that sometimes some scenes are too fictional and put irony into viewers to question authority of the police investigation.  In the article they point out there is not much accuracy in the scientific procedures but CSI presents them as accurate. The article states that CSI projects images that all case are solvable by highly technical science. I disagree with the article because science should be put in consideration when crimes are committed. In some cases forensic science is necessary to solve crimes but should not be taken out of proportion.

In the CIS show, which was my first CSI experience, I saw how much technology was used in the show.  All of the evidences were taken to the forensic lab. The forensic team had to use many techniques to show what had occurred at the time of the crime. The message the CSI show sends out is that the criminal does leave a trace. I can see why the article states that the forensic team tends to take a larger part in the show to make the viewer think science is what solves the crime. The show ignores the police investigation in favor of the science. Just as Cavender and Deutsch state, CSI ignores the human side. The police drama series in television can make the viewers think they know the whole system without knowing the real system.

Conviction was a film based on a true story.  The two main characters were brothers who shared many life experiences. However, through time they developed their own lives with their own families and work.  After 30-year pass by Betty’s (sisters of Kenny) Kenny gets convicted for a murder he didn’t commit. He was sentenced for life Betty knows her brother didn’t commit the crime. She goes to law school and becomes a lawyer to defend her brother. When she was in school she found out about case someone was convicted wrongly for a murder.  From that case Betty applies the same case to her brother so they can do a DNA test to prove his innocence. Eventually, they do prove his innocence and he was released from the murder charge. I see how science does apply here because if there weren’t any test, an innocent person would have been convicted. I believe there should be a balance between science and policing investigation. Like Cavender and Deutsch state CSI ignores the human investigation, in this case they ignored the science investigation.