The Stanford Prison Experiment and the Shawshank Redemption

#9 Use the work and research from your current research project (due 6 May), to write a journal entry just explaining how your topic is related to ToK and the WoK. 

The Shawshank Redemption is a short story written by Stephen King about a prison and the life in it. One of the themes of the Shawshank Redemption is institutionalization. Institutionalization means to succumb to the conditions of the jail and the behaviour of the prison guards. “I am what they call an institutional man now – I cannot get along on the outside” is a quote by Red, one of the main characters in the story. The quote implies that by being locked up in a place for many years, a man would get so used to the life of being oppressed that he would not be able to accept the freedom that he might win after he has served his sentence. In the story, the guards are brutal towards the prisoners and the prisoners are scared and cynical about leaving the prison. The environment created is negative because of the dead feeling for prisoners and the raging and wanting to assert power in the guards. However, the major issue starts with the wardens of the prison, who use their powers, negatively, to suppress the prisoners.

This story connects to the Stanford Prison Experiment. Philip Zimbardo, a psychology professor, started the experiment to see whether the placement affects the emotions of a person and how a person would change himself negatively in regards to his environment. In the experiment, 24 volunteers were chosen from which 12 were randomly made guards and 12 prisoners. An easy day 1, however the human psychology started showing its true colours on the second day when the prisoners decided to go against the guards due to the oppression. The guards decided to torment these prisoners by abusing them with CO₂ gassing in their cells and making them repeat that it was their mistake and that they should be extremely sorry. Eventhough, the rebellion was held by a few of the prisoners, the guards induced that all the prisoners were a risk to their life and so with the increasing days, the guards kept increasing their authority. John Wayne wanted to be the “worst prison guard that he could possibly be”. They assumed the roles, as if those of a dictator because of the position they were kept in. On the other hand, the prisoners started obeying and doing as per the guard’s wish. Their mental conditions with the confined spaces and brutality started depreciating and prisoner #8612 was the first to have a breakdown caused due to the giving in to authority – the fallacy of Appeal to Authority which would disable them from thinking rationally and remember that they had done no crime and were just part of a simulation. Their emotions were subject to the decision of the guards and the guards would not feel any remorse because of the silver glasses that they wore and which gave them no way of looking into the eyes of others, making them  more resistant to emotion or pity.

The Shawshank Redemption story is the same life of a prison, however a true prison. In the story just like the guards at Stanford the position of power is misused and the position of weakness is succumbed to as no one dares to speak against the wrong even if they are right. And the right people turn wrong. 

Note: Click on the link below to find the powerpoint presentation made by me for the Stanford Prison Experiment. 
Powerpoint presentation on the Stanford Prison