Whilst watching FRIENDS on GEM (digital channel 90) I saw the preview of Jailhouse Girls (rated M), which was going to be aired later that night at 9:30pm. I have never heard of the show, but this is what happened during the preview and I thought it would be great to blog about.
What I jotted down during the preview:
- "They're the naughtiest girls on the block. Welcome to their world
- Images of girls screaming, being held down by prison guards
- Imagery of a gate shutting and locked
- A girl mentioning drugs - "crack"
- Girls being upset
With that in mind, I was just waiting for 9:30 to come and see how this certain production (UK) portray prisons (Holloway prison) and female prisoners.
The show started out with a voiceover of a girl reciting a poem which describes the violent crimes the persona (possibly the girl who wrote/is reading the poem) has committed. Just like other police shows in Australia, there is a narrator, and it takes the perspective of officers and inmates involved. The Holloway prison is the largest female prison in Europe and is situated in London.
This episode focused around 2 inmates and a controversial newspaper article which was published in the British newspaper The Sun. The article is largely negative and slams the Holloway prison for letting the inmates have a Halloween party where they are shown to be dressed up like monsters – the monsters they are most believe. On Jailhouse Girls, the prison noticed the way the newspaper exaggerated the truth, like the expenses of the party. On the newspaper’s website, you can find how people have commented their outrage and how ‘sick’ it is for the prisoners to have this party over a year ago (link to The Sun's article by Wilson, G., 2008).
The prison defended such parties, which includes Christmas, as a good way of rehabilitation and management of the prisoners as self-harm rates and aggression are high. This way, the prisoners, especially those with mental illness, can still feel a sense of belonging which can aid their rehabilitation process (which the wider community didn’t think was ‘what these criminals deserved’).
This is a prime example of misunderstanding between the wider community and prisoners and shows the power of the media over the general public and its effect on prisoners.
Overall, the prison did not look like a conventional prison (like the one seen in documentaries watched in the CRIM2027 tutorial or even movies) and looked more like a hospital with long corridors and coloured doors into little rooms and where inmates could wear casual clothing, which seem like their own. What was really surprising to me was a section in the prison where female inmates who gave birth while serving their time could be with and play with their newborn until the child is 18 months old – just like a hospital. There was also a salon in the prison where inmates can get their hair cut and manicures the way they liked.
The show sheds a positive light on the prison and it wasn’t as scary or violent as the preview made (another way the media manipulates and exaggerates).
*Another preview which I saw on GEM that caught my eye was My Strange Addiction - which talks about people with weird obsessions and habits! It's coming soon and I'm a little amazed at what programs are shown on GEM whose target audiences are women - haha!
Related links
Website for The Sun newspaper’s article on prisons hosting Halloween parties: http://www.thesun.co.uk/sol/homepage/news/1876866/Broadmoor-dangermen-swap-ghost-stories-during-Halloween-party-on-ward.html (by Jamie Pyatt, 2008)
Good analysis. I haven't seen either of the shows you mention. I might have to tune into Gem more often!
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