A Year of Movies Round 7 - The Stanford Prison Experiment

[Raising Heel]

OOTB Picker: @strummingram
Movie: The Stanford Prison Experiment
Year: 2015
Director: Kyle Patrick Alvarez
Starring: Billy Crudup, Michael Angarano, Ezra Miller
Run Time: 2h 1m

Schedule:

Round 1 (02/18/18) --- @Raising Heel (Memento - 77.8 avg rating)
Round 2 (03/04/18) --- @heelz2345 (Walk Hard: The Dewey Cox Story - 75.4 avg rating)
Round 3 (03/18/18) --- @TarHeelMark (The Hateful Eight - 79.0 avg rating)
Round 4 (04/01/18) --- @tarheel0910 (V for Vendetta - 81.1 avg rating)
Round 5 (04/15/18) --- @TarHeelNation11 (Fracture - 72.8 avg rating)
Round 6 (04/29/18) --- @grillheel (Wind River - 85.4 avg rating)
Round 7 (05/13/18) --- @strummingram (The Stanford Prison Experiment)
Round 8 (05/27/18) --- @coryfly
Round 9 (06/10/18) --- @toophly1124
Round 10 (06/24/18) --- @BillyL
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Round 11 (07/08/18) --- @Raising Heel
Round 12 (07/22/18) --- @heelz2345
Round 13 (08/05/18) --- @TarHeelMark
Round 14 (08/19/18) --- @tarheel0910
Round 15 (09/02/18) --- @TarHeelNation11
Round 16 (09/16/18) --- @grillheel
Round 17 (09/30/18) --- @strummingram
Round 18 (10/14/18) --- @coryfly
Round 19 (10/28/18) --- @toophly1124
Round 20 (11/11/18) --- @BillyL

 

[heelz2345]

Haven't seen this one yet actually; looks like it has a pretty solid cast though, and I'm interested to see how they present the story. And it's never bad to have a UNC connection in a movie.

 

[strummingram]

It shook me to my core. This actually took place. Obviously, we can only assume how accurately it depicts what happened.

 

[toophly1124]

Decent flick. I could see myself acting like both the guards or the prisoners. If this was truly an “experiment” I damn sure would’ve broken a nightstick up the guards ass before I dry humped another inmate. 72.

 

[TarHeelNation11]

It shook me to my core. This actually took place. Obviously, we can only assume how accurately it depicts what happened.

This movie's depiction is horribly, horribly HORRIBLY inaccurate lol. I learned about the Stanford prison experiment in psychology class at UNC and then saw the movie. The movie's depiction is pathetically exaggerated.

The story itself is startling enough that it didn't need to be Hollywood-ized, but Hollywood gonna Hollywood.

47.

 

[heelz2345]

@strummingram I know the deadline was technically yesterday but I haven’t had a chance to watch until this afternoon so I’ll watch today and poast review tonight. Didn’t forget about you man, just didn’t have as much free time this particular two weeks

 

[strummingram]

@strummingram I know the deadline was technically yesterday but I haven’t had a chance to watch until this afternoon so I’ll watch today and poast review tonight. Didn’t forget about you man, just didn’t have as much free time this particular two weeks

 

[tarheel0910]

@strummingram I know the deadline was technically yesterday but I haven’t had a chance to watch until this afternoon so I’ll watch today and poast review tonight. Didn’t forget about you man, just didn’t have as much free time this particular two weeks

I always thought the deadlines were on Sunday. Guess I need to pay more attention.

 

[tarheel0910]

Alright, I watched it last night and thought it was pretty good. I thought Crudup and the John Wayne guard did a good job. The casting of the prisoners seemed a little lacking, but I'm assuming that had to do with the budget. The direction is solid. Overall I think this is a pretty good independent film with the normal flaws that most independent films have. I give it a 70.

 

[strummingram]

Do we submit a score for films we picked?

 

[tarheel0910]

Do we submit a score for films we picked?

I did.

 

[strummingram]

I did.

In that case:

90

 

[uncboy10]

It shook me to my core. This actually took place. Obviously, we can only assume how accurately it depicts what happened.

This movie's depiction is horribly, horribly HORRIBLY inaccurate lol. I learned about the Stanford prison experiment in psychology class at UNC and then saw the movie. The movie's depiction is pathetically exaggerated.

The story itself is startling enough that it didn't need to be Hollywood-ized, but Hollywood gonna Hollywood.

47.

I didn’t end up watching that whole movie but idk why they would need to sensationalize that story. The real experiment went horribly enough...

 

[heelz2345]

Just finished watching it. I knew a fair amount about the actual experiment prior to watching it, though not necessarily the lengths to which the "prisoners" were treated. I can agree with THN that they may have sensationalized some of it, being a movie and all, but what I've read about the actual experiment seems to line up pretty well with what was shown. But I could be totally wrong and my memory be playing tricks on me there haha.

This movie is an interesting look into how people react to power (or the perception of power) both in the actual prison where the prisoners mostly obey the guards and the guards abuse the power that was arbitrarily given to them and among the experimenters, who seem just as complicit in many ways in the treatment of the prisoners as it was presented here. There is a lot going on here on a psychological level that was intriguing. It's also very easy for me watching it to go "Oh, I wouldn't abuse power like that," or "I would have stood up to these guys" but not being in the situation, I really don't know that for sure.

I think the acting was solid for the most part, and there were a number of prisoners I recognized (predominantly, the three that got released). With that said, the performances that stand out were Crudup and the John Wayne guard because they had the most sense of being a real person, if that makes sense. The movie did a good job of presenting the prisoners similarly so that they did sort of lose their individuality and just became uniform for the most part (with the exception for me being Ezra Miller's prisoner). I think the pacing could have been improved though, because as a viewer, things got a little repetitive for me.

This was certainly a challenging watch (and I'm sure way worse to actually live) and overall it has some solid things going for it, so I'm gonna give it a 74.

 

[heelz2345]

Also @coryfly needs to get his nom in by the end of the day according to the schedule in the OP

 

[strummingram]

I'm going to try and find some footage of testimony from the actual participants... maybe a documentary featuring them. I think it was a very interesting approach and worth trying again.

I truly believe that prisons are archaic and we need to dig into our collective intellect and senses and create more productive alternatives to putting humans in cages.

 

[grillheel]

I watched it. Interesting to a degree. The psychologist(s) should be locked up. 49.

 

[Raising Heel]

Okay @strummingram. I messed up and forgot because of the holiday weekend. I'm going to extend the viewing another day and watch it tonight without reading any of the poasts in this thread. We'll score it and move to the next movie tomorrow. My bad!

 

[Raising Heel]

Well that was different. So far I'm enjoying the wide variety of films chosen for this project.

I'm probably not going to say anything that hasn't already been said about this movie. As @heelz2345 pointed out, it was interesting how readily the guards assumed what was essentially arbitrary power and how the experimenters tampered with that dynamic. The experimenters interfered a lot, actually. You might remember that they flipped a coin to determine whether the volunteers would be a guard or a prisoner, but later told the guards they had been selected for their roles based on merit. Also, every one of the volunteers said they would choose to be a prisoner when the question was raised during the interview process.

Maybe the most significant development was that the experimenters and guards refused to honor the terms of the experiment and denied prisoners their release when requested (at least initially). That has to have been a mind-bender for the prisoners. They believed that they signed up for a fictional prison, when in fact it bore more resemblance to actual incarceration. You have to wonder if that was more psychologically taxing than being in an actual prison; you think you're getting out in two weeks and next thing you know you're being asked what steps you've taken to secure your release, whether you've retained a lawyer, etc.

Despite all that, I think what surprised me most was how quickly the prisoners freaked out. These were guys supposedly selected for their mental and physical fortitude but that all fell away after a couple days of harassment by the guards.

The movie started to drag a little towards the end, but all in all it was a fascinating story with some solid performances. After deducting points for pooping in a bucket and adding a point for forced singing, I'll give it a 78.

 

[Raising Heel]

This movie's depiction is horribly, horribly HORRIBLY inaccurate lol. I learned about the Stanford prison experiment in psychology class at UNC and then saw the movie. The movie's depiction is pathetically exaggerated.

What specifically was exaggerated? I read a couple back stories about the actual experiment after watching the movie and didn't see anything that jumped out at me.

 

[Raising Heel]

I truly believe that prisons are archaic and we need to dig into our collective intellect and senses and create more productive alternatives to putting humans in cages.

What particular aspect(s) of prisons do you find most troubling and what options are there to address those concerns?

 

[heelz2345]

@coryfly don't forget, you got the next nomination

 

[TarHeelNation11]

What specifically was exaggerated? I read a couple back stories about the actual experiment after watching the movie and didn't see anything that jumped out at me.

Shit. I'm so sorry y'all. I crossed streams. I actually have not seen this particular movie. I just assumed (dammit) y'all were referring to The Experiment, starring Adrien Brody and Forest Whitaker, which is a movie also (very loosely) based on the Stanford prison experiment... like at the end, they actually kill a guy.

I apologize. Didn't realize they had done a version by the exact name of Stanford Prison Experiment.

 

[heelz2345]

Shit. I'm so sorry y'all. I crossed streams. I actually have not seen this particular movie. I just assumed (dammit) y'all were referring to The Experiment, starring Adrien Brody and Forest Whitaker, which is a movie also (very loosely) based on the Stanford prison experiment... like at the end, they actually kill a guy.

I apologize. Didn't realize they had done a version by the exact name of Stanford Prison Experiment.

 

[TarHeelNation11]

If you ever watch The Experiment (don't), you'll see what I mean about how badly that movie exaggerated the SPE. That movie is an insult to Forest Whitaker's career, Adrien Brody's career, and even Travis Fimmel's career lol.

 

[toophly1124]

Shit. I'm so sorry y'all. I crossed streams. I actually have not seen this particular movie. I just assumed (dammit) y'all were referring to The Experiment, starring Adrien Brody and Forest Whitaker, which is a movie also (very loosely) based on the Stanford prison experiment... like at the end, they actually kill a guy.

I apologize. Didn't realize they had done a version by the exact name of Stanford Prison Experiment.

So you didn’t actually watch it?

 

[Raising Heel]

So you didn’t actually watch it?

LOL, same question. And you guys wonder why outlier scores have to be tossed....

 

[TarHeelNation11]

So you didn’t actually watch it?

No.

 

[strummingram]

Now I feel the need to watch the experiment just to have a comparison.

 

[Raising Heel]

A recent article suggests the Stanford Prison Experiment was a sham.

https://medium.com/s/trustissues/the-lifespan-of-a-lie-d869212b1f62