Shakespeare Saved My Life (Common Text 2017-2018)

The BBC Prison Study explores the social and psychological consequences of putting people in groups of unequal power. It examines when people accept inequality and when they challenge it. These findings have changed our basic understanding of how groups and power work. In this program, Alex Haslam and Steve Reicher tell the story of the largest field study in social psychology for over 30 years, using original illustrative film from the BBC series. As well as documenting their study, Haslam and Reicher look at social identity and its implications, the ethics of the study, their sources of data, and comparisons with the Stanford Prison Study.

Dogs on the Inside follows the relationships between abused dogs and prison inmates working towards a second chance. In an attempt to re-build their confidence and prepare for a new life, these prisoners must learn to handle and care for a group of neglected strays. This heart-warming story shows the resiliency of a dogs' trust and the generosity of the human spirit in the unlikeliest of places.

“There are no shortcuts,” says the banner at the front of Rafe Esquith’s fifth-grade classroom. Most of Esquith’s students come from low-income Mexican and Korean households in the neighborhood surrounding Hobart Boulevard Elementary, in Central Los Angeles—and his warning about shortcuts applies not just to young learners but to lazy teachers who can’t see a future for marginalized children. Esquith is so committed to his mission that he transforms his class into a yearlong adventure—empowering the kids to perform Hamlet and undergo countless other out-of-the-box experiences while still excelling on standardized tests. Filmed over several months among the Hobart Shakespeareans, as Esquith’s pupils have come to be known, this documentary explores their learning process and Esquith’s award-winning teaching methods. Disciplinary and security incidents, an extended field trip to Washington, DC, and visits from actors Michael York and Ian McKellan are only a few of the unforgettable passages on this grand educational voyage.

Alone. In a cell. 23 hours a day. For days…or decades. Today, tens of thousands of Americans are subject to what may be the most extreme prison environment ever designed. Although the effects of isolation are largely unknown, in prisons across the country convicts are placed in solitary confinement—cut off from nearly all human contact. Some say solitary is the only way to handle the worst prisoners, but others claim it amounts to psychological torture more cruel than any physical abuse. From prisoners on the edge to scientists making shocking finds that are changing our most fundamental notions of ourselves, this program looks at the science of solitary and discovers what it means to be absolutely and completely alone.

Situated in America’s heartland among acres of Indiana cornfields, Wabash Valley Correctional Facility houses not just the state’s most violent offenders but also a large population of the mentally ill. This MSNBC documentary looks at the challenges of confining thousands of hardened criminals in addition to those with deep-seated psychiatric needs. Wabash psychiatrist Dr. Mary Ruth Sims describes her work with a group of self-mutilating prisoners, while superintendent Craig Hanks and his staff outline their day-to-day challenges and the operation of the prison’s SHU, or secure housing unit. Viewer discretion is advised: additional interviews feature severely deranged inmates who give accounts of their horrific crimes.

Researcher Barbara Zahm gives a brief history of the 1971 Attica Prison Rebellion in which forty-three men died, and the college prison program which was initiated afterward. After interviews with prison inmates, "The Movement for College Programs of New York State Prisons After Attica" was formed. Zahm tells of her transformation after working with the inmates and her anguish over the Congressional decision to eliminate Pell Grants for prisoners, thus ending the program and leading to the "Last Graduation". As of 1997 funding cuts had not been restored.

Murderers, Fugitives, Thieves...Shakespeare would have loved these guys. Shakespeare Behind Bars is an unexpectedly delightful documentary that follows the casting, rehearsal, and presentation of Shakespeare's play, The Tempest, by convicted felons inside Kentucky's Luther Luckett Correctional Complex. Winner of eight film festival awards, Shakespeare Behind Bars smashes many of our long held notions about prisoners and criminals as we watch these remarkably unique actors prepare. Ultimately, we get to see the human psyche unfold in all of its complexities, as these men, ostracized from society, reveal their kindness, generosity and faith. In the process, we accompany them as they discover the power of truth, forgiveness and transformation.