Shakespeare Behind Bars

I had a lot of trepidation going into this film, predicting what it would be about, and unfortunately, a lot of them were spot on. This documentary captured the story of a group of inmates at a Kentucky prison who were a part of a program where that put on a Shakespeare production together, this iteration being The Tempest. It focused on a handful of the cast and went more deeply into their backstories, the crimes that they were convicted of, and their individual processes in going through the show. The entire film did a lot of heavy lifting to make it appear like they were just a bunch of bros hanging out, putting this production on, learning how to act, dealing with drama, who all come from different places and circumstances. The filmmakers did a lot to minimize the prison aspect of it all and the horrendous system that is the massive incarceration industry in the United States. They even started with the warden talking about how he thinks of this prison as a place of education and growth. Of course while we see them doing labor for "$1 an hour" like cleaning and computer programming. More often than not, documentaries and films set in prisons around a theater program they have is oriented around how rehabilitating it can be and how much growth can be done while learning how to make theater. That is true, but it certainly will not undo the damage that living inside a carceral site will do on your life, your psyche, and your chances at survival and success outside, if you ever are deemed "fit" to rejoin society. Abolish the prison system now.