Don't Drop the Soap

For everyone as out of touch with pop culture as I am, there is a new movie out called "Let's Go to Prison.” If you think this might be an enlightening look at the state of US prisons or a day in the life of an inmate, think again. It's a comedy - and billed as a rather touching comedy at that. As you might guess, there's something very wrong with this movie. There are actually a lot of things that are wrong with this movie, but only one that I will address here. To help you understand, here's a line from the trailer (or at least it's pretty close to the line from the trailer), "A penetrating look at the state of our penal system." Right about now, you should have a surprised or skeptical look on your face much like I do...

It seems that a large premise of this movie centers around the not totally untrue fable about the more sensitive inmate becoming the plaything of a more seasoned, probably more typically manly inmate to ensure his survival in prison. In other words, it's all about how men in prison are sexually assaulted and violated in order to stay alive. It's conveniently making light of what is actually a very serious problem in today's prison system. Without explicitly saying so, it essentially makes the case that since this happens to prisoners (that is, people who've been convicted of breaking the law); it's not a serious issue and actually an appropriate outlet for humor. I tend to disagree.

A voyage through their website allows a visitor to play a variety of prison-related games invented solely for the purpose of the movie. Among these games is Bighouse Beatdown and Don't Drop the Soap. As you might be able to guess, Don't Drop the Soap is a game about showering in prison where you have to carefully maneuver your mouse to keep the soap steady (in the "safe zone" on the slipperiness meter). Your "life" in the game is measured in terms of elasticity which ranges from tight, nice fit, almost used up, and man hole. Obviously, this refers to the player’s tightness in regards to being anally raped. If you do well in the game, as you advance to higher levels, you are offered encouragement of this sort, "Keep going, maybe you'll leave here un-violated after all."

Meanwhile, in the background there are various things going on, part of which sound like a rape scene. Examples of what you hear include:

So, what's a beautiful white boy like you doing in a place like this?

No rear entry, that goes for you.

I ain't gonna lie to you, this next here part's gonna feel like someone parked a greyhound bus up your... [it ends there]

Is this how you treat someone you love? Choking them in the men's room?

You are my property, to do with as I please.

Personally, I found that very disturbing. If this were a scene involving a man and a woman, the domestic violence and sexual assault communities would be outraged. They would be waging all sorts of campaigns against this movie, but I haven't heard a thing from that community about this movie. In all fairness, I did hear about this movie from someone in the anti-sexual violence field, but I have not heard anyone else in the field comment on it.

Meanwhile, on the website, I went on to discover a tool entitled “What Kind of Prisoner Are You?” I daresay the title is self-explanatory. Essentially, users answer a series of questions to find out what kind of prisoner they will be. Here’s what it said for me:

You are very likely going to be someone’s property. Likely candidates to sexually enslave you are your cellmate, various members of your particular race’s top gang, and maybe the guy serving food in the mess hall… Your prisoner name: Sunbeam.

I’m a female, and answered as close to honestly as I could. The obvious implication here is that more feminine inmates become sexual property of more masculine inmates and that’s just the natural order of things in prison. Out of curiosity, I went back and answered the questions differently, in the opposite manner. Wow. That was fascinating, too…

You have a good chance of staying on top, but don’t get cocky – the machine can grind up the hardest of thugs and turn them onto a life of forbidden love.

Apparently, prison softens you up enough to make a rapist out of a person – turn them into someone who violates others and calls it “forbidden love”. How fascinating. The obvious sexual tones in the message also suggest that it might start out as just rape for domination and control but eventually the rapist will enjoy the act, therefore turning it into “love”, but if they remain detached and manly enough, it’s just rape.

And what about the fact that the individual who is posed as the perpetrator is African American and the guy he’s targeting is white? Could it play into any more stereotypes?

Prison rape is a very serious issue. I ventured over to Stop Prisoner Rape a few minutes ago and, to no surprise, they have openly criticized this movie. According to one of their fact sheets:

1 in 5 male inmates reported a pressured or forced sex incident while incarcerated

1 in 10 males reported that they had been raped

The populations that are the most likely targets include inmates who are nonviolent, gay, effeminate, small, weak, and transgendered. Naturally, these are the most vulnerable individuals, the easiest to victimize. Naturally, such acts in prisons can yield the same impact on victims as sexual assault outside of prison – depression, anxiety, symptoms of PTSD. It also increases the spread of sexually transmitted infections, including HIV. It is dangerous, it is serious. It is not a subject to be dealt with in a comedic motion picture.

Naturally, this make me think about the incidents at Abu Ghraib in which incidents of sexual abuse and humiliation were used as acts of torture, as well as the Military Commisions Act of 2006. This act, some argue, makes certain sexually abusive tactics permissible as part torturing potential terrorists, thereby writing into law that sexually violent acts are ok as long as they are aginst certain, specific populations. As I mentioned in my post about domination of the environment, the mindset that the violation any population is okay, justified, or even humorous, is harmful to everyone.

(The Stop Prison Rape site also includes information on female victims in prisons, who, they attest, are usually violated by a male staff member.)

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