Prisoners Design What They Can't Buy- Luke
Luke Kirchner
I chose to read the article "Objects Made by Prisoners in the United States". This was a very interesting article, as it showed what it's like to be in an American prison and how they make some objects. When Prisoners are in prison, the severity of their punishments can vary, but the lack of creative freedom is often detrimental to each prisoner. This lack of freedom can sometimes drive their creativity to make their own objects, showing off individual expression. Some items like pens and toothbrushes were not given in the full form, due to the fear of prisoners turning them into weapons. Instead, the prisoners thought about how they could fix these problems. The article says "The items shown here, made by inmates in the U.S. prison system, illustrate the severity of restrictions imposed on prisoners as well as the human instinct to persevere through creativity and invention" (The Atlantic).
They took the ink cartridge for the pen and head of the brush and used other items that they found in the prison to make better versions of the item. For the toothbrush, they used commission order forms as the handle and used white string to sew the head on. For the pens, they took the ink barrel and then wrapped paper around to make it easier to grip. Their innovations weren't limited to just pens and toothbrushes though; they created many more items. They made dice from bread, water heaters, and weight lifting gloves. It is interesting how the lack of creative freedom can sometimes lead to more creative ideas. These items are now displayed in museums and collected by researchers in human psychology.
Works Cited
https://www.theatlantic.com/magazine/archive/2020/03/viewfinder-made-in-the-usa/605527/
I read a similar article a while back, which discussed how many female prisoners use alternative items for makeup. With water and a newspaper/magazine, they can pull off the color for blush or eye shadow. With some vaseline and Kool-aid, they can make lip gloss. If they get some crayons or colored pencils damp, they can make eyeliner. It’s really interesting to see and learn about how prisoners are able to use their limited items to make things of value. As creative as these prison ‘crafts’ are, they can also lead to a serious discussion of the treatment of prisoners in the system.
ReplyDeleteI too read the article "Objects Made by Prisoners in the United States". I found it very interesting and it shows how inmates use their creativity to make everyday objects even though they have very little resources. One example of this is shown in the 1994 movie "The Shawshank Redemption". In the movie, Andy Dufresne is sentenced to two consecutive life terms in prison for the murders of his wife and her lover and is sentenced to a tough prison. He uses pebbles from the recreation field to make a chess set. Chess was his his hobby and he uses his past skills to make the chess pieces. Even though this is a fictional story, it is a good representation of how prisoners use their creativity even when incarcerated.
ReplyDeleteThis was an interesting article for all of us to read, both by the ingenuity of these prisoners and the harsh conditions of these officials. I did some outside research and found out some objects that are allowed in prison include books, (Mainly bibles and religious material) musical instruments, and sometimes even birds as pets. This makes me wonder why simple things like dice and pens aren't allowed compared to like a guitar.
ReplyDeleteI thought this article was very interesting. Its cool that the prisoners were able to take things that they found around the prison to make items they needed. It must have taken a lot of creativity to create the stuff the prisoners made. Do you know what they used to make water heaters and lifting gloves?
ReplyDeleteI also read the same article you read and I thought it was very interesting how much detail these prisoners put into the items the are creating even with the very few resources they have. With the creativity the prisoners possess it makes me question how well the brain does during times of boredom. Overall, I enjoyed reading what you wrote and thought it was incredible.
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