Video – Zimbardo Prison ExperimentThe video on the Zimbardo Prison Experiment teaches a great deal about the nature of corruption and evil. This video reveals the need for regulation, understanding, and accountability in the criminal justice system.
One thing that was very interesting in the video was how the moral roles of the participants reversed. When you think of prisons, you think of prisoners as the evil and animalistic ones, however in the video the guards took on the role of aggressors. What makes this even scarier is that they are not real prisoners and this escalation of abuse only took a few days. This shows the dangers of the corrupting power of authority. In real prisons, the amount of power is greater and corruption has the time to slowly escalate. The Stanford experiment shows that it is vital that prisoners and guards are able to cooperate to prevent dehumanization. In prisons today, there are clear bounds to authority and a mutual respect between prisoners and guards. Those in the correctional system have to think about the motivations of the prisoners. Many inmates are remorseful, have good morals, and want to reform; therefore, it is crucial that they are not stereotyped and that correctional officers work with them instead of simply trying to control them.
Another important problem the video presents is the diffusion of responsibility. In the video only a few guards were out of line meanwhile the others sat idly by. The truth is by not doing anything they are just as bad as those who were abusing their authority. Each person needs to be accountable for their actions and as Zimbardo pointed out there needs to be people outside of the prison authority to keep the system in check. The guards in the experiment were blindly obeying authority, meanwhile as administrator Zimbardo was in denial. It is sad to think that in certain environments like prisons, warzones, etc. that we need people to remind us of other’s humanity and our moral responsibility. The video was
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In any case, the main reason for this is that the video showed a group of prisoners behaving so much like children and adults. Their role, like that of a toddler and a soldier, is to reinforce the message that not everything is the same, not all can be treated. However, these prisoners are being taken under the knife for their actions and at times it seems quite clear how important of a message it is that the video was given. The fact that the guards didn’t have the courage to use language to explain the situation is actually another evidence that they are not ready for those in power to be effective.
The next question is of the content of the “message” for this video. To show that these prisoners are not just kids and are really being used for political purposes, one must go through all of the content of the video, or even to show that these are really those who are not at all being used for the same ends. It is an absolutely false argument to be able to make from the video that the inmates look a lot like adults but that they do not represent any different and need to be handled with care. The people in power at some times may be able to keep these juveniles, and the prison leadership must ensure that they understand that they are being used for political purposes that are absolutely against the interests of humanity. While the general message being given is there should be no justification for violence or violence against anyone, these people can easily be taken under the knife (despite the clear threat of violence from people outside of prison).”