Analysis of Drugs and Oz

The HBO original series "OZ" is critically acclaimed and beloved by fans. The show's following claims they love how realistic and authentic the portrayal of prison. However, this is not even close to an accurate interpretation of prison life. After watching a few clips I got the basic idea of the show. Murder, is the first word that comes to mind, in terms of how to describe the show. In one scene J.K. Simmon's character is going around asking people if they were willing to kill someone for him. This issue was a matter of fact and it was treated as if it was commonplace. As Yousman pointed out in his article, "OZ" is incarceration as entertainment. Being that "OZ" is a television show, not a documentary, they had to make it more entertaining. In doing so, they sacrificed authenticity. For example, inmates are free to walk around without much supervision and the level of violence is extremely high. Even though audience members thought this was accurate it clearly was not.

"The War on Drugs" film gives a truly realistic view at prison life. As the documentary quickly demonstrated most of the people in jail, are in jail for drug related crimes, not violent crimes. The war on drugs program is intended to stop the drug trafficking in the United States. However, this is not even remotely what is done. As one women said in the film, "this is a war on poor people, with drug involvement." Some the issues addressed in this film were utterly disturbing. The fact that these drug patrol groups can seize basically whatever they want is alarming. This is because these are civil not criminal proceedings, therefore everyone is guilty til proven innocent. Not to mention the amount of drugs need to but someone in jail is so minimal it is ridiculous. What ends up happening is that our prisons are getting filled with all these drug related cases. This leads to more and more prisons being built, and putting the US as the country with the highest percent of its population incarcerated.

In class I mentioned that the show "Beyond Scared Straight" offers a good representation of prison life. I was wrong. It may be more accurate than "OZ," however it does not address the underlying issue that our system is broken. The war on drugs is a total sham. as Glassner says fear dominates the discourse when it comes to drugs. People have been convinced that this is the best and only way to stop drug dealing. When ultimately this system is destroying lives and families. With all this being said, "OZ" does not even remotely depict prison life in a truthful manner. These misplaced fears on drugs need to change, for people to realize just how convoluted the war on drugs is.