Doing Time

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This record is featured in “Exploring Public Media in the Peabody Awards Collection.” This record is featured in “Peabody Awards Collection.” This record is featured in “New Mexico Public Media Collection.”
Program
Doing Time
Producing Organization
KNME-TV (Television station : Albuquerque, N.M.)
Contributing Organization
The Walter J. Brown Media Archives & Peabody Awards Collection at the University of Georgia (Athens, Georgia)
AAPB ID
cpb-aacip-526-cv4bn9z669
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Description
Program Description
"Doing Time is a one-hour cinema-verite documentary designed to explore the conflicts and stark realities of the American system of incarceration. In a word, Doing Time was designed to inform and reenergize public debate over prison by challenging assumptions embraced by all segments of the lay public, to whom it is principally addressed. On one hand, Doing Time reveals the humanity of many incarcerated offenders, juxtaposing it against the inhumanity of incarceration. At the same time, however, the film also portrays the sensitivity of many prison officials and their frustrations in trying to make prisons do all they are appointed to do. "The program was filmed entirely on location in the New Mexico State Penitentiary (originally completed two months before the devastating riot there). It graphically depicts the world of maximum security prison, as inmates powerfully describe how they cope with the ever-present fears, anxieties, uncertainties, and the vicious [sic] cycles of hope and despair that stem inevitably from the conditions of criminal confinement. In scenes throughout the compound (including prison disciplinary and parole release hearings), and in discussions with inmates, guards, the prison psychologist, and others, the film dramatically illustrates the consequences of an ambivalent social policy that calls, at once, for both the punishment and rehabilitation of offenders, whose criminality is not now and perhaps never will be fully understood."--1980 Peabody Awards entry form.This documentary profiles the New Mexico State Penitentiary, telling the story of life in a maximum security prison. Footage of all aspects of prison life is included, from the cells to the yard. It follows the arrival of new inmates as they go through the intake and orientation process. Inmates, guards, and other prison officials are interviewed throughout the program, and they talk about the hardships and violence inmates face as they adjust to prison life. A segment focuses on the Disciplinary Committee at the prison, and inmates express their frustration with the internal discipline process at the institution, feeling that they will be found guilty no matter whether they did it or not. Inmates talk about the dehumanizing nature of prison, the conflicts between ideas of rehabilitation and punishment, and the lack of respect from the guards. The next segment focuses on the Protection Unit in Cell Block 4, where inmates are isolated from the rest of the prison population for their own protection. One of the inmates interviewed include an openly gay inmate, who talks about the struggles he faces being a gay man in prison. Footage of the inmates in the yard, footage of mail call at the prison, and footage of inmates watching football follows. Guards express their frustrations with their jobs. Another segment takes place in the visiting room, with footage of inmates and their visiting families. Inmates express their desire for human connection and their lack of connection to emotions. The next segment features a parole hearing for one of the inmates, who was convicted of rape, and his parole is denied. The epilogue focuses on the aftermath of the riot at the prison and the inmate interviewed in the documentary killed during the riot.
Broadcast Date
1980-02-10
Asset type
Program
Media type
Moving Image
Duration
01:00:55.318
Credits
Producing Organization: KNME-TV (Television station : Albuquerque, N.M.)
AAPB Contributor Holdings
The Walter J. Brown Media Archives & Peabody Awards Collection at the University of Georgia
Identifier: cpb-aacip-23d404d9d6f (Filename)
Format: U-matic
Duration: 1:10:29
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Citations
Chicago: “Doing Time,” 1980-02-10, The Walter J. Brown Media Archives & Peabody Awards Collection at the University of Georgia, American Archive of Public Broadcasting (GBH and the Library of Congress), Boston, MA and Washington, DC, accessed November 17, 2024, http://americanarchive.org/catalog/cpb-aacip-526-cv4bn9z669.
MLA: “Doing Time.” 1980-02-10. The Walter J. Brown Media Archives & Peabody Awards Collection at the University of Georgia, American Archive of Public Broadcasting (GBH and the Library of Congress), Boston, MA and Washington, DC. Web. November 17, 2024. <http://americanarchive.org/catalog/cpb-aacip-526-cv4bn9z669>.
APA: Doing Time. Boston, MA: The Walter J. Brown Media Archives & Peabody Awards Collection at the University of Georgia, American Archive of Public Broadcasting (GBH and the Library of Congress), Boston, MA and Washington, DC. Retrieved from http://americanarchive.org/catalog/cpb-aacip-526-cv4bn9z669