This past weekend I, along with Mason and some friends, watched the film The Experiment off of Netflix. In 2010, the film was made directly to DVD starring Adrien Brody and Forrest Whitaker. As we read the synopsis for the film we learned that it was based off of the Stanford prison experiment conducted back in 1971. Having introduction to psychology this year, I immediately knew what the experiment was. The film though, ventured off the trail a little more than I had hoped.
There is an article in a newspaper asking for random subjects to take part in an experiment for $1000 a day for two weeks. That’s the film version. In reality, students were asked to take place in the experiment for a much cheaper cost. One of the smaller differences, but it’s still a difference. A bigger change is the fact that a man has diabetes in the film and tells no one. He then gets to the point where he needs his insulin, and at first the main crazy prison guard refuses, but then he’s convinced otherwise because a prison guard wants to prove he’s not all bad by saying, “I can be nice, you see?” (which goes absolutely nowhere). Spoiler alert, the “I can be nice. . .” guy kills the diabetes guy later in the film. No one had diabetes in the real experiment, and no one died. Instead, in the real experiment a prisoner becomes so insane that he is removed from the experiment. On account of the lack of that character, I assume diabetes man took his place, a terrible switch if you ask me. The last point is somewhat minor, but key to the experiment. In real life the most rebellious prisoner is locked up by himself in darkness, which does happen in the film, but not without a difference. The difference is that in real life the other prisoners were commanded to pound on the door of the dark room saying, “thank you.” Without the insanity that actually took place, the film lacks big importances.
On behalf of some of the biggest psychotic actions not being around in the film, the film lacks the terror of the actual experiment. The acting shines occasionally, but there’s truly nothing here. The film being absent of some of the most shocking psychotic occurrences takes away what’s interesting in the actual experiment. Nothing great here, and it’s a shame considering the source material.
This past weekend I, along with Mason and some friends, watched the film The Experiment off of Netflix. In 2010, the film was made directly to DVD starring Adrien Brody and Forrest Whitaker. As we read the synopsis for the film we learned that it was based off of the Stanford prison experiment conducted back in 1971. Having introduction to psychology this year, I immediately knew what the experiment was. The film though, ventured off the trail a little more than I had hoped.
There is an article in a newspaper asking for random subjects to take part in an experiment for $1000 a day for two weeks. That’s the film version. In reality, students were asked to take place in the experiment for a much cheaper cost. One of the smaller differences, but it’s still a difference. A bigger change is the fact that a man has diabetes in the film and tells no one. He then gets to the point where he needs his insulin, and at first the main crazy prison guard refuses, but then he’s convinced otherwise because a prison guard wants to prove he’s not all bad by saying, “I can be nice, you see?” (which goes absolutely nowhere). Spoiler alert, the “I can be nice. . .” guy kills the diabetes guy later in the film. No one had diabetes in the real experiment, and no one died. Instead, in the real experiment a prisoner becomes so insane that he is removed from the experiment. On account of the lack of that character, I assume diabetes man took his place, a terrible switch if you ask me. The last point is somewhat minor, but key to the experiment. In real life the most rebellious prisoner is locked up by himself in darkness, which does happen in the film, but not without a difference. The difference is that in real life the other prisoners were commanded to pound on the door of the dark room saying, “thank you.” Without the insanity that actually took place, the film lacks big importances.
Have you seen the Stanford prison experiment? It's creepy as heck; I watched in psych last year. It's sad that they had to go and botch a movie like that, though, because they could have really made that intense. I don't see why they added a guy with diabetes.. What the heck?? It totally takes away from the intensity of the situation!! And the guy alone in the darkness; if they would have showed that scene where they pounded on the door it really would have conveyed just how insane and out of hand that experiment became
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