Thrills in Prison

Jen Jellison

Given our discussions in class about prisoners and how they are viewed in society's eyes, I decided to find a video that dealt with prisoners. I went to YouTube, typed in "prisoners", and the first video was labeled "Thriller". This video depicts 1,600 Filipino prisoners dancing to a perfectly choreographed version of Michael Jackson's famous "Thriller" video. Perfect! When most people think of prisoners, we think of hardened, stoic, angry, violent people. People who deserve to be in a dark, dreary cell, with nothing to do but ponder why and how they got there in the first place.
The prisoners on this video are in prison for crimes ranging from drug trafficking to murder and here they are (orange jumpsuits and all) seriously working together and gyrating their hips simultaneously to "Thriller"! Prisoners....having fun. What an idea. When I think of the Thriller dance, I think of teenagers at high school dances dancing to it, or guests at a wedding even. But prisoners?!
Byron Garcia is a security supervisor at this Filipino prison and noticed that most of the prisoners weren't participating in exercise activities. He also wanted a way to improve their behavior. He first had them do military marches, and when he saw that they enjoyed it, they moved onto more difficult moves. They eventually even hired a choreographer! Garcia says he took this video and uploaded it because, "I want the prison system to learn from this. The inmates are after all human beings and the inmates after all, once inside, know that they have committed mistakes, let them enjoy their stay." So apparently here, the intended audience is other prison systems. Posting the video on YouTube guarantees that someone will watch it and perhaps share it with others. Garcia knew he had something unique and definitely delivered a YouTube sensation. He's trying to show that even thought these are prisoners, they are still able and should be able to do "normal" things.
His message is simple. Prisoners are human beings too. Ostracizing them is not going to do anything. They need structure and cooperation just like anyone else. When asked why he started the dance program, Byron replied, "Do you see discipline, co-ordination, synchronisation? The high morale and high self esteem? If you watch the video, you can see discipline at work."



Video hosting web sites like YouTube help put an image to ideas. They serve as a medium to get messages out in a different way than say a written online news article. Reading about these prisoners dancing isn't quite as entertaining as actually seeing them dancing. We go to these web sites much like one would go to the movies, or to the library: to be entertained and to inform ourselves. I do feel like cyberspace is actually a "real" space. Of course you cannot physically be in YouTube, but you are actually there visiting. Koppell says that "one reason that cyberspace is described as a place is to avoid downgrading it to the status of a mere medium." But why can't it be a medium and a place at the same time? A library is. With this video we are able to "be" there in that Filipino prison watching and at home at the same time.
This video is such a sensation because we are given a glimpse of prisoner life, and it's not at all what we imagined. Prisoners, in our eyes are supposed to just sit around, or maybe bulk up with gym equipment. Not dance highly choreographed routines to popular songs! Byron Garcia wants to change that view, one bad 80's song at a time.

SOURCES:
Internet sources:
http://www.smh.com.au/news/technology/jailhouse-rockers-do-killer-thriller/2007/07/29/1185647743554.html

http://news.softpedia.com/news/Hot-On-YouTube-Prisoners-Dancing-on-Michael-Jackson-039-s-Thriller-61123.shtml

Atwan, Robert. ­Convergences: Second Edition. Bedford/ St. Martin’s: 2005.