In 1952, mathematician and Enigma codebreaker Alan Turing (the subject ofthe filmThe Imitation Game) was prosecuted for the then illegal act of homosexuality. In order to circumnavigate an almost certain custodial sentence, Turing opted for the chemical altering alternative, most commonly referred to as chemical castration, a process whereby hormones are utilized against the production of sex hormones.
Netflix’s new release,Spiderhead, while seemingly adystopian mind-trip nightmare, is closely akin to the non-fictional, nefarious, and Draconian on-goings of mid-20th-century judicial procedures which would involve medicinal practices in the so-called “treatment” and nullification of homosexuality, withSpiderheadfocused on unethical drug experimentation on its prisoners.
Escape From Spiderhead
The traditional prison structure that is employed over large segments of the planet has been subject to a demand for reformation. It’s glaringly apparent that the prison’s role of rehabilitating offenders seldom works, with the recidivism rate in America at a concerning 45%, meaning 45% of those that are released from incarceration go on to offend within just one year of release.
WhileJoseph Kosinski’sSpiderheaddrew its inspiration from the great George Saunders storyEscape from Spiderhead(which can be read onThe New Yorkerwebsite), it does little to emulate the feat of its derivation. However, despite the screenplay’s deficiencies, it does capture, at least in part, the essence of a successful rehabilitation program and what prison reform may look like. Aside from the obviously futuristic, brutalist architecture, and the heavily-sanitized, minimalist interior with its teakwood panels and open-plan living spaces, the Spiderhead penitentiary ’experience’ described by its sociopathic chief, Dr. Steve Abnesti (Chris Hemsworth) is supposedly a “privilege,” and an alternative to conventional imprisonment.
Related:Best Movies Set in Prisons, Ranked
However, perhaps the illusion of more freedom actually reinforces the strength of imprisonment, resulting in what Lewis Hyde once called “the voice of the trapped who have come to enjoy their cage.” Maybe the strongest prisons are the ones which don’t reveal their nature as prisons. The institution inSpiderheadoften resembles the systems and structures which supposedly ‘free’ individuals choose to live in, indicating that, as Michel Foucault writes inDiscipline & Punish, “‘The prison’ begins well before its doors. It begins as soon as you leave your house - and even before.” He continues:
Is it surprising that the cellular prison, with its regular chronologies, forced labor, its authorities of surveillance and registration, its experts in normality, who continue and multiply the functions of the judge, should have become the modern instrument of penality? Is it surprising that prisons resemble factories, schools, barracks, hospitals, which all resemble prisons?
Restricted Freedom
Spiderheaddelves deeply into the concept of this restricted freedom, allowing the prisoners to roam around the compound freely, mixing with other inmates and undertaking chores, hobbies, and interests of their choosing, though strictly within the confines of the penitentiary. This method specifically explores the ways prisoners interact and behave, albeit with one alteration—the added effect of the fictitious B-6,Spiderhead’s answer to ‘Devils Breath,’ which neutralizes threatening behavior to a degree.
In a normal prison, one’s free will is stripped from them, caged up for 23 hours a day, with it being a case of damage limitation rather than rehabilitation (keeping them off the streets and out of society), and punishment rather than real reform. In the instance ofSpiderhead, the solitary confinement associated with prison is ostensibly non-existent, and the pretense of some retention of free will is sustained, with the comfy, plush living quarters disguising the dark truth. After all, it’s much easier to exploit prisoners (as test subjects and as wage laborers) if they believe they have some ‘freedom.’
Related:Here Are Some of the Greatest Prison Escapes in Movie History
Detaching the pharmaceutical experimentation from the notion that a certain liberality is taken in the constriction of prisoners,Spiderheadoffers an almost Orwellian prediction on the form prisons may take in the future. This form is of investment in prisoners, and into proper rehabilitation, working on preventing future criminal activity by self-reflection and reintegration, rather than an animalistic mentality of simply locking them up and throwing away the key. There is something positive here, buried beneath the darkness.
Spiderheadis arguably more comparable to the approach Australia deploys in counteracting crime and the possibility of re-offending, which is known as community corrections, a method that has seen a drastic improvement in recidivism rates. If incarceration is seen as more of a mutually beneficial relationship, whereby the inmate, while simultaneously being punished for their crimes, is also in receipt of some educational and psychological reform with a greater level of human rights, (as seen inSpiderhead), there may be an argument that this promotes better behavior, and thus, reductions in re-offending.
Ultimately, Kosinski’s movie serves as an examination of the conversation for prison reform and provides an inventive and imaginative way to rehabilitate those that are incarcerated. Of course,Spiderheadoffers a dark look into how moderncorporations and capitalist structurescan exploit this kind of prison reform. Subtracting the voyeuristic pharmaceutical boss and his immoral administering of his company’s drugs to inmates from the equation, however, one may find sound reasoning behind the reform of a system that is simply ineffective.
While the film itself has been cast behind the metaphorical bars in critic prison, it surprisingly adds weight to an already strong argument that the world’s judicial systems need an urgent rethink. Plus, with the director’s other film this year,the highly successfulTop Gun: Maverick, being extremely different,Spiderheadserves as a nice calling card that shows just how diverse and interesting Joseph Kosinski is right now.
