Summary
The video talks about someone who was formerly incarcerated who had the ability to get an education in prison. Through a program called Bard Prison Initiative, Sebastian Yoon was able to earn a college degree in prison. He claims Bard Prison Initiative saved his life. While in prison he felt very hopeless and lonely. He had no sense of what life after prison would be like. Whether he would be able to contribute to society or not once out of prison was questioning to him. He had no idea whether or not he would be able to make a life for himself after getting out. He claims that being in prison he is seen more as an animal rather than a person or human being. He is hoping that after making this documentary people can see prisoners in a different point of view. The documentary shows how people of different ages still have the ability to learn, they still can make better decisions and gain knowledge, whether your 18 and in college or 35 and in prison. Yoon didn’t want to be defined by the prison clothes on his body, he wanted to be defined by his mind and his heart. Showing people that even after making bad decisions he can still contribute to society after imprisonment. He is not an animal, he is a human being with the ability to come out of a hard situation. BPI allowed him to make something out of himself and not define himself as just someone who was in prison.
Reflection
Socialization begins at such a young age; people are shaped into who they are throughout their lives. Every society has a set of norms and beliefs, you grow up learning the standards and expectations of your society. When someone goes to prison they’re no longer seen as part of the society. They are not accepted or approved by the society because they obviously went against their societies standards and expectations. When going to prison, you go through the process of resocialization. When going to prison, prisoners are told to strip down, get patted down, and given a set of clothes that look the same as every other prisoner there; this is an example of a degrading ceremony. People in prison can go in either direction, they can move forward or they can keep moving backwards. In this story, the person moved forward. He made bad decisions, went against norms which got him in prison but he was able to resocialize himself by getting in the college program in prison. He was able to give himself a sort of peace of mind by getting an education and giving himself a better personal identity. This alone allows him to get out of prison in a better place than if he just did his time. Society will be able to accept him more. He can leave prison with a sense of knowing the standards and expectations of his society and also contribute to the society in a way he wasn’t able to before or in prison. He is probably leaving prison stronger and more resilient than most.
Word Count: 521
Adrina's Sociology Blog 