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Prison Town Film Analysis

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The documentary Prison Town USA portrays the socioeconomics of the prison town Susanville, CA. The prison was opened in a rural town with hopes of changing the economy and providing jobs. Prior to High Desert State Prison, there wasn’t much industry in Susanville with good pay and benefits. This in turn convinced the citizens to advocate for the building of High Desert State Prison. The documentary depicts what it was like in the Prison Town after the hype had settled down and a decade had passed. It appears as though, the disadvantages outweighed the benefits. In fact, the course reading “An American Seduction: Portrait of a Prison Town” by Joelle Fraser talks about and this very prison and the impact it left on Susanville, CA. According …show more content…
He mentioned something that was later stated in the documentary. Prisons were an institution to warehouse the poor. Lonnie, served 15 months in a state prison for shoplifting two cans of tuna and bread for his family. Not only did he have to serve time but the mother was incarcerated and the children were taken by CPS. It maintained their poverty because they didn’t have a breadwinner earning wages for the family. Instead, they had a mother using every welfare resource she could to feed her family. Not only did prison hinder the family while Lonnie was in prison but it also hindered him out of prison. In the article, “The Mark of a Criminal Record Selection,” Devah Pager addresses this issue thoroughly. Pager expresses how difficult it is to fall back into normalcy after getting out of prison. Lonnie was the face of this issue. There were several occasions where recidivism was around the corner for Lonnie and his family. He couldn’t work but he was stuck in a place with no industry because he was forced to endure his parole. It was as if it was a lose-lose for Lonnie. Luckily he made just enough stride to get through his parole and move to Arkansas.
Describe one scene or set of ideas from the film that you found particularly compelling and explain your

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