Netflix's 'The New Stanford Prison Experiment' Puts Prisoners in the Guards' Uniforms
In Netflix's new reality series, prisoners who rebelled later became guards. The New Stanford Prison Experiment debuted on the streaming service on 21 October, with six episodes.
The show is a modern take on a famous psychology study. In 1971, a team at Stanford University ended its prison experiment on the sixth day, after a prisoner rebellion, cruel punishments and mental breakdowns, as Variety reported. Netflix describes the series as a modern reimagining of that study. The executive producers are Jane Lipsitz and Dan Cutforth.
The new version put 30 participants, including three women, into a simulated prison for two weeks. It was built in the decommissioned cell block of a working prison. Eight people played guards, split into two shifts, and 22 played prisoners.
Producers set out safeguards before filming began. These included background checks, psychological testing and informed consent. Medics, psychologists and off-duty guards were on hand around the clock. Participants had a safe word, "pineapple," and were interviewed regularly. Three expert observers, Alison Wood Brooks, Trymaine Lee and Michael Cantrell, watched the experiment.
The series follows four phases: Transformation, Hierarchy, Role-Reversal and Self-Governance. On day six, prisoners Pete and Brandon were placed in "23 and 1" confinement, a restrictive punishment that keeps a prisoner in a cell for around 23 hours a day. They had been accused of conspiring against the guards. Later, during the Role-Reversal phase, punished inmates, Pete and Brandon among them, were made guards.
Not everyone stayed the course. Five people left during filming. The first was former convict Larry Foy, known as "Scary Larry," as Variety reported.
Vulture reported that all the guards were dismissed in the penultimate episode.
For viewers, the series is now fully available on Netflix. The original 1971 study ended early. This version ran its full six episodes, with its participants moving from prisoners to guards and back again.
