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Review of Ameican Prison

Review of American Prison: A Reporter’s Undercover Journey into the Business of Punishment by Shane Bauer Rating ****

This book is full of stories of injustice, but there was one story that stood out for me. It came at the very end of the book. It involved an inmate who had been shot by police. After a brief stay in a hospital, officers placed him in a cell and left him there unattended. During the night, the man pleaded for help. No one came to his aid. They found him deceased the next morning. A prison employee whose job was to investigate such incidents gathered statements from other inmates, which implicated the prison for the man’s death. The warden of the prison told the investigator to discard the inmate statements. No one was held accountable. That lack of humanity permeates throughout this behind the scenes account of a for-profit prison.

Author Shane Bauer, who himself spent two years in an Iranian prison, wanted to write a story about private prisons. Rather than set up interviews with staff and PR people, he decided to get a job as a corrections officer. In doing so, he was able to write about prison life as seen from the viewpoint of an underpaid, overworked prison guard.

The story of the author’s four-month employment at a Corrections Corporation of America (CCA) prison takes up half the book. The other half contains a history of incarceration and the creation of the for-profit prison concept. The author alternates the two stories from chapter to chapter. I found the history chapters to be the more interesting of the two. The chapters detailing life inside a prison only reinforced my negative opinion of that aspect of the criminal justice system. As one inmate told the author, “you’re doing half my time with me.” I felt like I was doing time as well.

The author covers a lot of ground, touching on a wide variety of subjects, including cash bail, the 13th amendment, recidivism, punishment vs. rehabilitation, prison violence, overcrowding, low pay of prison staff, lack of medical and psychological treatment for inmates, and mass incarceration. It all adds up to one more piece of the broken criminal justice system.

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Ford vs. Ferrari my Oscar confession

Ford vs. Ferrari written by Jez Butterworth, John Henry Butterworth and Jason Keller, Directed by James Mangold rating *****

Every year I attempt to see every nominated movie before the Oscars. This year I saw every film but Ford vs. Ferrari. The showtimes didn’t match up with my schedule. And, to be honest, I’m not a fan of racecar movies. I missed the boat on this one. It may not have gotten the buzz like 1917 or Parasite, but I felt that Ford vs. Ferrari was the overall best picture from last year.

I liked everything about this movie. I’ll start with the acting. Both Christian Bale and Matt Damon were great. But so was everyone else. Every supporting character had a moment to shine. That says a lot about the script. It should have at least received an original screenplay nomination.

Before I saw the film, I watched the documentary The 24 Hour War, which I highly recommend seeing either before or after watching Ford vs. Ferrari. Having watched the documentary, I knew about the story and the characters going in. I think the filmmakers did an excellent job of telling a compelling story while still sticking to the facts.

The premise of the movie is how Ford, known for its box-like family cars, decided to change their image by building a racecar to compete in the 24 hour Le Mans. That effort coincided with the release of the sporty Mustang. If all you saw was the trailer, you might think that Carol Shelby and Ken Miles had just 90 days to make a car from scratch that went on to win. That’s not quite how it goes down.

More than anything else, this film is about the people behind the racecars.

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Review of the Netflix Docuseries The Pharmacist

Review of The Pharmacist Directed by Julia Willoughby Nason and Jenner Furst Rating *****

Ever since Making a Murderer started streaming on Netflix back in 2015, I’ve been a fan of docuseries. If you go to the sitemap page on this site and choose docuseries under categories, you’ll find an extensive list of excellent docuseries to stream. You can now add The Pharmacist to this list.

The Pharmacist is a four-episode docuseries available on Netflix. The innocuous title belies the seriousness of the subject matter. The first two episodes deal with a father’s search for his son’s killer. Dan Schneider’s son Danny is murdered while out trying to score drugs in a poor section of New Orleans. When the police fail to do a proper investigation, Dan sets out on his own to find the killer. Against all odds, Dan’s efforts are successful. You might expect that to be the end of this one-man crusade to right a wrong, but Dan is just getting started. He soon finds himself at the epicenter of the nascent opioid epidemic.

OxyContin, Heroin in a pill

Working as a pharmacist, Dan starts noticing an alarming trend regarding prescriptions for OxyContin. He sees that over 98% of the prescriptions are coming from the same doctor. He sees similarities to his son in the young people who hand him prescriptions that seem out of line with their age and weight. Dan sets out to learn more about this doctor and her practice. What he uncovers is a burgeoning pill mill. Dan starts keeping track of individuals who come to him for their OxyContin pills. He secretly records them. He begins building a case against Dr. Jacqueline Clegett.

Dan reaches out to the FBI and the DEA to warn them of the dangers he has uncovered. The authorities, however, seem reluctant to do anything. Unbeknownst to Dan, the DEA is aware of the growing problem with Dr. Clegett, but the district attorney’s office refuses to prosecute. While the DEA and the district attorney’s office bicker over the seriousness of the problem, overdose deaths in New Orleans continue to rise. It’s not only frustrating to Dan but the viewer as well.

The opioid epidemic started in Republican-controlled states where opposition to regulations allowed pill mills to proliferate. Florida, under Governor Rick Scott, was adamantly against regulating the industry. Instead, they went after the users of the opioids, sending them to prison in record numbers. Meanwhile, companies like Purdue and the Sackler family made billions as legalized drug dealers. You can read more about this in the book American Pain. It took nearly a decade, and thousands of overdose deaths, before sensible prescription monitoring regulations were put into place.

Eventually, Dan Schneider helped put an end to Dr. Jacqueline Clegett’s business. He is an example of what one determined individual can accomplish. Once the cost of addiction treatment and emergency room visits started to overwhelm entire states, states attorney finally started going after the sources of the problem like Purdue Pharma rather than individual users. Unfortunately, their efforts were too little too late. The Sackler family shifted billions to overseas accounts and then filed for bankruptcy, leaving states to deal with the damage caused by their lack of oversight.

The filmmakers were lucky to stumble upon Dan Schneider. Not only was Dan a passionate advocate against injustice, he was meticulous in documenting all that he uncovered, which included documents, video, and recorded audio. On top of that, he served as the central narrator throughout.

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My 2020 Oscar Picks

For the past several weeks I’ve asked a lot of people about the Oscars. Which film do you think will win? What was your favorite documentary? In almost every case the person I’ve asked hadn’t seen any of the nominated films. I don’t go to the movies anymore was a typical answer. I wait for them to come out on Netflix was another typical response. Okay, many of the nominated films are available on Netflix or Amazon Prime. So what gives?

There is a quote from George R. Martin that sums up this sad state of affairs. “A reader lives a thousand lives before he dies. The man who never reads lives only one.” The same goes for films. If you only go to the movies to see the latest super hero film, you’re missing out.

Here are my picks for this year’s Oscars.

Best Picture:

Ford vs. Ferrari
The Irishman
Jojo Rabbit
Joker
Little Women
Marriage Story
Once Upon a Time in Hollywood
1917
Parasite

Winner – 1917

Best Director:

Bong Joon Ho – Parasite
Sam Mendez – 1917
Todd Phillips – Joker
Martin Scorsese – The Irishman
Quentin Tarantino – Once Upon a Time in Hollywood

Winner – Sam Mendez, 1917

Adapted Screenplay:

The Irishman – Steven Zailian
Jojo Rabbit – Taika Waititi
Joker – Todd Phillips and Scott Silver
Little Women – Greta Gerwig
The Two Popes – Anthony McCarten

Winner – Taika Waititi

Best Original Screenplay:

1917 – Sam Mendez and Kristy Wilson-Cairns
Knives Out – Rian Johnson
Marriage Story – Noah Baumbach
Once Upon a Time in Hollywood – Quentin Tarantino
Parasite – Bong Joon Ho and Han Jin-won

Winner – Noah Baumbach, Marriage Story

Best Documentary:

American Factory
The Cave
The Edge of Democracy
For Sama
Honeyland

Winner – The Edge of Democracy

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My Pick for best documentary 2019

I’ve been able to watch four of the five Oscar-nominated documentaries. I’ll update this post if I happen to get a chance to see the fifth nominated documentary before this weekend.

American Factory

This film is about a Chinese automotive glass company called Fuyao and their efforts to build and run a factory here in the US. It’s also a window into the cultural differences between China and the US. Read my review here. (Netflix)

The Edge of Democracy

This timely film looks behind the scenes of Brazil’s politics the past few years, which included the imprisonment of one former president and the impeachment of another. In some ways, it is a warning of where things are headed here in the US. The film exposes the negative effect of dark money into politics and the need for campaign finance reform. I remember at the time when reading about some of the events described here that it was all about corruption. I learned it had more to do with the backstabbing and corruption of the people bringing the charges. (Amazon Prime)

For Sama

For Sama is a brutally honest look at what it was like to live in Aleppo during the bombings by Syrian and Russian forces. The film graphically shows what happens under dictatorial leadership. In between moments of laughter and happiness, there is death and destruction.

It is a sad commentary when small children know more about cluster bombs than about fairytales. (Amazon Prime)

Honeyland

This film looks at the life of a woman whose primary source of income is the honey she sells from a collection of hives. It covers a wide range of tangential subjects such as healthcare, poverty, race, class, and greed. It’s hard to believe that there are people still living without running water and electricity. Tossed into this mix of isolation, struggle, and despair are the neighbors from hell. (Amazon Prime Rental)

The Cave

This film tells the story of a hospital in Syria. Unfortunately, it is not available for rent. I haven’t been able to catch this one.

Before I get to my pick for the Oscar in the documentary category, I suggest you take a look at my best of 2019 post. There are several documentary films that I feel should have been nominated. My favorite from last year was the film The Devil We Know. Additionally, I feel that there needs to be a separate category for documentary series.

My pick to win the Oscar is The Edge of Democracy.

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Review of The Chain

Review of The Chain: Farm, Factory, and the Fate of Our Food by Ted Genoways
Rating ****

Ted Genoways’ book The Chain is another addition to a long list of narratives that have detailed the industrialization of food. In this case, the subject concerns the industrialization of pork.

The same problems highlighted here are also present in other livestock food: beef, turkey, chicken, and fish. In an ever-growing demand for meat, locally sourced food has been driven out by factory farms. The results are often unsafe food, animal abuse, and environmental damage.

The author focuses primarily on a Hormel owned and operated plant in Freemont, Nebraska. The plant is one of only two in the world that produces Spam, a product consisting mostly of fat and pork trimmings. While introducing the history of Spam, the author touches on a wide array of related topics: worker’s safety, animal safety, immigration, politics, land erosion, and the environmental impact of slaughtering up to 20,000 pigs a day in a single plant.

As much as I would like to give up meat after reading a book like this, I find it a challenge. I live a busy life that requires that I often have to eat on the run. I need something quick, nourishing, and portable. A ham and cheese sandwich meets that criteria. That doesn’t mean I’m okay with what has gone into the production of that slice of ham. The government has a role to play in assuring consumers that the food they eat is safe.

The long term solution I envision is cell-based meat production. In a few years, it will be possible to grow meat in large industrial labs. There are a host of issues that will need to be solved, such as what happens to all the livestock once we no longer need them? Another solution involves plant-based foods.

In the interim, consumers can encourage change with their pocketbooks. We should demand that our meat come from a safe workplace, with well-treated livestock, and with minimal environmental damage. Choose local over factory farms. Everyone’s health depends on it.