I am rarely phased by a movie but I have to admit that this movie kind of snuck up on me. I saw The Experiment for the first time last year. I was bored out of my mind for most of the year and this movie actually had me thinking.
Well before I start analysizing the movie here's a brief summary.
The movie stars Adrien Brody and Forest Whitaker. Brody is a peace loving, nonviolent guy and Whitaker is a god fearing Christian man with a bible always within reach. Brody is outgoing and friendly, while Whitaker is more reserved and awkward. This movie was based on a real event where scientist decided to conduct an experiment to gauge human behavior. A group of volunteers were promised 14,000 in exchange for living in an empty prison for a period of time. They were divided into two groups, prisoners and guards, based on a personality profile that was conducted. Brody becomes a prisoner and Whitaker a guard. As the days pass the guards start to enjoy enforcing the rules of the experiment, while the prisoners start to rebel because of the treatment they are receiving. In the end the characters with the strongest personalities do a 180. The inmates escape their cells and chase after the guards and just start beating the crap out of them. The experiment is called off and each man must return to his former life.
What impacted me the most about this movie was how much each person changed under those circumstances. I've have always thought that there are certain things I could never do, but after this movie I don't believe that anymore. I'm usually pretty calm, mellow and try to love everyone. However given certain circumstances I could probably turn on my own mother. People try so hard to stick to their beliefs and morals but at the end of the day we are all just human and bound to make many, many mistakes.
After watching the movie I tried to put myself mentally in that position. I think I would have been like Whitaker. I'm usually so timid and meek that if I was given any real power I might snap. It's the quiet ones you have to worry about. Luckily I don't plan on going to jail anytime soon. If I commit a crime I'll just move to a place that doesn't extradict criminals.
Well before I start analysizing the movie here's a brief summary.
The movie stars Adrien Brody and Forest Whitaker. Brody is a peace loving, nonviolent guy and Whitaker is a god fearing Christian man with a bible always within reach. Brody is outgoing and friendly, while Whitaker is more reserved and awkward. This movie was based on a real event where scientist decided to conduct an experiment to gauge human behavior. A group of volunteers were promised 14,000 in exchange for living in an empty prison for a period of time. They were divided into two groups, prisoners and guards, based on a personality profile that was conducted. Brody becomes a prisoner and Whitaker a guard. As the days pass the guards start to enjoy enforcing the rules of the experiment, while the prisoners start to rebel because of the treatment they are receiving. In the end the characters with the strongest personalities do a 180. The inmates escape their cells and chase after the guards and just start beating the crap out of them. The experiment is called off and each man must return to his former life.
What impacted me the most about this movie was how much each person changed under those circumstances. I've have always thought that there are certain things I could never do, but after this movie I don't believe that anymore. I'm usually pretty calm, mellow and try to love everyone. However given certain circumstances I could probably turn on my own mother. People try so hard to stick to their beliefs and morals but at the end of the day we are all just human and bound to make many, many mistakes.
After watching the movie I tried to put myself mentally in that position. I think I would have been like Whitaker. I'm usually so timid and meek that if I was given any real power I might snap. It's the quiet ones you have to worry about. Luckily I don't plan on going to jail anytime soon. If I commit a crime I'll just move to a place that doesn't extradict criminals.
RSS Feed