So what was the moral of the story?
I think i can calmly say the movie was a waste ---- the story was terrible, at the end nothing much happened. The prisoners wouldn't have stopped the riot, and there no real moral of what happened.
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MovieChat Forums > The Experiment (2010) Discussion > So what was the moral of the story?
Well, we can think of the implications in a broader context. What is our prison system of guards with all the authority and prisoners with no authority/respect doing to prisoners psychologically? Is there any way for our system to "work" when it strips prisoners of all dignity? I agree that the movie itself didn't seem to take a stand on this (beyond: "this is bad, mmkay"), but we as viewers can think for ourselves.
shareI agree with waht kcolli11 said. I would add that the idea of experiments, along with "studies" often have a theme which if one just used basic intelligence, one would know the answer. I read a newspaper article once about how people from wealthier families got better grades than students whose homes had little or not food along with improper study space. (Wonder how many thousand was spent on figuring that out...) As for this movie and the experiment at its' heart, "can problems occur when humans are caged for wrongdoings"? No *beep* Sherlock...
shareI think the message was to not look upwards to know what's right and wrong, decide for yourself. Barris was the villain of this movie, he believed in God's authority, and he believed in the red light, he had no moral compass of his own.
I think there was a strong anti-religious theme running throughout the movie. Travis was an atheist, and he knew what was right internally. Barris represented the dangers of power mixed with misguided religiosity.
This. Right on the spot.
shareDon't watch straight-to-DVD movies.
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Loneliness has followed me my whole life
The point is dividing people into groups can influence how people treat each other. That kids knew this wasn't real just goes to show you how dangerous perceived social or economic differences can be when the power balance is so wide.
Forget the inmate vs guard prejudice people bring into it.read Christopher Browning Ordinary Men.
Authority or group dynamic can be dangerous if there is a perceived consequence for not going along. People use inmates breaking laws as an excuse to treat others badly but but using this form its showing there isn't any real difference if the guards commit crimes of abuse. Often worse than whatever crime for drugs that landed them in jail.
This movie works on many levels.
If anyone is looking for the message, forget this movie and just google the Stanford Prison Experiment. That will give you the message this movie was attempting to convey in its convoluted absurdity.
shareUnder the right/wrong circumstances anyone can lose their moral compass and succumb to their animal instincts
You gave yourself a name. I gave mine up.