Unlocked: A Jail Experiment is a documentary series on Netflix that can be viewed starting April 10.
19 independent cameras in a unique experiment: 6 weeks in a reality style documentary where the inmates of a prison will live an experience of freedom, but always within the prison. All the doors will open and the officers will remain outside, allowing the inmates to form their own community.
In the United States, inmates remain locked up for about 23 hours a day. All the built-up tension generates tension and, when they get out, conflicts arise.
The revolutionary idea of Sheriff Higgins, from Little Rock, Arkansas, is simply to let the inmates interact, without guards, and behave like adults, responsibly, and organizing their own community.
About the Documentary
Netflix turns this experience into a full-blown reality show: an experiment with inmate interviews and cameras everywhere showing us how they interact and organize without the intervention of the guards.
The docuseries consists of eight episodes where we can witness aggression and many conflicts but, above all, the implementation of this revolutionary idea of imprisonment.
Viewers and, above all, the sheriffs of prisons, who make these kind of decisions in the United States, will have their say: Is this applicable to the rest of the country or will it just be an isolated experiment for a Netflix documentary?
A highly interesting experiment that, without a doubt, will generate a lot of discussion.
In terms of cinema or television: it’s the formula we’ve seen a thousand times with youngsters, but this time with inmates many of them guilty who will have to exercise their responsibility.
“Unlocked: A Jail Experiment” is a documentary that, above all, raises countless questions and rethinks the prison system, at least for a special type of inmates.
At the very least, Netflix presents us an incredibly interesting idea, novel in a format that isn’t at all novel. But it’s a volatile mix that may well become a huge hit, at least with audiences.
8 episodes in which to determine if responsibility can replace locks.
Enjoy.
