The Structures of Prison Life
Pierre Bourdieu was a French sociologist that created the concept of
different forms of capital, he coined the concept of the habitus, which is the
behavior or lifestyle of a person based on their values or dispositions. He also
came up with the concept of a fields. A field, according to Bourdieu presents
itself as a structured space of positions. It defines itself by having stakes
and interests within that space or structure and laws in order to function.
Also, the people in these fields must agree on the rules and stakes for its
function as well. However, these rules and regulations might not mean anything
or hold such important to people outside the field, they are field
specific.
There are different types of fields that people belong to, whether it
is a religious field or educational fields. I look at the structured space of
prison life using the show Orange is the New Black. As I mentioned before, each field
has specific rules, but they don’t have to be written. There are sets of beliefs that
people in prison follow that adhere to their field specific society. Prison life has
its own society whose belief system might not matter outside of its community.
The people in this society have roles and rules that might not apply once they finish
heir sentence and are released. With Bourdieu’s concept of fields in mind,
I want to apply it to prison life and show how it is a structured space.
In the show, the main character is named Piper Chapman and she gets
sentenced to 15 months to Litchfield prison for a crime she committed close to
ten years ago. She gets sent to a woman’s prison where she has to learn to
adhere to the rules that apply in that prison. According to Bourdieu’s concept
of fields, the first point is that there are rules to follow. In the show, Piper
is given two different types of orientation. The first is the prison orientation
with an educational video and information by the correctional officer and other
authorities in the prison. They are told of the rules and protocols that they
must follow in order to avoid the SHU, which is basically solitary confinement.
Rules such as violence and contraband is prohibited. The second type of
orientation was the unofficial one Piper received by her bunkmates. They tell
her of unspoken rules such as not sleeping in her bed but on top of it and how
to make it to pass the officers inspection. Also, prisoners are referred to as
their last name so everyone calls the main character Chapman, another unofficial
behavior. Later on that day, Piper goes to eat in the cafeteria. There she
learns another unwritten rule, not to insult the food in front of the cook, Red,
who then punishes Piper by not letting her eat at all until Piper makes it
right.
The second concept of fields is that there are boundaries. In the prison, the
woman create their own boundaries by what they refer to as their tribe, which is
based on their race. Piper is told by another inmate named Morello that they all
look out for their own, meaning that since Piper is white, she sits with other
white women in the cafeteria. There generally is not a lot of co-mingling with
other races. They have boundaries when it comes to seating and usually, each
sits with their own tribe. The third concept of fields is stakes at play. They
are over boundaries and values placed upon the society and not so important
outside of it. If we think about prison life, a prisoner should not be seen as a
weak person or easily breakable, that would affect their personal stake and well
being. When Piper goes to apologize to Red for insulting her food, Red tells her
that her apology was sweet and that shes a weak person and weakness is not
looked highly upon. Piper’s stake, her meal, was in jeopardy so she had to
follow the rules and boundaries in the prison to fix the situation. Another
thing at stake is their visitation rights, if the prisoners fight or antagonize
some of the corrupt officers, they could be written up and their visitation
rights revoked. The prisoners want to see their family, it is a highly valued
stake so it is agreed that it is worth following orders.
The last part of fields that Bourdieu talked about was specific forms of
capital, which are field specific and only worth something in that field.
Capital in the prison is something that is transferable and worth something that
might not matter to a person outside of that setting. In the show, Piper needs
to get jalapenos but she doesn’t have commissary money yet so she tries to tried
with her fellow inmates. To get an empty bottle from another inmate, Piper gives
a piece of her blonde hair so that another inmate can put it in their hair for a
new flare. While money isn’t allowed in prison, Piper uses her hair as a way of
currency to “pay” for an empty bottle, a type of economic capital. At the end of
an episode, Piper makes an ointment for Red’s back pain which she trades for the
right to eat again.
While prison life isn’t a field that someone willingly specializes in, it is
a structured space that has formed in a way used to analyze Bourdieu’s concept
of fields. Orange is the New Black shows that prison life is defined by the rules, boundaries, stakes and forms of capital that help its function. Once the inmates are out of the prison, these
points might not have the same meaning in other societies they join but they are
field specific.
http://orange-is-the-new-black.wikia.com/wiki/I_Wasn%27t_Ready
Pierre Bourdieu was a French sociologist that created the concept of
different forms of capital, he coined the concept of the habitus, which is the
behavior or lifestyle of a person based on their values or dispositions. He also
came up with the concept of a fields. A field, according to Bourdieu presents
itself as a structured space of positions. It defines itself by having stakes
and interests within that space or structure and laws in order to function.
Also, the people in these fields must agree on the rules and stakes for its
function as well. However, these rules and regulations might not mean anything
or hold such important to people outside the field, they are field
specific.
There are different types of fields that people belong to, whether it
is a religious field or educational fields. I look at the structured space of
prison life using the show Orange is the New Black. As I mentioned before, each field
has specific rules, but they don’t have to be written. There are sets of beliefs that
people in prison follow that adhere to their field specific society. Prison life has
its own society whose belief system might not matter outside of its community.
The people in this society have roles and rules that might not apply once they finish
heir sentence and are released. With Bourdieu’s concept of fields in mind,
I want to apply it to prison life and show how it is a structured space.
In the show, the main character is named Piper Chapman and she gets
sentenced to 15 months to Litchfield prison for a crime she committed close to
ten years ago. She gets sent to a woman’s prison where she has to learn to
adhere to the rules that apply in that prison. According to Bourdieu’s concept
of fields, the first point is that there are rules to follow. In the show, Piper
is given two different types of orientation. The first is the prison orientation
with an educational video and information by the correctional officer and other
authorities in the prison. They are told of the rules and protocols that they
must follow in order to avoid the SHU, which is basically solitary confinement.
Rules such as violence and contraband is prohibited. The second type of
orientation was the unofficial one Piper received by her bunkmates. They tell
her of unspoken rules such as not sleeping in her bed but on top of it and how
to make it to pass the officers inspection. Also, prisoners are referred to as
their last name so everyone calls the main character Chapman, another unofficial
behavior. Later on that day, Piper goes to eat in the cafeteria. There she
learns another unwritten rule, not to insult the food in front of the cook, Red,
who then punishes Piper by not letting her eat at all until Piper makes it
right.
The second concept of fields is that there are boundaries. In the prison, the
woman create their own boundaries by what they refer to as their tribe, which is
based on their race. Piper is told by another inmate named Morello that they all
look out for their own, meaning that since Piper is white, she sits with other
white women in the cafeteria. There generally is not a lot of co-mingling with
other races. They have boundaries when it comes to seating and usually, each
sits with their own tribe. The third concept of fields is stakes at play. They
are over boundaries and values placed upon the society and not so important
outside of it. If we think about prison life, a prisoner should not be seen as a
weak person or easily breakable, that would affect their personal stake and well
being. When Piper goes to apologize to Red for insulting her food, Red tells her
that her apology was sweet and that shes a weak person and weakness is not
looked highly upon. Piper’s stake, her meal, was in jeopardy so she had to
follow the rules and boundaries in the prison to fix the situation. Another
thing at stake is their visitation rights, if the prisoners fight or antagonize
some of the corrupt officers, they could be written up and their visitation
rights revoked. The prisoners want to see their family, it is a highly valued
stake so it is agreed that it is worth following orders.
The last part of fields that Bourdieu talked about was specific forms of
capital, which are field specific and only worth something in that field.
Capital in the prison is something that is transferable and worth something that
might not matter to a person outside of that setting. In the show, Piper needs
to get jalapenos but she doesn’t have commissary money yet so she tries to tried
with her fellow inmates. To get an empty bottle from another inmate, Piper gives
a piece of her blonde hair so that another inmate can put it in their hair for a
new flare. While money isn’t allowed in prison, Piper uses her hair as a way of
currency to “pay” for an empty bottle, a type of economic capital. At the end of
an episode, Piper makes an ointment for Red’s back pain which she trades for the
right to eat again.
While prison life isn’t a field that someone willingly specializes in, it is
a structured space that has formed in a way used to analyze Bourdieu’s concept
of fields. Orange is the New Black shows that prison life is defined by the rules, boundaries, stakes and forms of capital that help its function. Once the inmates are out of the prison, these
points might not have the same meaning in other societies they join but they are
field specific.
http://orange-is-the-new-black.wikia.com/wiki/I_Wasn%27t_Ready