PBS' College Behind Bars prison documentary will make you think and, possibly, cry
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The four-hour documentary from The Vietnam War's Lynn Novick about the Bard Prison Initiative and the impact of educational programs behind bars is a "persuasive and compelling as an argument for prison education reform (and general across-the-board prison reform), but more than that, it's so humane and emotional that it will probably have you brushing away tears as you're pondering bigger questions," says Daniel Fienberg. He adds: "By the time you get to the second half of the series and you watch these students working on the 80- to 100-page senior papers, defending their theses to professors and attempting to do genuine scholarly research with limited access to materials, erratically available time and the ingrained pressures and threats of the penitentiary system, you're likely to go from respectful to astounded. I know I was." ALSO: College Behind Bars portrays prisoners in way that is night-and-day different from reality TV.
TOPICS: Lynn Novick, PBS, College Behind Bars, Documentaries
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