Social Environment in “Short Eyes” Film by Robert M. Young Essay

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The norms, values, beliefs, and folkways in the movie

Short Eyes (1977) explores the relationships between inmates of a prison in New York City. The prison community is multicultural and multidenominational. Thus, an apparent ethnic stratification of inmates is one of the essential folkways in this social milieu. Every inmate has a well-defined set of beliefs and values. For instance, there are extensive debates on religious topics, as well as discussions on the relations between the white and black American population.

The appearance of Clark Davis, accused of child molestation, immediately consolidates the inmates. It is necessary to observe that most of the inmates are rather brutal and aggressive, able to mutilate, or frame the surrounding men. All of them committed serious crimes, and not just once, as Paco admits (Short Eyes). However, according to the social norms in the prison environment, child molestation is considered the worst and the most sordid kind of misdoing. In other words, child molesters are at the lowest level in the prison’s ethical system.

Another important norm in the prison code of ethics is the prohibition against snitching. Indeed, this rule prevents Juan from telling the truth about Davis’s previous molestation crimes. The same norm pertains to Davis’s murder at the end of the movie when everybody keeps silent on that matter. Moreover, all inmates follow an unspoken rule to adhere to a specific social group, based on one’s ethnicity. Furthermore, the prisoners approve of settling conflicts openly, that is, in hand-to-hand fighting, rather than sneaking and cheating.

The various status positions and status sets in the movie

The movie represents two primary status positions: inmates and prison guards. In this dichotomy of status positions, inmates must obey, and wardens control their behavior and have the authority to punish prisoners or transfer them to other units. There is a specific nature of relationships between inmates and prison guards. The prison guard, Mr. Nett, also demonstrates a relentless attitude toward child molesters due to painful personal experience. Therefore, he refers to Davis’s murder as an “accident” upon witnessing the entire scene (Short Eyes). Thus, the whole prison environment shares this ethical belief and does not tolerate pedophilia to the extent of total eradication of this transgression.

There are Student/Teacher status sets in the movie, represented by inmates and Mr. Nett. For instance, when Omar asks him about a possible transfer, the warden reprimands the prisoner for fighting and a lack of personal hygiene. Moreover, one can observe numerous examples of Child/Parent status sets. In fact, most long-term residents demonstrate a parenting attitude toward a young inmate, Cupcake. Furthermore, Juan and Davis also enter a Child/Parent system of status sets, when Davis confesses all his previous sexual transgressions to Juan.

Yet another vital aspect described in the movie is the issue of ascribed status. This concept implies that a person’s place in society is determined at birth (Robbins 409). For instance, inmates extensively reflect on the superiority of the white population over black Americans. Indeed, Omar points out that people treat Afro-Americans as outlaws with no rights, and they are doomed to such treatment. At the same time, Paco asserts that this is not his last term in prison because he is poor and a Puerto-Rican (Short Eyes). The social position of a man in the U.S. society of the 1970s largely depended on his origin and background.

The roles in the social environment

After listening to Davis’s intimate story, Juan plays several roles. First of all, Juan becomes his confessor. Indeed, Davis unexpectedly imparts Juan the most profound memories from his past, which he never shared with others. At the same time, Juan plays the role of a judge, evaluating and criticizing Davis’s behavior and acts. Besides, Juan is a prisoner with specific ethical principles. In other words, he is disgusted by the molester’s narrative, but he cannot report on him. Moreover, Juan is Puerto Rican, who is naturally indignant at Davis’s confessions about relationships with Puerto Rican underage girls. However, at some point, Juan begins to feel sorry for Davis as he observes how he suffers. Consequently, he assumes the role of Davis’s defender.

Each of these roles implies a specific set of behavioral expectations. Davis expects Juan’s understanding and concealment of the secrets of his past, whereas the prison community demands to join the public opinion. In this context, the inmate perceives Juan as a transgressor of their ethical norm, when he objects to Davis’s murder and speaks in his defense. Juan’s rights include authority in prison and protection from the Puerto Rican group. Juan’s obligations include following the ethical code of the prison. Role conflict happens when his roles, mentioned above, collide. Role strain occurs when it becomes evident that Juan’s roles of Davis’s defender and a prisoner are inconsistent with each other, as it endangers Juan’s life and authority in the community. Role exit involves the character’s disengagement of his primary role as a prisoner and standing up for Davis.

Group formation in the social environment

The prison community embraces the Puerto Ricans, Afro-Americans, and white men. As a result, the characters tend to form groups and stand together based on their background and ethnicity. Moreover, the groups in the movie are social aggregates who happen to be at the same place at the same time. It is also evident that time is another strong factor for group formation since prisoners may spend years together. Consequently, people within the same group tend to trust and help each other more willingly.

The interactive process

The movie demonstrates the five ways of interaction, namely, the conflict, the exchange, the competition, the cooperation, and the coercion subtypes. At first, the interactive process in prison reveals several conflicts, such as the opposition between the Afro-American and Hispanic groups. However, no matter how different the inmates may be, they are immediately unified by such supranational and cross-cultural activities as playing music and singing. In fact, at these moments of joint creativity, there is a social exchange between different groups. Competition is seen in a tense situation around the young Cupcake, who is an object of everyone’s attention. Consequently, the interactive process develops into cooperation due to the appearance of Davis. Ultimately, one can observe coercion by threatening to a person’s authority in the community (Emanuelson and Willer 2). Coercion is implemented when the prisoners strive to convince Juan to join them in their vigilante justice over the child molester.

The culture of the social environment

The primary system symbols in prison are affiliation, preserving order, and keeping joint responsibility. The culture in the prison environment strongly relies on the inmate’s belonging to a specific social group. For instance, when Davis enters the prison, Longshoe is the first to approach and welcome him as they are of the same skin color. The situation drastically changes as Longshoe finds out the reason for Davis’s imprisonment. Thus, the social group rejects the novice inmate because he breached the ethical norm of their social milieu. When a person does not belong to any group, his life is in danger.

Another critical element of maintaining the culture in prison is everyone’s commitment to preserving a balanced co-existence and order. For instance, when Latinos set up the Afro-American inmate Pappy, they are jointly avenged by the representatives of different groups, including the Hispanic inmates. In such a manner, the prisoners strive to work together for the common good regardless of their ethnicity. Hence, the significance of the order in the entire community surpasses the benefits for a particular group.

Joint responsibility is another essential concept in prison culture. After Davis’s murder, the prison community maintains a conspiracy of silence. At this point, no national or religious differences matter. When Cupcake leaves the prison, the inmates warn him against denouncing this murder to the authorities. As one can observe, the concepts of affiliation, preserving order and keeping joint responsibility aim at maintaining the culture and preserving the stability within the social environment of the prison.

Works Cited

  1. Emanuelson, Pamela, and David Willer. Journal of Social Structure, vol. 16, no. 6, 2015, pp. 1-16. Web.
  2. Robbins, Blaine G. “Status, Identity, and Ability in the Formation of Trust.” Rationality and Society, vol. 29, no. 4, 2017, pp. 408–448.
  3. Short Eyes. Directed by Robert M. Young, performance by Bruce Davison, Film League, 1977.
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