Top Tube Picks: Explorer: Solitary Confinement

Share on Facebook posted 04-06-10 by Max Tedaldi

National Geographic’s newest “Explorer” documentary investigates one of the most harsh prison sentences in existence. The special, which airs this coming Sunday April 11th at 9PM et/pc, is called Explorer: Solitary Confinement and is sure to offer an inside look at any claustrophobe’s worst nightmare.

In terms of television promotion Nat Geo is doing the traditional commercial marketing, but for the program’s viral campaign producers have apparently taken a much more extreme route. Since this past Friday, Nat Geo has “imprisoned” a group of volunteers in 8 x 10 cells with no TV, no computer or reading material, and minimal human contact. The volunteers will stay in the cells for a full week, with cameras streaming video the entire week. The experiences of each cell mate will also be shared via twitter.

The volunteers can apparently leave their cells whenever they choose to but I’m not sure that will make the experience any easier. Sure, it will provide some psychological respite from the horror of not being able to update your facebook status, but this still sounds like a complete nightmare to me. It is also one of the most creative and innovative marketing campaigns that I have heard about in a while. After watching several minutes of the streaming feeds over at the Nat Geo website my curiosity is definitely peeked. Who knows how long the “prisoners” will be able to sustain the psychological pressure of being cut off from the outside world.

Watching James, Laura, and Nick (the volunteers) has also made me realize that what I know about solitary confinement is a result of experiencing it through different films. In what other context am I ever going to see someone spend days, months, or years in a prison cell. The portrayal of solitary is varied, but one thing does remain constant: Everyone goes nuts!

In Solitary Confinement You Have Time To Learn Anything

Oldboy

Sure, Dae-su Oh may have been kidnapped and imprisoned in a solitary room for 15 years, but he didn’t let that stop him from improving himself. With nothing but time on your hands what would you dedicate yourself to? Between shitty meals and gassings Dae-su Oh decides to learn how to kick-ass so that when he finally gets out of his cell he can go on a bloody rampage of revenge.

In Solitary Confinement You Can Always Make a Friend

V for Vendetta

Don’t let the fact that you are cut off from everyone and everything get you down. You can always create your own imaginary friend, and have hours and hours of stimulating discussions with someone who is whoever you want them to be! Also, take a lesson from Evey Hammond in V for Vendetta: Friends can come in any form you choose.

In Solitary Confinement You Can Make a Plan

Count of Monte Cristo

Betrayal by your fiancee and your best friend can tend to leave a man pretty bitter if he is put into solitary confinement for life because of it. So after Edmond Dantes has had his fill of sulking he decides to get down to business. He educates himself, learns how to sword fight, and hatches a plan that will make him wealthy beyond imagination, both in terms of cash and revenge.

In Solitary Confinement You Can Learn To Love It

Bronson

When 19-year-old named Michael Peterson robbed a post office with a shotgun he was originally sentenced to 7 years in prison. What began as a broken mirror sentence quickly became 30 years spent in solitary confinement. Peterson melted away to reveal his deranged and solitary-loving alter ego Charles Bronson.