Escape From Alcatraz And Its Impact On Popular American Media And Culture

One early morning in 1962, Frank Morris and brothers Clarence and John Anglin broke out of Alcatraz prison. Using nothing but a raft fashioned out of raincoats, the three men traveled out into the foggy San Francisco Bay, never to be seen again. This was over 50 years ago, but the escape is still significant today. Society today still cares about the escape from Alcatraz because of its presence in the media, Alcatraz’s reputation as “escape-proof”, and natural human curiosity.

First of all, the escape from Alcatraz has had a significant impact on American media and culture. The presence of this event today is still evident, especially in popular American media. For example, movies Escape From Alcatraz (1979), Birdman of Alcatraz (1962) are
both popular movies based on Alcatraz. Producers have based many other forms of media on the famous escape. An episode of MythBusters titled “Alcatraz Escape” aired in 2003. J. Campbell Bruce published a book titled “Escape from Alcatraz” in 1963. Don Siegel based his movie Escape from Alcatraz on this book, (Levine 9). The impact of the movie is strong even in recent years. Movie critic Vincent Canby from the New York Times left a review of Escape from Alcatraz, contributing to its 95% score on rotten tomatoes. America’s continued interest in the Alcatraz escape can be proven by conducting a simple Google search. Typing the words “alcatraz escape” into Google provides 454,000 results. Of those, there are many links to articles and official government websites based on Alcatraz. One of those links ads to the FBI website under the “famous cases section”. The concluding paragraph states that they “turned over responsibility to the U.S. Marshals Service, which continues to investigate in the unlikely event the trio is still alive,” (FBI 12). The fact that the case has not been closed is likely to get more people interested in the topic. People will want to look at the evidence provided and drawing their own conclusions. Being curious about this topic is human nature.

Humans have a subconscious motivation to learn, explore, and to expand their knowledge. In his paper, A Theory of Human Curiosity, D.E Berlyne explains that in rats, there is a drive that is activated by novel stimuli and is reduced by continued exposure to these stimuli. This reinforces exploratory activity, like approaching and exploring the object causing the stimulus, which increases stimulation of the animal’s receptors. He also states that “a similar response is undoubtedly elicited by strange objects in adults and especially infants,” (Berlyne 2). This is why unsolved mysteries like the Alcatraz escape provoke interest in humans. It is natural to want to gain knowledge. it would be logical to assume people would want to know more about this event and gain an understanding of what happened that night. The fact that the fate of the three men who attempted escape is still unknown adds another layer of mystery to the topic. This will only add more interest to the escape. According to the FBI, the men who attempted escape from Alcatraz are “missing and presumed drowned,” (Federal Bureau of Prisons 11). Not only that, the case is still open according to FBI. They turned the case over to the US Marshals Service in 1979, leaving the fate of the men who escaped up to the reader’s interpretation.

The final reason the escape from Alcatraz is still relevant is its reputation.
The authors of the National Park Service for Alcatraz Island describe the prison as “escape-proof,” (National Park Service 1). The fact that three people could have escaped a supposedly escaped an inescapable prison is bound to capture people’s attention. This situation relates to another significant event in the twentieth century. In 1912, the Titanic crashed into an iceberg and sank. Although this event occurred over 100 years ago, it is still relevant. For example, the movie Titanic was very successful, and it was based on a disaster that has occurred almost 100 years ago at the time. The Titanic was reputed to be “unsinkable”, which might have been why it was such a big deal when it ended up sinking. Despite the fact that there have been hundreds of other ships that have sunk throughout history, this event is the one getting all the spotlight. A second reason the Titanic could have been such a significant disaster was the number of fatalities. Although, there have been other shipwrecks that were just as deadly, if not deadlier. All this does is prove how much reputation impacts the longevity of the relevance of a notable event. Another way to prove that the escape from Alcatraz is still important is to apply this logic to the escape. Its reputation as escape proof makes it more exciting when there is a possibility an inmate could have escaped. Even though other prison escapes have occurred, this one has remained significant while others have faded in and out of popularity. When someone does something that is supposed to be impossible, of course, it would attract attention for years to
come.

Frank Morris and John and Clarence Anglin attempted to escape from Alcatraz over 50 years ago. Despite the amount of time that has passed, the premise of the escape has remained significant in American culture. This is due to its presence in the media, natural human curiosity, and its reputation as escape proof. Examples of this importance can be found anywhere, whether it be in books, movies, television, or online. The verdict of the case remains undetermined, but it is one mystery everyone would like to solve.