Prison Industrial Complex Analysis

Luis Valdez and Peter Malae on Prison Industrial Complex
Prison Industrial Complex (PIC) is a term used to describe the overlapping interests of government and industry that use surveillance, policing, and imprisonment as solutions to social, economic, and political problems. Angela Davis is a journalist and American political activist who believes that the U.S practice of super-incarceration is closer to new age slavery than any system of criminal justice. She defines the PIC as biased for criminalizing communities of color and used to make profit for corporations from the prisoner’s suffering. In her book, Are Prisons Obsolete?, she argues that the prison systems are no longer in use and out of date since prisons just keep increasing as
Henry feels agitated for being away from his family and friends. When Henry says that he is left with an “empty feeling,” Henry emphasizes how mournful it would have felt as he watches the guard close the doors on him, leaving him in an empty room feeling cloistered. This scene validates one of Henry’s lowest point where he feels like no one would be there for him and there’s nothing he could do. Likewise, the story “What You Can Do after Shutdown” by Peter Malae mentions the topic of isolation. The narrator describes how one of activities that a prisoner in jail could do after shutdown is to talk to himself/herself in the restroom. “And if you’re the opposite-the talkative, hustling type-and that’s how you do your time, just kick it on the toilet in the back of the cell and talk to yourself all night. Nobody cares.” (What You Can Do after Shutdown 255). When the narrator says “talk to yourself,” he refers to the loneliness that one could have due to having no contact with the outside world. When the narrator says “Nobody cares,” it shows how he understands that there is no one but himself to keep him company. Thus, the connection from these two quotes is that isolation plays a big part in PIC that could end up harming the prisoners mentally, causing more problems instead of solving
Not to mention, the word “Gang” refers to a group of teenagers contributing in negative acts who are considered as lacking self-esteem. Therefore, the headlines portrays all of the Mexicans/Mexican Descents as criminals in the media that both discriminates people by their race and allows them to be oppressed by the government while also disrespecting the Spanish Community. Then, the difference between the way that Peter Malae represented the PIC compared to Luis Valdez is that Peter Malae focused on the lack of freedom in prison. In “Reliable Vet Dad, Reliable Con Son”, the narrator talks about his menacing experience in San Quentin. During this time, the narrator has already witnessed many people becoming victims of violence in jail. Malae writes:
There are lifers in the East Block of San Quentin who are, decade by decade, discovering the hell out of themselves, and then, damn, not wanting to jinx myself either, my mission is getting out this mutherfucker with my skin unslashed. (Reliable Vet Dad, Reliable Con Son