Results of the Experiment

This post describes the events that took place during the experiment as shown in the movie and not as it happened in the Stanford Prison Experiment. Also, the events may not be in perfect order as mentioned below.

When the prisoners were escorted to the mock prison cells by the guards everyone was very cheerful and expecting it to be an enjoyable experience. They didn’t know what was going to befall them. Out of 20 volunteers, 12 were chosen as prisoners while the others were guards. There were 4 cells with 3 prisoners each. The guards were wearing uniforms while the prisoners were wearing a single piece gowns which looked like sacks. Thus, the experiment began.

The prisoners were having fun initially but got bored very soon. Some started mocking the guards, knowing that they can’t hit back physically. The guards didn’t take it well and decided to retort. Some of the things which they did were gassing the prisoners, undressing them, parading them nude among others. The prisoners were supposed to eat everything they were served. One of the prisoners was allergic to milk and didn’t want to drink it. The guards said that if he didn’t drink it every one of the prisoners will have to do push-ups.

Here I’ll describe the experience of one of the prisoners. He was abused the most by the guards. He had abused one of the guards as a homosexual and the guard didn’t like it at all. Also, this guy was kind of becoming the leader of the revolution by the prisoners. Thus, the guards took it upon themselves to teach him a lesson. He was made to clean the toilet seats with his gown and then wear it without washing. The guards took him to a secluded room which was not monitored and beat him up. After this they all decided to pee on his face. Later they locked him up in a small locker kind of black box, barely big enough to hold a guy.

The whole thing became an ego game between the prisoners and the guards. The guards became obsessed with their roles and tried to maintain order at all costs. They became sadistic and started enjoying the misery of the prisoners. When one of the guards showed sympathy towards the prisoners they beat him up and locked him up with the prisoners.

On the fifth or the sixth day the events culminated into total madness with the guards beating up a guy and then strapping him up to a chair. He was bleeding profusely which ultimately lead to his death. I must make it clear that in the actual experiment no one was killed. It was the same day they had locked up the other guy in the box. Somehow, he managed to get out of it and freed the other prisoners. All hell broke loose with the prisoners running for their lives with the guards chasing them ultimately a few guys on both sides losing their lives.

Just before the pandemonium one of the doctors tried to intervene by declaring that the experiment was over. When she went down the cells one of the guards caught her and took her in one of the cells. He tried to rape her!

The experiment raises a lot of questions and observations. It seems like the dark side of man takes over as soon as it gets a chance. The guard who tried to rape the doctor would have wanted to screw her but couldn’t while he was living in the actual world. When he saw that there is utter chaos and found the opportunity he went for it. Why did the prisoners behave like real prisoners and abused the guards? They knew that it was just a game and when it’s over, all of them will be their own self. Why did the guards forget that they were not supposed to use physical force? Why did they take offence to the expletives hurled at them when they too knew that the prisoners were just having a bit of fun? I guess it’s too difficult for anyone who’s not experienced it to understand the reasons behind what took place.