Friday Night - Women's Prison (clip 1)
Report about women's prisons
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Description
TV Report looking at the condition of old prison facilities in Gateside prison in Greenock and then a new prison buildings being built in Cornton Vale. Footage includes female prison guards checking on the inmates and locking them in for the night; a girl sits in her cell playing ‘Silent Night’ on her guitar; shots of a bucket (the cell does not have a toilet), interior and exterior shots of Cornton Vale Prison with a view of Stirling castle from window. Film countdown clock. It also includes George Reid speaking directly into the camera at the gates of the prison as a car arrives with a new inmate. The new inmate is made to take off her clothes (behind a curtain) and have a compulsory bath in filthy surroundings.Please Note: Some female nudity from behind as the woman gets into a bath
Questions & Activities
Questions
- What does the term "Dickensian" mean?
- What does "Signed, For, Sealed and Delivered" mean?
- What kinds of things are people locked up for?
- What is a borstal and what is its modern equivalent?
- Do you think the women's treatment is degrading?
- Why is there a countdown clock in the middle of this footage? What is it used for?
Activities
History / Social Studies: Research the history of punishment and prison reform.
English: Debate whether prison is an effective way to reform criminals. What alternatives to prison were there in the past and what is available today? What types of crimes do you believe should receive a jail sentence?
History / Social Studies / Gender: Find out the differences in crimes between men and women.
Media Studies: What were the two clips shown before the main programmes started (in this extract) and what was the intended function of these bits of film. Discuss whether you think they were complete and why?
Media Studies / Gender / Social Studies: Research the representation of women's prisons in television programmes such as "Bad Girls" or "Prisoner Cell Block H".
Clip Details
| Record Id | 007-000-002-537-C |
|---|---|
| Resource Rights Holder | Courtesy of Scottish Television |
| Date | 1972 |
| Genre | TV News |
| School Subject | Media Studies, Social Studies, Gender Studies, Health and Wellbeing, History |
| Subject Matter | Crime and Punishment |
| Who | Scottish Television (production company) |
| Where | Bridge of Allan, Gateside, Greenock, Stirling |
| Event | Incarceration |
| Attributes | Colour, Sound |
| Clip Length | 5:46 |
| Film Length | 23:56 |