Brubaker Movie

Posted by Winnie Melda on December 4th, 2018

Type and Base of the Movie

            This film is based on true story loosely based on The Arkansas Prison Scandal. The white collar crimes in these movies are mainly corruption and fraud committed by prison staff to satisfy their personal needs.

How the Crime Took Place

             In particular, the prison administration partnered with local businesses owners to use prisoners as slave labor and get paid. The government also used shoddy materials in constructing the prison resulting in the collapse of roofs. The prison officers also tortured the inmates and killed them, burying them secretly (Macnab, 2004). Prisoners were also forced to consume mediocre food because food for prisoners was sold on black market.  Local businesses relied on the prison to make money as well as the prison board.  The board received kickback money from companies when using prisoners as workers seemed prevented.  Prison medical officers also demanded payments from inmates for medical services which were supposed to be free.

Reasons for Taking Place

            The reason these white collar crimes happened was that the administration had discovered a way to make money from the innocent prisoners. The desire to make money was the primary motivating factor that dictated corrupt behavior among prison staff. Inability to get noticed was also a motivating factor for the crimes.

The Characters Involved

            The characters in the movie included the following; Robert Redford, who played as Henry Brubaker is an actor, director, business-men, producer environmentalist as well as a philanthropist.  His career started in 1960 as a guest star on many TV programs. The other actor is Yaphet Frederick Kotto who played as   Richard 'Dickie' Coombes is an actor, known many film roles and starring in NBC television series. Jane Alexander, who acted as Lillian Gray, is an actress, an author and the former director of National Endowment for the Arts. Murray Hamilton, who acted as John Beach, was an American stage, screen as well as television character actor who appeared. Matt Clark, who acted as Roy Purcell, is an actor and director in film and television. Tim McIntire, who acted as Huey Rauch, was an American character actor. Richard Ward as Abraham Cook was a gravel-voiced an actor on stage, television and films. M. Emmet Walsh as C.P. Woodward is an actor. Henry Willingham, who acted as Dr. Fenster, was a television and film actor. Wilford Brimley, who acted as Rogers, the Prison Board is an American actor. Nathan George, who acted as Leon Edwards on the Prison Board, is the supporting actor by profession. John McCarty, who acted as Senator Charles Hite, is an actor of stage, film as well as television. William Macleod Newman, who acted as Dunfield, - Prison Board was a movie, television as well as a theater actor. Joe Spinal, who acted as Walter, the trustee, was a character actor. Morgan Freeman as Walter, who wanted a yellow cell is an actor and narrator and other who are mainly actors.

How Long the Crime Took Before, It Was Discovered

            Corruption and other offenses had gone on for a long time and to see prove the alleged rampant corruption,  It took about two weeks, for him to see the abuse prisoners faced from guards and other inmates, sexual assault, worm-ridden food, torture, and corruption as well as a graft from the staff.

How the Crime Was Discovered

            The crime was discovered by Brubaker, a new warden who was hired to reform Wakefield Prison. He pretended to be a prisoner who entered the prison and mixed with the general prisoners and discovered the widespread corruption. He ended up revealing himself in disgust.

How the Discovery Affected the Offenders

            After the discovery of the crime, Brubaker started getting resistance from local businesses that relied on the prison to make money and state prison board.  They started losing kickback money from businesses since Brubaker is no longer allowed them to use prisoners as workers.  The prison board threatened to fire Brubaker unless he eased off of his reforms and allowed use of detainees as workers afresh. Therefore, if families relied on the money, their income dropped. The community around was prevented from the unlawful making of money through curtails in that prison. The discovery also created a political scandal which made the prison board to ask Brubaker to take part in a cover-up.

How the Crime Was Resolved

            The matter was settled with a trial whereby two years after Brubaker being fired, 24 prisoners led by Coombes, sued the prison.  In the trial, the court ruled that the treatment of the inmates was against the constitutional.  The prison ultimately got reformed and as a punishment, the governor was not re-elected (Richter, Kotto, Freeman & Rafelson, 1979).

Greed in the Film and What Motivated it

            Greed is highly presented in this movie. From the critical analysis,   the creed was only motivated by a desire for money and arrogance. The trustees had discovered a way to collude with business people outside and make quick money through illegal means. They even try to tell the investigator to cover up their illegal activates. As Brubaker tries to reform the prison, the prison officials who were key beneficiaries of corruption frustrates his efforts to the extent of forcing him to reverse the situation so that they enjoy dirty earning. They manage to conspire and force him to resign only to get out of their ways. Greed is therefore presented as a mere desire to make money in all available ways possible.

Was the Entity a Victim or Perpetrator, or Both?

            The prison as an entity was both the victim as well as the perpetrator. From victim’s [point of view, prisoners were mistreated with their fundamental rights violated.  They were used as slaves to work for businesses people around with all funds benefiting the trustee’s selfish interests. From perpetrators point of view, the prison trustees victimized the prisoners by making them their slaves.  They used prisoners as means to get money (Harrison, 1980). The prison is a perpetrator while at the same time it is a victim.

The Propensity to Engage in Unlawful Conduct

            In my opinion, the tendency to engage in this criminal conduct systemic is caused solely by evil people, whose character flaws led them to cheat and steal. The reason is that prison administrators had identified a way to make money which they would use all means to get it.  Their evil and selfish character denied prisoners good food and other essential needs. Greed made them turn prisoners into slaves so that they would make money. They, therefore, lacked a sense of humanity which was a key factor motivating their crimes.

The Extent to Which the Media's Portrayal of the Offense was Accurate

            Media played a critical and accurate role in presenting situations of such crimes in our society. In many cases, such are hard to discover unless inner staff is used to spy. Efforts to stop such crimes are also counter -fought by perpetrators to ensure they do not lose their source of money.  Perpetrators also try to convince spies to cover-up what they have seen. Media, therefore, have accurately presented this crime.

What Does the Research Say About the Crime That Occurred?

            This movie analysis reveals that this crime was done by people in the specific profession. Money gains motivate the actions. Their acts are difficult to discover unless a person with knowledge is used (Payne, 2013).  Perpetrators of such crimes always employ cover-ups whenever found. Fighting such crimes has many challenges especially when perpetrators want to remain in business

References

Harrison, W. (1980): Brubaker. New York: Ballantine Books.

Macnab, G. (2004). Brubaker (Film). Sight & Sound, 14(12), 74-75.

Payne, B. K. (2013). White-collar crime: The essentials. Thousand Oaks, Calif: SAGE       Publications.

Richter, W. D., Kotto, Y. F., Freeman, M., & Rafelson, B. (1979): Brubaker: [screenplay].

Sherry Roberts is the author of this paper. A senior editor at MeldaResearch.Com in affordable custom writing if you need a similar paper you can place your order from top research paper writing companies.