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Inside<i>Oz</i>: Hyperviolence, Race and Class Nightmares, and the Engrossing Spectacle of Terror
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2009
Year
Critical Race TheoryRace LawCriminal Justice ReformSystemic JusticeLawCriminal LawRacial StudyBlack ExperienceCultural StudiesSocial SciencesRaceRampant IncarcerationWhite SupremacyAfrican American StudiesCultural HistoryClass NightmaresDramaPrison ViolencePenologyCultural ArtifactTheatreIntersectionalityHyperviolent SpectacleCritical TheoryCriminal JusticeHumanitiesCarceral SettingSocial JusticeEngrossing Spectacle
In this essay I analyze the HBO prison drama Oz as a cultural artifact of the current era of rampant incarceration. I argue that Oz's hyperviolent spectacle legitimizes both the expansion of the prison–industrial complex and the continuing prevalence of inhumane prison environments. I also contend that Oz's framing of race and class within a violent spectacle functions as a justification of discriminatory criminal justice practices.