During the closing credits of Kyle Patrick Alvarez’s The Stanford Prison Experiment, we see a glimpse of the broader perspective that the film itself declines to show. Essentially a straightforward reenactment of the famous experiment conducted by Stanford psychology professor Philip Zimbardo in 1971—in which students paid to simulate a prison environment quickly devolved into the roles of sadistic guards and shattered victims—Stanford spares pitifully few minutes to reflect on how it happened or what it meant. Only after the film has concluded do we witness another recreation—that of a post-experiment interview between the student who most zealously took on his role of “guard,” Christopher (Michael Angarano), and the “prisoner” he most tormented, Daniel (Ezra Miller). It’s a short but insightful clip, and its hasty inclusion puts all that Stanford doesn’t do into sharper relief.
Marjorie Skinner is the Portland Mercury's Managing Editor, author of the weekly Sold Out column chronicling the area's independent fashion and retail industry, and a frequent contributor to the film and... More by Marjorie Skinner