Starring Colin Firth as Hugh Grant, and Mr Bean as...
How’s this for super quick reaction? Hackgate: The Movie.
It’s here. Well – the trailer is anyway. And what a star-studded cast. Colin Firth plays Hugh Grant. Hugh Grant plays… someone else. I forget. Watch the trailer to find out.
There’s an inspired (or too obvious?) casting for the role of Rebekah Brooks. But Ed Miliband and David Cameron – perfect casting choices. (No, I’m not telling you. Watch the clip.)
It gets good about 30 seconds in.
And I liked the way the line-up kicked off with the redoubtable Paddy Considine – well worth catching elsewhere – in My Summer of Love, for instance.
So far we’ve had sackings, quittings, arrests and jailings in Hackgate: The Reality. Which brings me to the interesting quarterly bulletin from women inside Chowchilla women’s prison in California – aka the Central California Women’s Facility (CCWF).
You can see reviews of Chowchill nick here. Er… yes, like a hotel review except scarier.
I’m not about to suggest that prisons are not needed nor that they’re full of innocent victims of miscarriages of justice. But most of us are fairly ignorant of life inside – how well or brutally inmates are treated by each other and their jailers; how well or if at all they are offered the chance to be rehabilitated before release; whether their jail-time education is restricted to honing criminal abilities or they have the opportunity to develop legitimate skills that could lead to gainful employment on the outside; whether the mental health issues or addiction problems that may have contributed to their criminality are being addressed before their release.
I’ve been into a few prisons, but only to visit. Most of us have not even ventured that far. And why should we, you may ask.
I would answer that knowledge is power. Prisons are run in our name. We should know more about what happens there.
So I commend to you the SorryGnat blog and its current post from T.C. and Mama P inside Chowchilla women’s prison. And I thank SG for posting it.
(By the way – there’s more to Chowchilla than just the prison. The official city site is here.)
Blackwatertown 
Pingback: Coline im | Barkingboxers
I have been to more than one prison correctional facility. Rehabilitation? How about punishment for their crimes?
Education? Taxpayers can’t afford to send their kids to college but have pay for prisoners degress.
If inmates don’t want to be mistreated in prison they shouldn’t mistreat the public with their crimes.
I see prison doing four things.
1. Punishment
2. Revenge – a legitimate and natural desire felt by some victims – it fulfils it on their behalf.
3. Protection – the rest of us are safe from the offender while they are confined.
4. Rehabiliation – which is part of protecting the rest of us in the long term. Most prisoners will be released some day. I’d prefer them to be equipped to choose non-criminal options when they emerge. Better for them. Better for the rest of us too. Can we afford to not rehabilitate them?
As for the mistreatment. They’re the criminals. They may have done appalling things. We’re not. We hold ourselves to higher standards.
I’ve just hacked into Hugh Grant’s phone and it turns out he’s going to play James Murdoch.
Prisons have been universities of crime ever since I was a small boy….
We heard it here first.
Prisons can also be universities – in the other sense too. I know ex-prisoners who have emerged with useful skills and boosted self esteem who have avoided reoffending. They did their time. They moved on. Good for everyone. Wish it was more common.
I wish that someone would do a show like that on Indian politicos. Prison? Here is a story that will tickle your funny bone. http://www.northindiatimes.com/news/137/ARTICLE/10636/2011-07-02.html
Kalmadi mentioned in that article is the MP from my constituency. This morning, he has claimed that he suffers from amnesia. http://www.sunday-guardian.com/news/kalmadi-suffers-memory-loss-undergoes-mri-test
Our local reaction is “Really? How convenient?”
Ah – the Ernest Saunders (Guinness 4 trial) defence – expect mentions of Alzheimers next – it worked for him.
I love reading your stuff!