Dear Dr. Blankenship,
After our meeting regarding this paper, I felt a great deal of confidence going into it a second time. Our meeting proved to me that I am going in the right direction with the paper. I did, however, make a slight altercation to my interpretation of the metaphor. Previously, I interpreted the metaphor as life is a prison because of the routine, mundane lifestyle that many people have. But, after our conversation and taking a second look at the metaphor through a different lens, I decided to go with the interpretation that our lives are like a prison because they are controlled by rich and elite. I thought it would be a very interesting approach tackling the topic of class inequality. It was especially interesting, as we discussed, given that I am on the very lower end of the social hierarchy attempting to break through the “glass ceiling” (I’m not sure if this term could be applied here, but you get the general gist of what I mean).
In terms of corrections, I started off with the ones you suggested on my first draft. I tried to elaborate more on some of my concepts and points, which I seemed to lack in the first draft. I also specified the audience by doing a character analysis. I felt that I could obtain a specific audience by analyzing the backgrounds of the characters and using that information to see what type of roles these characters were given. It was a great way to show how the white-collar, educated white male is typically portrayed as the “hero”.
One of the more interesting things I did in the paper was juxtapose the 1980’s movie Trading Places to this show. I feel that it was a great way to support the claim I made about how the rich control the lives of the less fortunate. It is really interesting how a show and a movie with two completely different plots can have the same underlying metaphor.
I want to thank you for help! Our conference really made a difference in my approach to the paper and allowed me to reevaluate what lens I am looking through.
With gratitude,
Zouhare
Imagine being trapped in a prison; your freedom, your identity, your uniqueness all stripped away from you. Imagine living by a strict schedule, constantly being told when to do what. Sound familiar? This is a reality for many who are imprisoned by life, trapped by the social hierarchy. The rich and powerful one-percent control the lives of the rest of the ninety-nine percent. They are able to dictate the course of our lives and eliminate any sense of false freedom that we have. We yearn to break out of this cycle and be free. Like inmates at a prison, we pine to break out of the cell. This is illustrated in the television show series Prison Break, who’s overarching metaphor is being trapped in the prison of life, and finding a way of breaking out and embracing true freedom.
The plot of Prison Break starts with the wrongful arrest of an innocent man, Lincoln Burrows, who was framed for the murder of the Vice President’s brother. Burrows was sent to super-max penitentiary and was scheduled to be executed. His younger brother, Michael Scofield, a genius Structural Engineer who designed the prison, develops two elaborate plans to break his brother out. The plan involves installing himself in the same prison by holding up a bank and, as the final month ticks away, launches the escape plan step-by-step to break the both of them out, with his full-body tattoo acting as his guide; a tattoo which hides the layout of the prison facility and necessary clues vital to the escape. Once out, the two, along with others that they have met, are constantly running from the authorities in an attempt to expose the Vice President.
The title of the show may seem insignificant; due mostly to its simplicity, but it reinforces the metaphor of being imprisoned by life. George Lakoff, in his piece Metaphors We Live By, states that “metaphors are pervasive in everyday life” (3), illustrated by the title of the show. As a standalone, the title has no real effect other than the aforementioned reinforcement. But, the combination of the title and the logo of the show provide for a powerful image. The logo is of Michael Scofield’s tattooed back, blacked out down the middle, and the title written in the center with stenciled letters that one would typically associate with a prison. It illustrates the metaphor of life being prison. The tattoo on Michael Scofield’s back is a map of the prison outlining an escape route. We can think of this in the literal sense, escaping from the physical prison, and the abstract sense, escaping the control of those more powerful, which will be explained more deeply in the proceeding paragraphs. But, the entire center of this map, this plan, is completely blacked out. Thus, we can raise the question, “Can we really break out of this ‘cast system’?” More specifically, are we able to escape the control of the rich and powerful?
When thinking about the audience of Prison Break, it is relevant to analyze the protagonists of the show. It is common to mistakenly relate the two characters, as they are brothers. However, the two are split into separate classifications: the hero and the person in distress. The protagonist, Lincoln Burrows, who needs to be rescued, is a high school drop-out. He has had repeated run-ins with the law, including convictions for theft and battery in his teenage years. Entering adulthood, Burrows became a blue-collar worker, employed at a construction site. He lacks an elite education, status, and money. Knowing that they are unable to break out of their own prison, the audience is invited to watch the characters on in their great escape. They cheer on the characters because they know these prisons are accomplishing something that they, metaphorically speaking, will never be able to do.
In contrast, the hero, Michael Scofield, is a law-abiding man and a genius by trait. He earned a Bachelor’s and Master’s degree in Civil Engineering from Loyola University in Chicago. Upon graduating, Michael took up a position with and engineering firm, where he became the head of structural engineering. As such, he has a thorough understanding of building design, construction, and the weaknesses therein. He creates an elaborate plan with many steps, and seemingly thought of every contingency in order to free Lincoln. Such structure of the protagonists sublimely contributes to the idea that education and money signifies power. The hero is a very well educated man with an impressive, white collar job, making a lot of money. On the other hand, the person in need has no education, money, and works a blue collar job. This portrayal is not confined to Prison Break, as it spans across many shows and movies. In fact, it is difficult to think of a TV series or movie where the “hero” encompasses the characteristics of Lincoln Burrows.
As the audience, you step into the shoes of the prisoners. In a way, you see yourself in that prisoner and envision escaping. In your mind, you are imagining freedom, not from the physical prison in the show, but of the mundane, uncontrollable life. The viewer goes through the same rollercoaster of emotions as the prisoners do during the constant, suspense-filled close call of being caught. What is unique about the show is that there is a continual shift between the point of view of the prisoners, and those trying to seize them.
This distorts our image of reality. When in the point of view of the prisoners, the viewers want to believe that there is hope, that there is a way of escaping the control of the upper-class. Yet, what the audience perceives to be reality is shattered by the rude awaking of being in the point of view of someone in the same shoes as they are, more specifically, the agents. They are hired and controlled by the Vice President of the United States. (As a reminder, the Vice President framed the murder of her brother on Lincoln Burrows.) The agents are unable to object to her commands. She is responsible for their paychecks, and thus, if thought about on a “survival basis”, their lives. These agents need the Vice President in order to sustain their lifestyles, although it may be a mediocre one. Hence, we can allude to how blue-collar workers’ lives are restrained by the authority of the rich and powerful.
In addressing the metaphor of class struggles as a prison for the less fortunate, it would be relevant to juxtapose the series to an eighty’s movie titled Trading Places. The movie is about Louis Winthorpe , a businessman who works for commodities brokerage firm of Duke and Duke owned by the brothers Mortimer and Randolph Duke. The two brothers bicker over the most trivial of matters and what they are bickering about is whether it’s a person’s environment or heredity that determines how well they will do in life. When Winthorpe bumps into Billy Ray Valentine, a street hustler and assumes he is trying to rob him, he has him arrested. Upon seeing how different the two men are, the brothers decide to make a wager as to what would happen if Winthorpe loses his job, his home and is shunned by everyone he knows and if Valentine was given Winthorpe’s job.
Although the plots of the two are as different as can be, the underlying meanings of both plots suggest the metaphor of one’s life being trapped by the control of the elite. In Trading Places, both Winthorpe and Valentine are part of the brothers’ twisted social experiment. The Duke Brothers were able to completely alter the course of both men’s lives, simply because of their power and money. Their elite status allowed them to place such a preposterous wager. The lives of Winthorpe and Valentine were in complete control of the Duke Brothers.
Similarly, Lincoln Burrow’s life was completely altered solely because of the actions of the Vice President. She was able to dictate the direction of his life by framing him for a fake murder. Her elite status and money were able to substantiate the claims. Burrows had no control over the course of his life. His objections to the claims never stood up to those of the Vice President’s. It is interesting to think about how the outcome would have differed had Lincoln Burrows possessed the education, status, and money of the Vice President.
George Lakoff wrote in his piece, “Our ordinary conceptual system, in terms of which we both think and act, is fundamentally metaphorical in nature” (3). Prison Break’s plot is metaphorical in nature. The entire concept of “money and status equals’ power” is the basis for the story of the show. The lives of the protagonists are dictated by the decisions of the Vice President. Even within the story, the gap between the blue-collar and white-collar workers is illustrated by the roles of the protagonists. The educated and wealthy man is expected to save to poor, uneducated brother. Hence, the concept of class inequality is constantly reiterated no matter which point-of-view is being looked at. In the end, we beg the question, “Are we truly in control of our lives?”