Who profits when prison life becomes reality TV? - Incite at Columbia University

As the popularity of incarcerated reality shows have increased, one grassroots organization is working to expose and dismantle the exploitation of incarcerated individuals as a result of what they call the “prison-televisual complex.” 

The #AIRS Campaign (#Abolish Incarcerated Reality Shows), led by Left Field Fund recipient Vidal Guzman, is working to end the exploitation of incarcerated individuals in reality TV shows like 60 Days In and Love After Lock Up.

While incarcerated in a facility upstate, Guzman experienced the violations of human rights that are commonplace within prisons. Below, Guzman describes how his experience with forced labor awakened him to the carceral system's labor abuses.

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After his release, Guzman went on to participate in social justice campaigns, including #CLOSErikers and #buildCOMMUNITIES, in which he would advocate for critical reforms to solitary confinement and for the Renewable Rikers Plan. Additionally, Guzman would go on to found and become the executive director of America on Trial, a grassroots organization dedicated to empowering those impacted by the carceral system. 

Following the premiere of Netflix’s Unlocked: A Jail Experience and a new season of A&E’s 60 Days In, America on Trial released a report titled "The Exploitation of Incarcerated Populations in ‘60 Days In’ and A&E Network." The report details how prisons and TV networks exploit the unpaid labor of incarcerated individuals to produce these programs. By relying on harmful stereotypes, these networks sensationalize the lives of incarcerated individuals and reinforce norms established by the prison system for an international audience.

As a call to action, America on Trial launched the #AIRS Campaign with four goals. Firstly, #AIRS calls for the end of exploitative media practices by advocating for the removal of television programs that profit from the commodification of incarcerated lives. Secondly, they want to shift public narratives about incarceration in order to humanize and understand those who have been incarcerated. Thirdly, #AIRS endeavors to build public accountability by educating and galvanizing the public to hold networks to ethical standards of production. Finally, the organization will support families and individuals impacted by the carceral system by amplifying and platforming their voices. 

“We want to see a world where TV and production companies are releasing reality shows that are more intertwined on not just the issue, but paying people what they're worth.”

On February 26th, #AIRS will be holding the #AIRS Campaign Rally: Standing Up Against A&E’s Exploitation in order to unite the public to demand the end of A&E’s exploitative practices. As a part of the rally, #AIRS expects to have speakers share their experiences and insights with the prison-industrial complex and the prison-television complex. 

Through their activism, Guzman and the #AIRS Campaign hope to change the narrative surrounding incarceration and hold TV and production networks accountable to telling the true stories of incarcerated individuals and help dismantle the system of mass incarceration. 

#AIRS is supported by Incite Institute’s Left Field Fund. To learn more, visit our funding opportunities page.