'Brokeback'-Banning Prison Prefers 'Get Rich's Positive Cop-Killing Message
We recently noted the Massachusetts Department of Corrections disciplining of an officer who screened Brokeback Mountain for inmates, a prison movie night no-no because of its graphic sexual content. So what films did make the extremely selective cut? According to the Boston Herald, such pacifistic entertainments as Get Rich or Die Tryin', which you may recall was blamed for a movie theater shooting death, and the mob mercenary/marital-rape-on-a-staircase thriller, A History of Violence:
Despite a Department of Correction policy that prohibits showing to inmates movies that contain prison themes, police brutality or gang violence, cons at state facilities are currently watching "Get Rich or Die Tryin' ," a film about a crack-dealing gangbanger who writes rap songs about splitting open cops' heads while serving time behind the wall.
The autobiographical movie stars rap star 50 Cent and contains a soundtrack with the song "Don't Need No Help" that contains the refrain "(Expletive) tha police." [...]
Last month, the movie "History of Violence," which was rated R for "strong brutal violence, graphic sexuality, nudity," was shown throughout the prison system, DOC spokeswoman Diane Wiffin said.
Other films on the DOC's movie review list include such approved titles as the Frank Sinatra brainwashing/assassination classic The Manchurian Candidate, the Olsen twins' brainwashing/assassination classic New York Minute, and Herbie Fully Loaded. Among the rejected were The Accused (rape scene scorecard: stairwells—yea, pinball machines—nay), Showgirls (too gay?), and Derailed, which we can only assume was not for any objectionable content, but because the DOC just couldn't buy Jennifer Aniston trying to play unlikeable.
