Compare & Contrast: The Alcatraz Prisoners and the Bowler family

THE BOWLERS FAMILY AND ALCATRAZ PRISONERS
Name:
Institution:
Date:
Course Code:
Compare & Contrast: The Alcatraz Prisoners and the Bowler family
Documented history and recreated artistic works have given us an idea of the past and the lives our forefathers led. We often think it was all fun because no one had to deal with traffic, pollution, food was fresh from the garden etc. However, it was much harder than that. Some film makers have attempted to recreate the lives of a typical family in the early 20th century. Bowlers family took up the challenge to lead the way of life of a typical British family in the early 20th century living in the countryside for three months. From the reality show, it is evident that their lives were relatively similar to those of the Alcatraz prisoners especially judging from the magnitude of the isolation the Bowlers had with the world, the hard life they had to adjust to, the oversight by many people to see how they held up etc. This article seeks to juxtapose the Bowler’s family experimental lives in early 20th century and that of the Alcatraz prisoners.
The now defunct Alcatraz prison is located off the shore of the San Francisco Bay and is famed for being the toughest prison in America CITATION Mar153 \l 1033 (Binelli, 2015). Alcatraz prison was a maximum-security federal facility. Though it was not initially designed to be a prison but a Fort, it evolved to be the most dreaded place for the prisoners who were sent there. Most of the prisoners spend their days doing hard labor or in solitary confinement. Punishment for breaking any of the prison rules was solitary confinement or hard labor. The prison was inescapable because of its geographical location and the climate of the San Francisco bay. The ocean surrounding the island upon which the prison is located becomes very cold such that it is nearly impossible to swim in it for long. The near 2 km distance from the shore and rough waters add to the challenge of escaping the prison. The prison was also heavily guarded, and as a maximum penitentiary, it was well-furnished with trained officers to ensure prisoners do not escape. Other than three who escaped and it is unverified if they survived, the rest of the attempts were unsuccessful.
The Bowler family decided to take up a challenge of being televised in a reality show known as The 1900 House. The idea was to subject a normal family to live like the Victorians in the early 20th century. The modern luxuries and way of life were replaced with the nature of life for typical early 20th-century family. The Bowler family had to stay for three months in a modified house away from ‘modern civilization.’ They had to eat, sleep, dress and work like a typical 1900s family. Throughout the show, the Bowler family struggled to live that life. It was difficult, and though they pulled it through, they share many experiences of a life devoid of the modern-day liberties and luxuries with nostalgia and appreciation of the far the society has come. Simple things we take for granted like shampoo and bathing any time of the day, working long hours, little personal privacy in the family house, etc were replaced with wearing and recycling uncomfortable and dirty clothes, sleeping...