Theses and Dissertations - UTB/UTPA
Date of Award
5-2013
Document Type
Thesis
Degree Name
Master of Arts (MA)
Department
English
First Advisor
Dr. Marci McMahon
Second Advisor
Dr. Danika Brown
Third Advisor
Dr. Matthew Christensen
Abstract
This thesis analyzes the way in which Miguel Piñero, through his 1974 play Short Eyes, and Tom Fontana, through his television series Oz, portray the way in which American prisoners are transformed by a racially-defined code of behavior. This code of behavior, defined by Miguel Piñero as “the program” encourages inmates to over-identify themselves in terms of race and leads them to engage in behavior that contributes to their dehumanization. In the first chapter, the introduction, I establish the social, political, and theoretical concepts through which it is possible to analyze the process of prisoner identity transformation in these two works. In chapter two, I describe the process in which a prisoner’s identity is divided through a reading of the both works using social identity theory. In the third chapter, I describe the way in which the program and its emphasis on race shape the creation of prison identities.
Granting Institution
University of Texas-Pan American
Comments
Copyright 2013 Gerardo C. Martinez. All Rights Reserved.
https://www.proquest.com/dissertations-theses/portrayals-dehumanization-american-prisoner/docview/1412699162/se-2