Thoughts on two films: “Sing Sing” and “Daughters”

I’ve been reflecting on what two recent films contribute to the narratives about incarceration. 

“Sing Sing” is a true story of the “Rehabilitation Through the Arts” Program launched by John Whitfield while unjustly incarcerated at Sing Sing Correctional Facility. “Daughters,” also based on real life events, follows a group of fathers as they complete a preparation program for the daddy-daughter dance that will be held at the DC Jail, where they are currently incarcerated. 

Films that take place in prisons often feature graphic descriptions of the inmates’ offenses as a vehicle to introduce the characters, and build the lens through which the viewer sees the characters. Plot lines typically include graphic violence. Statistics prove that people have committed harm, and that prisons are terribly – and structurally – violent places. 

“Sing Sing” and “Daughters” do not invest time in stating the obvious. If the viewer wants to know the crimes that led the inmates to this moment in their lives, well, the films essentially say, “Google is free.” 

Instead, both films tell compelling stories about people who are striving to heal within the context of physical and mental imprisonment, and with the robust support of their community. In “Sing Sing,” it’s the theater community. In “Daughters,” it’s the father’s group. In community, the men demonstrate tremendous vulnerability and ambition, whether to play the part of Hamlet, or to be the father their daughters deserve. The emotional journeys are complex, at times treacherous, and require tremendous fortitude. 

The violence of the carceral system is not entirely absent. It can’t be. Humans are still housed in cinder block cells, some in solitary. “Daughters” is particularly effective in highlighting the financial violence of having to pay to call your loved one. The “cost-saving” practice is replacing in-person visits with video visits. 

An oft quoted proverb says, "Until the lion learns to write, every story will glorify the hunter." I celebrate that the lions John Whitfield, Natalie Rae, and Angela Patton – who already know how to write – obtained pen and paper to tell their stories, their way.