The following is an interview with Professor Philip G. Zimbardo and Director Kyle Patrick Alvarez discussing the IFC Film: The Stanford Prison Experiment. The film is based off of the actual experiment conducted by Prof. Zimbardo in 1971 and explores questions of authority, oppression, and human nature. In this interview, Prof. Zimbardo and film director Alvarez talk to WKCR programmer Danielle Smith about the motivations behind making the film, cinematography choices within the film, and the disturbing nature of the film and experiment itself. The movie hits theatres in New York beginning July 17, 2015.
Disclaimer: This interview is 20 minutes long and of a sensitive nature. Though the experiment has remained controversial for the questionable practices involved and the disturbing results of the simulation, it does provoke a useful conversation surrounding ethics, human nature, and the prison system. The views expressed in this interview do not express the views of WKCR FM, its board of directors, or the Trustees of Columbia University.
