Is prision life really as tough and dangerous as portrayed in the movies?
Yes and no.At times it can be horrific and worse than any movie or television show can hope to convey. But, the majority of the time it's the same thing over and over.I've touched on the essence of this question in many of my other answers here on Quora.Inmates on T.V. shows are often acting up for the cameras, and the things they say are usually exaggerated and embellished upon because they know that that's exactly what the shows are looking for to increase ratings. The prisoners may also do these things in order to make themselves feel better psychologically by giving an ego boost. The producers of these shows edit and condense the content due to time constraints, but this creates a skewed view of the truth. And the goal of the show is to make money from the increase in their ratings. Therefore they find the most fantastic, weird, and sensational people to film. Which means that these people are the exceptions, and not the rule.The portrayal of prison life in movies can be accurate (What is a prisoner's take on the movie Shawshank Redemption?), but movies have the same problems that television shows do.Prison is tough no matter how you look at it. Even the typical day to day life, which becomes mundane to us, would be difficult for the average person. If you have a particular depiction that you would like to know about feel free to ask me that specific question. I will give you a reason if I pass on the question.
Is prison really as bad as it is portrayed on TV?
Prison is just boredom.Remember the Bill Murray movie Groundhog Day?It’s sort of like that, but without the freedom. The same things are going on day in and day out. You’re required to be in certain places at certain times for certain rituals. Outside of that the only differences are the conversations you have and the books that you read.I had been out of prison about six months when I got a picture from a couple friends I left behind. It was like being punched in the stomach. I realized, staring at these two good men in their prison issue khakis, that while I was quickly moving on, they were left behind in Groundhog Day. They were enduring the same mindless existence day in and day out. Both of these men have tried to make effective use of their time, but… it’s really not possible. Aside from reading, it takes a year in prison to accomplish as much as you can do in a fortnight on the outside (for reading, the inverse is true).Even holidays have the same flavor. The only thing that marks Christmas or Thanksgiving as something different is that you might get a “special” meal on those days. Otherwise, it’s just another “lock down” day, a day similar to the treatment you get when there’s been a fight on the compound and everyone is confined to their respective units.Prison is a life wasted. The real punishment occurs in the first few months. After the inmate is adjusted, we’re not really punishing anymore — we’re just crossing days off a calendar.These are things the movies and TV just can’t show. You can’t depict mind numbing monotony. Even in the Norwegian train video, the scenery changes.
Was the Soviet Union a horrible place to live?
no. it wasn't. next comment - describes very well point of view that was (still is) in western media and in minds of people who never were there. yes, not everything was bright, it wasn't perfect, but it wasn't horrible, "underdeveloped and where food and most goods and services were scarce" etc. "fences and walls" - really? "lack of freedom" - like everywhere. what is freedom after all? "you worked where they told you to work" - who told you that? people chose where to work.