{"id":1979208,"date":"2026-06-08T00:00:00","date_gmt":"2026-06-07T21:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/?p=1979208"},"modified":"2026-06-08T00:00:00","modified_gmt":"2026-06-07T21:00:00","slug":"a-poetic-short-film-animates-the-counterproductive-forces-of-incarceration","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/?p=1979208","title":{"rendered":"A Poetic Short Film Animates the Counterproductive Forces of Incarceration"},"content":{"rendered":"<div class=\"entry-content prose-colossal max-w-none\">\n<div class=\"wp-block-group alignfull is-style-default entry-header is-vertical is-layout-flex wp-container-core-group-is-layout-fe9cc265 wp-block-group-is-layout-flex\">\n<figure class=\"colo-post-featured-image wp-block-post-featured-image\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"960\" height=\"540\" src=\"https:\/\/www.thisiscolossal.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/time-1.gif\" class=\"attachment-post-thumbnail size-post-thumbnail wp-post-image\" alt=\"an animated gif a tree growing a branch that reaches toward a window\" style=\"object-fit:cover\"><figcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">All images courtesy of Marvin Wade and Evan Bode<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<div class=\"wp-block-group post-title is-vertical is-layout-flex wp-container-core-group-is-layout-0bc941e6 wp-block-group-is-layout-flex\">\n<h1 class=\"alignfull wp-block-post-title\">A Poetic Short Film Animates the Counterproductive Forces of Incarceration<\/h1>\n<div class=\"wp-block-group alignfull post-meta is-layout-flex wp-block-group-is-layout-flex\">\n<div class=\"wp-block-post-date\"><time datetime=\"2026-06-08T14:29:06-05:00\">June 8, 2026<\/time><\/div>\n<div class=\"taxonomy-category wp-block-post-terms\"><a class=\"category-animation\" href=\"https:\/\/www.thisiscolossal.com\/category\/animation\/\" rel=\"tag\">Animation<\/a><a class=\"category-film\" href=\"https:\/\/www.thisiscolossal.com\/category\/film\/\" rel=\"tag\">Film<\/a><a class=\"category-social-issues\" href=\"https:\/\/www.thisiscolossal.com\/category\/social-issues\/\" rel=\"tag\">Social Issues<\/a><\/div>\n<div class=\"wp-block-post-author-name\"><a href=\"https:\/\/www.thisiscolossal.com\/author\/gebert\/\" target=\"_self\" class=\"wp-block-post-author-name__link\">Grace Ebert<\/a><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"wp-block-group alignfull post-share-group is-layout-flow wp-block-group-is-layout-flow\">\n<div class=\"wp-block-group is-nowrap is-layout-flex wp-container-core-group-is-layout-6c531013 wp-block-group-is-layout-flex\">\n<ul class=\"wp-block-outermost-social-sharing has-visible-labels has-icon-color is-style-logos-only is-layout-flex wp-block-outermost-social-sharing-is-layout-flex\">\n<li style=\"color: #1c1e0d\" class=\"outermost-social-sharing-link outermost-social-sharing-link-facebook has-crow-color wp-block-outermost-social-sharing-link\">\n\t<a href=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/sharer\/sharer.php?u=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.thisiscolossal.com%2F2026%2F06%2Fprison-time-marvin-wade-evan-bode-short-film%2F&amp;title=A%20Poetic%20Short%20Film%20Animates%20the%20Counterproductive%20Forces%20of%20Incarceration\" aria-label=\"Share\" rel=\"noopener nofollow\" target=\"_blank\" class=\"wp-block-outermost-social-sharing-link-anchor\"><br \/>\n\t\t\t\t<span class=\"wp-block-outermost-social-sharing-link-label \"><br \/>\n\t\t\tShare\t\t<\/span><br \/>\n\t<\/a>\n<\/li>\n<li style=\"color: #1c1e0d\" class=\"outermost-social-sharing-link outermost-social-sharing-link-mail has-crow-color wp-block-outermost-social-sharing-link\">\n\t<a href=\"https:\/\/www.thisiscolossal.com\/cdn-cgi\/l\/email-protection#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\" aria-label=\"Email\" class=\"wp-block-outermost-social-sharing-link-anchor\"><br \/>\n\t\t\t\t<span class=\"wp-block-outermost-social-sharing-link-label \"><br \/>\n\t\t\tEmail\t\t<\/span><br \/>\n\t<\/a>\n<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><button class=\"simplefavorite-button preset\" data-postid=\"474848\" data-siteid=\"1\" data-groupid=\"1\" data-favoritecount=\"0\"><i class=\"sf-icon-bookmark\"><\/i>Bookmark<\/button>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<p>What is prison for? Touted as both a means of punishment and correction, the U.S. carceral system rarely succeeds at the latter. According to <a href=\"https:\/\/www.justice.gov\/archive\/fbci\/progmenu_reentry.html\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">the Department of Justice<\/a>, more than 650,000 people are released from prison annually, with two-thirds being arrested again within three years. Rehabilitation is the purported justification for locking away more of our residents than most other nations, but clearly, the punitive system seldom accomplishes this goal.<\/p>\n<p>A new film by writer <a href=\"https:\/\/reslashcreation.com\/our-writers\/marvin-wade\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">Marvin Wade<\/a> and animator <a href=\"https:\/\/www.evanbode.net\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">Evan Bode<\/a> juxtaposes the counterproductive forces of the carceral system with the programs, resources, and true determination that make change possible. Presented by <em>The New York Times<\/em>\u2018 Opinion section, \u201cPrison and Time\u201d details Wade\u2019s experience while incarcerated and how, despite the system\u2019s rules and the whims of correctional officers, he was able to obtain his GED, learn to facilitate conflict resolution, and discover his love for writing. Time, for Wade, was the critical support he needed to gain perspective, while the system he found himself ensnared by focused on dehumanization and retribution.<\/p>\n<figure class=\"wp-block-embed is-type-video is-provider-youtube wp-block-embed-youtube wp-embed-aspect-16-9 wp-has-aspect-ratio\">\n<div class=\"wp-block-embed__wrapper\">\n<\/div>\n<\/figure>\n<p>For his part, Bode animated a dark, dizzying visualization that evokes the bleak and claustrophobic conditions of a prison cell and the lives it both conceals and actively thwarts. The scenes rendered in watercolor and marker appear as blips within the larger narrative, an apt material metaphor that moves the viewer throughout the film like a ticking clock. A <a href=\"https:\/\/vimeo.com\/1174257889\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">making-of video<\/a> highlights this painstaking process.<\/p>\n<p>Bode and Wade met through <em><a href=\"https:\/\/surface.syr.edu\/mend\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">Project Mend<\/a><\/em>, a journal featuring the work of creatives impacted by the carceral system published through Syracuse University. \u201c<em>Mend<\/em> is a very small, tight-knit group doing extraordinary things with a lot of love,\u201d Bode says. \u201cLast year, [the project\u2019s founder] Patrick W. Barry presented me with some texts published in <em>Mend<\/em> for me to consider animating, one of which was Marvin Wade\u2019s brilliant essay, \u2018<a href=\"https:\/\/surface.syr.edu\/mend\/vol3\/iss1\/7\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">Time and Prison: Are They Mutually Exclusive?<\/a>\u2018\u201d<\/p>\n<p>The two teamed up, with Wade narrating and Bode animating. Together, they create a captivating portal into Wade\u2019s life at a particularly vulnerable and transformative time. \u201cI believe the purpose of an artist is to move the crowd,\u201d he writes about <a href=\"https:\/\/www.nytimes.com\/2026\/05\/27\/opinion\/america-incarceration-prison-time-film.html#permid=151411765\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">the film<\/a>. \u201cAnd my hope is that everyone watching our film will be moved in some way.\u201d<\/p>\n<p><em>Project Mend<\/em> has tapped Bode for further collaborations, including an animated film paired with the poem \u201cMan Skin Boy Mask\u201d by\u00a0Jos\u00e9 Angel Perez. Keep an eye out for its release on <a href=\"https:\/\/vimeo.com\/user25014215\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">Vimeo<\/a>.<\/p>\n<figure class=\"wp-block-embed is-type-video is-provider-vimeo wp-block-embed-vimeo wp-embed-aspect-16-9 wp-has-aspect-ratio\">\n<div class=\"wp-block-embed__wrapper\">\n<\/div>\n<\/figure>\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\"><a href=\"https:\/\/www.thisiscolossal.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/time-2.jpg\" class=\"swipebox\" data-rel=\"lightbox-gallery-474848\"><img decoding=\"async\" loading=\"lazy\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1115\" src=\"https:\/\/www.thisiscolossal.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/time-2.jpg\" alt=\"a still of a pencil on a book with green squiggles all around\" class=\"wp-image-474856\"><\/a><\/figure>\n<aside class=\"after-entry\" role=\"complementary\" aria-label=\"After Entry\">\n<section id=\"block-16\" class=\"widget widget_block widget_text\">\n<p><mark style=\"background-color:#88caf0\" class=\"has-inline-color\"><strong>Do stories and artists like this matter to you?<\/strong><\/mark> Become a <a href=\"https:\/\/www.thisiscolossal.com\/members\/\" data-type=\"page\" data-id=\"118516\">Colossal Member<\/a> now, and support independent arts publishing.<\/p>\n<\/section>\n<section id=\"block-17\" class=\"widget widget_block\">\n<div class=\"wp-block-columns are-vertically-aligned-top is-layout-flex wp-container-core-columns-is-layout-28f84493 wp-block-columns-is-layout-flex\">\n<div class=\"wp-block-column is-vertically-aligned-top member-benefits is-layout-flow wp-block-column-is-layout-flow\" style=\"flex-basis:50%\">\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>Hide advertising<\/li>\n<li>Save your favorite articles<\/li>\n<li>Get 15% off in the <a href=\"https:\/\/colossal.shop\/\">Colossal Shop<\/a><\/li>\n<li>Receive members-only newsletter<\/li>\n<li>Give 1% for art supplies in K-12 classrooms<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"wp-block-column is-vertically-aligned-top member-options is-layout-flow wp-block-column-is-layout-flow\" style=\"flex-basis:50%\">\n<div class=\"wp-block-group is-vertical is-layout-flex wp-container-core-group-is-layout-fe9cc265 wp-block-group-is-layout-flex\">\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Join us today!<\/h3>\n<div class=\"wp-block-buttons is-horizontal is-layout-flex wp-block-buttons-is-layout-flex\">\n<div class=\"wp-block-button\"><a class=\"wp-block-button__link has-crow-color has-verdigris-background-color has-text-color has-background has-link-color wp-element-button\" href=\"https:\/\/colossal.memberful.com\/checkout?plan=113464\">$7\/month<\/a><\/div>\n<div class=\"wp-block-button\"><a class=\"wp-block-button__link has-crow-color has-verdigris-background-color has-text-color has-background has-link-color wp-element-button\" href=\"https:\/\/colossal.memberful.com\/checkout?plan=113463\">$75\/year<\/a><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"wp-block-buttons is-layout-flex wp-block-buttons-is-layout-flex\">\n<div class=\"wp-block-button\"><a class=\"wp-block-button__link has-crow-color has-chalk-background-color has-text-color has-background has-link-color wp-element-button\" href=\"https:\/\/www.thisiscolossal.com\/members\/\">Explore membership options<img decoding=\"async\" loading=\"lazy\" width=\"20\" height=\"21\" class=\"wp-image-327872\" style=\"width: 20px\" src=\"https:\/\/www.thisiscolossal.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/08\/arrow-left.svg\" alt><\/a><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/section>\n<\/aside>\n<nav class=\"navigation post-navigation\" role=\"navigation\">\n<div class=\"nav-links\">\n<div class=\"nav-previous\"><a href=\"https:\/\/www.thisiscolossal.com\/2026\/06\/xie-lei-double-oil-paintings-exhibition\/\" rel=\"prev\">Next article<\/a><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/nav><\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>All images courtesy of Marvin Wade and Evan Bode A Poetic Short Film Animates the Counterproductive Forces of Incarceration June 8, 2026 AnimationFilmSocial Issues Grace Ebert Share Email Bookmark What is prison for? Touted as both a means of punishment and correction, the U.S. carceral system rarely succeeds at the latter. According to the Department [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[226,270],"class_list":["post-1979208","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-uncategorized","tag-crawlmanager","tag-thisiscolossal-com"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1979208","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=1979208"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1979208\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=1979208"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=1979208"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=1979208"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}