Bring Down the Walls

Why do we accept the status quo? Bring Down the Walls shines an intense light on the prison system in America, a prison system that profits from two million prisoners. By interweaving the vibrant house music scene with the political activism of the Bring Down the Walls centre, the viewer is thrust into a world where reform is simply not enough. 

Collins questions the notion of how and why prisons are inextricably linked with the larger structures of society in the twenty-first century. With prisons expanding by the minute, at what point does profit overtake need? With many American prisons being private organisations, this poses the issue of whether more people are indeed committing crimes or whether race and class is quickly becoming the required justification for incarceration. This is explored in depth during the course of the documentary and it is greatly unsettling hearing the stories of those who have been through the system. 

Bring Down the Walls is a much needed space for liberation and support. However, it is also much more than that. It is a space that I believe has the power to start social change. People just need to desperately listen. 

Written by Tess Cox