JamesyBurns

My experience was very realistic- aside from me having to address the camera. The deprivation is very real. And the correctional staff made it a point to treat me the same as any other inmate. The only difference was that I could clock out at any time if I felt I was going to have a mental breakdown, whereas other people in solitary have no choice but to suffer through their experience.

Being in a real facility also does something to you- The weight of a real jail or prison has a significant impact on your psyche.

This is the big question, right? I'm glad you asked. I wish I had the magic bullet that could solve all these problems and end the practice of solitary confinement but I do recognize that it is necessary to separate people who are a danger to themselves and others for safety reasons. I think we need to do that with empathy and in a way that is more humane and geared towards reform rather than punishment. If we're going to use incarceration as a method of correction, then we should be striving to make people better than they were when they came in.

I had a similar conversation with one of the corrections officers during my time in solitary and he said, "I challenge you or anyone I find a better way." I would forward that challenge to the rest of the world- to researchers, to correctional institutions, to the public.

Finding an alternative would mean bringing together leaders in mental health research, corrections, policy, and advocacy groups- it would mean a shift in how we look at corrections but it's a shift I think we can and should achieve.

As a filmmaker I can primarily speak to the emotional experience of solitary and I hope that it would inspire those with the skill sets needed to come together and find alternatives. I'll also continue searching for answers in my own work.

The experience did feel real- i was completely immersed. I think because of my past experience I was triggered in many of the same ways as before and it was very painful. Oftentimes I forgot about the cameras- it's hard to exist 24/7 under surveillance and be conscious of it all the time.

The thirty day time limit did affect how I did my time- I think knowing I only had 30 days helped me make it through.

Certainly, having the ability to tap out makes the experience a little different- there are people in solitary confinement who have no end in sight.

But neither one of those things change the reality of what extreme sensory deprivation does to the brain- the effects of solitary confinement happen whether you have an end date or not.

I had no contact with the other inmates, with the exception of the trustees bringing food to my cell. Some of the inmates knew about the project and when they'd pass by the unit they'd shout my name and hold their fists up- I couldn't talk to them but I could see them from my cell window.

In some facilities people talk between cells, in this case I had no one that I could talk to.