Movies and TV shows have a huge influence on us. It’s easy to believe what we see on screen. And while it’s easy to dismiss superheroes as nothing but Hollywood fantasy, some of the misconceptions and myths they perpetuate aren’t that easy to identify and dismantle.

A few days ago, Reddit user u/Warlock1509 posted a question to the platform, asking people who have been in a penitentiary what’s something movies get wrong about them. Interestingly, they have received over 500 comments and the ex-inmates have provided an eye-opening perspective that you don’t often get to hear.

#1

Whistling in jail. You will get yelled at by other people, s**t travels through the pipes and sounds awful.

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#2

The sheer boredom….and everyone there actually pretty nice, but damn it was boring as hell.

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#3

I went to jail and didn’t get raped. My cellmates were really chill and we all respected each other.

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#4

The guys were actually very nice and gave me life advice. Something about having your freedom stripped away gives people a newfound love for wisdom and giving advice

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#5

Most of them aren’t hardened criminals. They simply made a mistake, or came from a bad situation, and are genuinely trying to assimilate back into society.

Also, some of these dudes are hella smart. Trying to get a job as an ex-con is very difficult. If they never got involved with drugs or gangs they’d be major contributors.

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#6

Drugs are crazy easy to get. At least where i was.

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#7

There are no underground fight tournaments

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#8

I volunteered in our county jail when I was in high school. One thing they don’t show in movies is that they smell like BO and piss.

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#9

Not me but my sister. The boredom, and for her the lack of cigarettes. The jail was smoke-free and you got a smoke break twice a day.

A friend, the boredom and lack of decent reading material. Most inmates are illiterate and had no interests beyond what they knew, the ignorance was breathtakingly depressing. He said he had one intelligent conversation in three months. He was in the local jail fighting drug charges and managed to get house arrest and was very happy to come home and take a long hot shower with real soap.

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#10

Spent a little over a week in jail a few years ago. Spent the first few days in solitary on suicide watch. (it was not a good point in my life obviously)

The guards checked on me regularly and were genuinely concerned. Not sure if they knew what I was in for was complete bulls**t or if they were just good people. Even though it was complete bulls**t, I didn’t let the situation take away my politeness or give them a hard time. I knew where I was and they had a job to do. I wasn’t going to be an as***le to another person doing there job just because I was in jail. It wasn’t there fault. It was the broken system around it. Shrugs

I would assume they noticed that I wasn’t an issue to them. I was an issue to myself. I refused to eat for 5 days due to depression and trying to find anything to kill myself with. They noticed and tried their best to get me to eat. One very sweet CO pulled back the slot in the door and was begging me to eat because she was concerned. You could hear it in her voice. I never gave them issues. Just told her I’m so sick of the situation and I wanted to die due to the situation etc. Bawled my eyes out. She sat there and talked with me for a bit before she had to go back on regular rounds. I felt bad that I made her upset and told her so. She told me that I can tell by how I was speaking to her I was there for bulls**t because nobody was ever nice to her unless they were being f**ked by the system. The ones who would give her issues were the chronic offenders. She was a sweet woman. I hope she’s doing well.

I was placed in the psych section of the jail after mandatory solitary was done with for suicide watch. I had no idea that there was a section meant for people with psych issues. Think of a gen pop but on a much smaller scale where they can keep a better eye on you.

The CO’S at this point were ok. Never gave us issues. 5 days in I f**ked up my ankle because I had to get off the top bunk and slipped and rolled it because the dude below me was suffering from some kind of mental issue and would draw on the floor with soap. I slipped, f**ked my ankle and getting up and down from the top bunk was an issue obviously. When we had to do “roll call” every 5 or 6 hours, we had to walk up to the bars and show them our ID bracelet when they called our name. One of the inmates had enough when one CO started getting annoyed I couldn’t make it to the bars in time due to my ankle and another inmate spoke up for me. Didn’t know him. Come to find out he was there for murder. But he saw what happened when I f**ked my ankle.He yelled at the CO: “WHAT THE F**K IS WRONG WITH YOU. GIVE HIM A MINUTE. YOU KNOW DAMN WELL HIS ANKLE IS F**KED”. CO backed down and just said “ok”. Lol. Yeah… That inmate got my breakfast every morning after that. I gave it to him out of respect. Not like I was gonna eat it anyway. Unspoken respect and understanding was made that day… This was in an inner city jail too with very high crime rate. Not a “white collar I’ll be out in a month to enjoy my yacht” place.

TL;DR: -50/10 still would not recommend. But some humanity can still be found in hell.

#11

Half the inmates are mentally ill – not only a few crazy ppl that the movies use to add color and character, but crazy ppl everywhere

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#12

I’ve worked with a lot of inmates from different parts of the world:

Inmates love to work, fights even break out for jobs because people are so bored.

Rape isn’t as common as people think in Western Prisons.

There is a problem where some new comers think they have to start a fight with the biggest guy, if you mind your own business people usually leave you alone.

Never ever show off or act tough. Defend yourself if needed and eat humble pie if needed.

Drugs are a massive problem inside.

Prisoners can buy things inside.

Don’t ever deal or carry drugs in Asia, sentences are no joke.

There are different forms of currency inside, some prisons even have their own minted currency.

Prisons across the world can be very different.

A lot of prisons don’t use bars but doors.

Prison in certain places like Brazil are a slaughter house.

#13

There are typically a few actual gay men in prison who want to bottom, so it is very rare for straight men to be sexually abused unless that sexual abuse is some kind of of revenge or punishment.

Besides that, there are a lot of literally crazy, unhinged people in jail, people who behave so abnormal that it leaves you dumbstruck and you ask yourself “why would anyone in their right mind act like that?” They just pick fight constantly or they are paranoid and schizophrenic… It’s a bit frightening sometimes. There’s no rhyme or reason to their behaviour. It’s the kind of people who when not locked up would do terrible things in society just because they are nuts:. Beat up children, murder innocent people because they think those people were out to get them, torture animals, etc.

Really, prison keeps lots of literal loonies off the street.

#14

dropping the soap will not get you rampantly taken from behind.

source: a friend with soap on a bungee.

#15

In actual prison, any sort of electronic item must have a clear shell, something that isn’t seen in movies. This is to ensure you’re not hiding or smuggling things. Also, any noise making electronic has a max volume that is so low, you have to hold it to your ear to hear it. I’ve been been to prison, I only watched a youtube video on it

#16

No guns or cell phones. On TV whenever a cop goes to the jail when they are interviewing the suspect they have a gun and cell phone on their hip. Both items are turned in at the front gate

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#17

I worked in a military prison for 3 years, some of our procedures might be different but these are some of the things that I noticed:

boredom, they are all so bored all the time.

Most of them just want to do their time and go home. Not a lot of them are trying to act out and misbehave for whatever reason. That Good behavior time off their sentence is like gold to them.

Suicide watch is a real thing, 24 / 7 there is guard sitting outside the cell watching them do everything.

#18

Every morning, they’d come in to ask 2 inmates to take out the trash. You roll a couple giant bins full of bags out to the dumpster. Just that little bit of something to do that involved going outside, even though it was just 10 minutes tossing nasty trash bags into a dumpster, was so popular one guy threatened to kick my ass because he thought he should have been picked before me.

#19

Spent a weekend in a “bucket cell” in Hilo, Hawaii a couple years before the decrepit old jail was torn down.

Was not strip searched.

Cop found mj leaves (from the field) in my jacket. Tossed it out the window.

Treated with courtesy and respect by guards and inmates alike.

Cell was just a bunk with a bucket of water to use for a toilet. Bedding was gross.

Food was great.

Arrested Friday night, arraigned Monday morning, only prisoner out of about a dozen who was not released on own recognizance. $50 bail for failure to appear on a parking violation. Bailed out with a court date…

Went home and burned the clothes I was wearing.

Fought the ticket, saying that I mistakenly paid a different ticket. Prosecutor told judge she “had no reason to doubt my word”. Found innocent.

The jail was a pretty mellow place. No fights anywhere. I guess it was holding about 20 guys at the time. I had a friend who spent 30 days there, and he’d been in several Mainland jails, and said Hilo was the only one where he could sleep on his stomach.

#20

There aren’t always actual toilets. Like a toilet with a bowl, lever, cistern etc.

Sometimes there’s just what looks like a kitchen draining board with a large hole.

#21

I once dropped the famous soap and everyone just started laughing. No rape.

#22

They always show the food as more akin to regular food than it really is. I’ve never been in jail as an inmate, but I was a Criminology student in college and my Penology class toured various facilities throughout the state and I visited a friend in a a county jail once.

The food looks practically like pastel play doh and mash. It’s no wonder sometimes even McDonalds is too rich for inmates to eat when they get out after being in for an extended stay. Honestly, it makes the whole idea of a last meal before execution seem like a cruel joke to me when you think of how long a lot of death row inmates are in for before they actually get executed.

Just for added context I live in Kentucky.

#23

You’re only going to catch s**t, get beat up or shanked if you’re a pedophile, member of a rival gang, or you’re just otherwise a piece of s**t that causes other people grief. Mind your own business and be respectful when you do interact and things will be pretty boring. It’s not the “Everyone is fair play.” trope media makes jail and prison out to be.

#24

The movies get a lot of it wrong but I was surprised to learn that most of the old timers sound like Morgan Freeman.

#25

I worked briefly as a sheriff’s deputy and part of the job was to pull a shift at the county jail. This was a smaller suburban county where all the “rich” people lived so not exactly LA County or The Tombs. Anyway I’d spend most of the shift staring at monitors of the cameras inside the dorms and cell blocks. It wasn’t uncommon to see guys spend up to 18 hours sleeping. Especially the ones stuck in segregation.

#26

Strangest one I ever went to was a work release camp where I would pick up my friend to take them to work, and return them later in the day. The place was an abandoned motel converted into a prison compound. You would go into the former front desk area to check out the person and check them back in. Never saw anything like that in the movies.

#27

You know those scenes where they clog up a toilet with TP to cause a distraction? There are a few reasons that won’t work.

First off, those toilets are STRONG. That thing will suck a sock down. If it does get clogged, the pipes usually have valves built in to prevent too much from backing up since it’s such a common tactic for people to try. Finally, you never get that much TP to begin with. Unless you take the cleanest s***s ever or are fine with a crusty butthole, you never have enough TP to just do the job it was designed for let alone any sorts of clogging.

#28

Uk prison over a decade ago remanded. Im a regular lad, not some dumbass 50 cent wannabe.

Reception “right you are in with a Mr so and so” Instantly thought aww for f**k sake, here we go, drama first ten minutes (they think they are helping you by pairing you with a local, but coming from the typical northern town little pond scenario…. Hes an op)

Did not know what to expect and as it tuned out we were kept apart after day 2 and we never had an issue on a personal level but its one of those things.

Ok to answer your question, i planned and did go in there keeping myself to myself but reading the situation subconsciously a lot because i was expecting people jumped, slashed etc, potentially riots, on the regular but in my experience it must be dependent on who’s in at the time because its quite the opposite, f**king monotonous, the days drag and watching day time quiz shows like pensioners in a nursing home.

The directors use artistic license adding drama to make prison movies appeal to mainstream audiences.

Other than seeing a few fights which is no shock, the only day of drama was watching as i heard a plastic click sound. It was the top being closed on a kettle,hot water and likely sugar.

The lad roared out so the target turned to look, and threw it over him, but he didn’t cover the whole face, a part but not most but Jesus Christ it melted into his neck, his skin had boils raised out of him instantly and that sticky mixture, your finished, the shrieking was that loud it was deafening.

Overall boring travel lodge experience. Good food and the hosts never botherd us. Not intending to return. would give it a 3/5

#29

The showers. I’ve never been to prison but heard they have group showers but the jail i was in had separate showers with s***ty little curtains. The worst part about showers was hitting the button for water every 15 seconds

#30

Not an answer to your question, but it’s interesting that not many people are as mean or hostile. Many shows on American tv channels portray prisons as these awful places. The media also portrays the same thing. Meanwhile in other countries in Europe prisoners are treated much better and are given many more opportunities to better their life after prison.

It’s sad that American prisons are portrayed in such a manner and don’t offer the same treatment as other countries.

If only we had a better view on our prison system maybe we would be more inclined to fix it.

#31

A lot of times Hollywood doesn’t know the difference between jail and prison. Jail is a smaller building you stay in for short-ish periods of time, prison is long term.

Hollywood also makes prison sound like the worst place on earth, but it’s mostly chill unless you’re a super junkie or take debt or something stupid like that. But jail is usually far worse and more boring than prison. People sitting in jail usually can’t wait to be transferred to prison. Prison has a lot of programs, jobs, etc, while most jails are just concrete holes you sit in with expensive and usually bad choice in commissary and a lot less amenities.

#32

I know its hard to imagine, but movies can’t replicate the smell inside the jail. It is a smell that can’t be described. The stench is something between bad body odor and garbage along with not sufficient ventilation and something else. It is truly disgusting.

#33

There really aren’t bars on windows and doors anymore. It’s mostly plexiglass nowadays.

The noisy guy in movies/TV who whistles, sings, talks, etc. He will be frequently be told/threatened to shut up.

It’s boring as hell! In fact, lots of guards hate being there as well.

Speaking of guards, not all of them are meatheads/”beefcakes”. Too many of them are fat and out of shape slobs.

Inmates are friendlier than you think. As long as you mind your business, you’ll be ok.

(At least in the units where I was at in the jail I was in) not every white guy with tattoos is a white supremacist, not every Hispanic is a cholo/gangbanger, not every black person is a drug dealer.

#34

People are generally nice to you. Anything you do to anyone else in jail ends up getting tacked on to charges/sentences. I hear prison is much different

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