Citizen Provocateur:
Ray Hill's Texas Prison Show |
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Citizen Provocateur: Ray Hill's Texas Prison Show is a documentary about Ray Hill's years behind the bars of the Texas prison system and his work on The Prison Show.
The documentary is both enlightening and thought provoking. It should be seen by everyone but would be of special interest to anyone affected by, working in, or studying the criminal justice system.
It was filmed and directed by Professor Brian Huberman of Rice University and produced by Matt Frondorf.
The documentary is now available for academic screenings.
Please email for more information or bookings.
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| To read more about Ray Hill, please click here. |
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The following was written and then emailed to The Prison Show by Massoud after he saw the documentary when it was broadcast on KUHT PBS Channel 8 in Houston, Texas. It is presented here with his kind permission. |
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Ray Hill, Citizen Provocateur is a compact documentary that contains many layers of social and political issues which are directly related to our own lives on many levels. Just like the Supreme Court case Hill V. Houston, which is mentioned in the film, this documentary will still be a true reflection of a dark era of crime and punishment in history and an educational source many years from now.
This is the story of Ray Hill, a citizen who gets the strength to fight against injustice from the goodness and courage of average people and also from his awareness of the flaws in the system.
In this documentary we see young innocent faces, we hear hopeful voices, and we learn how The Prison Show plays an important role in bringing moments of love and sanity to prisoners and their suffering families on the other side of the walls which separate them. Through many different images and dialogues we learn that The Prison Show on KPFT is a place for healing, maturing and ultimately a path to freedom. Citizen Hill shows us a rational way that media, in this case radio, can be used in the service of average people.
But this documentary is more than an introduction to a prison show. It shows that it is the responsibility of all citizens to seek the truth about themselves and their government and how to take the very first steps toward changing the status quo, either by shouting at oneself in the mirror or cursing at the police to stop beating up an innocent man. The documentary is about the evolution, progress and success of an engaged citizen who always smiles.
Ray Hill, Citizen Provocateur also deals with the subject of gays and lesbians both inside and outside prison. The problems of gays and lesbians in prison is an issue which the officials in charge don't like to talk about and sometimes even arrogantly deny exists.
Through this documentary we hear stories and statements that can be shockingly disturbing for an average viewer. The documentary points out that incarcerated people were not really surprised regarding the news of torture and abuses in Abu Ghraib prison since they see it on a daily basis in US prisons, even today. The documentary lays out facts that are not easy to dismiss.
I see this nicely edited documentary as an introduction to the full life of Citizen Ray Hill. I hope there will be follow up documentaries after this. Our youth, in particular, need to learn from Citizen Hill's experience how to use the media to fight back against injustice and how to become the voices of the voiceless - something that Ray Hill has skillfully and successfully managed to do for decades.
Massoud |
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