Punishment Park
Encyclopedia
Punishment Park is a 1971 film written and directed by Peter Watkins
. It is a pseudo documentary of a British and West German film crew
following National Guard
soldiers and police as they pursue members of a counterculture
group across a desert.
is escalating and United States President Richard Nixon
has just decided on a "secret" bombing campaign in Cambodia
. Faced with a growing anti-war movement, President Nixon decrees a state of emergency
based on the McCarran Internal Security Act
of 1950, which authorizes federal authorities, without reference to Congress
, to detain persons judged to be a "risk to internal security". Members from the anti-war movement, civil rights movement
, feminist movement
, conscientious objector
s, and Communist party
, mostly university students, are arrested and face an emergency tribunal made up of community members. With state and federal jails at their top capacity, the convicted face the option of spending their full conviction time in federal prison or three days at Punishment Park. There, they will have to traverse 53 miles of the hot California
desert in three days, without water or food, while being chased by National Guardsmen
and law enforcement officers as part of their field training. If they succeed and reach the American flag at the end of the course, they will be set free. If they fail by getting "arrested", they will serve the remainder of their sentence in federal prison.
European filmmakers follow two groups of detainees as part of their documentary; while Group 637 starts their three day ordeal and learn the rules of the "game", the civilian tribunal begins hearings on Group 638. The film makers conduct interviews with members of Group 637 and their chasers, documenting how both sides become increasingly hostile towards the other. Meanwhile, back at the tent, the film crew documents the trial of Group 638 as they argue their case in vain for resisting the war in Vietnam. The first group splinters into one group that refuses to accept the rules of the game and tries to resist with violence and another group that goes on towards the goal. The violent group are all killed. As the others come near the flag they find a group of police waiting for them; it turns out that there is no way to win the Punishment Park course as the system controls it from start to finish.
camera. The set was extremely minimal, using only a tent enclosed within a larger tent for the interior scenes. The rest was shot on location at the El Mirage Dry Lake
in California
. It took only two and a half weeks to shoot. The "newsreel" quality of the film was enhanced by desaturating the color and removing the traditional hard edge of the image through the use of Harrison diffusion filters. The production budget was only $66,000, with an additional $25,000 when the film was converted to 35mm.
, and of a psychodrama
. It is shot in the cinéma vérité
style using hand held cameras and improvisation
, which lends to its realism and the real temper of the actors flaring. Initially Watkins had a carefully detailed script, but like in his other films, as preproduction progressed, he decided to allow his cast to improvise based on their own instinctive feelings. In his previous films, Watkins had only used improvisation a small amount. Punishment Park was the first time Watkins gave his cast nearly complete control over the dialogue. Their only requirement was to follow a rough outline of sequences drawn up by the director.
On one occasion the participants identified with the situation so completely that the victims began to actually attack the pursuers by throwing rocks resulting in one opening fire in return. The panic reaction of the film team, believing that the actors dropping down had been shot for real, is genuine. Watkins heightened realism by using amateur actors, improvisation, and newsreel camera techniques, but he also had rigid control over editing in order to guarantee that his personal vision be expressed clearly, and to guarantee audience involvement. Although the film itself is fictional, many of the elements found within are metaphor
s of social and political events of the time, such as the trial of the Chicago Seven
, the Kent State shootings
, police brutality
, and political polarization
.
and Hollywood studios refused to distribute it.
Peter Watkins
Peter Watkins is an English film and television director. He was born in Norbiton, Surrey, lived in Sweden, Canada and Lithuania for many years, and now lives in France. He is one of the pioneers of docudrama. His movies, pacifist and radical, strongly review the limit of classic documentary and...
. It is a pseudo documentary of a British and West German film crew
Film crew
Television crew positions are derived from those of film crew positions.A film crew is a group of people hired by a production company for the purpose of producing a film or motion picture. Crew are distinguished from cast, the Actors who appear in front of the camera or provide voices for...
following National Guard
United States National Guard
The National Guard of the United States is a reserve military force composed of state National Guard militia members or units under federally recognized active or inactive armed force service for the United States. Militia members are citizen soldiers, meaning they work part time for the National...
soldiers and police as they pursue members of a counterculture
Counterculture
Counterculture is a sociological term used to describe the values and norms of behavior of a cultural group, or subculture, that run counter to those of the social mainstream of the day, the cultural equivalent of political opposition. Counterculture can also be described as a group whose behavior...
group across a desert.
Plot
The movie takes place in 1970. The Vietnam WarVietnam War
The Vietnam War was a Cold War-era military conflict that occurred in Vietnam, Laos, and Cambodia from 1 November 1955 to the fall of Saigon on 30 April 1975. This war followed the First Indochina War and was fought between North Vietnam, supported by its communist allies, and the government of...
is escalating and United States President Richard Nixon
Richard Nixon
Richard Milhous Nixon was the 37th President of the United States, serving from 1969 to 1974. The only president to resign the office, Nixon had previously served as a US representative and senator from California and as the 36th Vice President of the United States from 1953 to 1961 under...
has just decided on a "secret" bombing campaign in Cambodia
Cambodia
Cambodia , officially known as the Kingdom of Cambodia, is a country located in the southern portion of the Indochina Peninsula in Southeast Asia...
. Faced with a growing anti-war movement, President Nixon decrees a state of emergency
State of emergency
A state of emergency is a governmental declaration that may suspend some normal functions of the executive, legislative and judicial powers, alert citizens to change their normal behaviours, or order government agencies to implement emergency preparedness plans. It can also be used as a rationale...
based on the McCarran Internal Security Act
McCarran Internal Security Act
The Internal Security Act of 1950, , also known as the Subversive Activities Control Act or the McCarran Act, after Senator Pat McCarran , is a United States federal law of the McCarthy era. It was passed over President Harry Truman's veto...
of 1950, which authorizes federal authorities, without reference to Congress
United States Congress
The United States Congress is the bicameral legislature of the federal government of the United States, consisting of the Senate and the House of Representatives. The Congress meets in the United States Capitol in Washington, D.C....
, to detain persons judged to be a "risk to internal security". Members from the anti-war movement, civil rights movement
Civil rights movement
The civil rights movement was a worldwide political movement for equality before the law occurring between approximately 1950 and 1980. In many situations it took the form of campaigns of civil resistance aimed at achieving change by nonviolent forms of resistance. In some situations it was...
, feminist movement
Feminist movement
The feminist movement refers to a series of campaigns for reforms on issues such as reproductive rights, domestic violence, maternity leave, equal pay, women's suffrage, sexual harassment and sexual violence...
, conscientious objector
Conscientious objector
A conscientious objector is an "individual who has claimed the right to refuse to perform military service" on the grounds of freedom of thought, conscience, and/or religion....
s, and Communist party
Communist party
A political party described as a Communist party includes those that advocate the application of the social principles of communism through a communist form of government...
, mostly university students, are arrested and face an emergency tribunal made up of community members. With state and federal jails at their top capacity, the convicted face the option of spending their full conviction time in federal prison or three days at Punishment Park. There, they will have to traverse 53 miles of the hot California
California
California is a state located on the West Coast of the United States. It is by far the most populous U.S. state, and the third-largest by land area...
desert in three days, without water or food, while being chased by National Guardsmen
United States National Guard
The National Guard of the United States is a reserve military force composed of state National Guard militia members or units under federally recognized active or inactive armed force service for the United States. Militia members are citizen soldiers, meaning they work part time for the National...
and law enforcement officers as part of their field training. If they succeed and reach the American flag at the end of the course, they will be set free. If they fail by getting "arrested", they will serve the remainder of their sentence in federal prison.
European filmmakers follow two groups of detainees as part of their documentary; while Group 637 starts their three day ordeal and learn the rules of the "game", the civilian tribunal begins hearings on Group 638. The film makers conduct interviews with members of Group 637 and their chasers, documenting how both sides become increasingly hostile towards the other. Meanwhile, back at the tent, the film crew documents the trial of Group 638 as they argue their case in vain for resisting the war in Vietnam. The first group splinters into one group that refuses to accept the rules of the game and tries to resist with violence and another group that goes on towards the goal. The violent group are all killed. As the others come near the flag they find a group of police waiting for them; it turns out that there is no way to win the Punishment Park course as the system controls it from start to finish.
Production
Punishment Park was shot in 16mm with a skeleton crew of 8ight people and only one EclairEclair (camera)
Éclair was a film production, film laboratory and movie camera manufacturing company established in Épinay-sur-Seine, France by Charles Jourjon in 1907....
camera. The set was extremely minimal, using only a tent enclosed within a larger tent for the interior scenes. The rest was shot on location at the El Mirage Dry Lake
El Mirage Dry Lake
El Mirage Lake is a dry lake bed in the Mojave Desert of San Bernardino County, California. The lake is located about west-northwest of the town of Adelanto and north of Highway 18 in San Bernardino County....
in California
California
California is a state located on the West Coast of the United States. It is by far the most populous U.S. state, and the third-largest by land area...
. It took only two and a half weeks to shoot. The "newsreel" quality of the film was enhanced by desaturating the color and removing the traditional hard edge of the image through the use of Harrison diffusion filters. The production budget was only $66,000, with an additional $25,000 when the film was converted to 35mm.
Cast
- Patrick Boland : accused
- Kent Foreman : accused
- Carmen ArgenzianoCarmen ArgenzianoCarmen Antimo Argenziano is an American actor who has appeared in over 50 movies and around 100 television movies or episodes....
: Jay Kaufman - Luke Johnson : accused
- Katherine Quittner : Nancy Smith
- Scott Turner : accused
- Stan Armsted : Charles Robbins
- Mary Ellen Kleinhall : Allison Mitchner
- Mark Keats : Mr. Hoeger President of the tribunal
- Gladys Golden : Mrs. Jergens
- Sanford Golden : Sen. Harris
- George Gregory : Mr. Keagan
- Norman Sinclair : member of the tribunal
- Sigmund Rich : Prof. Hazlett
- Paul Rosenstein : member of the tribunal
Technical notes
The film is an example of a uchronie, or alternate historyAlternate history (fiction)
Alternate history or alternative history is a genre of fiction consisting of stories that are set in worlds in which history has diverged from the actual history of the world. It can be variously seen as a sub-genre of literary fiction, science fiction, and historical fiction; different alternate...
, and of a psychodrama
Psychodrama
Psychodrama is a method of psychotherapy in which clients utilize spontaneous dramatization, role playing and dramatic self-presentation to investigate and gain insight into their lives. Developed by Jacob L. Moreno, M.D. psychodrama includes elements of theater, often conducted on a stage where...
. It is shot in the cinéma vérité
Cinéma vérité
Cinéma vérité is a style of documentary filmmaking, combining naturalistic techniques with stylized cinematic devices of editing and camerawork, staged set-ups, and the use of the camera to provoke subjects. It is also known for taking a provocative stance toward its topics.There are subtle yet...
style using hand held cameras and improvisation
Improvisation
Improvisation is the practice of acting, singing, talking and reacting, of making and creating, in the moment and in response to the stimulus of one's immediate environment and inner feelings. This can result in the invention of new thought patterns, new practices, new structures or symbols, and/or...
, which lends to its realism and the real temper of the actors flaring. Initially Watkins had a carefully detailed script, but like in his other films, as preproduction progressed, he decided to allow his cast to improvise based on their own instinctive feelings. In his previous films, Watkins had only used improvisation a small amount. Punishment Park was the first time Watkins gave his cast nearly complete control over the dialogue. Their only requirement was to follow a rough outline of sequences drawn up by the director.
On one occasion the participants identified with the situation so completely that the victims began to actually attack the pursuers by throwing rocks resulting in one opening fire in return. The panic reaction of the film team, believing that the actors dropping down had been shot for real, is genuine. Watkins heightened realism by using amateur actors, improvisation, and newsreel camera techniques, but he also had rigid control over editing in order to guarantee that his personal vision be expressed clearly, and to guarantee audience involvement. Although the film itself is fictional, many of the elements found within are metaphor
Metaphor
A metaphor is a literary figure of speech that uses an image, story or tangible thing to represent a less tangible thing or some intangible quality or idea; e.g., "Her eyes were glistening jewels." Metaphor may also be used for any rhetorical figures of speech that achieve their effects via...
s of social and political events of the time, such as the trial of the Chicago Seven
Chicago Seven
The Chicago Seven were seven defendants—Abbie Hoffman, Jerry Rubin, David Dellinger, Tom Hayden, Rennie Davis, John Froines, and Lee Weiner—charged with conspiracy, inciting to riot, and other charges related to protests that took place in Chicago, Illinois on the occasion of the 1968...
, the Kent State shootings
Kent State shootings
The Kent State shootings—also known as the May 4 massacre or the Kent State massacre—occurred at Kent State University in the city of Kent, Ohio, and involved the shooting of unarmed college students by members of the Ohio National Guard on Monday, May 4, 1970...
, police brutality
Police brutality
Police brutality is the intentional use of excessive force, usually physical, but potentially also in the form of verbal attacks and psychological intimidation, by a police officer....
, and political polarization
Polarization (politics)
In politics, polarization is the process by which the public opinion divides and goes to the extremes. It can also refer to when the extreme factions of a political party gain dominance in a party. In either case moderate voices often lose power and influence as a consequence.-Definitions of...
.
Response
One of Watkins' intentions for the film was to provoke strong emotional and intellectual responses. Few people had impartial reactions to the film. As Watkins foresaw, this produced debates after the viewings of the film similar to the debates that take place in the film. There were many extremely negative reactions to film, largely due to the unconventional form or because it was viewed as an indictment against America. Some even linked the film to communism, claiming that the film expresses a Communist philosophy. However, many more people were outraged that a British director would make a film about American political problems in a time of crisis. The film was heavily attacked when it was released at the 1971 New York Film FestivalNew York Film Festival
The New York Film Festival has been a major film festival since it began in 1963 in New York. The films are selected by the Film Society of Lincoln Center...
and Hollywood studios refused to distribute it.
External links
- Notes on 'Punishment Park' from Peter Watkins' website