Getting “Beyond the Fence”: Interrogating the Backstage Production, Marketing and Evaluation of CSC’s Virtual Tour
Abstract
In 2015, Correctional Service Canada launched a virtual tour promising a ‘first-hand’ and ‘realistic’ depiction of life and work inside a federal penitentiary titled Beyond the Fence. Based on an analysis of Access to Information disclosures, we examine the backstage activities that went into the production, marketing and evaluation of the tour. Drawing on Goffman’s (1959) notions of frontstage and backstage, as well as MacCannell’s (1973) idea of staged authenticity, we reveal how representations of incarceration and punishment were sanitized to build legitimacy and consent for imprisonment. We conclude by reflecting on the need to study the content and form of state depictions of penality, and the challenges that representations pose to working toward a future without carceral institutions. A virtual tour would allow Canadians to experience firsthand a realistic correctional environment without having to physically visit an institution. – Excerpt from 2014 CSC Virtual Tour Script
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Copyright (c) 2024 Jarrod Shook, Justin Piché, Kevin Walby
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