Ramsay’s experience as a prisoner was a little different. “Honestly, I don’t think any of the prisoners were aware of the camera,” he told Ars. “We didn’t really know where he was, we thought we saw him sometimes. But we didn’t receive regular instructions, we were poorly fed, poorly dressed, etc. In a situation like that, what is the angle camera, that’s the least of your worries.”

In retrospect, the Stanford prison experiment may have had more in common with reality TV; the industrial term has evolved into “unscripted” television because of the countless ways in which the final product is manipulated and shaped during filming. Zimbardo even admits as much in the documentary, calling his experience his “first ever reality TV show.”

Control the narrative

The recreation takes place in Los Angeles.

National Geographic/Katrina Marcinowski

The recreation takes place in Los Angeles.

National Geographic/Katrina Marcinowski

A re-enactment guard on set with director Juliette Eisner.

National Geographic/Katrina Marcinowski

A re-enactment guard on set with director Juliette Eisner.

National Geographic/Katrina Marcinowski

An accessory TV displays scenes from inside the reenactment set’s hallway.

National Geographic/Daniel Hollis

An accessory TV displays scenes from inside the reenactment set’s hallway.

National Geographic/Daniel Hollis

A re-enactment guard on set with director Juliette Eisner.

National Geographic/Katrina Marcinowski

A TV prop displays scenes from inside the reenactment set’s hallway.

National Geographic/Daniel Hollis

Original participants Karl Van Orsdol, Dave Eshleman, Chuck Burton, Doug Korpi, Jerry Shue and Clay Ramsay on the set of the recreation in Los Angeles

National Geographic/Katrina Marcinowski

Dave Eshleman (right) and his recreation body double on set in Los Angeles.

A behind-the-scenes look at the reenactment set.

National Geographic/Daniel Hollis

Zimbardo’s version of events has long dominated the mainstream understanding of the Stanford prison experiment, even though some of the original participants frequently attempted to counter this narrative; their voices have simply never been more influential. Although Eshleman participated in numerous media interviews in the decades since, he said much of his comments were often suppressed in favor of Zimbardo’s preferred narrative.

For his part, Zimbardo repeatedly said that Korpi, for example, was lying by faking his depression, emphasizing the fact that Korpi became a psychologist in prison due to the depth of the experience that affected him. Zimbardo also denies in the NatGeo documentary that Eshleman was acting during the entire experiment; his interpretation is that this is how Eshleman rationalized his behavior and dealt with his guilt.

“I think I knew whether I was acting or not,” Eshleman replied. “How could he not even consider the possibility that not only me, but everyone in his little protest was acting out, that we were simply playing roles that were expected of us, to get paid $15 a day? That’s what infuriates me. He decided to throw us (the guards) under the bus after asking us to do what he wanted. Maybe he never took acting classes. theater department always perform in one way or another In fact, the basic storyline of the Stanford Prison Experiment has found its way into many improv classes as a prompt. exercise.