Before law school, I had a pretty wide array of TV shows that were starting to interest me, for various reasons. I was lucky enough to be at a zoom event where Lena Waithe spoke, and then I got interested in watching the show she created, “The Chi.” Additionally, as a long time fan of the director, Taika Waititi, I was excited to hear about the new show he was creating, “Reservation Dogs.” After doing the first couple of readings for my Criminal Law class, with Professor Eric Fish, I started putting a lot more thought into incarceration. In class, the Professor gave us examples of alternative programs, where instead of being incarcerated for a first minor offense or as a juvenile, people could choose to go through a program where they had to interact with the victim of the crime to understand the affects of their actions, and take accountability on the victim’s terms.
Apparently, these programs are very promising. If there is an off ramp to early incarceration as a youth or as a result of a minor offense, then the young person is not as likely to commit another crime as if they had been incarcerated (which is disruptive and can exacerbate risk factors that may lead to committing another crime). So, this seems to somehow be utilitarian, by ultimately preventing the number of crimes committed, and to also also be retributive, by not actually doling out what is in effect a larger punishment with more negative consequences (incarceration) for an offense that is minor, and may have other factors (age, over-policed neighborhood) that make the perpetrator sympathetic and arguably worthy of a second chance.
I brought up the two shows because I realized that in a non-preachy way, the shows were advocating for this kind of restorative justice approach. I was extremely taken aback when, Bear, the protagonist of “Reservation Dogs” comes face to face with the person who he stole from, and the person told him the impact it had on him, forgave him, and then had him help him unload something for work because it was the least he could do. The character, a truck driver, said something like, we don’t need more kids in jail. Bear, who is also looking for a job, asks if he would hire him, and the character laughs him off- why would he hire someone who stole from him? Bear instantly learns that negative actions can lead to a loss of trust and lost opportunities. He also still feels like a part of the community.
In “The Chi” the message about incarceration is slightly more in your face. As the show progressed it veered into politics (not exactly my cup of tea), and, interestingly, one of the main platforms of the gang leader turned politician is to offer an alternative to policing. What we kind of see forming is an organization where ex-gang members and people who were in prison try to intervene with kids before they do something that they will suffer extreme consequences for. They appeal to them on a real level, having been there themselves and suffered the consequences. These are some of the only people who can do the work too, because it requires being hands on in high stakes, potentially violent, and even life threatening, situations, to basically talk people down from committing crimes. It’s interesting to see it depicted, and to see that a city can operate kind of like a neighborhood of people who look out for each other. Perhaps it is a little idealistic, but if people are going to see fantasy dragons and whatnot in other shows, maybe we can also see a world where restorative justice is practiced.
