"We got 'em by the balls": A qualitative content analysis of the portrayal of correctional guard in popular film

Canada’s correctional institutions are largely private and hidden from public view; because of this, much of the public gets their information regarding the criminal justice system from popular media. As it stands, there is a lack of research regarding the portrayal of correctional guards in popular media. A large portion of research pertaining to correctional guards is focused on how guards are portrayed in news media rather than popular media. The existing research into correctional guards in news presents them in a negative light with a tendency to focus on non-prisoner harassment, crime unrelated to the job, and budgetary issues (Vickovic et al., 2013). This thesis presents the result of qualitative exploratory study using content analysis as a means of understanding how correctional guards are portrayed in popular media. Ten of the top thirty grossing prison films released between 1994 and 2024 were analyzed thematically using grounded theory methods. The results show that correctional guards are generally portrayed as violent, aggressive, lazy, and lack respect for the prisoners. The significance of this study not only includes adding to popular criminology research but also offering a potential explanation for some motivations of becoming a correctional guard and explaining the gendered aspects of the ways in which correctional guards are portrayed and implications that may have on prisoners.

Future implications of this study include contributing to the literature surrounding prisoning, correctional guards, and popular criminology and transforming people’s views and perceptions regarding correctional guards by pointing out protentional inaccuracies.