Prisoners go on a mass hunger strike to protest keeping people in solitary confinement for decades in The Strike. Pelican Bay State Prison’s Security Housing Unit was opened in 1989 and was designed to house of the worst of the worst in solitary confinement. However, some of these prisoners, like Jack Morris, ended up spending decades in solitary. With minimal contact with the outside world, the prisoners within the SHU end up organizing a mass hunger strike to have their voices heard.
The Strike Synopsis
The Strike is a film directed by JoeBill Muñoz and Lucas Guilkey about the events leading a pass 2013 hunger strike, which was participated by 30,000 prisoners at its peak. The hunger strike was in protest of prisoners having decades-long stays in solitary confinement, with many chosen for racist reasons, under the guise of trying to limit prison gangs. A handful of these prisoners the situations they lived in and why they decided to fight back.
My Thoughts on The Strike
One can only mention the mental toll it takes to spend years, let alone decades, in solitary confinement, where the prisoners resign themselves to death in a concrete box. This probably helps to make The Strike an inspirational story, as the prisoners within the Pelican Bay SHU decided to do something about their situation. The end result is a documentary worth checking out.
