Getting "Beyond the Fence" (ATI reference 26-58-59-76-89-90-91-92-93-94-95-96-97-98-101-122-123)

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 carceralism. We conclude by reflecting on the need to study the content and form of state representations of penality, and the challenges that representations pose to working toward a future without carceral institutions.

2015年，加拿大惩教署（Correctional Service Canada）推出了一款虚拟游览项目，题为《围栏之外》（Beyond the Fence），宣称可呈现"第一手"且"真实"的联邦惩教所内的生活与工作场景。本研究基于信息获取披露（Access to Information disclosures）资料的分析，对该项目的制作、营销与评估等幕后工作展开考察。本研究借鉴戈夫曼（Goffman, 1959）的"前台"（frontstage）与"后台"（backstage）概念，以及麦坎内尔（MacCannell, 1973）的"舞台化真实性"（staged authenticity）理论，揭示了监禁与刑罚的叙事如何被净化处理，以构建监禁主义（carceralism）的合法性与社会认同。本研究最后反思了研究国家刑罚（penality）叙事的内容与形式的必要性，以及这类叙事在迈向无监禁制度（carceral institutions）的未来道路上所带来的挑战。