‘Stanford Prison Experiment’ reveals the dark side of power

Any person who has ever taken a psychology course has heard of The Stanford Prison Experiment. If you haven't, you will learn more from the 2015 movie by the same name than from any book. In fact, this movie, written by Tim Talbott and directed by Kyle Patrick Alvarez, will bring your understanding to the next level.

In this extremely tense, psychological thriller, Billy Crudup stars as Stanford University professor Philip Zimbardo. In 1971, Zimbardo convinced 24 male students to participate in a study where they were assigned roles as either prisoners or guards in a simulated jail. They were paid $15 per day for a total of two weeks. Zimbardo was interested in examining the source of abusive behavior in the prison system. As the film progresses, we observe a group of seemingly well adjusted and responsible college students evolve into drunk-with-power sadists and submissive victims in just a few days.