Movie night on Fridays at Central Prison brought me as close to the free world as I could get. So heroes in prison films are usually innocent and relatable to a Caucasian audience, which is a far cry from who really fills American prisons. But Sing Sing reflects my grief, my temptation to give up hope, and my fear of dying in a cage. Ever since then, I’ve stopped viewing prison films as a source of entertainment, and now I embrace them as a wealth of inspiration. Read his personal essays describing the esoteric side of incarceration on his free Substack page, Prison Life Unlocked.