´Conviction Kitchen´

       

As recognised in much literature, media has (and have always had) a strong interest in crime and punishment. One of the most recent signs of such interest is channel 7´s new reality cooking series called ´Conviction Kitchen´; where 18 ex-prisoners will participate in a the show.  The concept is taken from Canada, and the format is taking a group of newly released prisoners on parole and letting them undertake the task of setting up a new restaurant within only a few weeks time.

One can wonder, without being overly analytical, what perception of ex-prisoners media is trying to portray? I have a thought, which might be more appropriately called hope, and that is that this show successfully can give the general public a positive view on people being released from prison and integrated back into society, rather than further portrayed as people who should be behind bars.

Watching the introductive episode of the Australian Conviction Kitchen, the host of the show (a famous chef from the Melbourne area, also an ex-prisoner) starts by stating his interest in the participants and his willingness to give them the ´second chance´ no one else is willing to give them. He goes on to say that this is their chance to change their lives around – the past is not what is important, now we are looking at the future.

When taking into account the fact that most people have limited knowledge about prison and prisoners, it is fascinating how most people still manage to have a strong opinion on both prisoners and confinement. But as it has been stated so many times before, television and media entertainment contribute to these perceptions and arguably, people’s familiarity with the criminal justice systems is many times based on the symbolism of imprisonment by media images. Additionally, often there is little or no empathy with prisoners, which consequently fosters a distorted picture of crime and punishment.

If this show can somewhat portray people coming out of jail as deserving of a second chance in society, and create empathy and sympathy with ex-prisoners, this might be a better show for a change. However, between the lines one can still see that the shows emphasis is on the individuals and what crimes they have committed and their incarceration in general. Thus, the general interest of catching the audience attention is evident. But again, lets not be too analytical or critical (yet), and hope that this cooking series can implement a more realistic and ´human´ view of people coming out of jail than simply portraying them as social outsiders that belong nowhere but in prison.