‘A prison is no place for a party’: Neoliberalism, charitable fundraising, carceral enjoyments and abolitionist killjoys

This paper explores a case study of the struggle over the cultural meanings of charity and imprisonment related to United Way’s 2019 Rockin’ The Big House fundraising concert in partnership with Correctional Service of Canada (CSC) and the City of Kingston at Kingston Penitentiary. Contributing to l...

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Bibliographic Details
Main Author: Mussell, Linda (Author)
Contributors: Piché, Justin ; Walby, Kevin ; Guenther, Lisa
Format: Electronic Article
Language:English
Published: 2022
In: Contemporary justice review
Year: 2022, Volume: 25, Issue: 1, Pages: 56-81
Online Access: Volltext (kostenfrei)
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Keywords:
Abolitionism
Charity
Imprisonment
carceral enjoyments
penal spectatorship
prison tourism
Description
Summary:This paper explores a case study of the struggle over the cultural meanings of charity and imprisonment related to United Way’s 2019 Rockin’ The Big House fundraising concert in partnership with Correctional Service of Canada (CSC) and the City of Kingston at Kingston Penitentiary. Contributing to literature at the intersection of penality, prison tourism, and the charitable sector, we examine how staging authenticity and fostering penal spectatorship were central to driving ticket sales for and encouraging enjoyment at the concert held on the grounds of Canada’s first penitentiary. Based on an analysis of internal government records and CSC communications with United Way, we demonstrate how event planning and advertising relied on denigrating stereotypes regarding criminalized persons. Highlighting the value of collective organizing, action research, and newsmaking interventions aimed at opposing carceral enjoyments, we illustrate how cultural meanings of penality can be confronted as a means to advance abolitionist politics.
ISSN:1477-2248
DOI:10.1080/10282580.2021.2018655