How The 1962 Escape From Alcatraz Glamorized Crime Forever

Hannah Gallagher

Engl 1102 Listicle

How the 1962 Escape From Alcatraz
Glamorized Crime Forever

http://www.topsecretwriters.com/2012/07/what-happened-to-the-men-who-escaped-from-alcatraz/

From Bank Robbers to Celebrities

            Although Frank Morris, Clarence Anglin, and John Anglin weren’t the first criminals to receive media attention, very few have stuck around in newspaper headlines as long as these three. Although what got these men put behind bars was nothing spectacular, their criminal careers live on in infamy over half a century after their disappearance. When these names come to mind, most people envision a practically impossible escape pulled off by a mastermind, instead of three men who had no respect for America’s justice system, or the law as a whole. All three men had been convicted of multiple crimes, and had attempted to escape prisons in the past.

http://content8.flixster.com/question/57/08/29/5708294_std.jpg

 Criminals On The red Carpet

            Over the last 52 years Frank Morris and the Anglin brothers have become household names, and a lot of this fame is due to the portrayal of these men by movie stars such as Clint Eastwood, and the cast of Fox’s 2012 TV show “Alcatraz”. Instead of seeing rough men who grew up in America’s jail system, the audiences see beautiful celebrities in rougher clothes than usual. A quick Google search of Alcatraz now leaves you with images of red carpet premieres and movie posters instead of the sight of America’s most notorious prison.

http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/c/c1/Alcatraz_Cells_8.JPG

Escape Attempt Perceived As An Impossible Feat

            Humans have always had a fascination with achieving what has been thought to be impossible, from landing on the moon, to amazing survival stories of people lost in the wilderness. Until 1962, escaping from Alcatraz was regarded as just as impossible of an event as any of the prior. Journalists and fans alike have praised the three escapees since they went missing, and this hasn’t died on as the years have gone on. The popular show “Mythbusters” made an episode focusing on the escape as recently in 2003, and the two stars attempted the escape themselves, mimicking the circumstances the escapees faced as well as they could. Although it was possible, the mythbusters admitted it was very difficult, and that was without having to make the escape raft under the watchful eyes of prison guards.

http://images.sodahead.com/blogs/000339889/keystone_cops_xlarge.jpeg

Humiliated the Authorities

            Police officers being portrayed as the idiot antagonist is a common theme in many sources of entertainment, especially children’s TV shows and movies. This portrayal leads to an early disrespect for the law that is engrained in the mind of children. It can reasonably be argued that people like Morris and the Anglins are to blame for this common caricature of the law enforcement. After the three supposedly pulled off the impossible, the media was fascinated and there was ongoing newspaper coverage. Even in recent years, the Alcatraz escape has been the subject of many headlines. And in all of these articles it is noted that even after the largest manhunt in American history, none of the three men were ever discovered. This makes the law enforcement look incompetent, and not only the police detectives of the past. There is still a FBI officer assigned to the case, so this escape shows the weakness of the FBI even with all the advantages they’ve gained from modern technology.

 http://kizaz.com/2013/12/11/10-real-prison-escapes/

The Mystery Lives On

            The final reason Alcatraz forever glamorized crime is that the fascination with the escape lives on, even though more than 50 years have passed since the disappearance of Frank Morris, and Clarence and John Anglin. The threesome still have many fans, and their seemingly impossible feat is shown in modern documentaries, TV shows, and movies. It’s also inspired other big cultural events such as the annual Alcatraz Triathlon. If the public had simply forgotten about the escape in the year or two that followed, the impact that it would have made would have been minimal, but instead reminders of these criminals are still a prominent part of pop culture.


Resources:

Alcatraz Cell. Digital image. N.p., n.d. Web. 2 Nov. 2014. <http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/c/c1/Alcatraz_Cells_8.JPG>

Clarence Anglin, John Anglin, and Frank Morris. Digital image. Www.kizaz.com. N.p., n.d. Web. 2 Nov. 2014.

Clint Eastwood in "Escape From Alcatraz" Digital image. Flixter.com. N.p., n.d. Web. 2 Nov. 2014.

Escape from Alcatraz. Dir. Don Siegel. Perf. Clint Eastwood. 1979. Videocassette.

Escapees' Mug Shots. Digital image. Www.topsecretwriters.com. N.p., n.d. Web. 2 Nov. 2014.

KQED News Staff. "Why One US Marshal Is Still Looking for Alcatraz Escapees." KQED News. N.p., 11 June 2012. Web. 05 Oct. 2014

Old Fashioned Cops. Digital image. Www.images.sodahead.com. N.p., n.d. Web. 2 Nov. 2014.

Rees, Peter. "Escape From Alcatraz/ Duck Quack/ Stud Finder." Mythbusters. Discovery Channel. Silver Springs, Maryland, 12 Dec. 2003. Television.

Sloate, Susan, and Josh Cochran. Mysteries Unwrapped: The Secrets of Alcatraz. New York, NY: Sterling Pub., 2008. Print. [Book]

"The Great Escape from Alcatraz." The Great Escape from Alcatraz. Ocean View Publishing Company, n.d.  05 Oct. 2014. [Book]

"1962: Three Escape From Alcatraz." BBC News. BBC, 06 Dec. 1962. Web. 28 Sept. 2014. [Newspaper Article]