Colonial Hosts 'Stanford Prison Experiment,' Science Presentation

PHOENIXVILLE, PA — "The Stanford Prison Experiment" will be screened at the Colonial Theater in Phoenixville this month, and there will be a post-film scientific presentation featuring two renown sociologists.

The event is part of a movement by 26 independent theaters across the nation to use movies to promote public understanding of science.

It will take place on Wednesday, March 20, at 7 p.m., and will coincide with the National Week of Science on Screen.

The theater describes the event as follows:

"What happens when a college psych study goes shockingly wrong? In the tense, psychological thriller The Stanford Prison Experiment, based on the notorious true story, Billy Crudup stars as Stanford University professor, Dr. Philip Zimbardo, who, in 1971, cast 24 student volunteers as prisoners and guards in a simulated jail to examine the source of abusive behavior in the prison system. The results astonished the world, as participants went from middle-class undergrads to drunk-with-power sadists and submissive victims in just a few days."

Professo Vivian Smith, the chair of sociology at Carbini University, and Professor Andrew Owen, a fellow faculty member at Cabrini, will lend their expertise in the post-film presentation.

Tickets are available here. They are $7 for adults.