"I am in utter awe at the magnificent masterpiece you have created. I wish I had taken notes because there were so many moments worth huge praise. You have completely embraced and perfected a new style of film making that I hope becomes the mainstream. The movie, its content, everything it stands for...all so amazing, clear, thought-provoking, witty, creative. It is an emotional film, even during the stop motion. I needed the humor, the vast channels of your creative imagination, to guide me through the issue. Thank you. I feel like I need weeks to tell you about your own movie, like you deserve some sort of high honor or award. As the movie continued, and I watched scene after scene of amazing stop motion, interviews, stock footage, computer graphics, awesome editing, and great music, I continued to become more and more humbled by the magnitude of this project. This movie will survive time and be used by historians to study the state of prisons back during the turn of the second millennium."

-Tyler MacNiven, filmmaker and
2006 Champion of The Amazing Race

 
   

"Penal Dysfunction is a thought-inducing comedy-documentary about flaws in our justice and prison system. It's sure to stir debate amongst viewers."

-Films In Review, oldest film publication in the USA

   

"I have to tell you that I really loved your film and it's now circulating in my office. I watched it just a month or two after
having started in the office, and it was great for me to see so clearly laid out the basics of what is so deeply screwed up about the whole system - and all tied together in such an intelligent way that I think is accessible to just about anyone. I read hundreds of letters from prisoners every week and the points that you cover in the film speak so very well for the reality that is screaming in my face everyday."

-Noor Dawood, Prison Law Office

   

"A whimsical perspective on a whacked-out problem."

-Robert King Wilkerson, Activist who was unjustly held in solitary confinement in Louisiana for 29 years
   

"WOW. You've taken a major, serious issue facing our society, and presented it in totally original and creative ways. Nearly every question you raised has, of course, been in my face for the past five years. I partly wish I would have spoken with you before you made it, because I learned the answers to many of your questions from my own experiences. But then again, I like your approach of being the 'curious innocent' simply asking questions, and getting those answers from people around the country."

-Anonymous Convicted Felon Who Will Never Regain His Full Civil Rights

Penal Dysfunction has been broadcast several times on SCBN Channel 5.

From college campuses to youth centers to private homes, Penal Dysfunction has been screened around the country and internationally, often as an educational tool used by teachers.

It's screened twice nightly at the Window Gallery at DePauw University, Feb 26-March 11, 2006.

 

Penal Dysfunction was the Feature Documentary at the 2005 Stanford Alumni Film Festival in Santa Monica, CA.

A couple comments from that:

"Eye-opening, informative, hilarious, and always entertaining. Not what I was expecting from a film about the failures of the US criminal justice system. Watch this movie!" -Daniel Hsia

"Amazing humor and creativity!" -Jim Kohn

Jess, Brent, Matt and Danielle at
the Stanford Alumni Film Festival
[more pics >>>]
The Peanut Gallery!

"It's Dead Man Walking meets The Brave Little Toaster. Penal Dysfunction explores tough and complex issues with a lightness and sincerity that make it a worthwhile watch for viewers of all ages and all levels of awareness of the prison industrial complex." -Jenais Zarlin

"I found your argument(s) quite compelling and was quite charmed by the sort of Socratic irony you approached the subject with. I actually remember thinking quite differently about the prison system a long time ago-- especially when the 3 strikes law was being debated in California (I was in high school then I think) and I can honestly say that I see the debate in a completely different way now that I've watched your documentary." -Luke Morton

"Very clever and insightful, and funny as hell. Well done." -Jessica Jenkins

"I just watched Penal Dysfunction ... and I couldn’t believe your creativity and the power it gave to the film. I’m a cultural and social anthropology major, and I feel like in most classes I’ve taken at Stanford, all I’ve watched are insanely disturbing and depressing documentaries. The information they convey is extremely important and obviously worth knowing, but it’s hard to digest. The way you set up your documentary made it easier to watch and left me thinking that maybe, people actually have the ability to create change in this case." -Katie Bearman

"I love it and it's smart and clever and mostly dark but also bright, and I think creating cinematic chiaroscuro must be hard." -Meghan Doyle

"Never before has animated food been put to such a noble use!" -Manuel Bermúdez

"I am so impressed- it is a really thoughtful and creative piece of work that you must have put an incredible amount of yourself into. You really articulated some of the intuitions I have about the prison issue in a more thorough, funny, and at the same time pressingly serious way." -Eiman Azim

"I liked the interviews best! It's the stories of people that make the prison issue so important and compelling." -Robert Usiskin

"Engage your destiny." - Chris Cox

"Puts a human face on an issue all-too-easy to ignore. Bravo! And it has a SICK soundtrack." -Matt Steinberg

"I tremble in anticipation of what sort of movie you might make when someone gives you a budget to play with." -Ariana Schoellhorn

"We just watched your movie and were very impressed! You took a complicated issue and broke it down into a clear and compelling story. It's unique; we enjoyed the different media, the perspectives, the facts, the humor.... Refreshing, honest, real -- and I learned a lot." -Sally Madsen & Adam Rothschild

"Fully cracked out." -Pat Linehan

 

 

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The phrase peanut gallery dates back to the early 20th century in America, referring to the least expensive section in the rear of a theatre. The patrons in the peanut gallery, often of the lower classes, were known for a strong sense of community, a penchant for heckling, and the use of peanuts as missiles to express their distaste of the entertainment. By extension, the term is used, often humorously, to refer to any noisy, disorderly, or belligerent persons attending a presentation, lecture, or other event with an audience. [Wiki]