In the Media
The lifestyles of the people who live in these places are foreign to us and have mixed reactions from society. To start with, the media often uses Total Institutions as settings for movies because they can be seen as worlds different from our own. In media, they tend to be portrayed as scary and unusual or as extremely harsh environments because of how different they are compared to our lives. Two primary examples of Total Institutions are Shutter island and Shawshank redemption. Shutter island is based on a mental hospital that is secluded on an island. The movie is a psychological thriller where the protagonists have to wade through a plethora of mysteries and shows how we view these places with mystery and intrigue. The movie is also quick to point out how eerie it feels with all the doctors and guards around, the high walls and the unusual nature of the people there (Shutter island). Secondly is Shawshank Redemption where we are brought to a high classified prison facility in which we follow the main character Andy and his friend Ellis "Red” Redding. The movie portrays the people who run the place as tough and quick to dish out punishment. The movie of course shows the common traits of a total institution such as a degradation ceremony where they are told what is expected of them and stripped of their identity. It is also seen as a corrupt place because many believe that those who have complete power are also easy to corrupt (Shawshank Redemption). The settings of these movies show how as outsiders, we view these communities as strange and unusual.
Out in the Wild
While media portrays how society views these settings quite well, it can also be seen quite easily by paying attention to our surroundings.
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To begin with, nursing homes are a common form of Total Institutions that we are familiar with but we often associate these places as undesirable. Even the best of nursing homes aren't the most desirable situations because as humans, we don't like being stripped of the identity we have built for ourselves from our own homes and lifestyles. That loss of free will is something we also don't desire. Even voluntary institutions are seen as undesirable such as working on an Oil Rig or on a freighter ship. It's actually quite common for these jobs to pay well or more than their competitors but this is because it's an incentive to drag people from a lifestyle of freedom into one that requires discipline, adhering to a strict schedule and what not (Swift Worldwide Resources). Most people are comfortable in our worlds which is why living in a total institution is just not an option many of us would take up.