We're finally here, Demme's big moment to direct his first film - and he comes out of the gate swinging. We're talking about 1974's CAGED HEAT! We discuss this film's place in exploitation cinema, within the genre of "women in prison" films, their history as a genre, and in the context of the American Prison Complex both in the 1970s and today. We touch on current issues in US prisons, how they seek not to rehabilitate but to punish anyone within the system, before we talk about this film's production. We really flex our Demme muscles here by seamlessly shifting from very serious subjects to having a good time, and we thought we did a good job on this one! So we hope you like it.



Articles mentioned:

Appendix: Psychosurgery | National Institutes of Health (NIH)

Are Prisons Obsolete? | Angela Y. Davis

Feminist Filmmaking Peaked with Women-In-Prison Exploitation Films | Nicole Stunwyck

Golden Gulag | Ruth Wilson Gilmore

Inside Women's Prisons | Virginia Kellogg

Mass Incarceration: The Whole Pie, 2025 | Prison Policy Initiative

There's No Going Back: The Life and Work of Jonathan Demme | David M. Stewart

Torture and Abuse of Prisoners | Amnesty International 

Women in Prison Movies as Feminist Jurisprudence | Suzanne Bouclin

Women, Film, and Law | Suzanne Bouclin



Follow Altmania:

https://altmaniapod.com

https://estebannoel.com

Demme Compendium



Support us on Patreon:

https://patreon.com/altmania