Educational Media Reviews Online

Sweethearts of the Prison Rodeo follows the lives of inmates at an all-women correctional facility in the 6 months leading up to the annual Oklahoma State Prison Rodeo. It is only the second time women inmates have been allowed to participate and many are eager to make the team. At first blush, the event seems barbaric, invoking images of gladiator-slaves forced into the ring. The possible negative outcomes are very real, including permanent injury, even death. Though the women seem fully aware of the dangers, the desperation to have a sense of freedom, accomplishment or simply something to which they can look forward seems to justify the risk. One inmate notes that the first trip outside the prison walls was the freest she had ever felt in her life.

The film documents the profound sadness and distress that can fill the inmates' days: 80% of the female inmates are mothers, some of whom have not seen their children since their arrest. Many have lost their teenage and young adult years to prison, most because of drug charges. We are given a glimpse of the parole board process, including the anxiety over waiting for the governor to approve parole. Sexual activity, even having lipstick, will land a woman in solitary confinement, get her kicked off the rodeo team and could, it seems, cost her parole.

This dire backdrop stands in stark contrast to the sunny open fields of their training sessions, the encouraging and warm approach of their portly trainer, the thrill of victory and the joy of seeing their families in the stands. We also see the bonds forged between the inmates. Though in competition with each other for spots on the team, they cheer each other on and laugh together when they are flung off the training "bull" (a carpet covered contraption, suspended from a frame by 4 foam-covered cables, which the women pull back and forth in unison to mimic the bull bucking—you have to see it for yourself).

While the film's strength is the heart-wrenching and occasionally heartwarming stories of the inmates, it is also a stellar document of Americana, not just in its depiction of the prison rodeo, but also an impressive saddle shop, where the female inmates produce elaborate and elegant saddles by hand. Sweethearts of the Prison Rodeo seems to lend itself most naturally to gender and women's studies courses, however, it also would be a valuable addition to courses related to criminal justice and human rights as Oklahoma incarcerates more women than any other state per capita (nearly twice the national average).