Netflix's 'The New Stanford Prison Experiment' revisits notorious 1971 study
Netflix has created The New Stanford Prison Experiment, a six-part series inspired by the notorious 1971 study where 24 male college students randomly assigned to play guards or inmates in a mock prison, and things spiraled out of control fast.
The original was shut down in less than a week because people took their roles way too seriously.
Series avoids extremes prompts ethics debate
This new series explores the same power struggles but keeps things more controlled and avoids the extremes of the original.
Monica Hesse called it "maddening" for showing how quickly people can act cruelly without much reason.
The show also revisits old ethical questions about whether experimenters influenced what happened.
Even with its careful approach, it's got everyone talking about authority and human behavior all over again.