Fortress: Private Prisons and Early 90s Sleazy Cheese

Way back in late 1700s, social justice warriors from the Age of Enlightenment were getting all hyped up over scientific advancement and the possibility of a utopian future for humanity. In response one of the leading right-wing cranks of the time published an anonymous essay saying that ACKSHUALLY this was all bullshit. Overpopulation, he said, would inevitably destroy any such utopia. And thus Malthusianism was born.

Fast forward the year 1992, to a time when China's one-child policy was in full effect, and Malthusian concerns were commonplace in the United States. This is the year a lesser known dystopian sci-fi action flick called Fortress debuted. The film takes place in 2017, in a dystopian America that has its own one-child policy. The Highlander himself Christopher Lambert and Loryn Locklin play John and Karen Brennick, a couple sent to a hellish private prison for attempting to have a second baby after their first one didn't survive.

Malthusian themes in sci-fi movies are nothing new, nor were they in the 90s. From Soylent Green and Logan's Run in the 70s to Avengers: Infinity War and even WALL-E in the 2000s, overpopulation has been a key underpinning of many a dystopian world. The genre is also no stranger to hellish private carceral systems and capitalism run amok. Robocop, the Death Race films, The Running Man and countless others cover similar ground and most of them do it better than Fortress.

The law is clear. One child per woman. We live on a very small and fragile planet. We must maintain the population balance. Abortion is illegal and that leaves only one alternative.

-Prison Director Poe (played by Kurtwood Smith)

The one area where Fortress is a little different is a focus on reproductive rights and bodily autonomy. Prisoners of the Fortress are controlled by a device called the intestinator. The device, which sounds like it was named after a nasty carnival ride, is literally shoved down John's throat by a notably phallic device. Whenever someone gets out of line the intestinator activates and the prisoner doubles over like they've eaten a couple of McDonald's E.Coli burgers. It is illegal to have more than one child but abortion is also illegal. When a woman tries to have a second child, it is taken by the Men-Tel corporation, which runs the prison. Such laws are only possible in a fascist system like that depicted in Fortress.

I have a soft spot for sleazy cheese and Fortress certainly qualifies. While it touches on all the issues I've outlined above, it doesn't really address them in any kind of meaningful way. Had it attempted to do so it might have been a better film, but it also might have been ruined. As it is Fortress can be enjoyed for its silly sci-fi action and melodrama. And of course for cyborg Red Forman.