Scared Straight: Lorenzo and Skeet Devlin - Saturday Night Live
Dublin Core
Title
Scared Straight: Lorenzo and Skeet Devlin - Saturday Night Live
Subject
An SNL skit where two inmates warn three young men about the dangers of a criminal life - as in, the rape they will face if they end up behind bars.
Description
The skit features regulars of the cast of Saturday Night Live but also Taylor Swift. The two inmates, one of whom is played by Swift, tell the young men (using very crass and rude language) that if they end up in prison they will raped in various ways by various people. This is meant to scare the young men into behaving properly and not partaking in criminal behavior.
While the police chief does intervene, the two inmates continue to make crass and rude threats, even including singing about the rape the boys will face to the tune of 'Do Re Mi' from The Sound of Music (1965).
The two inmates are eventually dismissed by the police chief after the young men have 'learned their lesson'.
The inmates are portrayed in an extremely negative and stereotypical manner: rude, violent, sexually aggressive, 'low life', and ill-mannered. The skit reinforces negative stereotypes about black people, particularly poor black people from ghettos, and about criminals. Most importantly, the constant threat of rape is continuously implied as something that the boys deserve if they become criminals reinforcing the idea of rape as a form of justice or a tool to be dispensed at will, instead of a violent crime.
While the police chief does intervene, the two inmates continue to make crass and rude threats, even including singing about the rape the boys will face to the tune of 'Do Re Mi' from The Sound of Music (1965).
The two inmates are eventually dismissed by the police chief after the young men have 'learned their lesson'.
The inmates are portrayed in an extremely negative and stereotypical manner: rude, violent, sexually aggressive, 'low life', and ill-mannered. The skit reinforces negative stereotypes about black people, particularly poor black people from ghettos, and about criminals. Most importantly, the constant threat of rape is continuously implied as something that the boys deserve if they become criminals reinforcing the idea of rape as a form of justice or a tool to be dispensed at will, instead of a violent crime.
Creator
Saturday Night Live
Source
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6wbJ7QBTKEY
Publisher
SNL Official Youtube Channel
Date
7th November 2009
Format
Video
Language
English
Type
A youtube video.
Collection
Citation
Saturday Night Live, “Scared Straight: Lorenzo and Skeet Devlin - Saturday Night Live,” CULP 357 - Theorizing Gender Violence, accessed July 22, 2025, https://culp357.abusharaf.georgetown.domains/items/show/368.