If you've seen a big-budget movie lately, you've seen someone in a clear prison, made of glass or plastic. It's an unavoidable trope, because it's so hard to film people fighting from behind bars. Don't believe us? Here's our complete round-up of see-through prisons in pop culture.
The Blacklist (2013)
Prisoner: Raymond "Red" Reddington
Crime: Selling Government secrets, espionage, theft, etc.
Where: Somewhere secret around Washington DC.
Cell: Glass, metal, who knows. Honestly the whole construction behind this creation is confounding. Which Vulture has a wonderful piece on trying to make sense of this ridiculous prison. And it is also where we found this amazing gif.
Species (1995)
Prisoner: Sil
Crime: Being an uncontrollable half alien half human creature.
Where: In a secret government lab somewhere near Los Angeles. Which turns out to be convenient.
Cell: Glass walls and steel beams, but not without some homey touches. Easy to fill with poison gas.
Skyfall (2012)
Prisoner: Raoul Silva
Crime: Trying to blow up M16, and a whole lot more.
Where: At M16's underground headquarters.
Cell: Glass?
Avengers (2012)
Prisoner: Loki
Crime: Using the Tesseract for bad
Where: Aboard the S.H.I.E.L.D. Helicarrier
Cell: Originally designed for the most fearsome creature alive, The Hulk, this impenetrable glass box could be disposed of simply by dropping the whole damn thing from extreme heights. This containment facility becomes Loki's makeshift prison.
Thor: The Dark World (2013)
Prisoner: Loki Again!
Crime: Being such a dick to everyone on Earth
Where: In the basement of Asgard
Cell: Composed of rock, Norse Magic and antique furniture.
Star Trek Into Darkness (2013)
Prisoner: Khan
Crime: Being so damn good-looking and killing all those members of Starfleet.
Where: Aboard the Starship Enterprise.
Cell: Forcefields, mainly.
Cabin In the Woods (2012)
Prisoners: So many monsters.
Crime: Nothing. They were being held against their will and used as execution devices to service the greater good.
Where: Beneath a cabin in the woods.
Cell: Smallish glass boxes that are easily shuffled about inside a giant prison composed of other, monster filled boxes.
X-Men 2 (2003)
Prisoner: Magneto
Crime: Kidnapping, trying to turn all humans into mutants sentencing them all to an early grave, assault.. the list goes on.
Where: Unknown
Cell: Made entirely out of plastic. Even the nuts and bolts are plastic, so Magneto cannot use them to break out.
Lilo & Stitch (2002)
Prisoner: Experiment 626 "Stitch"
Crime: Being a product of illegal genetic experimentation.
Where: Galactic Federation Headquarters
Cell: Space Glass.
Austin Powers in Goldmember (2002)
Prisoner: Dr. Evil
Crime: Trying to take over the world, blow up the world, etc.
Where: Unknown American Prison.
Cell: A glass cell where you can see everything.
Twilight Zone "The Silence" (1961)
Prisoner: Jamie Tennyson
Crime: No crime. Jamie Tennyson imprisons himself on a bet. He is offered $500,000 if he can remain silent for a whole year. And to prove his silence Tennyson takes up residence in a glass cube built in his local club. Things go terribly wrong.
Where: Men's Club.
Cell: A glass case in a club that he cannot leave and is constantly being monitored with microphones.
Josie and the Pussycats In Outer Space (1972)
Prisoner: Josie and the Pussy Cats
Crime: Alleged stealing of a prized Robotron.
Where: The Sleeping Planet
Cell: A giant bubble.
Silence of the Lambs (1991)
Prisoner: Hannibal Lector
Crime: Murder.
Where: Baltimore State Hospital for the Criminally Insane.
Cell: Plastic and rock. And maybe glass.
Thanks to Emily Stamm for research help.