History Main / PunishmentBox

-->'''Imaginary father:''' All right son, we've had fun on [[UsefulNotes/Xbox360 this boat]] over the years, but now it's time to sink it to the ocean floor and let all the bottom feeders live on it.\\

* ''Film/BootCamp'': After being recaptured after their escape, Sophie and Ben are imprisoned in concrete oubliettes where they are subject to the tormenting of the guards and other teens, and the extremes of the weather.

* A common trope found on ''Fanfic/FluffyPony'' works is the "sorry box", a type of punishment for bad behaviour that takes advantage of fluffies' inherent claustrophobia and fear of isolation. Of course, they, being as unintelligent as they are, feel anything that can contain them is a sorry box meant to punish them, even if they could easily escape their confinement (which they usually don't even attempt). In their most extreme depictions, fluffies can be tricked into thinking they are in a sorry box just by making them face a corner.

* On ''WesternAnimation/{{Recess}}'', the Box is just a square drawn on the playground floor. T.J. at first laughs it off, but eventually it breaks him when he [[GoMadFromTheIsolation Goes Mad From The Isolation]]. It doesn't last, though.

* A common trope found on ''WebOriginal/FluffyPony'' works is the "sorry box", a type of punishment for bad behaviour that takes advantage of fluffies' inherent claustrophobia and fear of isolation. Of course, they, being as unintelligent as they are, feel anything that can contain them is a sorry box meant to punish them, even if they could easily escape their confinement (which they usually don't even attempt). In their most extreme depictions, fluffies can be tricked into thinking they are in a sorry box just by making them face a corner.

* In ''Film/EscapePlan'', [[HellholePrison The Tomb]] is home to one of the most punishing examples of solitary confinement. Prisoners in solitary are kept in a small enclosed space thats probably no wider than a casket, with barely enough room to stand up, and a set of powerful halogen lamps that shine bright intense light and heat on them like a reptile in a terrarium, while the lights go on and off after an amount of time. These lamps are a torture instrument designed to inflict sensory overload (bright lights, intense heat, loud buzzing of the lamps), sleep deprivation, and accelerated dehydration on a prisoner, essentially weakening them without laying a hand on them, or cooking the belligerent prisoners in an oven.

* ''Mad'' did it again in a "Monroe" comic where Monroe goes to summer camp. A counseler tells him to behave or they'll put him in "the box." The other counseler tells Monroe not to worry, he's just kidding; [[BaitAndSwitchComment the state doesn't let them use "the box" anymore.]]

* A common trope found on ''WebOriginal/FluffyPony'' works is the "sorry box", a type of punishment for bad behaviour that takes advantage of fluffies' inherent claustrophobia and fear of isolation. Of course, they, being as unintelligent as they are, feel anything that can contain them is a sorry box meant to punish them, even if they could easily escape their confinement (which they usually don't even attempt). In their most extreme depicitions, fluffies can be tricked into thinking they are in a sorry box just by making them face a corner.

* ''WesternAnimation/DextersLaboratory'': On the short "Dexter Detention", it turns out that the detention room on Dexter's school has a tiny (as in, not even three-feet-tall-if-that-much Dexter fits inside without being shoved in) hole on the ground for "solitary confinement". Dexter almost ends up [[GoneMadFromTheIsolation going insane]] within ten seconds of being put inside--until an animal burrows in, inspiring Dexter to [[FastTunnelling turn the hole into an escape route]].

* ''WesternAnimation/DextersLaboratory'': On the short "Dexter Detention", it turns out that the detention room on Dexter's school has a tiny (as in, not even three-feet-tall-if-that-much Dexter fits inside without being shoved in) hole on the ground for "solitary confinement". Dexter almost ends up GoneMadFromTheIsolation within ten seconds of being put inside--until an animal burrows in, inspiring Dexter to [[FastTunnelling turn the hole into an escape route]].

* ''VideoGame/SidMeiersAlphaCentauri'' has the "punishment sphere", which make the oppressed masses too frightened to ever riot no matter what. For some reason, constructing this city improvement is not on the list of atrocities that will turn the other civilizations against you.

[[quoteright:347:[[WesternAnimation/DespicableMe https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/punishmentbox_1054.png]]]]

* In ''WesternAnimation/DespicableMe'', orphans who disobey [[{{Jerkass}} Miss Hattie]] get put in the (cardboard) Box of Shame.

* ''Series/MysteryScienceTheater3000'' does a shout-out to ''Cool Hand Luke'' in "[[Recap/MysteryScienceTheater3000S04E22TheDayTheEarthFroze The Day the Earth Froze]]," when Frank gets angry and refuses to push the experiment button even as Forrester threatens him forceps and electro-shock, but falls into line when Forrester shouts, "''The box'', Frank!"

->'''Carr:''' These here spoons, you keep with ya. Any man loses his spoon spends a night in the box. No one will sit in the bunks with dirty pants on. Any man with dirty pants on sittin' on the bunks spends a night in the box. Any man loud-talkin' spends a night in the box. You got questions, you come to me. I'm Carr, the floor-walker. I'm responsible for order in here. Any man don't keep order spends a night in --

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* In ''Literature/SoulMusic'', [[TheGrimReaper DEATH]] joins the Klatchian Foreign Legion - "to forget". legionnaire Beau Nidle gets The Pit, the Foreign Legion's version of The Box. And still remembers everything.

-->'''Rachel''': So now, what exactly is the point of the box?
-->'''Joey''': Chandler?\\
'''Chandler''' (counting on his fingers through a small hole in the top): The meaning of the box is threefold: One, it gives me the time to think about what I did; two, it proves how much I care about my friendship with Joey; and three...it hurts!

* ''Series/TheIncredibleHulk1977'' episode "The Slam:" David gets put in one. Strangely enough, he doesn't HulkOut. Another prisoner in the box next door tells him how to survive: find a rock to suck on, put your head in the least exposed place possible, and don't move around.

* In ''Series/OrangeIsTheNewBlack'', SHU is depicted as such. Both times [[spoiler: Piper]] is put in the SHU, she's depicted as desperate and even slightly crazy from the isolation. As if that's not enough, the food is even more disgusting and inedible than the usual prison fare.

--> '''Paladin Rychek''': There are three simple rules to follow with Brotherhood equipment: If you damage your weapon, you will spend a week in the box. If you damage your armor, you will spend a week in the box. If you ''lose'' either, [[ThisIsUnforgivable I'll kill you myself]].

* Found during the first Prague level in ''VideoGame/Sly2BandOfThieves'', set in a prison. One of the first objectives of the level is Bentley rescuing Sly from the box after [[spoiler: he and Murray were betrayed by Neyla in the last level]]. Sly got thrown in there for fighting, giving Bentley the best opportunity to bust him out [[spoiler: by launching a train at the prison.]]

-->'''Imaginary father''': All right son, we've had fun on [[UsefulNotes/Xbox360 this boat]] over the years, but now it's time to sink it to the ocean floor and let all the bottom feeders live on it.\\
'''Imaginary son''': But Daddy, couldn't we just put a better engine on the boat and not have to destroy all our cherished memories?\\
'''Imaginary father''': I think someone needs to go back in the naughty box!

* In the ''WesternAnimation/ChalkZone'' episode "The Label Police", Snap and several other zoners are sent to "Label Prison" because [[ItMakesSenseInContext they ignored certain labels on their items]]. When they attempt to escape, the cops place them in "the box"- a giant cardboard box.

Our protagonist is in a [[WorkingOnTheChainGang Chain Gang]] prison and has violated one of the CorruptHick sheriff's rules. So they send him to the Punishment Box (more commonly, "The Box.") The Box is commonly a small metal shed in the middle of the compound (in some cases too small to even ''sit down'' in), exposed to sun. They put you in and you are tortured by sweating it out in 120-plus degree heat, basically frying you alive. Unless it's a cold night, in which case you have to keep from freezing to death.