Released in 1967, “Cool Hand Luke” continues to be one of the most popular movies in American history. (Belton, 2008) The movie starred famed actor Paul Newman and was based on the trials and tribulations occurring inside a Florida prison camp. One of the main reasons why Cool Hand Luke continues to be relevant today is due to its incisive observations regarding the criminal justice system. While the movie was released over forty years ago, the relevance of Cool Hand Luke continues today. This paper will provide a synopsis of the movie and character analysis of Cool Hand Luke; in addition, the paper will analyze the movie from the perspectives of someone unfamiliar with the criminal justice system as well as a professional in the criminal justice system. Cool Hand Luke was based on the experiences of Lucas Jackson, a war hero who returned to the United States. Lucas is sentenced to prison after he is caught drunkenly cutting the heads off of parking meters for no apparent reason. For this offense, Lucas is given a sentence of two years at a notorious Florida prison camp run by a hard-core warden. Initially, Lucas is not well liked by either the guards or inmates due to the fact that he sees himself as an independent and ignores the pecking order in the prison. The reputation of Lucas begins to change when he shows resilience in a boxing match with Dragline, the alpha male inmate. His reputation is cemented when he bluffs at poker with a losing hand, earning him the name “Cool Hand Luke”. From this point forward Luke is revered by the other inmates and looked at as a leader and role model. As the movie progresses, Luke begins to attempt to escape from the prison several times. Each time he is caught and punished severel... ... middle of paper ... ...ost other cases, inmate incorrigibility stems from other root causes and is highly dangerous to society. In conclusion, Cool Hand Luke is a highly entertaining movie for anyone, whether they have had experience with the criminal justice system or not. From start to finish, the movie has a number of insights into the way that the criminal justice system works. While not all of these insights are rooted in fact, the movie does come off as authentic in many ways. Cool Hand Luke remains an American classic, and one of the best prison movies ever created. While others have been produced since 1967, it is hard to argue that the movie has lost any of its credibility or fan following. References Belton, J. (2008). American Cinema, American culture. New York: McGraw-Hill Publishing Cole, G. (2000). American System of criminal justice. Chicago: Wadsworth Publishing
He then goes on to accurately describe the day to day life of a prisoner while introducing the overcrowding epidemic that is burdening the U.S. prison system. Since Spurlock describes the intake process and day to day life of the inmates in great detail, he effectively uses these strategies to persuade the audience and support his
Anyone who has ever seen the 1967 classic movie, Cool Hand Luke, can agree that the main theme of the movie would be about nonconformity. The movie takes place in a southern prison, where the prisoners must participate in the intense labor of a chain gang and work everyday in the sweltering heat while serving their time. The inmates must follow the strict rules that are set, or they are punished in an almost cruel and unusual fashion. The outcast, war hero and true nonconformist is the main character, Lucas Jackson. After vandalizing parking meters, Jackson must spend two years in the penitentiary. While serving his short amount of time in the prison, the audience discovers that Mr. Jackson will do almost anything and everything in his power
The “Star Wars” franchise is familiar to most, and may be the easiest in which to discover the hero’s journey. In “Star Wars,” we find young Luke Skywalker, a rebellious youth, living on a farm on the isolated planet of Tatooine, taken in by his aunt and uncle following the death of his mother and father. Luke grows up with dreams of flying through the stars, only dreams until his chance meeting with Ben Kenobi. Kenobi informs Luke of his real past: that his father was a Jedi knight and that Luke was destined to become great. Though Kenobi’s guidance and Luke own adventurous spirit, he finds himself pushed into an intergalactic quest to become a valiant Jedi in a galaxy controlled by the evil Empire.
In particular, Luke had used themes such as obedience to authority, conformity, and non-conformity in order to ultimately free himself by the end of the movie. Though Luke dies, his memory will live on through the prisoners who learned to love Luke.
In his article titled, “Star Wars and the Roman Empire,” Martin M. Winkler writes on Lucas’ trilogy and compares the storylines in the films to the Roman empire while placing focus on the similarities
During the course of our class we have encountered plenty of important topics and vital information that is essential to the field of the Criminal Justice system. Such as; Crime and justice including laws, Victimization and Criminal behavior, Laws, Police officers and Law enforcement and the criminal justice system in itself. These topics are daily situations yet individuals are oblivious to what's going on and that in it can be a major problem to the community. On that note this paper will express the ignorance and selfish values of twelve individuals by fully explaining the movie "Twelve Angry Men"
The 1970s in the United States was a time of incredible change, doubt, as well as reform. The many issues happening throughout the country helped to lead to the discomfort in many prisoners that eventually lead to their e...
hazardous or unsafe for the inmates. Poor living condition and lack of safety within these prisons are
Cool Hand Luke is a film that starts off with the main character Luke. Luke has done crimes and has to go to prison while there he tries to escape three times before he dies. During this film, there are signs of the three social psychological themes which are conformity, non-conformity, and obedience to authority. In this essay, I will be explaining all these three themes with their examples from the film. To understand these themes in the film, it is essential to understand what each team really means. Conformity is when a person changes their behavior or beliefs in order to be accepted by a group (McLeod, S.A., 2016). Nonconformity is the opposite in which one doesn 't conform (Collins English Dictionary). Finally, obedience to authority
In the movie Cool Hand Luke, Lucas Jackson is first found, drunk and cutting the heads off
Normally, since the prisoner 's group conform to an easy-going and rule-following lifestyle, nobody tries to escape the prison because it will cause needless trouble. But since, in general, Luke is a natural-born non-conformist he is unaffected by the social pressures to stay within the prison. Even though he is a single dissenter, he, on two different occasions, inspires another prisoner to escape with him. Therefore, a single non-conformist can, potentially, decrease the rate of conformity in the remainder of the social
Rhodes, Lorna A. “Pathological Effects of the Supermaximum Prison.” American Journal of Public Health. October 2005. http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC1449421/# __sec3title.
From the first day at the jail, Luke stands out amongst the inmates. Most of them follow and bend to every rule that is made by the warden and prison guards, while Luke sneers at the establishment. The prisoners also follow the rules of the biggest inmate, Dragline, who is portrayed by George Kennedy. Still, Luke does not take the excessive rules and regulations seriously, which gets him into trouble. Dragline challenges Luke to a boxing match, and they meet out in the court yard. Due to Dragline’s large stature and strength, he beats Luke into a pulp. What was initially a large crowd cheering on the fight, turns into a sad spe...
Overcrowding is one of the predominate reasons that Western prisons are viewed as inhumane. Chapman’s article has factual information showing that some prisons have as many as three times the amount of prisoners as allowed by maximum space standards. Prison cells are packed with four to five prisoners in a limited six-foot-by-six-foot space, which then, leads to unsanitary conditions. Prisons with overcrowding are exposed to outbreaks of infectious diseases such as, tuberculosis and hepatitis.
In the movie Cool Hand Luke, the main character is arrested in the first five minutes of the movie for beheads all of the parking meters along a street. He is being forced to abide by the rules in prison and at first, does not get a warm welcome by his fellow prisoners because he refuses to abide ...