Non-Conformity In Movie Stuart Rosenberg's Cool Hand Luke

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A quintessential element in the preservation of societies social order is a combination of social influences to conform and be obedient. The social influences help to control the individual psyches of entire populations to create a more cohesive environment. Conversely, there are also those who seek to challenge the social controls of society through non-conformity and disobedience. Each of these social psychological themes, obedience to authority, conformity, and non-conformity, are present in director Stuart Rosenberg’s 1967 film, Cool Hand Luke. They are explored through the reinforced social roles of those in authority and those who are obedient, displays of conformity and non-conformity, and how an individual can have an effect on the …show more content…

Each time that Luke is knocked down he keeps getting up and refuses to concede despite the social pressures coming from the crowd telling him to “stay down” since it 's not possible for him to win (Rosenberg 1967). Luke’s carelessness for his own life and need to cause trouble is an example of non-conformity. Another example of Luke’s non-conformity is when he is invited to join in on the prisoner’s card game and is asked whether he is “in or out” and Luke replies that he is “out” (Rosenberg 1967). The game is ritualistic and reinforces the power dynamics, attitudes, and beliefs within the prisoner 's social group. Through Luke’s rejection of the game, he also rejects membership to the group. Later on, when he starts joining in on the card games he is also conceding to their norms. This eventually wins him a nickname, “Cool Hand Luke”, as a symbol of his conformity to their rituals and his role in the …show more content…

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

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