Conformity And Obedience In Stuart Rosenberg's Film 'Cool Hand Luke'

Anti-hero, anti-hero is a character that lacks characterists of a hero. It is the opposite of a hero but not a villian. The character has characteristics such as being selfish, insecurity, rebellious, and is very independent. The character can aslo be the outsider who does not fit-in, and has problems with authority & with rules, which we learned in class. That can really relate to luke. Luke is the anti-hero in Cool Hand Luke.

Escape from Camp 14 is the true story of Shin Dong-hyuk, who is the only known person to have been born in and escape from a North Korean labor camp. After numerous interviews, the book’s author, Blaine Harden, details the reader about Shin’s life both inside and outside the camp as he assimilates into different societies. As critical information is revealed, Harden uncovers the corruption in the political landscape in North Korea. Shin’s life in Camp 14 accentuates the struggles to gain basic human freedom and elucidates food as an even more precious commodity. The straightforward diction and intriguing combination of rhetorical devices effectively expresses the brutality and oppression in the North Korean prison camp.

Watching the “Rape at McDonalds” video was very disturbing. It was shocking to see how all the participants, except for the maintenance man, complied with the bizarre demands of the supposed police, especially Donna Jean Summers. As a manager, she should have known the policies of the company, as a reasonable person, she should had handled the situation in a different way. However, there are some psychological explanations for her behaviors. The law says that we must obey the authority; she believed that she was doing the right thing by following the others given by “the cop” even if the commands were very odd. “Obedience is a form of social influence where an individual acts in response to a direct order from another individual, who is usually an authority figure” (Saul McLeod, par.3). Most of us will comply the order given by the authority because if we do not, it may cause us problems, this is what Donna did. Her behavior was affected by the influence of the supposed cop. Moreover, she showed conformity which is “a change in behavior or belief as the result of real or imagined pressure”, (Myers & Winter, 2012). She did not confront the man order’s, she accepted everything very easily.

They say three aspects of a thriving society are where we’re from, who we know, and how we think. On the flip side of that coin, these very same aspects can ironically be our undoing. That delicate balance can be the difference between a life in prison and a life dedicated to others. Yes, the sobering realities of life can be harsh but it can also shape and mold us into the people that we’re destined to be. In The Other Wes Moore, The lives of two young men are examined through three distinct lenses. How the environment, social capital (How we get ahead by the help of others and vice versa) and our mindset can dictate who we become in our lives.

The film that I chose to analyze was Shawshank Redemption. The movie Shawshank Redemption was released September 23, 1994 and told the story of Andy Dufresene. A hot shot banker who finds himself convicted of a crime he said he didn’t commit, the murder of his wife and her lover. In 1947 he was sent to Shawshank Prison where the story revolved around Andy’s transformation to prison life and his journey as an inmate in the prison. The movie was produced by Niki Marvin and directed by Frank Darabont.

The author ultimate hypothesis focuses on two aspects relating to authority. The first aspect is that the uniform, from the view of the subordinate is one of absolute authority and power. So much it comes to the point where the guards, the authority, appear to be physically larger. This was found to be the case even when the guards were the same physical size.

Throughout Ken Kesey’s, One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest, the balance of power is challenged in the psychiatric ward. Out of the several leaders that appear in the novel, Nurse Ratched and McMurphy are the most prominent. During Nurse Ratched and McMurphy struggle for power, they share many of the same qualities. It is argued that: “McMurphy and Ratched are alike in intelligence, military service, distinctive (if opposite) clothing, and conventionally masculine qualities” (Evans). These small similarities; however, do not distract the characters from fighting for their individual beliefs. Both McMurphy and Nurse Ratched approached their leadership in different ways. McMurphy uses transformational leadership, which is a leader that “must perform some combination of the transactional functions (plan, direct, organize, control) in order to build respect and trust… [and the] leader gets people to work towards some higher purpose or goal” (O’Connor). In other words, it is a leader who achieves a “higher goal”, while “build[ing] respect and trust” from the people. On the other hand, Nurse Ratched uses authoritarian leadership, which is when “Policies [are] determined by the leader. [The] leader determines what each member should do and with whom he should work… Some find it difficult to diffuse authority… [which] causes some to feel threatened and insecure” (Sferra). More simply, an authoritative leader is one that has supreme power over the people. McMurphy’s transformational

Since the beginning of the human existence, man has always dominated and ruled over one another be it empires, corporations, or small groups. Authority and obedience has always been a factor of who we are. This natural occurrence can be seen clearly through the psychological experiments known as The Milgram Experiment and the Stanford Prison Experiment. Both of these studies are based on how human beings react to authority figures and what their obedience is when faced with conflict.

Few remember that not just the indicted are changed in the prison system-the authority figures become different, too. Thousands of people go to detention facilities and stay there from minutes to decades, but the authority figures stay there with every influx of new prisoners. The wardens, in particular, are a monumental part of the system. They regulate the prisoners causing them to adapt to situations, whether positive or negative. Samuel Norton, the warden in the adaptation of Stephen King’s Shawshank Redemption, is embodied by the atmosphere of the prison. He is an apathetic, selfish man who knows how to take advantage of those around him. In the acclaimed motion picture Shawshank Redemption, Warden Norton displays religion as an agent of socialization; stage-two of Kohlberg’s morality development; and resocialization of the prison system.

People greatly value honor, and they will disregard everyone else and put themselves in danger in order to achieve it. For example, Tom wants it to be harder to get Jim out of his confinements, ignoring the fact that he is a human being and it is essential to his health and well being that he not remain imprisoned. When he encounters Jim’s situation, he says, “‘Blame it, this whole thing is just as easy and awkward as it can be. And so it makes it so rotten difficult to get up a difficult plan.”’ Tom is more concerned with making getting Jim out into a challenge than actually getting him out quickly and safely, because Tom feels that, “‘there’s more honor in getting him out through a lot of difficulties and dangers.’” He is willing to make his life more dangerous just to attain honor. He also puts attaining honor before Jim’s well-being, demonstrating how he values an honorable reputation above the lives of others.

Shawshank’s Redemption, an all-time best movie produced in 1994 starred and led by actors Tim Robbins and Morgan Freeman. A story about two imprisoned men’s experience with the corrupted prison institution through their way of self-redemption. There is a line, which was well read by Morgan Freeman, I am particularly fond of. Here I quote ‘These walls are funny. First you hate them, then you get used to them. Enough time passes, you get so you depend on them. That 's institutionalized.’ A prison should aim at retribution, incapacitation, deterrence and rehabilitation. I am very well convinced that prison has served its first three purposes by depriving offenders’ freedom, but the

Authority gives a person the chance to feel superior, and as seen throughout this film, those within the position of authority will only then abuse this opportunity. Given the chance for people to gain authority or rather the sense of authority is enough to awaken the evil within. Within the movie, The Stanford Prison Experiment the guards were enabled to set a line of difference between the prisoners and themselves. They were able to make the prisoners feel weak or emasculated, forcing the students to strip and wear the assigned prison clothes that barely covered their genitals (Alvarez). Forcing the prisoners to wear these feminine articles of clothing and assigning them a number, gives the opportunity to strip away their personality and

Vygotsky states the definition of authority is, “All the hierarchical relationships that give one person decision- making authority and superiority control over another.”

“Moral Authority comes from following universal and timeless principles like honesty, integrity, and treating people with respect”-Stephen Covey. With power comes great responsibility, just as authority does. However, sometimes people abuse their power in certain situations. It is also common to see people with power step on the people below them. In The Crucible, many characters use their power and authority in Salem for personal gain and for wrongdoing. Throughout history authority figures give orders to people below them and those people have listened, which shows the kind of effect authority has over a population who cannot make a decision in times of stress.

Philosopher Charles de Secondat once said: “There is only one thing that can form a bond between men, and that is gratitude...we cannot give someone else greater power over us than we have ourselves.” In the film Cool Hand Luke, the prison gang bonds with Luke in so many ways.