This movie a good bit to chew on, I think. Pick two of the following questions and give them careful thought and a full response by 10:00 Sunday. No credit for incomplete and/or late posts.
1. The religious imagery piles up pretty prodigiously as the movie proceeds, culminating in the final aerial shot of the crossroads with the photograph of Luke superimposed on the cross. But do this image and the other references make this a film about belief? If so, a faith in what? If not, why all the loaded images?
2. We started the week with a war veteran who had a few issues with the world around him and we finished the week with another vet struggling to find a comforatble place in the world. Are Walt and Luke cut from the same cloth? What happens if you compare these two men carefully? OR compare Luke and the Apostle EF. Are these two men who commit crimes and build communities related?
3. The prisoners have little respect for Lucas when he enters the work camp. By the end of the film he is a legendary hero. What does he embody for his fellow inmates? What does he think of himself? What does the movie suggest about the prisoners' adulation of Cool Hand Luke?
2. There are several differences and similarities between Luke and the Aposlte E.F.. They both did a "crime" in the past which led them somewhere else where they build and sort of unit a community. One of the major differences between these characters is the motive for their "crime." Luke did a very harmless crime, and he did it simply for something to do. E.F. Did a pretty horrible crime even if he didn't mean to kill sombody he was very violent and more rightly arrested. After E.F.'s crime he did not go against the law at all, he had willingly turned himself in to the police. Luke however fought against the police by trying to escape multiply times, even if he didn't mean any harm against them. When both of these characters are introduced into their communities they don't have too much impact at the time. By the end of the story however they have built a following in each of their respective communities. People respect them. So each character changes their environment around them in each story. E.F. Still holds his belief and has a small amount of development within himself. While Luke goes through a great deal, his mom dies and we start seeing his relation with God.
ReplyDelete3. Luke/Lucas (whatever you want to call him) almost embodies a religious figure to his prison inmates. They start off "not believing" in him, but by the end of the story he is almost like a God to them. He eats 50 eggs in an hour, escapes multiple times, and withstands great tragedy. He is actually more like a Jesus character. People don't "believe" in him at first, but then he helps out and befriends everybody else while doing "impossible" feats. And at the end he is killed and "crucified" as his picture.
2. I think Walt and Luke are very similar. They both were war-veterans who clearly saw a lot of tragedy while they were in war. Both characters adapted to their surroundings after settling in their respective places. At first, Walt despised his Asian neighbors. He called them hateful names and was incredibly rude in general to them. But after several encounters with the children, Thao and Sue, he adapted to their presence and earned their respect. Walt hung out with his neighbors, and even started to ask Thao for help. The kids came to Walt when they had a problem, and they formed a connection. Walt was very angry when he saw the damage that happened to Sue; he punched his cabinets, injuring his house and hands. Similarly, Luke grows to the prison and adapts to the inmates. At first, he talks back and questions the high-in-power inmates, like Dragline, which results in Luke getting beat up. Luke comes into the prison and acts like he's the new-guy, which angers his peers. But Luke soon gains their respect, like Walt. Luke eats all the eggs, which appeases Dragline and other inmates a lot. Luke also gains their respect by never giving up, like when Dragline kept punching him but he never quit. Luke earned their respect so much that they even helped him escape. The inmates adored Luke by the end of the movie. Both Walt and Luke start out not on good terms with the people they're living near, but soon they earn their respect and look towards them for help. Also, Luke and Walt both die the same. Walt was not going to harm the gang at all; he didn't even bring a gun with him. But the gang still violently killed him. Luke also was not putting the jail guards and police in any severe danger. He was about to go out peacefully when he was shot in the neck. Walt and Luke are in the same cloth.
ReplyDelete3. Luke provides hope for his inmates. He performs several improbable miracles. For example, he somehow manages to eat 50 eggs in an hour. He also escapes the prison three times before getting caught. But Luke keeps trying, despite his failures. He never gives up, like when he kept fighting Dragline despite getting beat up severely. Luke gives hope to the inmates that everything will be okay. He smiles at everything, even in times of suffering like while they're tarring the road. Luke gives hope to the prisoners that anything can happen, like them escaping, and helps them find fun in life; he turns hard work into a game. I think Luke realizes that he's providing hope while in prison. The second time he escapes, he sends a postcard to the inmates. The inmates love the postcard; some even pay to see it. I think Luke sent it because he knew it would make them happy, and give hope that even a prisoner like Luke could enjoy life after prison.
Cool Hand Luke (Part 2)
ReplyDeleteJoanie Dorfman
1. Luke is a sort of Christ-like figure for the prisoners. He teaches them how to work together on the tar road and give them hope. But the authorities don't like his ways and try to break him. Finally, he is killed for his resistance and unwillingness to give in. He is even betrayed by a friend, Dragline, like Christ was (though Dragline does it as much for Luke as himself). Instead of the son of God, the prisoners have Cool Hand Luke to look to for hope. He represents what they want to be, daring, courageous, and unbreakable, just as Jesus was the ideal human for his followers. Beside the obvious picture over the cross at the end of the film their are lots of Christ symbols. His position after the egg-eating contest is like one of a Christ dangling off the cross. His bottle-cap opener is kind of like a cross necklace.
The prisoners believe in their Christ-like figure more than they probably should. Even when Luke tells them the picture was a fake, they refuse to believe it. That picture is almost like a Bible to them. They need to believe in it, they have to believe it's real, because if they don't, what can they believe in? Dragline is Luke's apostle. He follows Luke loyally, running off with him after Luke steals the truck, and ultimately he is the keeper of Luke's legacy. He tells the tale of Luke to the prisoners after Luke dies.
3. As I said, Luke is a Christ-like figure to them. He's a beacon of hope for them. He is everything they can't be. They look to him because he had the courage that they never could. He's a hero to them, a sign that things can get better, that there is hope.
What's interesting about this movie is that it is the story of the prisoners' messiah told from the perspective of the messiah. The story starts and ends with Luke and we are with him every step of the way. This allows us to see things about our messiah that his followers are unwilling to. We see Luke challenging his believe in God and in any hope for him and his future. We see him break, and when the prisoners see it as him faking, Luke admits to it being completely real. In our tales and books, the messiah is a being that transcends humanity, something greater and stronger. But what's really remarkable about this film is that it makes us see that maybe our messiah, be it Jesus or Luke, is really a flawed human being.
Also, I found a great article online about the religious symbolism in this movie after I wrote the response.
ReplyDeleteCheck it out: http://ryanandthemovies.blogspot.com/2009/09/analysis-of-cool-hand-luke.html
2. I think Luke is more related to Walt than Apostle EF. Other than the church scene at the end of Cool Hand Luke, religion seemingly doesn’t have a huge role in the movie. This is the same for Gran Torino since there is a small funeral scene in the beginning and a confession scene towards the end. However, this minor addition of religion in the beginning of the movie is important because later on, it shows how useful religion can be. In one scene when it was raining and they were finished working, Luke looked up to the sky and told God that if he was real, toshow him. Since he tested the power of God, the next day, his mom passed away. Walt’s story is a little different, in a way that religion allowed him to be strong and risk his life for the grace of his neighbors. Each of these people have built their communities by being courageous. Walt gave up his life so the gangsters would get arrested and leave his neighborbors (who he didn't like before) alone. Also, even though Luke knew the consequences, he continued to run away from the prison and he gained respect from his mates each time he did so.
ReplyDelete3. In the beginning of the movie, Luke is new to the imprisonment and none of the guys respect him. He gains this respect by being bold and not backing down. This was evident when he fought Dragline and even though he was losing, he didn't give up. Each situation in which he did something audacious, he achieved respect by his mates. He shows his fellow inmates the value of perseverance and reasons to become leaders. Not only did Luke change the community, but he left an effect on the prison with his courageous and daring attitude.
1. Luke claims to be an atheist, but he keeps on calling out to God, trying to make Him show Himself. Luke is ready to be struck by lightning, to die, if it means he can know of the existence of God. Despite over and over proving to himself that there is no God, some hope holds up, as he prays in the church at the end of the film. Is it possible he only claims to not believe? But no, he seems genuinely unbelieving when he gets no answer, all alone in the church. Regardless, Luke is unsure of his belief, he has doubt. Also, the other men in the camp obviously believe in Luke, past the point of doubt. They don't believe him when he says that the picture was fake, because if he couldn't make it and live this wonderful life, what hope was there for them? Though Luke's beliefs are filled with doubt, the way the men believe in him is more like conviction. The movie contrasts these two extremes.
ReplyDelete2. Walt and Luke are totally different. Though both have religious doubts, Walt's time in the army made him believe in more traditional values. Luke, on the other hand, calls everything into question. He doesn't seem to care whether he is on the side of the law and tradition or against it. Walt dies to set up a crime for the police to put away wrongdoers. Luke dies at the hands of the police to give hope to wrongdoers. Though they both went through war and came out changed, these two men went in very different directions afterwards.
2. Luke and Apostle E.F. are similar characters in that they both start their journey in a place of uncertainty. Both men don’t seem to fit in to the world around them anymore. Luke doesn’t have anybody close to him besides his only visitor, his mother. Even on the night he was arrested, Luke was drinking by himself. The Apostle’s family has kicked him out and had him removed from the church. Like Luke, He no longer has a place in his community. Luke helps bring together his inmates in the jail and the Apostle connects the community by building a church. However, the characters have differences as well. The apostle’s faith is strengthened throughout the movie, but he has believed in God since his childhood. Luke, on the other hand, doesn’t seem to truly believe in almost anything at the beginning of the movie. His journey is more about finding his own identity than his faith or religion.
ReplyDelete3. Luke has a defiant spirit that inspires his fellow prisoners. He doesn’t seem to fear punishment or repercussions the way most people do. He does things that “no one can do,” like eating 50 eggs or escaping 3 times. Because of this, the inmates romanticize the idea of “Cool Hand Luke” and look up to him in an almost religious way. This is why they are so disappointed when he appears to be “broken” after he is caught a second time. Maybe Luke was so content with dying because it allowed him to maintain his image forever.
I think that Luke and Walt are both different and the same in certain ways. For example, they are different becuase Walt reacts to what the world throws at him. If he sees trouble, he will step in and stop it. When Thao comes over to work for him, he mentors him and protects him. Walt fixes problems that he is presents with. Luke on the other hand doesn't wait for the world to present him with a problem, he seeks out life and adventure instead of trying to make his life in prison better. But they are similar in that they both have a strong affect on the people around them and they both have followers and helpers. Walt changes Thao's intire life and gains respect from his neighbors. Luke doesn't give up in his fight against Dragline and eats fifty eggs to gain his piers respect. Both have military backgrounds that affect them in different ways. For Walt, his time in the military made him do and see horible things. This could have driven obligation to help people. Luke was in the military and it provided him with a place to belong and a job that allowed him to explore and venture places. So in conclusion, they are both different and the same.
ReplyDelete3. Luke embodies that passion to go out and live life the way you want to and to make a mark on the world. This resonates with his inmates in a big way because many of them will be stuck in prison and not being able to do anything for a long time, while others are stuck in there for life. He defies orders and runs away to prove that nobody controls him amd what he can and can not do. This drive and passion that Luke possesses is very moving and uplifting to his inmates which is why he is like a hero to them.
1. I think it is a movie about faith because through out the movie Lucas teaches them to have faith and hope that they can get through the day and everything will be alright. We see this in this scene because this is supposed to be one of the hardest jobs that they do. But Lucas inspires them to finish the job with two hours to spare. We also see this in the egg eating contest where he says and believes that he can eat the fifty eggs and tells his friends to trust him. We also see this when he escapes and sends them back the picture in the magazine. This picture gives them a sense of hope that one day they could be like that.
ReplyDelete2. Lucas and Apostle EF both are good influences on the people around them but they do it in very different ways. EF does it by having the proactive way by preaching and setting up a church for people to come and pray. While Lucas does it in a unconventional way by teaching them to have fun and that life can be better than the one they are living. Both ways are good in their own rights because they both do teach positive messages to the people around them.
3. I think he embodies a sense of fun and self determination. He shows this in the beginning with the be gambling seen where he doesn't act like he has a good hand and just bets money and ultimately wins the poker game. We also see this in the
last scene where he dies smiling which shows the he really took advantage of those officers and got to have fun with them. And even when he was dying he knew that he had the fun that he wanted to have and was going to a better situation than the one he had been in.