Tonight in the internet-less confines of my room I felt compelled to watch Cool Hand Luke, a film I had not seen for a few years. I couldn’t seem to remember the ending of the movie for the life of me. I normally do not forget the closing stages, as it is so crucial to understanding most well made film. In the process of watching, I realized why I hadn’t remembered the ending and this is precisely why I loved the movie so much.  

            There is a striking message in the story of Luke, which hits so well at the heart of what it is to be human. We each live our lives, and we all die. But in the character Luke we see something that is unique to the human mind that can never be taken away, the independence of conscience. The confines of society or personal circumstance no matter what the conditions cannot control our ability to meld who we are. The ability to have your own thoughts can follow you to the grave regardless of circumstance. The mind’s limit to deny external pressure is what eventually leads us to change our thoughts based on occurrences outside of our body. This is not to say that our minds cannot be manipulated but we are not Pavlov’s dogs. Even Luke admits that he was broken. But his spirit remains and he makes his last escape to utter the phrase so ironically spoken at death’s arrival, “what we have here is a failure to communicate.” Unlike the pre-programmed mind of the dog or cat we have a distinct consciousness that gives us a unique place in the hierarchy of life. We may not be free from the confines of mortality, but we are free to control the frequencies of thought within us. This is the human spirit, the power of thought, maybe what some call our soul. Cool Hank Luke is a piercing look into the beauty and pain of what it is to be man.