Day 18: Redemption Song

This daily dose is inspired by an episode I saw on TV. I watch the TV show, Hellcats. It's a show about a girl who's going for law school and joined the cheerleading squad (the Hellcats) for a scholarship so that she may stay in school and study law. Yes, it sounds terrible... and yes... it's not great, but I continue to watch it anyway. I bulldoze through the cheesy acting and cliche story line and leave still wondering why I watch it, but today... I was actually touched. The show actually showed a tiny glimmer of brilliance.

I'll try to explain it as plainly as possible. This girl, Marti (the cheerleader studying law), is trying to get an innocent man, Travis, out of jail. One of the football players, Jake, played a prank years ago to be initiated into the football team. He was caught, a few strings were pulled, a fake physical description was made, Jake ran free and Travis (a homeless man with a passion for guitar) was put behind bars. Marti would visit Travis at the prison with her guitar so he could play it. It was a way to "make him feel human" again.

After much evidence was found, they confronted Jake and gave him an ultimatum. Either the evidence they found gets shown in court and everyone who helped cover the story and frame an innocent man would be... well fucked. This would shut down football and the Hellcats. Everyone's scholarship would be taken away, people would lose jobs, Jake would be put in jail for possibly life, blah blah blah. It would just basically be chaos.

Or...
 Jake can confess and turn himself in. It would be his first offense. He would be sentenced to less than a year in jail and not treated... like he would if he committed a major offense.

So choice B was made and here is where it finally touched me. As they were going through the whole process of Travis being freed and Jake being put in jail, they had a bunch of guitars playing in the background. As the guard was walking Jake to his cell, he was talking to him in a very calm and soothing voice. He told him all the perks that he was receiving that not many inmates received. He went on and on about how "well" he was going to be treated and how he was being let off easy. Then he turns Jake to his cell... this little cube with a single bed behind metal bars. Then closed it and it made you realize that even with him being "let off easy" and getting all these "perks", it did not even come close to replacing that one thing a lot of people take for granted... his freedom. Then it went off to show a whole room of people, including Travis, playing guitars and singing Redemption Song.

It's still very cheesy, but it meant a lot to me. Messages like this are overshadowed.

"Redemption Song" by Bob Marley