I picked up the word 'Institutionalized' from the movie ' The Shawshank Redemption'. The narrator 'Red' (enacted by Morgan Freeman) an inmate of the Shawshank prison uses this word to describe his state. A dictionary would define this as ' officially placed in or committed to a specialized institution such as a hospital or a prison'.Going forward I am going to use this in a broader sense.
The above definition would put a fear in to the minds of people only if it were an institution like a prison, a hospital, a mental asylum or a rehabilitation center. Its not as much the dreadedness of the institution that I would like to elucidate, rather the dependency that it creates in us. Aren't we all part of an institution. As Engineers , as students, as laborers , aren't we all institutionalized ? We all have to follow rules, stick to deadlines and follow orders. We are bound to our duty by the needs of the world. The world needs Engineers, Doctors, students, teachers, laborers etc. Each and everyone of us fall in to one or more of the above category and find themselves 'institutionalized' once or more in some part of their life. Why do we need to become part of this ? Is this imposed on us or are we dutifully becoming a part of it ? Whatever the answer is, we are inevitably sucked in to it whether we like it or not.
The world : the institution as it is now is a manifestation of our evolution from a simple caveman to the modern metro-dweller. It was bound to happen, because we evolved and we had intelligence. We sought after pleasures and easier ways to live and made ourselves more and more dependent on the institution. This intertwined network with its ever-growing branches can never be uprooted and that is one reason why you will definitely be a part of it even if you try to avoid it. It is ubiquitous and it has sustained us all along. We will not be able to survive without it from now on.
Since we have come to the conclusion that it is impossible to avoid it, the only way out is to use it in such a way that suits your needs and you enjoy doing. It is quite hard to beat the system but once you adapt you will succeed in bending it around to satisfy your desires.Not many people have succeeded in this, most would prefer just being a part of it and taking what is given. But the ones who have adapted will have acquired what they wanted through it and that's what makes them different.
Coming back to the movie S.R, Andy Dufrane the protagonist refuses to be institutionalized. He escapes from the prison to lead his dream life. So that leads me again to another question. Can we live and not be a part of the institution ? It is a fact that we are dependent on it, but do we have to keep contributing to it forever. We cannot stop being a part of its productive process but we can reduce our contribution to it.
It would seem as if it is our responsibility to sustain the institution. We are its dedicated workers. It is our responsibility to take care of it and see that it doesn't collapse. But what if it did give away suddenly. We would be left stranded, ruined and unable to survive. So irrespective of how hard it is to sustain, the intellectuals of the world will continue supporting it with all their might and see to it that it is not even scratched. It is here to stay and no matter what you think about it, you will have to live with it.
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4 comments:
Andy Dufrene was accused of false charges. That's one reason why he wanted to run away. And the second reason is too simple. It is because he was imprisoned. Jailed. Locked down. For the rest of his life. No human being in his sense would appreciate that. He didn't feel institutionalized. Because he had seen the world before coming inside. He just planned his escape from the beginning because he was a normal human being like everyone of us who wants to stay free than being bound to chains for ever. He ran away in the end of the movie because the scripts said so.
Morgan Freeman said he was institutionalized because he has spent the major part of his life in prison. He, and the librarian guy who killed himself cannot exist outside the prison walls. It would be like taking a gold fish from inside its bowl and putting it on the table where it has no other fate other than death.
Coming back to the original Institutionalized.
We, as human beings follow rules, some of which that are written down on paper, and some simply because they're ethical. This is the sole reason why humans are different form any other organism on the planet. If these rules are not obeyed, ours would be a planet filled with barbarians running havoc all around. For a society to prosper, this is the proper way the system should be defined. There are people who thinks they have beaten the system and lives against it (at least they think so). But it's easy to recognize that they too are results of the same system and one way or the other, they are related to almost all aspects of it.
By the time I got here, I read the post for a second time and saw many things I didn't see in my first go. The post has no real message to the viewers. The 'question mark' surrounding the post heading is the question to be answered here. And the post talks about how people are institutionalized in their own ways, and how some of them go over it to be better and different. But in the end, again, the writer is trying to admit the fact that this Institutionalization has to be maintained for the prosperity of humanity. If that is the kind of idea this post is supposed to give to readers, then there's no need to write a post that explains a basic fact to people by combining it with a very famous Hollywood movie. The writer is feeling Institutionalized because he/she doesn't feel that change will work in this system, even though that is something he admire in a few of the lot of people in this world which he has mentioned above in the post. Chained beast, that wants to break free, or it seems. But can't take the decision. Sad predicament.
Thanks for the comment Anish, didn't expect one to come along so soon.
The comparison with the movie is only to get the key word out. This post was not in any way a review of the movie or a critique, not did it deal with why any of the characters felt like that. It is only about 'institutionalization' and the reference to the movie was to only correlate to the similar states.
About the fact that I am confused, I guess you are right. There are 2 sides to every coin. The message of the post is for the reader to think about the world we live in.
The question asked at the beginning is again for the reader to decide. If you feel you are 'institutionalized'then you can try doing something about it.
Change at times can be good or be bad, but it is inevitable and again falling in to the vicious cycle of the system.
At times I do feel institutionalized, and I am sure most people do at some point of there life. People who haven't thought about it are like those who are still in the Matrix(movie reference again), not realising what's going on.
Hi Sir/Madam,
Your article provided an interesting read. The idea of relating to one of the best movies of the century was also excellent.But I got a few concerns.
Your work reflects profoundly at many instances that you are relating institutionalization to constraints that are around us.
In prison it may be freedom constrain, in educational institution it can be social constrain, in job it can be monetary constrain. All these are interrelated also. So according to you, what ever forcefully gives us boundary either socially or physically is institutionalization. you even plan to beat this system.
Yes, In a narrow sense you are right. But there exists an institution that has kept our life and culture moving forward. A system that gives us love, care and security. It is called Family. but you never mention anything about it. The one system which we neither want to break nor beat.
SK
@ Rambo Arun
Thanks for your compliments. This is a topic that if put to open debate can provide umpteen viewpoints and contradictions. Thanks for pointing out about the family system. But the gist of the article deals with something different and if we consider all such systems and sub systems, we might have to start a blog only for writing on that. The subject can be debated on and on. And I guess I was also under the constraint of limiting the length of my post.
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