. August Spies, the socialist activist, warned his contemporaries - and we today who read his works - how excesses of a hyper-capitalist society eventually develop one focus: criminalise non-conformist behaviours as its method to control the citizenry.<br /><br />We are there - this film is a wake-up call for us to stand tall and repel our corrupt political and social 'leaders' who only seek personal greed for themselves - the rest be damned. They claim to be 'Christian', yet they deny what their own Bible teaches them.<br /><br />Thus you see in 'Prison Song' how every act our protagonists make invites further retaliation by 'the system' - a corrupt 'system' at that.<br /><br />- The cops were corrupt the way they criminalised young Elijah for doing what all kids do - for being a kid.<br /><br />- The 'juvie' and foster care 'system' was corrupt - right from the beginning as well as bouncing our 'hero' from one decrepit environment to the next.<br /><br />- The 'justice' system was corrupt for 'criminalising' Elijah.<br /><br />- The cops extended their corruption the way they 'criminalised' his mother during her time of desperation wanting her son returned to her home. Only the cruel 'system' lacked the heart to cry for her.<br /><br />- The mental health care 'system' was corrupt drugging his mother (reminiscent of '... Cuckoo's Nest'). Mass druggings persist today.<br /><br />- The corrupt private prison was the expected final nail on our 'hero's' coffin. In-mates meant only one thing to the corrupted administrator: his profit margin - his bottom line. Note how he bragged he was cutting expences: no water - no toilet paper. Eventually, the administrator ordered that no human dignity be graced upon his charges.<br /><br />- The construction operator who only cared about his profit greed - he, too, saw cheap prison labour as his windfall.<br /><br />- The prison guard who sold out his own soul in desperation to support his family - losing his construction job to slave-wage in-mates because the operator chose to squeeze more greed to line his pockets.<br /><br />We saw our 'hero' maintain his decency among these environments of societal corruption.<br /><br />Knowing his fate was sealed inside the gate, he could easily have slain his captive guard. Our 'hero' proved he was above their corruption - no matter what they imposed upon him. His final act defines what it means to be a hero.<br /><br />Meanwhile, the guards proved their corruption and cruelty knew no boundaries - they totally lost their souls - perpetuating their own corrupt environment. They sealed their own fate.<br /><br />RKO Pictures produced several movies during the early 'Depression' era (1929 - 1932) using similar themes and story lines. All worth the search.<br /><br />'Prison Song' is important for all audience - all ethnic backgrounds.<br /><br />That said, repetition in contemporary form reminds us those themes remain with us - that we have much work to do to overcome the cruelties portrayed in this version.<br /><br />Sadly, with our current American political climate as it is, our 'hero's' demise was the only ending this production could have presented without making the movie a waste of time.<br /><br />You can either participate continuing this losing society, or you can work building a future that would make your children proud.<br /><br />The choice is yours. .