Confession: I was not excited to rewatch this movie. I felt like it's the most overrated movie ever, but it turns out, it holds up! So I'm thrilled that Jonathan "Coach Jon" McLernon suggested that we revisit this spectacular film.

Coach Jon is a husband and a father as well as a nutrition lifestyle coach.

Shawshank Redemption is a very human film to Coach Jon, because of its story of perseverance and theme of integrity. And let's not forget about the friendship between Andy and Red - a relationship that transcends the movie screen.

We discuss whether the Warden is representative of very many Christians today, and Coach Jon shares who the Warden really reminds him of. He then goes on to talk about what a real Christian person is. It's never beneficial to lump one person into a group, because each person is so much more than the sum of its parts.

And isn't it odd that a movie based off of a Stephen King property decides to censor itself so much and shy away from showing violence? Coach Jon relates this to how everything seems to be shown on camera now, and makes the tie between British humor and American humor. I, of course, ask him if likes the American version of the Office or the British version better.

Coach Jon then tells his story of being a survivor of attempted murder and how he found his way back from that trauma. He puts to rest my notion of masculinity and causes me to rethink one of my fantasies about being in a fight just to see if I could survive.

This takes us into a conversation about toxic masculinity, which then leads us down a darker road that revolves around child trafficking and how that issue is a "man" issue. It's a problem with today's men. Coach Jon recommends the book, "Men, Fight for Me" by Alan Smyth. The link for that book is below.

We talk about how the real world, as perceived in the movie, is a much scarier place than the prison itself. I ask Coach Jon to tell me about his personal prisons he's had to escape from.

The answer? It might challenge you. But Coach Jon had a lot of help getting to where he is today, and it's because someone showed compassion on him. His words on compassion and the difference between that and empathy is striking.

There is always the hope for something, and so we talk a lot about hope, what it is, why we need it, will it "drive a man insane" as Red suggests? Coach Jon reminds me that human beings are nothing if not resilient. And that statement alone gives me hope.

My final question to Jon challenges his take on the rehabilitation process in the prison system. What is a better way to rehabilitate as opposed to what's displayed in the movie?

We close out with five movie trivia questions and Coach Jon names three other desert island movies.

Here are all the places you can find Coach Jon and the stuff he brought up in this show:

Coach Jon's Instagram
Coach Jon's Twitter
Between the Before and After
Coach Jon's Youtube Channel

It's Not So Black and White
A sample podcast by Coach Jon
Another Sample podcast on Deep Health Academy
Twitch

Here's the link again to the book, "Men, Fight for Me"

And here's all my links:

Instagram
Facebook
Twitter
Email: Author.andrewtoy@gmail.com

This episode was sponsored by Spur Creative