Essay on Frank Darabont's The Shawshank Redemption

In 1994, Frank Darabont’s film ‘The Shawshank Redemption’ received a poor reception when released; it only made a $0.3m profit. More recently the film has become known as one of the greatest movies of all time, it has inspired hope in many people, helping them to lose weight, leave abusive marriages and such like. The film is based mainly upon two convicts, and the idea of hope. Andy Dufresne is a ‘Hot Shot Banker’ imprisoned with two life sentences, for the suspected murder of his wife and her lover and ‘Red’ (Morgan Freeman) whom Andy redeems hope in, along with the other convicts, saving them from institutionalisation.

The Shawshank Redemption by Stephen King is both a wonderful film and a brilliantly written short story. There are many themes represented in each form of The Shawshank Redemption. The one major theme that interests me in both the film and the story is freedom. Freedom serves a large purpose for both the story's writer and the filmmaker. Both use similar examples to signify freedom, not only in the jail, but also in a larger context about life. There are many events and examples in both the film and the short story that signifies the theme of freedom. The one main difference is when the film uses the director’s technique to portray a feel of freedom for the inmates. The overall three issues used in this essay are all linked to the

In Frank Darabont’s film Shawshank Redemption, the themes of isolation and hope are used to underscore the effects of imprisonment. However, the main characters Andy and Red perceive prison life and freedom very differently. First off, one of the key reasons Andy survived in prison is due to the hope he held. On the other hand, Red lost all hope of getting out of prison. Furthermore, life for both characters became quite different once they are released from prison.

Shawshank Redemption is a drama intended for entertainment about a man wrongfully accused of murder and sentenced to life in prison. The movie then shows his life in the prison before escaping and the problems he faced and how he overcame them. Although intended for entertainment if you pay attention you can start to see more than just a story in this film. Throughout the movie you become more aware of how the prison works and what motivates the prisoners. The way the prisoners and guards are motivated and act can be explained with principles found in Psychology, and these principles can be observed throughout the entire movie. Among many Psychological principles found in the film Shawshank Redemption, the ones that are most easily seen in the movie are Groupthink, Social Learning Theory, the Feel Good Do Good Phenomenon, and the Foot In The Door Phenomenon.

The Shawshank Redemption is a high quality film with many themes, that are going to be explored. There are themes in any form of entertainment. But, the Shawshank Redemption is much different, in that is so packed full of them, that there is no good place to start looking for them. For that matter, there also is no right answer in which themes are the most important. Therefore, the Shawshank Redemption’s most important themes are freedom and confinement, transformation, and hope.

The Shawshank Redemption is a prison drama movie released in 1994 and is based on a novella named “Rita Hayworth and the Shawshank Redemption”. The novella was written by Stephen King and published in 1982 in a compilation of four novellas which was named Different Seasons. “Rita Hayworth and the Shawshank Redemption” was the first novella in the book; King called this first chapter HOPE SPRINGS ETERNAL. The rest of the novella chapters had references to summer, fall and winter. However, King pointed directly to the main theme of the novella by his emphasis on HOPE. Imprisonment is obviously an isolating and fearful experience. Ironically, after long incarceration, many prisoners become institutionalized and so used to the bars, the tight schedules and the prison guards that they become afraid of freedom or even the hope of freedom. As King stated in an interview, “What are we afraid of, as humans? Chaos. The outsider. We’re afraid of change. We’re afraid of disruption, and that is what I’m interested in.” (Lehmann-Haupt, www.theparisreview.org) Both the book and the movie explore these fears, but keep hope alive in the human condition by describing one prisoner’s ability to retain his self-worth despite being in a hopeless situation. His outlook on life, his “inner light” kept him hopeful that he could become free again.

Red’s whole reputation in Shawshank is only possible because of the corruption in the system. He wouldn’t be able to smuggle supplies into the prison without his network of corrupt officials who are willing to help. These corrupt guards work in many different forms, some simply turning a blind eye to Red’s business, some even helping him and others even going so far as smuggling things in themselves. On that note, it seemed like there were actually quite a few officials who were in on the contraband trade, as Red mentions that “By the late sixties there was a booming trade in pills, and the same administrative crowd was

The Shawshank Redemption movie is about a man named Andy Dufresne who was falsely accused of murder and was sentenced to life in prison for the murders of his wife and her lover. Being in jail, Andy faced many problems of being abused, but he also gained a strong friendship with a man named Red. Many of the things that the prisoners had to face showed a sociological perspective on how life was in jail and how it affected the prisoners. In Shawshank prison, the functionalism theory, the conflict perspective, and the control theory shows the life and adjustments a prisoner has to make in order to survive going into a new world.

Corruption of justice in the prison system is relevant in Stephen Kings, novella, Rita Hayworth and Shawshank Redemption. The Cause of this corruption was the greed of the administrators, and the lasting effects it had on the prisoners mentally, physically, and emotionally.

dark suit. We next see him on the bus. The camera is set in front of

At the beginning of the Shawshank Redemption, Andy gets framed for the murder of his cheating wife. Which makes his life take a darker turn with him going to Shawshank prison. Shawshank prison is one of the worst prisons ever, the prison guards abuse the prisoners, and the warden orders them to do so and will do anything for money. The prison uses fear as a way to keep the prisoners in line. When you first show up to Shawshank they take you in, strip you down, and spray you with water. After that, they throw this powder on you then give you your clothes and walk you to your cell naked. The prisoners have a game to see who breaks down first, so they yell at the new prisoners until one breaks. Their goal is to break the person they bet on this shows fear because when a new prisoners break they cry and become very scared and the one who broke in the film was murdered by a guard.

As briefly learned in lecture, corruption can transpire in any agency, including prisons. A lot of corruption took place within the walls of Shawshank State Penitentiary. The warden is making money by forcing the inmates to do labor work, while displaying the image of rehabilitating the prisoners. Andy is money laundering for the warden, as a means to protect himself. The warden goes to great lengths to keep Dufresne in the prison, such as the killing of Tommy. As a warden, he is supposed to differentiate right from

Prisonization is a concept that breaks down the socialization process within prisons. The idea highlights what truly takes place during the process of adjusting to prison norms. These norms can include things such as values, customs,

Survival is the key struggle in The Shawshank Redemption. This film takes place in the corrupt Shawshank State Penitentiary where mental and physical abuses inflicted upon prisoners are the hard realities of the system. For the prisoners of Shawshank, life is often bleak and violent. However, the will to survive is what keeps the characters motivated to retain their humanity and challenge the institutionalization of Shawshank. In particular, the film’s main protagonists, Andy Dufresne and Ellis “Red” Redding, exemplify the struggle for survival in the face of a corrupt, frightening, and oppressive prison system. In order to survive the harsh realities of the world, people adapt with personal traits like courage and resourcefulness in addition to forming community with other people.

Moreover another production aspect used to show us this idea is music. Music is used to create mood and help us understand what a character is going through. We hear violin and string instruments as Andy arrives to Shawshank Prison. Violin and string instruments are used in movies a lot to make the viewer feel sad about something happening or about to happen. We first hear Orchestral Music when we are shown Shawshank Prison we hear it playing in the background low volume and slow tempo and this increases in volume and tempo to create a sad mood for Andy’s arrival and emphasise that the prison is a dark and depressing place to end up. It suggests to the viewer that the prison is a sad place to end up in and that it is a corrupted place too. It makes us worried for Andy who seems like a good guy.