Introduction

Directed by Frank Darabont in 1994, the film Shawshank Redemption is a flim about hope. I believe this film is a great movie for people around my age and up because it shows how bad prisons are and what they can do to people over long periods of time. It shows how different people handle the situation and makes a statement that if you commit a crime, prison is a bad place where you don’t want be. This film follows the life in prison for Andy Dufrense and the other characters showing hope, redemption and freedom along the way. Throughout the film hope and redemption are seen vital components leading towards certain characters freedom.

Paragraph 1

Hope is one of the main themes in this film shown through various characters throughout the film. Hope shows the message that eventually you will be set free and have freedom once again after being in prison. The contrast between Andy and Red’s hope completely start on different levels of hope. “let me tell you something my friend. Hope is a dangerous thing, it can drive a man insane”. This is a quote from Red in the cafeteria when Andy has just come back from spending time in the hole. Red has been in prison for a long time, more than Andy and he has seen what hope can do to some people. Red believes hope only breaks a man down as what happened with brooks hanging himself and Red says this to Andy because he does not want him to break down the same way. This shows Red has no intention of getting out of prison because he thinks hope is a bad thing which is seen in the film such as his parol speech. Andy had a different perspective of hope and he sees it as freedom.”Hope is a good thing. Maybe even the best of things and good things never die”. Throughout the film many times hope is shown through Andy using lighting, music and dialogue. When Andy is down in the hole the camera shot shows him laying on the bench in the darkness with a tiny snippet of light shining in through the door. This shows that Andy always has hope of getting out. Contrasting small areas of light into dark scenes portrays hope also by giving us a message that something is going to happen. lighting is also used to set the scene and show the dominant character. This is shown when the warden is standing outside the prison in the darkness and Tommy walks out under the lamppost. The Scene puts the warden in the dark which makes him the bad guy telling the audience something bad is going to happen. I feel like hope can get you through any situation as long as you stick with it and that’s why Andy Dufrense managed to escape because he kept hope within through 18 years of pain.

paragraph 2

This film shows how prisons can change people lives. throughout the film many characters are affected by the conditions of prison compared to the free world. A key example of this was Brooks Hadlen. Brooks had been in prison for 40 years and it made him institutionalised and made him unable to fit back into society as everything had became so different since he left. this was the main cause of Brooks ending his own life. Brooks had been in prison so long it felt like home to him as he did not enjoy the outside world. while being in prison for so long it takes over your life and becomes your home. for brooks this was the case as he didn’t have anything on the outside world. Red was another character who started becoming institutionalised by the end of the film as seen from his final parol speech. “So you go on and stamp your form, sonny, and stop wasting my time. Because to tell you the truth, I don’t give a shit”. This is a quote from red at the end of his speech to the parol board. It shows that red had given up and realised the prison was his home now and did not want to end up like brooks in the real world. another quote from red was “forty years I’ve been asking permission to piss”. This shows the prison makes people/characters so institutionalised like Red and Brooks causing them to be unable to move straight into the outside world where they have freedom because they are inhumane. I feel like humans are programmed to follow a set routine such as school by working 40 hours a week starting and ending at a certain time. This routine created by society maybe to much for humans affecting their well being such as what happens in prisons causing some people to breakdown.

paragraph 3

Redemption is represented by many characters throughout the film. It is one of the main themes behind the movie showing how different characters get their own redemption and karma along the way. Hard work, perseverance and hope are key points relating to redemption for Andy and Red. Andy’s redemption came from the rock hammer and working for and against the warden. He spent 18 years unnoticed digging a hole in his cell with the small rock hammer which lead to his escape to freedom getting redemption. Red’s way of getting Redemption was slightly different to Andy as Red never took a foot wrong in prison and eventually got set free after the parol speech redeeming freedom to the outside world in a much more simpler way. A contrast to Andy and Reds redemption was the warden receiving karma. When Andy had been working for the warden, he made a fake identity for all the tax bills and etc the prison was bypassing allowing the prison to continue without paying money to tax and the government. When Andy escaped he swapped the reports of the bills with his bible containing a cut out of his rock hammer and when to all the banks and used the fake ID to hand in the reports involving the prison. Later on Andy got redemption as police showed up at the prison in search for the warden who got his deserved karma resulting in the guard being arrested and warden shooting himself before anyone could break in, as he knew there was no way out. This shows how at the start of the film the warden and the guard are portrayed as the people getting redemption on characters such as Andy and Red but throughout the film it swaps around and Andy and Red become the ones getting redemption and the warden and the guard get karma towards the end of the film. A Key scene of freedom and redemption was at the end of the film when Andy and Red are on the beach and the colours of the sand, ocean and sky are bright and colourful painting the picture of freedom as the ocean goes on forever whereas in prison they are trapped inside the walls. The camera flies over the ocean like a bird representing freedom because a bird can fly anywhere in the world always being free.

Conclusion

In conclusion I recommend this film to students in and around my age because it shows good life lessons and why life in prison is much more than you think. As stated in this essay the film contains key components such as hope, freedom and redemption through the perspective of different characters.