Film Analysis Paper: Shawshank Redemption

Buergermeister 759
Caldwell 085
Fredrick 382
Sarikaya 820
Treadwell 228

LBST 1102-400 Arts & Society: Film

Professor Cushing
November 23, 2015

1. Themes are the large and small ideas that help to explain the actions and events in the
movie (Corrigan, 37). A wrongfully convicted wealthy banker had to change his entire way of
life to survive in prison, but through obstacles never manages to lose hope that one day he will
be free again. Red was a more pessimistic character than Andy, because of the different
opportunities colored men had during this time period. Shawshank prison is set in Portland,

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Maine around 1950, and the main relationship was between Andy and Red, two opposites of
each other in everything from personality to race. Having the setting in Maine allows the race
card to not be as influential as it would have been if it had been Richmond Virginia.
The two constantly show the struggle hope can have to hold on to or to believe in again.
Andy is constantly thrown struggles, but through hope makes the best of the situation. Andy
plays opera music for the entire prison and receives a week of solitary confinement as
punishment. Upon exiting, he tells about how the music stayed with him. It was in here
[pointing to his mind], and in here [pointing to his heart]. Thats the beauty of music, they can't
get that (Darabont, Shawshank Redemption). Red lost hope many years ago. He is constantly
fighting Andy's belief even when he sees it is working. Red tells Andy that Hope can drive a
man insane, it's got no use on the inside, and you better get used to that idea (Darabont,
Shawshank Redemption). Everything Andy does is to keep the hope alive both in him, and in the
men accompanying him in the prison. Everything Red does is to not create hope. A motif that
kept reoccurring during the film was the Bible. The warden wanted to make all of these criminals
read about God and sinning and thought that quoting the bible was the way to go about that.
Andy used the bible to lead himself to freedom, but that freedom came from the rock hammer he
kept hidden in it.
Also in Corrigans book it says one of the examples of Themes were, how the movie
make you feel at the end (Corrigan, 37). The happy ending of Andy freeing himself from the
terrors of Shawshank prison and ending the corruption of both Warden Norton and the guards
were perfectly described by Red when he said Andy Dufresne the man who crawled through a
river of shit and came out clean on the other side. Andy Dufresne headed for the Pacific.
(Darabont, Shawshank Redemption). Despite Red's fatalistic indifference, Andy freed Red to

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embrace hope once again. The ending of the two sitting on a beach in Mexico as free men is the
happiest ending they could have pictured from inside Shawshank Prison.
Shawshank Redemption has many ideas to take away from the movie. One is that a
person can achieve anything. Red thought it would take 600 years to dig out of the prison, but
Andy did it with determination and perseverance in a little over 19 years. Another idea to take
away is that Hope is a good thing, and no good thing ever dies (Darabont, Shawshank
Redemption). It's difficult to remember that hope is still there, even in a prison after decades, but
the idea that a good thing cannot die means that hope, love, and kindness are all there deep inside
if a person is willing to look hard enough.
2. Film narrative is an important aspect of film-making. Harry Benshoff and Sean Griffin
stated in their book, America on Film, that Hollywood filmmakers tend to use the linear
narrative, meaning the movie is told in chronological order from beginning to end (Benshoff,
Griffin, 27). The narrative of this film is told in the typical linear narrative as it shows and
exemplifies the power and progression of hope. The story is told through Reds eyes as he is
looking in on someone finding hope in the prison, which ultimately restores his hope as well.
The fact that Red was not a man fond of hope made him the perfect candidate to bring forth the
contrasting views and lifestyles of someone with hope and someone without hope. Red narrates
the story through voiceovers which exemplify the knowledge that he has that the other inmates,
such as Andy, do not possess. This allows for an objective view as well compared to the narrative
being done by a guard or from Andy which would make it subjective.
Using a linear narrative allows the audience to feel with the characters as they go on the
journey with them. As in Shawshank Redemption, you feel Andy's confusion and frustration in
the prison as he goes on his journey. One scene in the movie showed a new inmate who asked

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about food and a guard answered you eat when we say you eat, you shit when we say you shit,
and you piss when we say you piss (Darabont, Shawshank Redemption). Instances such as these
show how ruthless the prison is and gives an immediate empathetic feel of Andys hopelessness.
On top of these conditions, Andy contests that he was innocent of the crimes and was wrongfully
there in the first place, and it is through these struggles, and with help of the linear narrative, that
the audience feels the hope start to flourish through Andy.
As the plot develops, the conflict between the Warden and Andy progresses from mere
interactions to consistent scenes of the two. Andy's time in solitary gave him to think and
evaluate his situation as he comes out with the new epiphany that hope is what has been getting
him through his tough situation and will continue to get him through. The time alone he has
signifies a clean slate and renewed mind from the old Andy. The hope he finds begins to
illuminate not only from within but also in his outward atmosphere he receives a better job in the
prison that leads to his over-all protection from Bogs, another inmate and the main antagonist in
the first parts of the film. On the other hand, the new found hope that Andy has does not reach to
everyone, especially Red as he tells of Andys hope in a questioning, and almost mocking, tone.
Red sees hope as something that can mentally destroy you whereas Andy is seeing hope as
something that can bring positivity back into his situation.
In the movies closing is the happy ending of the narrative. This happy ending
exemplifies how hope, in the end, pays off. Andys freedom signified that hope was basically the
anchor to his salvation. This is prevalent in the scene where Andy and Red are last seen together
in Mexico. The two unite happily, and both silently admit that hope brought them together and is
going to bring them through to the end.

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3. Shawshank Redemption was based during the time period of the late 1940s to early
1960s, but was made in 1994. During this time period in history, whites were the dominant race.
Under white patriarchal capitalism, ideas about race and ethnicity are constructed and circulated
in ways that tend to keep white privilege and power in place (Benshoff, Griffin 51). This idea
was evident in the film regarding the warden and the guards. All of the guards and the warden
portrayed in the movie were white.
During this time period, prisons were not as regulated and closely watched as they are in
present day. Instead the prisons were put into place, and ran by the warden with no oversight.
Knowing this, the Warden used his power with Andy Dufresne. By doctoring the books, Andy
was making the Warden a lot of money. The Warden would stop at nothing to keep Andy from
ever leaving the prison including killing Tommy, the one person who could prove that Andy was
innocent.
The prison system is another demonstration of white patriarchal capitalism as well with
how the warden thought that Andy, and the rest of the prisoners, were there to solely serve him
instead of rehabilitating them. The decision to make this film in 1994 was also important. In the
previous years, the Soviet Union collapsed, operation desert storm occurred, the cold war
officially ended, and the apartheid in South Africa was repealed. The world needed to keep the
idea of hope alive, as well as to remember that the man does not always win. Not only does the
man sometimes lose, but two people of different race whom met in the worst circumstances of
their lives can live happily together on a beach in Mexico.
4. Ideology is important when it comes to why the characters are portrayed the way they
are in the film. The filmmakers choose the specific values to help influence the ideas or beliefs
on which [a person] base[s their] lives and vision of the world (Corrigan, 92). In Shawshank

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Redemption, Andy Dufresne chooses all of his actions based on the idea of hope. Red on the
other hand says that hope is a dangerous thing and can drive a man insane (Darabont,
Shawshank Redemption). It is this opposite of ideological views of hope that demonstrates what
will happen when someone is at either extreme. Andy is extremely hopeful, and manages to
spend almost 20 years chipping away at rocks in order to escape to freedom. Red, on the other
hand, has little hope. It is not until he gives up one hundred percent, when he allows the final
remnants of hope to leave him and quits in his parole hearing, that he is freed. Hope is one of the
few things that it is better to be at one extreme or another than being moderate about it.
Religion is another ideological view that is evident from the film, but the filmmakers
chose to include religion in both direct and indirect ways. Constantly the Warden and Andy are
reciting bible verses back and forth to each other, keeping it held in the viewer's mind. The bible
is what concealed Andy's hammer during an inspection for contraband. Warden Norton says
there are two things he believes in discipline and the bible (Darabont, Shawshank
Redemption). He not only directly introduces himself as the view on religion, but becomes the
opposite of everything a person of Christian faith should do. In a non-direct way, there are many
metaphors that religion could be translated to. Red saying These walls are funny. First you hate
them, and then you get used to them. Enough time passes, you get so that you depend on them
(Darabont, Shawshank Redemption). If a person were to look at the walls as organized religion,
when a new person enters a church, they are critical of all aspects of it, soon it all becomes
natural and understood. Eventually a person depends on that religion constantly. After Andy
escapes, he exits into a rainstorm and stands there embracing being washed clean, similar to
getting baptized. He is getting clean of all the evil and torture that the prison put on him, but if a

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prison is a metaphor for the religious institution, then Andy is being washed clean of that
organized religion as well and all the negativity that came along with it.
5. Andy Dufresne, in the eyes of Red, had a quiet way about him, a walk and a talk that
just wasn't normal around here. He strolled, like a man in a park without a care or a worry in the
world, like he had on an invisible coat that would shield him from this place (Darabont,
Shawshank Redemption). This shield was an ability to keep hope in the hopeless. His intelligence
allows him to keep the hope alive. Andy makes conscious decisions on whom he befriends and
what cons he makes. One of these friends is Ellis Boyd 'Red' Redding. Red, the peddler of the
prison, reflects all the opposite characteristics of Andy. Red has no hope, little formal education,
and did not have a career before he went into prison. It is this mirror of opposites that allows a
person to identify the strong characteristics of each person to evaluate the pros and cons of each
characteristic. It is also through opposites that a person can comprehend how important the
theme of hope is for every action or non-action by Andy.
The warden reflects both the typical white patriarchy mindset, but also that of the
stereotypical Christian. His actions do not match the words flowing eloquently out of his mouth,
and yet when a person challenges this, he uses his power to suppress everyone. When Andy tries
to ask for a new trial, but tells the warden all the secrets of money are safe, the warden responds
with Don't you ever mention money to me again, you sorry son of a bitch (Darabont,
Shawshank Redemption). The warden will do anything to keep himself at the top as well as to
maintain his appearance as thought of a Godly person, even if it means doing the opposite of
what the bible tells him to.
The film, being from an inmates point of view, caused the audience to see it differently
than they would have if the film was from the warden or the guards perspective. This allowed

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for the viewers to sympathize easier with the prisoners, hypothetically putting themselves in one
of their shoes, making the warden and the guards out to be the antagonists.
6. In film, different perspectives from one person to another can change how the viewer
perceives the whole story line. Perspectives of a film will differ from every viewer based on their
race, gender, social status, and/or economic status. The viewer uses their objective point of view
to either relate or not relate to the film. For instance, in Shawshank Redemption, a female
viewers perspective could be different than that of a males perspective due to the fact that
majority of the film was based inside of a male prison, the main roles were all given to men
which also meant that the roles of power were also men. On the other hand, a person who is in an
organized religion may relate to Andy because they have more than likely been in a place of
hardship and frustration and yet found hope in something beyond themselves.
Differing perspectives also change how a film can be created. Rich white males primarily
run Hollywood, therefore, their views and ideological perspectives will be in a majority of films
that are produced. These views are blatant in this film as the influence of white patriarchal
capitalism is seen consistently. The movie followed a white male protagonist, Andy Dufresne,
who in the end came out victorious over the white male antagonist, the warden. In addition, the
majority of the cast in the movie was primarily white males, with a black male being the view of
hopelessness.
7. The film Shawshank Redemption critiques the difficulties that the federal prison
institutions create for people. Brooks is given the chance for parole, but doesn't want to leave
because the man's been in here 50 years. 50 years. This is all he knows. In here, he's an
important man. Outside he's nothing, just a used up con with arthritis in both hands. Probably
couldn't get a library card if he wanted (Darabont, Shawshank Redemption). This reflects

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society as seeing convicted felons as people who do not deserve second chances to come back
into society. This also reflects the struggles of felons who try to get back on their feet but cant
due to the social outlook on anyone with a criminal record. Institutionalization allows these men
to survive on the inside, but to wither and die on the outside. This process makes it so the prisons
are no longer there to rehabilitate the men, but rather to provide their new home. Even Tommy
was constantly bouncing in and out of prison. It took Andy sending in Tommy's test, without his
knowledge, for Tommy to realize that he could do and be more than a convicted felon.
The film helps to shape society by changing the way people see inmates. The audience
sympathizes with the criminals throughout the film making convicted felons who are supposed to
be bad people seem just as human as anybody. The guards and warden who are supposed to be
the good people are seen as the real corrupt individuals.
Finally, the film reflects how its not easy for people to assimilate back to a life outside of
prison, or any other systems and procedures they are used to. Brooks committed suicide and Red
couldnt even use the bathroom without permission. 40 years Ive been asking to piss, I cant
squeeze a drop without say so (Darabont, Shawshank Redemption). It is not simple for people to
jump from one set of rules to another without an adjustment period. Thoughts and actions do not
change overnight, just as they did not for Red when he left prison after spending the majority of
his life there.
Works Cited
Benshoff, Harry M., and Sean Griffin. America on Film: Representing Race, Class, Gender,
and Sexuality at the Movies. 2nd ed. Malden, MA, USA: Wiley-Blackwell, 2009. Print.
Corrigan, Timothy. A Short Guide to Writing about Film. 3rd ed. New York: Longman, 1998.

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Print.
The Shawshank Redemption (1994). Dir. Frank Darabont. Columbia TriStar, 2007. Film.