Director Information
The Shawshank Redemption (1994) was a film directed by Frank Darabont. Frank Darabont is a French-Hungarian-American director, screenwriter and a producer of many films. His other works include The Green Mile (director), Saving Private Ryan (script doctor) and of course, The Shawshank Redemption (director). He also wrote “Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein”, but said that it was the worst experience as a writer he’s ever had. During the writing, the director of the film (Kenneth Branagh) ruined it “every step of the way”. Darabont has won multiple Academy Awards for his films, but his most rejoiced movies are The Shawshank Redemption and The Green Mile, which are both renditions of novels written by Stephen King. Darabont claims that he likes Stephen King titles for the reason that Stephen King’s writing “loves the good side and bad side” of humans, which is what always creates the thrilling stories. He also admires Stephen King’s involvement of the film, saying that in both The Green Mile and The Shawshank Redemption, King stayed out of the film. Darabont claims that King “trusts that i’m going to do right by him. His involvement has been that he reads both scripts and says ‘Yeah, this is great. Good luck’”. Another reason Darabont was so attracted to the novel The Shawshank Redemption, is because of the emotional content. The novel had such good characters, relationships and the adversities the characters encounter. Also, the atmosphere of the book intrigued Darabont. He stated that when he was reading the book, he thought “Gee, if we could find a really cool looking prison to shoot, this is going to be a really cool looking movie”. Something that is interesting about Darabont picture, is the fact that he added one of the most iconic scenes into the movie, that wasn’t in the book. That scene was when Andy played Mozart for the prisoners over the PA system. Darabont commented that that scene “Maybe that would be a cool scene in the movie, but it also reinforces the whole premise. We have to grab for hope wherever we can. Darabont’s start in the film industry was fairly unorthodox. After graduating from Hollywood High, a school on the north west side of Los Angeles, in 1977 Darabont decided not to pursue a higher education and tried to continue straight into the working world. He worked as a busboy at the Old Spaghetti Factory, a forklift operator and a number of other strange jobs until he began working as a set dresser for commercials and low-budget films. During this time, Frank Darabont was learning how to screenwrite. He spent countless hours in front of the typewriter and computer working out all the ins and outs of screenwriting. After working for some of his movies, Darabont was offered a job to write with Chuck Russell, director of “The Scorpion King” and “The Mask”, which he gratefully accepted. They wrote many scripts together before Russell was offered “The Nightmare on Elm Street 3.” That was Darabont’s first big break and what set him up for success in the future. Darabont worked as a writer on the extremely popular “The Walking Dead” television show on AMC during the first and second season (2010-2012). Darabont was fired from the show after a dispute over decreasing the budget and increasing the amount of episodes per season. He’s currently involved in a lawsuit in which he is suing AMC for over 280 millions dollars for damages.
Visual Analysis
1. “I hope the Pacific is as blue as it has been in my dreams”-Andy
-I found this quote important as it again represents the element of hope. The Pacific Ocean is the ocean Andy would like to live by once he get out of prison, and him getting out of prison is the feeling of hope. The ocean can also represent a whole new world of endless opportunities for Andy when he escapes, as the ocean is deep and wide with no limits. This depth of endless opportunities are again reached with hope, and Andy has already created his fake identity to begin scaling this massive new world of liberty.
-I found this quote important as it again represents the element of hope. The Pacific Ocean is the ocean Andy would like to live by once he get out of prison, and him getting out of prison is the feeling of hope. The ocean can also represent a whole new world of endless opportunities for Andy when he escapes, as the ocean is deep and wide with no limits. This depth of endless opportunities are again reached with hope, and Andy has already created his fake identity to begin scaling this massive new world of liberty.
2. “These walls are kind of funny. First you hate ’em, then you get used to ’em. Enough time passes, gets so you depend on them. That’s institutionalized. They send you here for life, that’s exactly what they take. The part that counts, anyways.”-Red
-I found this quote important because it explains exactly what has happened to Brooks, being in jail for 49 years, and then being thrown out with no guide on where to go or what to do now. He was used to the walls and depended on them, then when outside of the walls, it was a foreign world. He is the representation of someone who suffered from institutionalization. To the other prisoners, he stands as an image of why some prisoners do not want to leave the prison, because there is no where to go.
-I found this quote important because it explains exactly what has happened to Brooks, being in jail for 49 years, and then being thrown out with no guide on where to go or what to do now. He was used to the walls and depended on them, then when outside of the walls, it was a foreign world. He is the representation of someone who suffered from institutionalization. To the other prisoners, he stands as an image of why some prisoners do not want to leave the prison, because there is no where to go.
3.“Some birds are not meant to be caged, that's all. Their feathers are too bright, their songs too sweet and wild. So you let them go, or when you open the cage to feed them they somehow fly out past you. And the part of you that knows it was wrong to imprison them in the first place rejoices, but still, the place where you live is that much more drab and empty for their departure.”-Red
-This quote is important because while it is talking about birds, it can also be interpreted as the birds being prisoners. An example of a “bird not meant to be caged” is Andy. He is an innocent man who has been locked away on a false claim, and deserves to be freed. Further on in the quote, it says “or when you open the cage they somehow fly out past you” could either be seen as Red giving Andy the hammer, or Andy escaping the prison right under the Warden’s nose.
-This quote is important because while it is talking about birds, it can also be interpreted as the birds being prisoners. An example of a “bird not meant to be caged” is Andy. He is an innocent man who has been locked away on a false claim, and deserves to be freed. Further on in the quote, it says “or when you open the cage they somehow fly out past you” could either be seen as Red giving Andy the hammer, or Andy escaping the prison right under the Warden’s nose.
4. “Salvation lies within.”
-Warden Samuel Norton
Warden Samuel Norton says this to Andy as he is handing back the Bible. Warden Norton, a very religious man, says it due to his personal experiences with the Bible and his strong faith. However, we learn at the end of the film that Andy had carved out a hole the size of his rock pick in the same bible and had stashed it in there during surprise inspections. The rock pick was what Andy Dufresne used to tunnel his way out of the prison to his own personal salvation.
-Warden Samuel Norton
Warden Samuel Norton says this to Andy as he is handing back the Bible. Warden Norton, a very religious man, says it due to his personal experiences with the Bible and his strong faith. However, we learn at the end of the film that Andy had carved out a hole the size of his rock pick in the same bible and had stashed it in there during surprise inspections. The rock pick was what Andy Dufresne used to tunnel his way out of the prison to his own personal salvation.
“In prison a man'll do most anything to keep his mind occupied.”
-Red
This quotation is important because it makes reference to how men in Shawshank will do things they would never think to do outside of prison in order to keep preoccupied and not go insane. Andy shows this quality when he takes control of the library and begins to mail one letter, then two letters, per week to the government for funding for books. He would never write one, let alone two, letters every week if he was still working as a banker because he simply would not have the time. In Shawshank, however, all he has is time and that's how he chooses to spend it.
-Red
This quotation is important because it makes reference to how men in Shawshank will do things they would never think to do outside of prison in order to keep preoccupied and not go insane. Andy shows this quality when he takes control of the library and begins to mail one letter, then two letters, per week to the government for funding for books. He would never write one, let alone two, letters every week if he was still working as a banker because he simply would not have the time. In Shawshank, however, all he has is time and that's how he chooses to spend it.
Real World Examples
Brandon:
Nelson Mandela was born in 1918 and became the first black president of South Africa. His story is so significant because of his imprisonment for 27 for trying to overthrow the government with eight other National African Congress Leaders, for not agreeing with the apartheid. An apartheid is the act of segregation in South Africa that was happening at the time of Mandela’s arrest, where he was sentenced in 1964 and was released 1990. During his imprisonment, like Andy, Mandela had Hope. He hoped for a better future, he wanted things to change. Mandela stated "Hope is a powerful weapon and no one power on earth can deprive you of" in 1969, while imprisoned. Using hope, Mandela was able to change the government in South Africa. After his release 1990, Mandela’s hope never died. He wanted to change the government, and that’s exactly what he did. In 1994, he was became South Africa’s first democratically elected president. Before he became president, the apartheid had already been dismantled and no longer in use, which allowed Mandela to advocate internationalism reconciliation between countries, to which he earned massive respect. A big step made by Mandela between the reconciliation between white and black South Africans is when Mandela presented the Rugby World Cup trophy to Francois Pienaar, a white rugby player on the Springbok Rugby team, while wearing a Springbok jersey with the number of Pienaar on the back. All of this wouldn’t have happened without the element of hope, which relates back to Andy Dufresne from The Shawshank Redemption. Both Dufresne and Mandela used hope to achieve what they wanted, and believed that hope is all you need. Even though Dufresne used hope to help him escape prison where Mandela used it to change South Africa, it’s still using the same element and same emotions.
Eamon:
August 5th 2010 was a day that not only changed Chilean history, but captivated the entire world and began one of the greatest rescue efforts ever seen. After the San José copper-gold mine collapsed, 33 Chilean miners were stranded 2300 feet underground beneath 700 000 tons of hard rock. The shift manager, Luis Urzua, was looked upon for a plan of action and yet he had none. Urzua knew that they were in a tough spot. Usually, in a mining accident, if people are not found in a week, the rescuers stop the search. All they could do was hope and pray that that is not the case. It is not until August 22nd, 17 days after the initial collapse, that the miners come in contact with the rescuers on the surface. They sent up a note with a message written in red ink reading “We are fine in the shelter, the 33 of us.” With a rekindled hope, teams from countries all over the world began creating their best ideas to save the 33 men and return them to their family. There were 3 different drills running simultaneously to try and reach the miners quickest. On September 17th, the drill “Plan B” reached the 33 Chilean miners creating a 12 inch hole that would be the eventual escape route using a caged cylinder named the “Phoenix.” On October 13th, 69 days since the collapse, the first miner, Florencio Antonio Avalos Silva, was successfully transported to the surface. 22 and a half hours later, the final miner, Luis Alberto Urzua Iribarren, is safely brought to the surface. As all the miners rejoiced with their families, it was extra special for miner Ariel Ticona, whose wife gave birth whilst he was underground. They gave her a fitting name, Esperanza. Spanish for hope.
Nelson Mandela was born in 1918 and became the first black president of South Africa. His story is so significant because of his imprisonment for 27 for trying to overthrow the government with eight other National African Congress Leaders, for not agreeing with the apartheid. An apartheid is the act of segregation in South Africa that was happening at the time of Mandela’s arrest, where he was sentenced in 1964 and was released 1990. During his imprisonment, like Andy, Mandela had Hope. He hoped for a better future, he wanted things to change. Mandela stated "Hope is a powerful weapon and no one power on earth can deprive you of" in 1969, while imprisoned. Using hope, Mandela was able to change the government in South Africa. After his release 1990, Mandela’s hope never died. He wanted to change the government, and that’s exactly what he did. In 1994, he was became South Africa’s first democratically elected president. Before he became president, the apartheid had already been dismantled and no longer in use, which allowed Mandela to advocate internationalism reconciliation between countries, to which he earned massive respect. A big step made by Mandela between the reconciliation between white and black South Africans is when Mandela presented the Rugby World Cup trophy to Francois Pienaar, a white rugby player on the Springbok Rugby team, while wearing a Springbok jersey with the number of Pienaar on the back. All of this wouldn’t have happened without the element of hope, which relates back to Andy Dufresne from The Shawshank Redemption. Both Dufresne and Mandela used hope to achieve what they wanted, and believed that hope is all you need. Even though Dufresne used hope to help him escape prison where Mandela used it to change South Africa, it’s still using the same element and same emotions.
Eamon:
August 5th 2010 was a day that not only changed Chilean history, but captivated the entire world and began one of the greatest rescue efforts ever seen. After the San José copper-gold mine collapsed, 33 Chilean miners were stranded 2300 feet underground beneath 700 000 tons of hard rock. The shift manager, Luis Urzua, was looked upon for a plan of action and yet he had none. Urzua knew that they were in a tough spot. Usually, in a mining accident, if people are not found in a week, the rescuers stop the search. All they could do was hope and pray that that is not the case. It is not until August 22nd, 17 days after the initial collapse, that the miners come in contact with the rescuers on the surface. They sent up a note with a message written in red ink reading “We are fine in the shelter, the 33 of us.” With a rekindled hope, teams from countries all over the world began creating their best ideas to save the 33 men and return them to their family. There were 3 different drills running simultaneously to try and reach the miners quickest. On September 17th, the drill “Plan B” reached the 33 Chilean miners creating a 12 inch hole that would be the eventual escape route using a caged cylinder named the “Phoenix.” On October 13th, 69 days since the collapse, the first miner, Florencio Antonio Avalos Silva, was successfully transported to the surface. 22 and a half hours later, the final miner, Luis Alberto Urzua Iribarren, is safely brought to the surface. As all the miners rejoiced with their families, it was extra special for miner Ariel Ticona, whose wife gave birth whilst he was underground. They gave her a fitting name, Esperanza. Spanish for hope.
Journal Article
Brandon:
Hooke, A. (2014). The Shawshank Redemption. Retrieved from https://philosophynow.org/issues/102/The_Shawshank_Redemption
Small summary: This article gives light on three main themes in Shawshank Redemption, and those are hope, hell and torture. Although the article is also a petite summary of the movie and gives backstory, the author also goes in depth about these three themes. It talks about how the warden follows the Lord, but is almost a resemblance of the devil, which is an interesting point. The author brings up the resiliency of Andy while in solitary, quoting Andy Dufresne saying that Mozart's music was the glue between beauty and hope in the soul. Then the author gets on the topic of hope, in which he says that Andy learned most of his knowledge of prison through Red, and that Red served as Andy’s kickstart to prison life.
Conclusion: While reading this article, it gave light on a theme I never really thought about while watching The Shawshank Redemption, and that is the theme of evil. Yes I knew that the Warden of the prison was a horrible man, but I never really associated him with evil. But, now after reading the article and looking back on the Warden, I truly do believe he is evil, and the thought of the theme “evil” in the movie opens up a new door analytics. The author brings up a good point, what truly makes a man evil? That question can’t be answered simply by using the film, but it can help. Many people could consider the prisoners evil, or even Red, as he is convicted of a murder. All prisoners (except Andy) as far as we know are guilty of a crime, and many people consider criminals evil. But, is that true evilness or simply bad behaviour? Is the Warden a representation of evilness, not the prisoners? These are the questions this article has raised. I still think that hope is the overarching theme, but now after reading the article, I do believe the theme of “evil” comes close behind it. Because of the fact we see prisoners throughout the whole movie and we see the Warden, with evilness in mind, the audience can always be analyzing what’s going on and asking questions.
Eamon:
Kehr, D. (1994, September 23). 'The Shawshank Redemption’ - an engaging film: 1994 review. Retrieved from http://www.nydailynews.com/entertainment/shawshank-captures-essence-book-1994-review-article-1.2355056
Small summary: In this article, author Dave Kehr speaks about his thoughts on Shawshank Redemption compared to other big screen adaptations of Stephen King novels. In the past, Kehr explains, he has always felt that other movies based off of Stephen King novels lack his distinct voice, which he explains is “warm, sincere [and] inviting.” Shawshank Redemption is the first to show King’s voice and successfully give that Stephen King feeling, according to Kehr. Kehr also compliments the two leads, Tim Robbins and Morgan Freeman, saying that they both made this movie the gem it is because, according to Kehr, Shawshank Redemption is “a film that stands or falls on the central character's amiability.”
This article brought up a few things that I had thought about before I watched this film. I was expecting there to be a bigger horror, thriller or supernatural aspect to it considering King’s other films like The Shining (1980) and The Green Mile (1999). I was pleasantly surprised to find that this was not the case for Shawshank Redemption. I loved The Green Mile and the supernatural elements that were present, it was a good change of pace to see something out of Stephen King’s vast library that was based in a more realistic setting. Kehr’s statement that Shawshank Redemption is a “film that stands or falls on the central character’s amiability” was something that I had not previously thought of, but it is very true. Had Red and Andy been played by some other actors, I don’t believe that it would have been as good of a film. Throughout the film, Andy was a mysterious and confusing character. He would show the audience some pieces of who he is but we still never truly learned who Andy Dufresne was. Tim Robbins’ ability to do this and keep us intrigued with Andy was a testament to his acting abilities. Morgan Freeman’s portrayal of Red was also magnificent. He played Red as if he was a real person and really made the Shawshank story go from good to great.
Hooke, A. (2014). The Shawshank Redemption. Retrieved from https://philosophynow.org/issues/102/The_Shawshank_Redemption
Small summary: This article gives light on three main themes in Shawshank Redemption, and those are hope, hell and torture. Although the article is also a petite summary of the movie and gives backstory, the author also goes in depth about these three themes. It talks about how the warden follows the Lord, but is almost a resemblance of the devil, which is an interesting point. The author brings up the resiliency of Andy while in solitary, quoting Andy Dufresne saying that Mozart's music was the glue between beauty and hope in the soul. Then the author gets on the topic of hope, in which he says that Andy learned most of his knowledge of prison through Red, and that Red served as Andy’s kickstart to prison life.
Conclusion: While reading this article, it gave light on a theme I never really thought about while watching The Shawshank Redemption, and that is the theme of evil. Yes I knew that the Warden of the prison was a horrible man, but I never really associated him with evil. But, now after reading the article and looking back on the Warden, I truly do believe he is evil, and the thought of the theme “evil” in the movie opens up a new door analytics. The author brings up a good point, what truly makes a man evil? That question can’t be answered simply by using the film, but it can help. Many people could consider the prisoners evil, or even Red, as he is convicted of a murder. All prisoners (except Andy) as far as we know are guilty of a crime, and many people consider criminals evil. But, is that true evilness or simply bad behaviour? Is the Warden a representation of evilness, not the prisoners? These are the questions this article has raised. I still think that hope is the overarching theme, but now after reading the article, I do believe the theme of “evil” comes close behind it. Because of the fact we see prisoners throughout the whole movie and we see the Warden, with evilness in mind, the audience can always be analyzing what’s going on and asking questions.
Eamon:
Kehr, D. (1994, September 23). 'The Shawshank Redemption’ - an engaging film: 1994 review. Retrieved from http://www.nydailynews.com/entertainment/shawshank-captures-essence-book-1994-review-article-1.2355056
Small summary: In this article, author Dave Kehr speaks about his thoughts on Shawshank Redemption compared to other big screen adaptations of Stephen King novels. In the past, Kehr explains, he has always felt that other movies based off of Stephen King novels lack his distinct voice, which he explains is “warm, sincere [and] inviting.” Shawshank Redemption is the first to show King’s voice and successfully give that Stephen King feeling, according to Kehr. Kehr also compliments the two leads, Tim Robbins and Morgan Freeman, saying that they both made this movie the gem it is because, according to Kehr, Shawshank Redemption is “a film that stands or falls on the central character's amiability.”
This article brought up a few things that I had thought about before I watched this film. I was expecting there to be a bigger horror, thriller or supernatural aspect to it considering King’s other films like The Shining (1980) and The Green Mile (1999). I was pleasantly surprised to find that this was not the case for Shawshank Redemption. I loved The Green Mile and the supernatural elements that were present, it was a good change of pace to see something out of Stephen King’s vast library that was based in a more realistic setting. Kehr’s statement that Shawshank Redemption is a “film that stands or falls on the central character’s amiability” was something that I had not previously thought of, but it is very true. Had Red and Andy been played by some other actors, I don’t believe that it would have been as good of a film. Throughout the film, Andy was a mysterious and confusing character. He would show the audience some pieces of who he is but we still never truly learned who Andy Dufresne was. Tim Robbins’ ability to do this and keep us intrigued with Andy was a testament to his acting abilities. Morgan Freeman’s portrayal of Red was also magnificent. He played Red as if he was a real person and really made the Shawshank story go from good to great.