Shawshank Redemption is a film directed in 1994 by Frank Darabont based on a novel written by Stephen King in 1982 about a group of inmates incarcerated in the maximum security prison Shawshank from the late 1940s through to the mid-1960s. the prisoners are joined by a new hopeful and optimistic inmate called Andy Dufresne. I believe that this film should be watched by teenagers since, throughout the film themes of hope, determination, redemption and freedom are presented. These themes are highly relevant to teenagers in our society today, even though most teenagers can’t relate to these literally, they can still relate to the certain day to day challenges and struggles we encounter as humans that require these aspects of hope and determination in order to overcome the challenges. In this essay, I will discuss how the director has used different film techniques such as lighting, camera shots and sound effects to portray and emphasise how important these themes and ideas presented during the film and how even in today’s society they are still extremely relevant.

During this film, one of the main themes portrayed is the idea of hope. the director uses different lighting techniques in order to present these to the viewer. Andy comes into the prison and is early recognised by the other prisoners as an optimistic and hopeful person that believes in freedom. Hope is a feeling of expectation and desire for a particular thing to happen. In the case of Andy, his hope is a desire to be able to make his time while in prison more bearable and come out on the other side. He embodies hope throughout his time in prison through small acts. Throughout most of the film, Andy’s hope is strongly contrasted between certain characters. But as the film progresses to become in some way infectious. We are subtly foreshadowed this when Red says “He had a quiet way about him, a walk and a talk that just wasn’t normal around here. He strolled, like a man in the park without a worry in the world, like he had on an invisible coat that would shield him from this place.” this shows that the prisoners are already intrigued by Andys outlook on life. Andys hope slowly begins to rub off on the rest of the inmates. But in the beginning Andy’s hopeful outlook on life in prison is somewhat frowned upon by the other inmates because they all believe that hope is a dangerous thing to inhibit and that there is no chance of ever living a normal life while incarcerated and that if you start to become hopeful of ever having a better life than in prison you will drive yourself crazy. They think the best way to get through day to day life in prison is to discourage the slightest chance of hope you have possible. There is proof of this idea of hope being detrimental to your own survival in prison during the film when Red quotes “hope is a dangerous thing, it can kill a man”. This shows that Red believes having hope in prison can be dangerous because he thinks that with hope can only come disappointment and constantly getting disappointed will mentally destroy you while in such a harsh environment. We can see the contrast between Red and Andy when Andy says “Remember Red, hope is a good thing, maybe the best of things, and no good thing ever dies”. During the film, we see different levels of hope through the director’s technical use of light for example when we are shown a scene where light is again used to show the theme of hope is when Andy is thrown in solitary confinement or what the prisoners call the “hole” which is a small dark room with no windows. We are shown a camera shot of his face and we can see small beams of light shining onto his face through the slight gaps from the slot on the door. This use of light is to show the viewer the small dark room that andy is in that is ever so slightly lit up by the beam of light which symbolises that for Andy even in a time of pure darkness and confinement where life doesn’t seem to be even worth living he still has this small feeling of hope and freedom in the back of his mind which is what is driving him through the tough time. This theme of hope is important in this film because it shows us that in life even the toughest situations can be overcome by simply just having hope. I believe that everyone should be hopeful no matter what the circumstance because just like Andy says in the film “hope is a good thing, maybe the best of things and no good thing ever dies” this quote shows how hope isn’t something to be frowned upon and is something positive that can only ever have a good outcome.

Another main idea portrayed throughout the film is power. Within Shawshank there are different levels of power and superiority, its somewhat like a food chain, starting at the top is the warden who controls everyone and everything within the prison then is the guards who are under the power of the warden but are superior to the inmates then there are the inmates. As the film progresses Andy manages to slowly day by day gain more and more power through to the end of the film where the power has completely flipped. The main way this idea of power is shown is through the use of different camera angles and shots but we are also shown the conversion of power from the warden to Andy through dialogue. During the beginning of the film, most scenes with the warden and inmates are involved, a low angle shot is used from the perspective of the prisoners. The reason for this is to give the effect that the warden is in a higher position than the prisoners which effectively tells the viewer the warden is more powerful and has control over the prisoners. The guards also inhibit this power over all of the prisoners, we are shown the extremity of this power when captain Hadley quotes “you eat when we say you eat. you shit when we say you shit. you piss when we say you piss. You got that, you maggot dick mother f***er.” The guards use their power over the prisoners to demoralise them and strip them of their humanity by asserting such brutal dominance. As the film goes on Andy slowly starts to steal this power that the Warden and guards have. The first time we as the viewer see Andy gain this power over the warden is when he starts to do the handle the wardens laundered money and fraudulent taxes. I believe that although andy is working for the warden he has subtly gained power over the warden since the warden is now dependant on andy which gives andy an edge over the warden and is what allows him to expose the warden for this money laundering. At the end of the film is Andy seems confident like he knows something we don’t. Almost like he has outwitted the warden. This is when the ownership of this power starts to flip. Andy leaves certain things behind for when he escapes illustrating the fact that the warden is no longer powerful. There are multiple examples of this. before he escapes the prison he swaps the wardens bible with his own bible which had the imprint of Andys rock hammer he used to escape. The bible he swapped also contained all of the wardens instead of taking the wardens clothes to dry clean he stole them to wear on the outside once he escapes. This is in some way is Andy asserting his newly found dominance over the warden to show who now has the power. Power in life has a huge influence on how you live your everyday life. It is especially relevant for teenagers. In the educational system, we as teenagers go to school every day and are under the empowerment of the teachers and are required to obey and comply with their rules and orders. We are expected to talk we when are told to talk, listen when we are told to listen, to finish assignments when they say, and to come to school exactly on time. When we do not abide by these rules we are punished. Most teenagers do not wish to be under this kind of empowerment and would rather have more freedom. This is in some way similar to the empowerment Andy is under. It is important that this film shows you will not always be restrained by the power of others and if you are brave enough you are able to overcome the empowerment you are under and choose to do something about it and change the distribution of power.

Last but not least the theme of redemption. As in the title “Shawshank Redemption” there is obviously a huge focus on the idea of redeeming one’s self. The dictionary’s definition of redemption is the action of saving or being saved from sin, error, or evil. In Shawshank prison, the majority of inmates are constantly attempting to achieve this feat of redemption by the act of being granted parole. One of the first examples of we are presented with during the film is when the newly incarcerated inmate Tommy. Tommy was never a good student because of how much the life of crime consumed his childhood. This lack of attention to school resulted in poor basic literacy skills and knowledge. He starts his path to redemption by asking Andy to help him qualify his GED, this stands for General Education Diploma is a set of tests for American or Canadian people to show they have met High School education standards. in order to set his life back on track and be able to obtain a job when or if he finishes his sentence in prison he is required to pass this test. After many painful weeks of teaching Tommy succeeds and gains his qualification. Tommy has now redeemed himself of his past mistakes and errors allowing him to have a chance of living a normal day to day life. This shows how the act of redemption can change your life for the better by pulling yourself out of what seems at the time to be rock bottom of any given situation of failure. In order for Andy to get through the dull, depressing and unforgiving environment within Shawshank he commits certain acts or sins. For example; smuggling contraband items, fighting with the “sisters” and assisting the warden with illegal money laundering. Although he is innocent of his unjust imprisonment he is still committing acts crimes on the inside of the prison. When Andy quotes “On the outside, I was a straight and honest man, I had to come to prison to be a crook” the viewer is shown that Andy is forced by the Shawshank environment to become disobedient of the law. Now that andy is at this low point in life he must redeem himself if he wishes to ever live free of guilt. He begins to slowly free himself of sin by certain deeds like explained earlier at the beginning of this paragraph he spends many frustrating hours helping Tommy gain his GED qualification. Andy does still not quite feel “redeemed” he believes that in order for himself to be completely redeemed he must somehow return to his life on the outside. As the viewer, we assume that this is impossible since he is sentenced to two consecutive life sentences. But through Andys determination to redeem himself he figures a way around this. Behind the scenes, Andy for 19 years has been slowly digging a tunnel to escape Shawshank using a tiny rock hammer. I find this unfathomable because of how difficult and time-consuming digging a tunnel for 19 years would be but I come to understand when we are shown the extremity of Andys determination to redeem himself when Red quotes “geology is the study of pressure and time, that’s all it really takes” this has a double meaning other than the literal fact of Andy digging away at the rock, it shows that all it to push Andy to this point was pressure and time. Through this long period of pressure, Andy undergoes caused by the prison he is pushed to his limit and can no longer live this life of crime and sin leaving him with only one option, to redeem himself. Andy is only full redeemed after he escapes the prison. We are shown that andy is fully redeemed when we hear Red say “Andy crawled through 500 yards of shit, that’s almost five football fields, and came out clean on the other side”. This is a metaphor because of how he literally got covered in sewer waste when crawling through the pipes and is now living clean on the outside but also he has gone through 19 dreadful years of “shit” coming out clean being reborn through the act of redemption. I’m certain almost every normal human being has been through a process of redemption which is why this theme is so important. We often find ourselves at a low point in life and there seems to be no possible way out but like Andy, through courage, determination and willpower everyone has the ability to redeem themselves.

In conclusion, I believe that no matter your age but especially if you’re a teenager you should at least consider watching this film because of how influential the themes of hope, power and redemption can be on oneself and how relevant they are in modern day society. Frank Darabont cleverly implements these themes as a method to captivate the audiences inner thoughts and beliefs. This film portrays someones ability to overcome catastrophe, misfortune and persecution which are extremely essential values to inhibit in order to get through the certain day to day challenges life presents you with. At the same as gripping the minds of viewers through the portrayal of these themes Darabont also creates a film that provides an enjoyable and captivating watch which is another reason why I highly recommend people watch it.