Shawshank Redemption

A detailed Summary of Shawshank Redemption


The Shawshank Redemption is a feature film concerned with the repression of individuals within an institution- a prison in this case. It is concerned with routine, forced conformity, power abuse and the struggle of hope to exist in such a lifeless world.Characteristic of this "feel good" genre film, the "good guys", Andy Dufrense, and the "bad guys", the warden and his guards are also constructed.

The viewers response to the above elements are shaped by the use of film language (lighting, camera angles, selection of shots, music, etc), but also by character conflict. Shawshank prison is presented to the viewer in a way such that we are positioned to regard it as oppressive, enforcing conformity and routine and removing all elements of individuality within a person, "you come here for life and that's exactly what they take from you".

The opening shots of the prison as Dufresne arrives to begin his double life sentences, are ones of an expanse of gray lifeless concrete blocks and bars. The surroundings however are picturesque, the true beauty of nature in bloom, no more evident than when


The creation of the 'bad guy'- the warden- is achieved through the use of film language also. The darkness surrounding his first appearance after the men's showers, his small stature, mean mouth, and slow deliberate speech 'your ass belongs to me', as well as his dominant framing in scenes. Although this is however, successful, character conflict development also achieves this. By conflicting the warden with Andy, the issue of power abuse becomes evident as the warden seeks to quash Andy's hope by abusing his power and sending him to the 'hole' or threatening a 'book BBQ', after Andy's refusal to launder his 'dirty money' any more.

Film language is a highly effective method of communicating to the viewer because of the impact visual elements succeed in having. The manipulation of the sub-conscious in feature films is a technique that directly achieves its purpose. But it must be remembered that the visual impact of a text becomes a superficial 'picture' of events if it is not underpinned by a strong narrative that takes the lead. With this element, the effectiveness of the visual elem

Some common words found in the essay are:
Andy Dufrense, BBQ' Andy's, Shawshank Redemption, film language, lighting camera angles, beauty nature, lighting camera, character conflict, power abuse, camera angles,

Approximate Word count = 738
Approximate Pages = 3 (250 words per page double spaced)

Category: English

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