Shawshank Redemption

Shawshank redemption is more than a film about prison, it is a film about hope, friendship and inhumanity and among other aspects of society . The main character of the film Andy is being accused, tried and convicted wrongly of a double murder that he always confessed his innocent and never lost the hope of that one day his innocent will be proven and he would get his freedom back and he also teaches other prisoners about hope. It is also a film about friendship and human interaction between Andy and Red, where they both help each other out in different ways and his interaction with the various key characters of the prison authorities namely the prison warden, prison guard and member of the police. The film also touched on the inhumanity by showing the corruption with showing examples of illegal violence and fear that the prisoners were exposed to by the warden and guards.

Hope is set throughout the film but the prisoners are afraid of hope, they don’t believe in hope because they think that hope might destroy them, especially Red. But Andy is the opposite, he won’t give up hope, he believes that gives people a reason to live, it’s like a sense of freedom. When Andy receives books from the council, with those books he finds a music cd. He starts to play the cd to himself but then he lock all the doors and start to play the music over the intercom and all the prisoners in Shawskank look up and they feel free. “I have no idea to this day what those two Italian ladies were singing about. Truth is, I don't want to know. Some things are best left unsaid. I'd like to think they were singing about something so beautiful, it can't be expressed in words, and makes your heart ache because of it. I tell you, those voices soared higher and farther than anybody in a grey place dares to dream. It was like some beautiful bird flapped into our drab little cage and made those walls dissolve away, and for the briefest of moments, every last man in Shawshank felt free”. This shows that Andy is not only keeps hope for himself but he also tries to give others hope that life can be better and that nobody can take hope away from them. “There are places in this world that aren't made out of stone. That there's something inside... that they can't get to, that they can't touch. That's yours”. But still Red thought had hope can destroy them “Hope is a dangerous thing. Hope can drive a man insane.” Although, the prisoners have given up and scared of hope but Andy doesn’t give up hope and tries to make the other prisoners have hope again in life.
Friendship is one theme is shown the most in the film, the most strong friendship is Red and Andy. Red first impression on Andy was nothing much he looked stiff and nothing much but then Red started to like Andy because he seemed different from the other prisoners and that Red was the first person Red talked to, they friendship went a long way. Andy did an incredible thing for Red, he gave him a reason to live, a reason to get out of prison. He told Red when he gets out of prison, he has to promise to find a field with a large tree and under that tree, there are rock and between those rock will a be a rock that is different from all the other rock, find it and look under it” and that promise made Red change his speech. First his speech was something like being sarcastic, like he didn’t mean it but then after that promise, his speech came something he meant and like he wanted to get out and maybe meet Andy and fulfil his promise. Red even did many things for Andy, Red used to do an illegal job in the prison, and that’s why it was important to Red to become friends with Andy because he had to trust him and Red used to smuggle in stuff even if it could get him trouble like the rock hammer. So, Red and Andy’s friendship went a long way, they helped each other out and it was strong.
Humanity is something that many prisoners and the policemen have lost. When new prisoners come they dehumanise them by stripping them and reducing them to a number. The Warden and Hadley are good example of people who have lost their humanity. In the start, when one new prisoner came to Shawshank prison and when the prisoner starts yelling I don’t belong here and stuff. Hadley takes him out of cell and beats him until he’s unconscious and even when Tommy told the Warden that he will tell the truth about Andy, he Warden and Hadley shot him dead. They didn’t once care about the other person and that Andy can be free. In opposite, Andy is a perfect example of people who still have their humanity. He builds a library for Shawshank prison, he plays music and he helps some prisoners get their high school degree. This shows that Andy still hasn’t lost his humanity and he tries to get humanity back into the Shawshank. So, many people have lost their humanity in Shawshank prison but Andy tries to get back the prisoners humanity back.
In conclusion, ‘ Shawshank Redemption’ is not only a film about prison life, it is also a film about how Andy never loses hope in freedom and makes other prisoners believe in it too. It’s a film about friendship between Andy and Red and how they help each other out. It is a film about inhumanity by showing how the prison authorities did illegal stuff to prisoners. It is a film about hope, friendship and inhumanity.