Contrast in the Shawshank Redemption free essay sample

Darabont effectively utilises filming techniques to highlight these dominant themes, creating a movie that is both powerful and strong, producing a rich story that captures the viewers’ attention. Freedom and oppression in The Shawshank Redemption are two opposing themes which resonate throughout the film. A concept that Andy brings to Shawshank and to the prison is that freedom of the mind is the greatest and strongest freedom of all. Andy feels liberty through his thoughts and memories, and teaches the cynical men around him, especially Red, that although they are imprisoned, freedom comes from the mind and its ability to dream. As Red is commentating the scene of Andy playing opera to the prison, he talks about the effect that the music had on the men in Shawshank ‘and for the briefest of moments, every last man at Shawshank felt free’, and how even though they stood within the confines of Prison walls, the harmonising voices of the two ladies took them away for just a little while, to feel freedom once more. Although Andy remains free within, Brooks is a character who becomes accustomed and comfortable with prison life, so much so that when released, he is free from physical confinement, yet he has become so institutionalised that the world beyond the walls is more a prison than Shawshank ever was. Andy Dufresne develops through The Shawshank Redemption to gain power. When the viewer is initially introduced to Andy he seems small and weak compared to the self-assured lawyer and the powerful judge of the courtroom scene, yet as the film progresses, Andy gains respect and power within Shawshank, first with his inmates and then with the guards and warden. His previous profession of banking, sees Andy working for the Shawshank staff, processing their tax and assisting them in general finance management, earning himself a certain level of respect from the people around him. He also appears to gain a more personal relationship with the Warden, this fluctuates however as Andy doesn’t always do as the Warden wishes, especially when he plays opera to the prison. Andy may appear helpless compared to the rank and power of Warden Norton and Captain Hadley, yet he exceeds the two of them when it comes to wit and intelligence, finally outsmarting the Warden and Captain completely and coming out on top ‘I like to think that the last thing that went through his head, other than that bullet, was to wonder how the hell Andy Dufresne ever got the best of him’. To demonstrate power and weakness, High and Low angle camera shots are used by the director. Warden Norton is often filmed from below to accentuate his position of power and the prisoners are often viewed from above to show them as powerless and insignificant. The contrast between Power and Weakness ties in with Freedom and Oppression, as without Andy’s freedom of thinking, he would never have gained his position of power. Isolation and Companionship go hand in hand in The Shawshank Redemption. At the commencement of Andy’s time in prison, he is filmed often alone and quiet, away from the tight knit groups within the population of inmates. When he forms a close relationship with Red, he becomes a central member of Red’s group of friends, earning a reputation in the prison as a respectable and interesting man. In the beginning Andy is filmed sitting alone eating in the food hall. However, as he develops friendships, he is always shot sitting in the midst of the men, who are all intrigued with the stories that he has to tell. After Andy has escaped and Red is left in Shawshank, the viewer can see Red slowly start to detach from the group and sit further and further away from his usual position in the centre. This clever use of staging hints to the audience Reds departure from the prison to join Andy in the world beyond. Andy and Red become close companions in their 19 years together in Shawshank and are often filmed together in a mid or close-up shot, highlighting their relationship and allowing the audience to feel as if they have also formed a relationship with the characters. The Shawshank Redemption demonstrates and showcases three central opposing ideas, Freedom vs. Oppression, Power vs. Weakness and Isolation vs. Companionship. Andy Dufresne illustrates freedom within the confines of the seemingly impenetrable prison walls, freedom of thought and imagination, enabling others around him to seize the lives that they thought weren’t worth living. Word count: 790