The movie Shawshank Redemption depicts the story of Andy Dufresne, who is an innocent man that is sentenced to life in prison. At Shawshank, both Andy and the viewers, witness typical prison subculture. The film illustrates the subculture within the fictional Shawshank State Prison in Maine. In this prison, inmates fulfill certain roles such as the dominant, masculine male, the helpless, feminine man, and the inmate that stands out. This is similar to real prisons and helps develop specific culture, expectations of behaviors and norms, and values within the prison. Furthermore, the inmate that plays the role of a smuggler of outside items, helps to establish the norms of currency between the inmates. Lastly, for the inmates, Shawshank is …show more content…
Within the film, prison culture illustrates the subculture within Shawshank State Prison. Prison culture and the Inmate Code dictate the typical rules and values that have emerged in prisons (Clear, 2006). The aggression of both prison guards and inmates, as well as the punishments and sanctions imposed for deviant behavior highlight the prison subculture. Throughout the film, the inmates showcase certain distinctive markers of the subculture that set the group apart from the dominant culture because they use cigarettes as currency, engage in violence, establish specific roles and identity, and share similar goals and values, such as …show more content…
Typically, inmates are submissive, while prison guards and officials are illustrated with absolute power. Throughout the film, the guards, captain, and warden are shown to be aggressive and violent towards the inmates. They emphasize their authority through sanctions and beatings. Further evidence for this abuse of power is evident during Red’s attempts for release from Shawshank. After decades of parole board hearings, Red tells the board that he no longer cares for release. The board grants his parole for no apparent reason, which depicts the abuse of power that is held by the prison workers. Even after Red is free, he still feels the influence of his imprisonment. The culture shock he experiences can be primarily influenced by the drastic change in authority over his own actions. This is something that many people experience following their release from prison because they no longer remember how the normal society
After reading the book I have gained a new understanding of what inmates think about in prison. Working in an institution, I have a certain cynical attitude at times with inmates and their requests. Working in a reception facility, this is a facility where inmates are brought in from the county jails to the state intake facility, we deal with a lot of requests and questions. At times, with the phone ringing off the hook from family members and inmates with their prison request forms, you get a little cynical and tired of answering the same questions over and over. As I read the book I begin to understand some of the reason for the questions. Inmate(s) now realize that the officers and administrative personnel are in control of their lives. They dictate with to get up in the morning, take showers, eat meals, go to classes, the need see people for different reason, when to exercise and when to go to bed. The lost of control over their lives is a new experience for some and they would like to be able to adjust to this new lost of freedom. Upon understanding this and in reading the book, I am not as cynical as I have been and try to be more patient in answering questions. So in a way I have changed some of my thinking and understanding more of prison life.
The movie Shawshank Redemption analyzing various aspects of prison life. These characteristics include prison culture specifically guard subculture and inmate subculture. The movie explores how prison is used as a punishment and can be seen as a form of machine. Argot roles, in prison as explained by Gresham Sykes, display the beliefs and attitudes of prisoners expressed in a rather distinctive manner (Lovell, 1998). They are exemplified through the inherit meanings generation by the prison environment and tied together through the prisoner social world. The language is a significant aspect of prison, and therefore it is essential to understanding the social worlds of prisoners. These argot roles represent a framework in which the social world can be further understood. There are several argot roles found in a prison. In specific, throughout the movie Shawshank Redemption, many of the characters are labelled and interpreted to be play such roles signifying how common these roles are in a prison.
In 1947, Andy Dufresne, a banker in Maine, is sentenced for killing his wife and her lover. He is given two lifelong incarcerations and sent to the famously brutal Shawshank Prison. Andy always claimed that he was innocent, but his personality led a lot of people to doubt him.
After listening to and or reading the transcripts of Locked Down: Gangs in the Supermax by Michael Montgomery, one gets a glimpse of prison life, sociological issues inmates and staff face, and the subculture of prison life faced by staff and prisoners alike on a daily basis. However, instead of delving completely in to the situational circumstances of prisoner life, it is more important to understand the history of this Supermax prison and why it was constructed to begin with. Further, it is important to understand the philosophy of the need for the Secure Housing Unit, which is the most secure and isolated portion of Pelican Bay Prison.
The justice system is in place to protect society from dangerous individuals by imprisonment and rehabilitation. Whether or not the former occurs effectively enough in prisons is debatable. Andy Dufresne and Luke Jackson, from the films The Shawshank Redemption and Cool Hand Luke respectively, are two of those citizens that have been placed in prison to protect society. The prison system failed to rehabilitate either men in any way, but rather it failed them. As a result, both men look to ways to escape the brutality and malfeasance projected onto them by the prison authority. In the films, The Shawshank Redemption and Cool Hand Luke, prisoners exhibit a disobedience to authority as a result of distrust or loss of faith in the justice system’s efforts to rehabilitate them.
We know the law as trustworthy and dependable, but what we see at Shawshank prison is the guards and Warden doing more bad things than some of the prisoners that are in the prison. Shawshank Redemption heroism together with evil through individuality were highlighted against the stereotypes civilization holds. We might anticipate figures akin to the warden along with the guards to be heroic individuals but yet we are shown different after viewing the film. A similar thing is revealed with a couple of the prisoners. This illustrates us the way society expresses law enforcers as good and prisoners as evil. Shawshank pushes these stereotypes. Though the prison was full of its own display of fraudulence and hypocrisies, the characters in which
According to Caldwell, prison culture is a mix of habit systems, behavior patterns, prison customs & folkways, the prisoners' code and prisoner's attitudes and opinions toward the prison system, personnel and major social institutions in "free society" (655). Caldwell argues that prison culture includes the "prison folklore and mythology built around historic events such as outstanding prison riots, daring prison breaks, protracted sit-down strikes, dramatic deeds of perseverance, fortitude and valor by prison inmates and previous criminal exploits of the some of the nation's dangerous criminals" (655). In other words, a lot of prison culture revolves around the major events (i.e. riots, escapes and attempts) or personal actions (criminal exploits, notable deeds, etc.) that change everything and brings prison life to a standstill. Caldwell suggests that direct involvement in either of those two categories will undoubtedly impact one's standing within the community and how the rest of the prison population perceives them. Thus, Caldwell’s research supports my theory that inmates champion almost anybody who makes an open act of defiance against the system. It's another important aspect of the social structure in prison community since the culture in prisons and the type of behavior they
In The Shawshank Redemption, Andy did not actually commit the crime that he was convicted of in court, which is why his sentence can be considered unjust. Also, even though both films contain themes about the corruption that power causes, they showcase different ways to react to those in positions of power. Throughout the movie, Dufresne plays the system, doing what is asked of him so as to be in good standing with the warden and guards. In another review from Roger Ebert, he explains how, “For the warden, [Andy] is both a challenge and a resource; Andy knows all about bookkeeping and tax preparation, and before long he's been moved out of his prison job in the library and assigned to the warden's office, where he sits behind an adding machine and keeps tabs on the warden's ill-gotten gains” (“The Shawshank Redemption”). Because of this, Dufresne has more freedom and protection within Shawshank. The warden allows him to remain alone in his cell, expands the library, and gives him more leeway and freedom around the prison. Being so close with those in power is what allowed Andy to escape so flawlessly, and this scenario represents the idea of keeping friends close and enemies closer. Dufresne successfully breaking out of Shawshank showcases the importance of hope, and this, along with the outcomes of those in charge of the prison, created the satisfying ending of justice being
To be institutionalized means to gradually become unable to think and act independently due to having lived for a long time under the rules of an institution. An example of this would be a veteran in the military, unable to adopt a civilian lifestyle after spending so much time service. In the case of Brookes Hatlen, he had been “institutionalized” in that he had been in prison so long that the only life they he knew was the one within the prison walls. Having served as the prison librarian for over fifty years, Brooks has no idea how to live in the outside world when he is released. The world had changed rapidly and entirely in the time Brookes was in prison, and he has no role to fill in it. In the prison he had been secure; he had a job
When we do research on daily prison life, we come across two typical but less than ideal situations: either social imaginaries cloud our judgment or information provided by the prisons themselves hide certain weak or bad aspects that they do not want to make public. We can also find information on TV, but most of the time it either exaggerates or minimizes the facts. In order to obtain more reliable information, we have to have access to people who are working or have worked in this institution, and such will be the sources of this essay. We will be describing and giving examples of prison violence according to three types of violence: sexual, physical and psychological violence.
All over the world jails old and new have cost the government and taxpayers billions of dollars in supplies for inmates, hospital bills, building funds and more. Prisons are used to help society function and the use of making an example of those who commit crimes to deter others from doing the same. The use of punishment can be put into five different categories, retribution, incapacitation, deterrence, rehabilitation and utilitarianism.Each prison has had its up’s and down’s, and its fair share of mistreatment and rebellion. Each jail has its fair share of famous and outrageous criminals but the two jails being analyzed have held the most notorious gangster in America in the 1920’s until his untimely death in 1947 and the 89 - 93 backpacker
difficult relationships present that day in the prison, and emphasizing with detail on a few inmates
Some people have no idea what it feels like to be in prison, according to statistics simply one out of every five people really knows what the prison life is like. Nearly 1.4 million people out of the U.S.’s 280 million people that remain in prison. (Thomas, 2). One of the main reasons people know about prisons is because of the movies. The things that contribute to people stereotyping the prison life is news, movies, and books. Prisoners do receive three meals a day, workout facilities, a library, as well as other things. People are also given the idea, through the mass media, that prisoners are free to walk around certain parts of the prison. Throughout my research I plan to learn the answer to a question remaining what is prison life really like for inmates?
In the media, prisons have always been depicted as a horrible place. The film, The Shawshank Redemption, is a prime example that supports the media 's suggestions about prison life. In the film we are familiarized with Andy Dufresne, who is a banker that is wrongfully convicted of murdering his wife and her lover. While trying to both remain discreet and find his prison identity, he assists Ellis Boyd 'Red ' Redding, a peddler, and Brooks Hatlen. In his attempt to fit into the rough prison subculture, Andy strategically starts a business relationship with the captain Captain Bryon Hadley and Samuel Norton. The film gives an insider 's look at various aspects of prison life. These aspects include prison culture; explicitly, guard subculture and inmate subculture.
The mass media uses prison life as the source for movies and television shows. Over the years there have been many movies written about prison but the most prominent in my mind is Frank Darabont’s, The Shawshank Redemption. Throughout the film there are many examples of the falsities of prison life. There are some elements of truth but they are out weighed by the misconceptions. Numerous prisoners are allowed to walk around the prison and the prison yard with no guards in sight. In actuality there are always guards around, especially on the inside. The prisoner’s movement through the prison is highly restricted.