“Fear can hold you prisoner, Hope can set you free.” (“The Shawshank Redemption”) The 1994 American drama “The Shawshank Redemption”, which was written and directed by Frank Darabont, is a movie easily worthy of recognition. The story begins when Andy Dufresne, a young vice president of a prestigious bank, whom is wrongfully convicted of killing his wife and her lover. He is then sent to jail where he learns lessons about life through his friends and his corrupt scheme to launder money. After nineteen years Andy tunnels out of the prison into freedom. While it appears simple on the surface, the use of many techniques such as: color, symmetry, soundtrack, symbolism, irony, and bible references help to gain a deeper meaning than what is simply seen by the naked eye.
Jeanne Allen, author of the journal "The Representation of Violence to Women: Hitchcock's "Frenzy", explains that, "Hitchcock...traces a life of obsessi... ... middle of paper ... ... have been conscious of his darker demons, they definitely surfaced in characters such as Marnie, Norman Bates and others. Perchance Hitchcock was a prisoner in his own mind, and to deal with his inner demons, he relieved them by doing what he did best, creating films. He couldn't yell out in his own voice so he uses the many voices that he created himself. Despite his personal shortcomings, Hitchcock proved to be one of the great masters of filmmaking and earned himself the title "King of Suspense". Throughout his seemingly endless amount of films, he showed us that people are never quite what they seem.
Throughout both films the main issues are the corruption within the penitentiaries by a select number of guards and the wardens, the rehabilitation and redemption process which the in-mates had to encounter, the brutality of the prison system, and the friendships which were formed within the prisons. The subject matter/plot and characters of both these movies are similar in many ways they both contribute the same message. The movie The Shawshank Redemption has excellent examples of the issues of corruption and brutality of the prison system. It is based upon a young banker (Andy Dufresne) who is sentenced two life imprisonments for the accusation of the murder of his wife and her lover. While in prison Dufresne quickly befriends Ellis Boyd Redding Red is regularly ridiculed by the general prison population, is often assaulted by a gang of in-mates who rape and beat him, and also is hired by the warden of Shawshank prison as his personal accountant, and in exchange for his help with tax evasion, embezzlement, kickbacks and other legal activities, he receives a library job and privileges.
William's defense attorney argued that he was merely a victim of the deteriorating prison system in this country (Racism, tolerance, and perfected redemption: A rhetorical critique of the dragging trial, Larry A. Williamson, 2009). The reality of prison gangs is nearly impossible to ignore. King's story, although not a defense for his crime, sheds light on today's prisons and the gangs within them. Newly admitted convicts are often victimized to no end until they join a group or gang that displays power and their intentions to survive prison life. Violence, rape, and murder are just a fe... ... middle of paper ... ...view of the Challenge of Prison Gangs Fleisher, M. S. Decker, S. H. Corrections Management Quarterly, 2001, VOL 5; ISS 1, pa 1-9 Organizational Structure of Prison Gangs: A Texas Case Study R S Fong Federal Probation Volume:54 Issue:1 Dated:(March 1990) Pages:36-43 Prison Gang Members' Tattoos as Identity Work: The Visual Communication of Moral Careers.
Throughout the story Stevenson portrays the prisons, prison guards and the prison system through his use of word choice. The structural style of the prison described through the use of gothic language, conjuring up dungeon type location, often times embellishing the actual conditions of the prison. He also used partial language describing the demeanors of the guards as harsh and uncaring. Stevenson also employed a series of shocking facts to appeal to the reader’s emotion, having them overlook his stylistic choices in language. These stylistic word choices retracts from Stevenson’s ideas of necessary reform, portraying him more as a story teller rather than an expert, which is detrimental to a his cause when an expert is clearly needed for a complicated subject like prison reform.
In the book Rita Hayworth and Shawshank Redemption written by Stephen King, Andy Dufresne becomes wrongly imprisoned in Shawshank State Prison for the murder of his wife and her lover. Andy becomes engulfed in the prison life as he makes friends. As the book, as well as the movie, transpire you see Andy becoming one of the prisoners. The movie describes it perfectly when Andy says: “On the outside, I was an honest man, straight as an arrow. I had to come to prison to be a crook.” Andy and the other inmates are all locked up metaphorically as well as literally, hiding from themselves.
In ken keseay’s one flew over the cuckoo’s nest a psychiatric ward becomes a metaphor for the oppressive nature of society In ken keseay's 'one flew over the cuckoo's nest' a psychiatric ward becomes a metaphor for the oppressive nature of society. This symbolic novel relays the story of an inmate standing up against the powerful forces that operate a mental institute. This novel represents more than man vs the institutions. The novel compels us to think about just how thin the line is that separates insanity from sanity and treatment from control. One flew Over thee cuckoo's nest represents a heroic struggle of personality against an institution of mindless conformity.
Regardless of the reason, be it simple or complex, almost everything I read seems to engage a “David and Goliath” scenario. Take for example, One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest by Ken Kesey. There is no doubt in my mind that the mental institution that comprises the primary setting of the narrative is intended as a metaphor of societal oppression. This symbolic novel relays the story of an inmate standing up against the powerful forces that operate a psychiatric hospital, but it represents much more than just a classic case of “man versus the establishment”. The questions raised by Kesey are almost as chilling as his descriptive tales of inmate abuse.
The authorities used lobotomy to tame Hard Rock’s rebellion and this was not right. The main themes of the poem are rebellion, oppression, and imprisonment. The theme of imprisonment is evident in Hard Rock Returns to Prison from the Hospital for the Criminal Insane poem. Hard Rock was a tough inmate, silenced by lobotomy. Hard Rock was a hero to the other prisoners, and this made the authority to take actions against him in order to tend his defiance.
They all have similar beliefs, meanings of their tattoos, how gangs impact their lives and society, and the challenges they bring the prison system in order to decrease gang population. One of the largest gangs in prison with all-white male members is The Aryan Brotherhood. Established in the 1960s in California, the brotherhood was created because whites felt that black and Hispanic inmates were taking advantage of them. To be a part of the Aryan Brotherhood inmates is put on a 6 month probationary period. Once initiation, members are required to “making-bones” meaning to kill someone.