On a narrative level, 'The Shawshank Redemption' is a movie about the power of hope in the face of extraordinary hardship. "Turn to the right! Eyes front." But underpinning Andy Dufresne's story, we also find a blistering critique of the prison system and a criminal justice policy in the United States. "You eat when we say you eat. You shit when we say you shit, and you piss when we say you piss." [Punch and gasp] "On your feet." "Welcome to Shawshank." Initially released to a rather disappointing reception 25 years ago, the film now holds a special place in the hearts of many viewers, and has, for the past decade, occupied the number one spot on IMDb's list of the top 250 movies of all time. It's also earned a spot in the National Film Registry at the Library of Congress. Given its status as a modern classic, I'd like to explore why, after a quarter century, 'The Shawshank Redemption' still resonates so strongly with viewers. And while we're at it, we can perhaps identify a few aspects of the movie that don't hold up to scrutiny. The Shawshank Redemption is based on Stephen King's 1982 novella 'Rita Hayworth and Shawshank Redemption'— which was itself inspired by a Leo Tolstoy short story 'God Sees the Truth, But Waits', published over a hundred years earlier. Stephen King is of course most well known as a horror writer. But like 'Stand By Me', 'The Shawshank Redemption' is drawn from one of his stories without supernatural themes. "You'll like it, it's about a prison break." "We ought to file that
under 'Educational' too, oughtn't we?" Although the film adaptation is now widely regarded as a masterpiece, it didn't start out that way. The movie debuted to mixed reviews from critics but the high-profile write-ups in both the Washington Post and LA times were particularly harsh. Both knocked the story for its sentimentality and objected to the humanizing portrayal of prisoners. Despite the star power of actors Tim Robbins and Morgan Freeman, 'The Shawshank Redemption' bombed badly at the box office in the fall of 1994 and didn't even recover its initial production costs. The movie only became popular later largely thanks to VHS rentals and heavy rotation on cable television. "Tonight, make it a Blockbuster night." In order to understand the initial negative reaction, we need to look to public sentiment at the time. The national discourse in the early 1990s was dominated by tough-on-crime rhetoric, fueled in part by mass media driven panic over out-of-control young men– particularly young men of color from the inner city. "It doesn't matter whether or not they're the victims of society; the end result is they're about to knock my mother on the head with a lead pipe, shoot my sister, beat up my wife, taking on my sons." "So I don't want to ask: 'What made them do this?' They must be taken off the street." Just 10 days before 'The Shawshank Redemption' hit theaters, Bill Clinton signed his signature 1994 crime bill. While the legislation included a handful of positive measures, like an assault weapons ban, in most other respects, it was an absolutely disastrous law. The 'Violent Crime Control and Law Enforcement Act', as it was officially called, exacerbated mass incarceration, drastically increased harsh sentences with three strikes laws and mandatory minimums, expanded the use of the death penalty, funneled massive amounts of money into private prisons, began militarizing local police forces and focused on extremely punitive measures at the expense of rehabilitation, treatment or prevention programs. Now as you might imagine, a nation that was practically salivating for retribution against lawbreakers, didn't exactly rush to movie houses to see a film that's critical of how the justice system treats prisoners. "Ah, wait, wait, wait, wait." In retrospect, it's easy to see traces of that punitive tough-on-crime mentality reflected in the harshest movie reviews. The Washington Post lamented that 'the inmates are—ultimately—a bunch of cute pushovers', while the LA Times quipped that the film 'envisioned the [...] cons as a bunch of swell [...] soft-hearted guys who were probably put away for overzealous toenail clipping' and went on to complain that 'the audience is invited to view [the inmates] as harmless as Snow White's dwarves.' It seems clear that what these critics were really upset about was the humanizing of men in prison— and a portrayal of life behind bars that, while shown to be miserable, wasn't sadistic enough for their liking. [Siren wailing] When male characters find themselves incarcerated in Hollywood blockbusters, the prison setting is often used as an excuse to glorify violent forms of hypermasculinity. "I've been waiting a long time for this!" "Keep waiting, bitch!" There are of course some notable exceptions, but the overall pattern in entertainment is to portray prison as a place where the artifice of the social contract is stripped away— and men must embody an aggressive, unconstrained, almost animalistic form of manhood. Interpersonal violence in prison movies is depicted as a necessary form of survival. This framing allows leading men to get away with behavior that would be frowned upon in most other social contexts. These kind of movies typically rely on the 'good guy thrown in with the animal' scenario— "You are in hell, little man."
[Punch] —and play out the brutality of guilty prisoners as a way to reinforce the inherent goodness of our protagonist. We are all familiar with the prison yard showdown cliche, wherein our hero proves his status as a tough guy by taking down the scariest convict on the block. "We own you!" The brutality is not only accepted, it's also celebrated— because Hollywood prisons are packed with snarling, one-note goons. Framing fictional prisoners as nothing but a bunch of vicious monsters helps to reinforce the widespread belief that prisoners in the real world deserve to be exploited, mistreated or abused behind bars. "I don't think rehabilitation is working here, do you?"
"Oh, they're just misunderstood, really." This is part of how entertainment media systematically dehumanizes men in prison. But 'The Shawshank Redemption' is a very different kind of prison movie. While the film doesn't sugarcoat the harsh, sometimes violent reality of prison life, it also avoids glorifying hyper-masculine posturing. And the bonds of friendship between men are not forged in violence— "Andy!"
And the bonds of friendship between men are not forged in violence— And the bonds of friendship between men are not forged in violence— [cocks gun]
"Hey!" —they are instead built from solidarity. "Step aside, Mert. This fucker's having himself an accident."
"He'll push him off the roof." "What did you say?"
"You get the forms I'll prepare them for you, nearly free of charge." "I'd only ask three beers apiece for each of my co-workers."
"Coworkers? That's rich, ain't it?" The shared experience of enduring an unjust authoritarian system— "What are you jimmies staring at? Back to work!" —is what brings these men together. Most of Andy's fellow prisoners are portrayed as normal, everyday, working-class guys. Men who may have made mistakes or hurt people in the past but who are at the end of the day still human beings. "And that's how it came to pass that on the second to last day of the job, the convict crew that tarred the plate factory roof in the spring of '49, wound up sitting in a row at ten o'clock in the morning drinking icy cold Bohemia style beer." "We said and drank with the sun on our shoulders and felt like free men." It's not at all uncommon for movies to portray an innocent man in a sympathetic light. Humanizing people who have been wrongly convicted or treated unfairly by the system is almost a genre unto itself. "I didn't kill my wife!"
"I don't care!" "Why'd you do it?" "I'm innocent, Red. Just like everybody else here." So while it's not surprising that 'The Shawshank Redemption' puts the audience firmly in Andy's corner, it is noteworthy that the film takes great pains to humanize the rest of the prisoners. "Fell out of his nest
over by the plate shop." "I'm gonna look after him until he's big enough to fly." And that humanization is instrumental in facilitating the film's larger critique of the prison system. "They send you here for life—that's exactly what they take." "Part that counts, anyway." The film's script and cinematography are both used to great effect in highlighting a wide array of systemic cruelties behind bars. We are shown inhumane living conditions, brutal guard beatings, the sanctioned torture of prisoners via solitary confinement, and the exploitation of prison labor— all of which are endemic to the modern prison industrial complex in the United States. "Most people wouldn't keep their pets in the kind of conditions that we keep people in." The 'prison industrial complex' is a term popularized by activists and scholars, like Angela Davis, to describe the network of government agencies and for-profit corporations that collaborate in the construction, operation and administration of a vast prison system— a system that is designed to incentivize mass incarceration. [Cameras clicking]
"These men can learn the value of an honest day's labor while providing a valuable service to the community. "These men can learn the value of an honest day's labor while providing a valuable service to the community. And, at a bare minimum of expense
to Mr. and Mrs. John Q. Taxpayer." In the movie the warden's prison labor scheme is framed as a criminal enterprise because of bribes and kickbacks. But in the real world, profiting off or otherwise exploiting what is essentially slave labor, is perfectly legal. "Partnerships between correctional industries and private business are a rapidly growing segment of a multi-billion dollar industry in America." The prison industrial complex is characterized by a callous disregard for human rights and human dignity. It's also big business. "Unhook 'em!" About 90% of the over 2 million prisoners in the United States are men— "Turn around!" —and if we truly care about the plight of men in this country, then reforming and abolishing the cruel, abusive prison system must be a priority. I'd go so far as to say that anyone purporting to care about men's issues who isn't pushing to end mass incarceration, isn't serious in their concern. "Move out of the cage, go to your left, pick up your clothes and bible. Next man up!" 'The Shawshank Redemption' also highlights another serious issue within the prison system: the epidemic of sexual assault. During his decades of incarceration, Andy is repeatedly assaulted by a prison gang known as 'The Sisters'. Unlike a lot of popular entertainment, sexual violence against men in this movie isn't trivialized or played for humor. [Rhythmic hand beating]
"You know what that is! That's a big ass black man with your pale white ass!" I made a previous video essay deconstructing the media pattern wherein prison rape is turned into a joke. Rape at Shawshank is appropriately portrayed as devastating and horrific. "The Sisters kept at it. Sometimes he was able to fight 'em off, sometimes not." "And that's how it went for Andy." "You talking to me, partner?" Still, there are pitfalls when media plays the sexual assault of men for drama. "Excuse me?"
"Get down on your hands and knees." "And you pay." When adult men face the possibility of sexual assault in dramatic movies, the threat is often rebuffed with extreme violence— [punching] —and the ensuing beatdown cements their status as tough guys. These hypermasculine scenes end up reinforcing the myth that it's only weak or effeminate men who become victims of rape. "I don't pay, I don't punk."
"Okay, okay, take it easy." Andy's story, by contrast, illustrates the truth that anyone can be sexually assaulted— "You shouldn't." —and being targeted says absolutely nothing about the survivor's sexuality or masculinity. The narrative also does a good job of illustrating the complicity of authority figures in the epidemic of prison rape. "No more protection from the guards. I'll pull you out of that 1-bunk Hilton and cast you down with the sodomites." "You'll think you've been fucked by a train." Where the movie starts getting into trouble is in the portrayal of the Sisters gang. "Hey, we all need friends in here. I could be a friend to you." The Sisters contribute to the long, sad tradition in Hollywood of framing gay coded characters as sexual predators. "[...] until his body went limp and I knew it was over." "And then?"
"Then I felt tremendously exhilarated." The truth is, of course, that queer sexuality is not a threat to straight people. It's rapists who are a threat to people of all sexual orientations. "Honey... Hush." "The Sisters have taken quite a liking to you." Morgan Freeman's character even alludes to that dynamic in this scene. "Don't suppose it would help any if I explained to them I'm not homosexual?" "Neither are they. You have to be human first. They don't qualify." Red's dialogue articulates an important point: that rape is not about sex or sexuality— "Ain't you gonna scream?" —it's about power. Still, the fact remains that every other character in 'The Shawshank Redemption' is presented as straight and it's only the effeminate men who are framed— "Hard to get." —as predatory rapists. "I like that." So while Red's insight is correct— "You have to be human first. They don't qualify." —the movie itself does end up conflating gay coded stereotypes with sexual violence. "I wish I could tell you that Andy fought the good fight and the Sisters let him be." "I wish I could tell you that. But prison is no fairytale world." Another place where the filmmakers stumble is in their depiction of the impacts of trauma. "Most new fish come close to madness the first night." "Somebody always breaks down crying." "Happens every time." Andy Dufresne fits neatly into the strong silent archetype for male characters. "His first night in the joint Andy Dufresne cost me two packs of cigarettes." "He never made a sound." Andy shows few outward emotional signs of trauma. He doesn't talk about being assaulted, he doesn't ask for help or support, and outside of one or two pivotal scenes near the end of the movie, he doesn't express much in the way of vulnerability at all. Instead Andy keeps everything bottled up inside and he overcomes his trauma through sheer force of will. "Every so often Andy would show up with fresh bruises." "They never said who did it, but we all knew." Our society makes clear that men should never ever talk about being abused lest they be shamed or mocked for it. So while Andy's story of survival is undoubtedly an inspirational one, it is also on some level still a story that perpetuates the masculine ideal of suffering in silence. It's not possible to talk about the U.S. prison system without talking about race. The prisoners we see on screen at Shawshank are mostly white. And while that may make sense, given that the film is set in the state of Maine during the 1940s and '50s, that is not what the prison population looks like today. Because of entrenched institutional racism at every level of the criminal justice system, men of color are disproportionately incarcerated. Despite being only 37% of the overall population, people of color make up about 67% of those in prison. And black men in particular are six times more likely to be locked up than white men are. "Black men account for roughly 6.5% of the U.S. population, they make up 40.2% of the prison population." Racism is not something that 'The Shawshank Redemption' addresses directly. That said, the filmmakers did make one important change from the original short story: they changed Red's racial identity. "Why do they call you that?" In Stephen King's version, he's Irish. "Maybe it's because I'm Irish." But here, the role is played by Morgan Freeman. The casting decision means that even though the narrative focuses on Andy's plight, it's the perspective and narration of a black man that serves as the lens through which we as the audience come to understand the harsh injustices of the prison system. "If I'll say you've served 40 years of a life sentence, you feel you've been rehabilitated?" "You know, I don't have any idea what that means." "Well, it means you're ready to rejoin society."
"I know what you think it means, sonny." "To me, it's just a made-up word." "A politician's word so that young fellas like yourself can wear a suit and a tie and have a job." The criminal justice system in the U.S. is primarily designed for retribution, not redemption. Programs for education, treatment or mental health are woefully inadequate on the inside. "I can't take care of you no more, Jake." [Cawing] "You go on now." "You're free." "You're free." And when prisoners are finally released, they're largely left to fend for themselves. In the movie, this heartbreaking reality is illustrated through the story of Brooks. Because of their criminal record, many formerly incarcerated people find it difficult or impossible to get a decent job. They're also routinely denied basic services, from housing to education, from loans to food stamps— and in many states, they're not allowed to vote. "Sometimes after work, I go to the park and feed the birds." "I keep thinking Jake might just show up and say hello, but he never does." Dumping people back on the street with little support after years or even decades of isolation from society and community is a catastrophic policy. A policy that leads directly to recidivism— that is the revolving door in and out of prison. "All I do anymore is think of ways to break my parole, so maybe they'd send me back." Effective reintegration back into society requires providing people with support networks, connections with community and real opportunities for a dignified life. Perhaps most of all, redemption and personal transformation requires hope in the future. This, I think, gets at the underlying reasons why 'The Shawshank Redemption' enjoys such enduring popularity. "There's something inside, that they can't get to, that they can't touch. It's yours." "What are you talking about?" "Hope." "Hope." We see the criminal justice system fail to prioritize justice at every level. And so, neglected by the system and ignored by the powers that be, Andy decides to help himself and his fellow prisoners on his own. The promise of his escape plan is the hope that keeps Andy going during his long incarceration. Hope is also what Andy offers his friend Red with the promise of a mystery under the oak tree. And hope is what Andy provides for his fellow prisoners by way of his tireless work to build an extensive prison library and tutoring program. "By the year Kennedy was shot, Andy had transformed the storage room smelling of rat turds and turpentine into the best prison library in New England; complete with a fine selection of Hank Williams." [Singing along] In the face of an iron-fisted soul-crushing institution— "Turn that off!" —the movie is filled with small moments that reaffirm the basic human dignity of people under that system's boot. "I am warning you, Dufresne, turn that off!" The now iconic record-player scene is an act of defiance. [Swelling music] Defiance of the absolute dehumanizing control that the prison system exerts over every aspect of a prisoner's life. But more than that, it's an act of defiance in the name of reclaiming the basic humanity not just of our protagonist, but of all prisoners. "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 at Shawshank felt free." Despite its flaws 'The Shawshank Redemption' remains a poignant film that was in many respects ahead of its time. The 1994 crime bill is now widely regarded as a massive failure by people across the political spectrum. "But I want to say a few words about it." "Because I signed a bill that made the problem worse." And thanks to the tireless work of activists, public opinion has shifted dramatically and now favors prevention, treatment and mental health programs over mass incarceration. There is still a long way to go in order to abolish the prison industrial complex but the prevailing wisdom today is much more in line with the film's humanizing philosophy of redemption over retribution. I hope you enjoyed that episode. As you might imagine these videos take an enormous amount of time to write, edit and produce, so if you'd like to see more of them, please consider going over to Patreon and helping to fund the project there. I've also left a link to PayPal in the description below. If you want to learn more about the system of mass incarceration, I've left a bunch of links and resources below as well. My next video will be part 2 in my series on the sexual assault of men played for comedy in Hollywood, I hope to see you back here for that one.
