The Shawshank Redemption: Rhetorical Criticism

In 1994 Tim Robbins and Morgan Freeman teamed together in Frank Darabont's The Shawshank Redemption making one of the best duos since Robert Redford and Paul Newman in Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid. Based on Stephen King's short story Rita Hayworth and the Shawshank Redemption the film, although not popular in the box office, made its profits when released on VHS and DVD (Haviland). It is now listed as second in the top 250 films according to the Internet Movie Database. In this paper, I am going to examine The Shawshank Redemption to see if its rhetorical significance rests in its genre. The film falls into four major genres: escape film, prison film, social-drama film, and period piece. I will give a definition for each genre and examples showing that it does fit into each category.

Escape films are those which,

... involve the audience in the plight of either a wrongly accused man or an attractive criminal... (and) some of them, managed to combine an escape plot with bigger statements about human nature and freedom. (AllMovie.com)

The Shawshank Redemption leads us through the experience of Andy Dufresne who is accused of killing his wife and her lover. Although he denies the crime, all the evidence points to him and he is thrown in the Shawshank State Prison. One of his inmates, years later, reveals that Dufresne is indeed innocent and the real killer is still alive.

When the warden doesn't allow him to have his case re-opened, Dufresne executes his escape. As his escape is shown we see that he has been working on it for the past nineteen years. This plan he'd been developing is what kept him sane, as he said to Morgan Freeman, "Fear can hold you prisoner. Hope can set you free." (The Shawshank Redemption). Though Dufresne is speaking of being a prisoner, he also is making a larger statement about human nature and what he has learned while in the Shawshank.

A prison film is,

A subgenre of the crime film that centers on the difficult living conditions and volatile human interplay within the confines of a prison. Some of these films may also examine the difficulties encountered by ex-cons in adjusting to life "outside." (Allmovie.com)

This film illustrates the difficulty of living in prison in many ways. Perhaps the most vivid though, are the trials that Dufresne goes through in the first two years. Darabont shows Dufresne getting beaten up on a regular basis as he tries to resist getting raped by a gang known as "The Sisters". The raping only stops when, after the worst beating, a guard who likes Dufresne nearly kills the ringleader of "The Sisters".

While in jail, Dufresne befriends an old man by the name of Brooks. Brooks is a good example of how an ex-con has a hard time living "outside". When granted his parole, he nearly kills another man so that he can stay in jail; life in prison is all he knows. After a time of trying to make it in the world, Brooks commits suicide. Ironically, despite the hardships, life without the routine of prison was more than he could handle.

The friendships in prison illustrates a social-problem drama which

Allows the center of the story to show emotion and development of relationship among characters who differentiate in background, personality, and characteristics. (Filmsite.org/Oxford Dictionary)

Perhaps the best example of the social-problem drama is between Morgan Freeman's character, Red, and Dufresne. Red is a black, uneducated, convicted murderer, who, as he describes it, is the con who can "get things" (cigarettes, drugs, alcohol, etc.) while in prison. In the real world there is little chance that he would befriend a white, educated, successful banker like Dufresne. However, they become close through the common routine of prison and build a friendship that lasts even when they get out.

Another example is Red and Andy Dufresne's relationship with Brooks, the prison librarian. Although they come from very different backgrounds, they develop a friendship as they work together in the library. When word come back that Brooks has killed himself after being let out on parole, the emotion felt by Dufresne and Red is apparent. The comradery developed between diverse inmates is clear throughout the entire movie.

Lastly, I believe that "The Shawshank Redemption" is a period piece. According to Allmovie.com period pieces are

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