Paragraph for Inquiry 2

Research Question:  In what ways are crime, punishment, and rehabilitation portrayed throughout Shawshank Redemption?

Throughout the film, Shawshank Redemption, crime, punishment and rehabilitation are portrayed in various different ways.  The officials at Shawshank believe that rehabilitation is achieved through punishment and labor for one’s crime.  The first step of this is to take the inmates’ identities away.  This is seen near the beginning of the film when the new criminals arrive and they are undressed, washed off, and given a set of clothes that match every other inmate.  At this point, all individuality is lost, and the prison becomes reminiscent of a zoo.  As Jan Alber stated, the metaphor of a prison being a zoo, “highlights processes of dehumanization and depersonalization in prison.” (insert citation)  Additionally, the sense of insignificance and a lack of identity is seen through the camera angles when the new inmates first arrive.  The start of this scene is filmed from a bird’s eye perspective which causes the inmates to resemble ants.  Traditionally ants are viewed as valueless and meaningless, which is exactly how the punishment at Shawshank makes many inmates feel.  A key scene that demonstrates the punishment at Shawshank is the first night when a guard beat a new inmate to death.  The only thing this particular inmate was doing wrong was that he cried during the silent hours, which This shows the extreme level of punishment that is considered acceptable at the prison, and that no life is viewed as important.  Additionally, in the film, the punishment of the inmates is often a crime in itself, and the punishment drives the criminals to commit even more crimes.  The process of rehabilitation as Shawshank ultimately results in a never ending cycle of crime and punishment.  Another element brought up in Alber’s article is the mise en scene.  For example, in every scene filmed outside, the high walls and wires are always visible.  These act as a never ending reminder of their current situation, and the punishment for their previous crimes.  This eventually results in what Alber calls a “social death.”  Overtime, the inmates become institutionalized and are so withdrawn from the outside world, that they can only function in a prison.  This ties back to the major flaw in the Shawshank prison system.  Although the goal is to rehabilitate the inmates, it actually just prevents them from functioning in real life situations.  Overall, the themes of crime, punishment, and rehabilitation are not only in the script, but are also observed in the many metaphors and camera angles though out the film, Shawshank Redemption. 

ALBER, JAN. “Cinematic Carcerality: Prison Metaphors In Film.” Journal Of Popular Culture44.2 (2011): 217-232. Literary Reference Center. Web. 23 Oct. 2014.