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Institutionalisation In The Shawshank Redemption

830 Words4 Pages

Institutionalisation, in the film Shawshank Redemption, explores the effect that being in prison has on the inmates.
Firstly, we see the effect that institutionalisation has on people who live in prison. When Brooks , who has lived all his life in prison, discovers he has been granted parole, he is dismayed and attacks another prisoner, placing a knife to his neck, hoping his act of violence will revoke his parole. This is delineated in, “It’s the only way they’ll let me stay!”. This close-up shot depicts that Brooks is distressed and scared due to his predicament and doesn’t want to leave prison because he cannot function properly when he is not in prison. Brooks has no other home than Shawshank. He is resigned to being institutionalised and has started depending on life in prison. This is reflected in, “These walls are funny. First you hate ‘em, then you get used to ‘em. Enough time passes, you get so you depend on them. That’s institutionalised”. This dialogue by Red, accentuates prison shapes prisoners’ points of view on prison, gradually changing them over time, making them psychologically affected and dependent.
Brooks has lived all his life in prison and does not want to leave, because in prison he is a very important person, but in the outside …show more content…

As Andy broadcasts the opera music throughout in Shawshank, all the prisoners and guards stand still, feeling the sense of humanity, freedom and transcendence. Andy connects with the prisoners’ souls by playing this music and even though they are still imprisoned and not physically free they have mental freedom. This is presented in, “and for the briefest of moments, every last man in Shawshank felt free”. The diegetic sound and dialogue by Red, portrays the idea that the music played makes the walls of Shawshank disappear and gives prisoners a sense of hope and

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