American Values and The Shawshank Redemption - Essay Example

In the movie, The Shawshank Redemption, also there were certain “American values.”

            The movie is based on a Stephen King novella by the name of Rita Hayworth and Shawshank Redemption. It revolves around the friendship of two inmates at the Shawshank State Penitentiary, Andy and Red. Andy is a banker convicted of murdering his wife and her lover, though he always maintains his innocence. Red is known to smuggle contraband in the penitentiary, and he gets Andy a rock hammer and a poster of Rita Hayworth. The jail warden uses Andy’s skills as a banker to launder the money the former makes through kickbacks and selling prison labor cheaply. When a fellow inmate, Tommy, tells Andy that he knows of another penitentiary inmate who had confessed to killing Andy’s wife and her lover, Andy takes the information to the Warden. However, the Warden is scared that his fraud will be revealed in case of Andy’s release, therefore, he has Tommy killed. Later, Andy escapes and exposes the Warden a result of which the Warden kills himself. Red, upon his parole, goes to Mexico, where Andy has escaped and reunites with his friend.

            The movie touches upon the concept of justice, a value we Americans hold highly. An injustice has been committed against Andy, whereby he was incarcerated wrongfully. However, the injustice is rectified later on, through the escape of Andy, and the Warden getting exposed, as he was the one who did not let Andy get justice even when the truth was revealed. This shows that the theme of justice and its acquisition is pretty strong in the movie.

            Moreover, it stresses education as well. We, as Americans hold education to be necessary for our lives. In the movie, Andy is shown to have achieved a lot through his education. Whether it was before his incarceration, his status during it, or his escape from the Penitentiary, all this was achieved by skills attained due to his education. What is more, he also helps other inmates to improve their education. This shows that the movie tries to impress the importance of education on the audience.

            In conclusion, American values are quite deeply ingrained in us; they are reflected in our daily lives as a society. Moreover, they have become so important that our entertainment industry also seeks to further them, as is evident by The Shawshank Redemption