YES Cinemas Movie Night Review 1: Shawshank Redemption

Shawshank Redemption is one of Hollywood’s most critically acclaimed and famous movies, we like to think that it spreads a great message and is morally extraordinary. However, is it truly as inspiring as we believe it is? The reality is that Shawshank Redemption is a movie built around the consumption and sale of drug products.

Andrew Dufresne (left) & Ellis Boyd "Red" Redding (right)

Brief Summary Of Film

To give a quick summary of the film, the plot regards a young man named Andy Dufresne, a banker who was convicted for his wife and her secret lover’s murder. However, as the movie Andy progresses we find out that Andy had been wrongfully arrested as he hadn’t committed the crime. The film follows Andy through his two life terms in prison. Andy makes a friend in the cruel and unforgiving prison nicknamed “Red”, who is known as “the man who gets things”. Soon enough Andy begins to prove himself as a worthy and powerful man in prison as he begins doing taxes and banking work for the prison authorities. He eventually ends up working as the financial assistant of the Warden of the prison. The movie ends with Andy escaping the prison after finding out that the Warden had betrayed and used him. Years later, when Red had finally been released he tracked down Dufresne in Mexico (with much difficulty), and the two friends reunited.

Where Was Drug Use Present In The Film?

Unfortunately, drug use and abuse is extremely prevalent in this film. Red’s character is built around his tobacco business. Red is the man gets things for his fellow inmates by selling cigarettes. Cigarettes are constantly used in the film for bets and trading. For example at one point in the film, Andy asks Red for a rock hammer. Red uses cigarettes to pay his connections from outside to obtain the hammer. This scene can show just how naturally cigarettes are used in this film. In this way one of the main characters in the film as well as the story itself is affected by drug sale. In addition, almost every scene of the movie includes cigarette consumption. Cigarettes are being smoked in almost every scene in the film. Therefore the story and the characters in Shawshank Redemption are deeply involved and affected by drug consumption.

How Is This Film Influencing Viewers?

Hollywood hasn’t had the best influence on children and youth as we all know, and Shawshank Redemption is no exception. Due to the repetitive involvement of drug abuse in this film, youth are influenced and led to believe that drug use is acceptable and normal for everyone. Cigarettes are smoked so nonchalantly in the film that young people are persuaded that drug use is common. Also, cigarettes are used as a form of currency for bets and trades in Shawshank. This can glorify drugs and make them seem precious and valuable, making youth want to get their hands on them. Not to mention, in one scene of the film, Andy even asks for alcohol in return for doing a prison guards financial work. This scene portrays alcohol as a reward and something we should not be deprived of.

(Actress Julie Newmar, 1962 Smirnoff advertisement)

Was Drug Use Necessary In This Film?

Many may argue that drug abuse is vital to this film and that it makes up the storyline. However, I don’t feel that it was necessary at all and that the filmmakers could have made the same blockbuster movie without involving drugs. Cigarette use was added to the film to develop Red’s character and to allow him to be the “man who gets things”. A form of currency was required for Red’s business. Nevertheless, the currency could have been anything small and easy to access. For instance, instant ramen and small snack foods were and still are an extremely popular form of prison currency. These items would have been a more practical and harmless alternative to cigarettes. I’m sure the makers of Shawshank Redemption were aware that youth would make up a large portion of their audience, and could have easily decreased the amount of unnecessary cigarette and alcohol abuse in the film. One small decision can influence many and change our youth and society for the better.

My Thoughts

I thought that Shawshank Redemption lived up to it’s name, it covered a variety of universal themes including freedom, life, death, love, and hope. It was a truly emotional and touching film. One of my favourite things about Shawshank has to be the character development, we started off not knowing anything about Andy and all the other prison inmates. However, as the movie progressed we got to know almost everything about these people and sincerely felt connected to them. It was a rollercoaster of emotions to follow Andy’s journey, watching this film was a great experience. Yet  despite the fact that I loved this movie so much, I don’t think I would recommend it to everyone. Shawshank Redemption is a film with mature themes and like I mentioned before, it doesn’t have the best influence on viewers. It contains inappropriate language and scenes as well as drug use and abuse. Therefore, if I were to recommend this movie to anyone I would recommend to it young adults and older. I say this as teens are easily influenced and this movie wouldn’t make the best impact on us.

(Naomi Monower, Youth Leader)

YES Cinemas Movie Night Review 2: Shawshank Redemption

“Get busy living, or get busy dying.”, if I had a nickel for every time I’ve heard that quote – I would just barely have enough for a pack of gum. You see, Shawshank Redemption was not very popular within my friend circle, but it’s a classic and I see more and more references of it in popular media now. But the question is, how do films like this affect the mentality and opinions of viewers to drug use when these idolized characters use it so openly?

What’s Shawshank All About?

The movie follows Andy Dufresne, a banker convicted of murdering his wife and her lover, and Ellis “Red” Redding as they serve their life sentences in prison. Amidst all the rape, violence, and contraband smuggling, we see the two characters struggle through it all and cling to the one thing that keeps them going – hope. Shawshank teaches us that even if the odds are stacked against you, as long as you have hope and you act on your goals little by little everyday, you can do anything. That includes escaping prison using a tiny rock hammer and a provocative Raquel Welch poster.

The reason the movie is so critically-acclaimed is because of the positive messages spread throughout the film: this includes helping your friends, as Andrew did by winning them a barrel-load of beers by doing the guard’s taxes, and opening a full-scale library in the prison.

Influence of Drugs in the Film

At first glance, the movie seems like a typical Hollywood gem, I mean what could go wrong when you have Morgan Freeman as part of the cast? However, when you see Morgan Freeman smuggling contraband such as cigarettes and a plethora of other drugs into the prison – while making it look cool, you can’t really help it but adopt a few of these behaviours. 

Morgan Freeman holding a cigar in Chain Reaction (1996)

Most of the characters in the film are seen either smoking, drinking alcohol, or a combination of the two ever so casually. Although the drugs do not play a huge part in the plot, their presence is certainly there. The film shows drug use as a method of release for the prisoners - since they are willing to risk punishment by smuggling them inside the prison just to take a drag from a cigarette. Drugs are so highly valued that Andy trades his hard work managing a guard's tax files for a barrel of beers - which his inmate friends are extremely grateful for. This shows the viewers how much the inmates are motivated by drugs in this film. The drug influence in this film is however, not as extreme as seen in films such as Requiem for a Dream or Fight Club – the film also sends a better message than the other films. Regardless of whether the drug use in portrayed in a negative or positive manner, the presence is still there, and these small exposures here and there do add up in the mind of the audience.

Effect on the Audience

The film industry is huge and the effect it has on society is massive. People will follow Hollywood trends – no matter how absurd the idea. So, when the iconic celebrities portray characters that use drugs and perform heroic feats or melt teenager’s hearts everywhere, we start to see an increase in drug use within society. This overexposure of drugs in films as good as Shawshank encourages fans to also adopt drug habits – especially smoking, due to its popularity among peers who watched the same film and how easy it is to obtain today. This quickly leads to the snowball effect where more and more fans are using drugs and eventually youth are also exposed to it. The drug use may start off as just an attempt to fit in with their peers and to show admiration for the film stars by smoking cigarettes, but this slowly turns into a habit and consequently an addiction.

How Can We Stop This?

With the ever-rising popularity of movies and TV shows, there is not much that can be done to reduce exposure drug exposure to youth. However, there are things that parents and guardians can do to guide the youth down the right path. Parents should be aware of the MPAA (Motion Picture Association of America film rating system) and supervise the youth accordingly. The rating system looks out for drug use, sexual content, and violence to warn viewers of the film’s suitability based on its content. So when the next big film like Shawshank Redemption comes out, parents should note that it is a PG-13 film and either watch the movie with their child or view it by themselves and talk to their child about it casually. During this talk, it is essential to bring up risky content in the film such as smoking and violence, and to explain that this was done in the context of a movie and that actions like this are detrimental for your health and society as well. With support from parents and awareness programs such as YES, our youth can easily be kept safe from smoking and other drugs. 

(Abir Islam, Youth Leader)