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)