Frank Darabont's film "The Shawshank Redemption" (1994) is a deep meaningful representation of friendship within a prison. It shows us how hope can be encountered in a dark and deceitful place, how both literal and figurative walls trap Andy. To the end, Darabont uses symbolism in his description of setting, in his use of camera angles and lighting.
The setting of "The Shawshank Redemption" is complete with strong symbolism.The Shawshank prison is a dark, deceitful place of confinement where inmates spend their days letting their minds wonder over the little things in their lifetime. It's walls stained grey and black; its bars are rusty and cold; rooms damp, clay lines the walls in a minimalistic style. The symbolism serves several purposes. Firstly, it turns the setting into a dark hole of blankness, everything looks drab and dull. Secondly, it betrays the fact that a reduction of hope has taken place within the walls of the prison: the thick grey walls are closing in on the minds of the prisoners stealing their hope of ever returning to their normal lives outside the prison. Thirdly, the damp and clear essence of the place emphasises a sense of weak knowledge in the minds of the prisoners. Andy, the film's main character, is a banker wrongly accused of murder, he is placed in a cell dark, damp and lifeless. This symbolises the life behind bars and how it imposes on ones life. Symbolism is obvious in the clothing everyone wears inside the prison, all the same bland and common with no room for identity. Colour is expressed in dots throughout the film when they as prisoners work outside in the lush greens of the fields, inside the prison they are trying to conjure the minds of the prisoners and takeaways their individuality to convert it into labour. To complete the scene of the demoralisation, prisoners have no say in what they do or when they are allowed to do it such as the times they are allowed to relieve themselves on the toilet.
