ADSactly Entertainment - Lessons From Movies #23
The Shawshank Redemption
This movie is about the struggle a regular guy has to face for a crime he never committed, and, because of that suffocating situation, we can surely stumble upon some valuable lessons. The movie could be considered rather old since it was created 24 years ago but, it only shows how great and impactful the stories illustrated in films used to be back then, in comparison with the commercial, mostly hollow ones launched nowadays that are built upon the same boring, and money-grabbing ideas.
Disclaimer: I have to note that these are my opinions, that I took from the movie, but I advise you to watch it yourself, maybe you will feel differently or pick up on something I missed.
Stoic Carefreeness
What’s fascinating to me is the fact that Andy Dufresne, the main character, got in prison with a two-life sentence, without any possibility of getting parole, for something he never did but, he’s still able to enjoy the little things in life. His situation is frustrating at least, and anybody in such circumstances would get mad but, surprisingly, Andy is able to cope with his new reality quickly, and stay sane.
He lost everything, his beloved wife who got murdered, his career, his entire life, and any possibility of getting out of the jail, legally, in the future thanks to its limiting sentence but, the reason why he can still remain without worries is because he understands one basic concept that’s essential for having a peaceful life.
A concept called carefreeness that I stumbled upon a long time ago thanks to one of my mentors but, I only recently realized that it’s actually part of a philosophical movement from history called Stoicism. Building your carefreeness muscle is highly essential, and there’s one exercise often practiced by modern Stoics that I’m sure the likes of Marcus Aurelius, Seneca, and Epictetus, the fathers of Stoicism, would love to apply into their lives.
This one exercise always helped me gain some perspective on my life, and, more importantly, to be more worry-free, and more relaxed in tough situations, an exercise called “The Circle of Concern and Influence.”
All you have to do, and I urge you to give this a shot, is to put down on paper all the things that you’re worried about right now, in this present moment. Once you have the list, cross out the things that are outside of your control zone, and only keep those that you can control. As soon as you scratched those things, you also have to let them go, to stop worrying about them since they are outside of your control, and you have to understand that regardless if you consume your energy on them or not, the end result will be the same, unaffected by you.
Then, get your priorities straight and only focus your energy, and time on the things that you can actually control. This is the simplest version of the exercise but, it still holds tremendous power; you can find the more complex, and detailed ones anywhere online.
And, here comes the brilliance in the character of Tim Robbins, Andy Dufresne because, as soon as this guy got into prison he realized that getting out, legally, is outside of his control and should stop worrying about it. All the attacks on him were also outside of his control, he couldn’t predict when other criminals were going to pick up on him; thus, there was no point in worrying over it at night.
Andy understood how important this way of thinking is so, instead of wasting his time on things that he can’t control, he focused all of his energy on building some genuine relationship, on performing his hobbies, and on helping other people to have a better life inside.
The Stoics were some wise people, and their philosophy can be applied directly into our lives since it’s still valid in our modern society, centuries after the foundation for this school of thought was laid down. Living life in a state of Stoic carefreeness is the only way worth living it.
Purpose
There’s one part of the movie that still mesmerizes me, more precisely one character and his actions that I’m still pondering over, and that’s Brooks. You see, this character, Brooks, spent most of his life in prison, and that became his reality, that was everything he knew. Not long after he got released into the world, after 50 years spent in jail, he killed himself, and that might be partial because he had to adapt to an entirely new world but, I’m sure that the main reason is a different one.
As other characters said, Brooks was an important man in prison, he had a purpose, he was able to help and serve his community but, as soon as he got out, he just became a regular guy with no purpose, and I think that’s the main reason he decided to commit suicide.
And, this is not just a movie scenario, a lot of people actually end up dying or catching up a lot of diseases as soon as they retire because, once that happens, they serve no set purpose anymore. There are plenty of studies, and articles on this matter that you can access within a few clicks but, I’m not going to link any of them in here because I don’t want to limit myself. But, generally, once humans are not driven by anything, they start to lose interest in life, and that’s when bad stuff starts piling up on top of each other.
When I say purpose, I don’t just mean having a job, a job that you don’t even enjoy but, being on a path that truly sets your heart on fire. Now, you might not be dead if you’re not serving a greater purpose but, the question is, how alive are you actually if you’re just surviving through a job that you hate. I don’t hold the answer, this is a question that only you can answer, and change your path according to the answer you arrive at.
Lessons Learned
This movie has one of the most striking, and most compelling stories, ever seen in a movie which makes it utterly brilliant. The story of a man that goes to prison for years, without being guilty but, he still manages to find pleasure into the little things, and accept his situation, while working on something greater.
Stoicism might not be a flawless philosophy but, if you take some of its core principles like accepting your situation while taking action to improve your life, while trying to arrive at a state of constant carefreeness and to adopt them into your life to serve the greater purpose that you have chosen, you cannot go wrong.
Thank you for reading.
Authored by @GuyFawkes4-20
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Here are my thoughts on my ALL TIME favorite movie. This movie has many elements, but one that really stands out is the contrast and the fight between Andy's and Red's characters and convictions. While Andy is a man who really believes in hope, Red thinks it's a trap that only leads to despair. But over time, as the movie progresses, Andy's belief in hope slowly and steadily wins over Red's heart. Finally during the end, when Red reads that beautiful letter from Andy, I think he has internalized that "hope is a good thing." This movie is beyond beautiful.
Difficult for me to write an objective criticism on this film. A personal critic then? To do what! To tell the truth, I do not even know why I love him so much.
Perhaps because it is more of a fable in fact, a story told by the reassuring voice of Morgan Freeman, and which addresses unpretentious universal themes such as friendship, mutual aid , injustice, cruelty, passing time, death, loneliness, freedom ...
Perhaps because Andy Dufresne has the courage to cling to his dreams, the simplicity and intelligence of heart and mind that allows him to overcome all that.
Surely because the story is beautiful, the acting is sincere, because I sometimes have a fragile and dreamy side, because I too had posters of pretty women in my teen room ... because I too dream of a Mexican beach.
The first time I saw this movie it made it straight into my top 100. It instantly left a print in me : you care about the characters ; you wonder if justice will be served ; you try to read all the moral issues and even identify with some of the characters' choices and behaviours ; the walls, the office, the cafeteria, the yard, the cells, the library and all the elements of this finite environment become somewhat familiar. Of course I've watched it several times since and it feels like going back to a place where I feel really good. To me, seing a movie over again feels like revisiting the realm of emotions that I was going through the first time that I saw it. Thank you for this review.
Wow, apart from this movie been awesome, it also have a hug rile to play in impacting positively into people's life and that's what we want to see.
Setting you mind of things you can control is just the needed keys, it's just like a footballer setting his mind on movie making when he knows that he can't handle or control it.
Having a purpose for your life sounds good but not just like having a greater purpose for your self. I could feel how Brooks felt and that really happens most often. It's just like leaving a world were you're been valued into some kind place were you feel unwanted. I had been it Brooks shoes when I was much younger, I had to change my school where my football skills are been appreciated to a new school which I was totally known by no one even till when I left the school tho luckily for me wasting able to control my emotions.
Great movie ! great review !! great lessons!!! . I have learned.
Life imprisonment is one of my favorite movies, @ GuyFawkes4-20! I think I could watch it as many times as possible and would always enjoy it and make me cry like the first time. Although I hadn't seen it from the point of view of the lesson, it's true. From it we can learn everything you say and even more. Andy's patience in developing his entire escape plan is admirable; likewise, although he befriended the character played by Morgan Freeman, he never told him about his plans. It's as if he's lost confidence in others! I always remember a phrase that says Andy and says something like that being outside was straight as an arrow, a good person, who had to go to jail to become a criminal. Sometimes the spaces that should serve to reform people end up deforming. Hugs and congratulations to you and to @adsactly for this post.
This film is a rare genre, sentimental film for men. Alternatively, as Tim Robbins said, “A film about male friendship without car chases and ambiguous overtones”. The screen relationship of Andy and Red, cultivated over the years, in a strange way reflects the equally lengthy process of “educating the love” of viewers for the film. Steven Spielberg once called “The Shawshank Redemption” his “chewing gum film”: if you stumble on, switching channels to this film, you will watch it until the very end.
Surely, everyone knows that “The Shawshank Redemption” was sold on quotes, one of which - “Get busy living or get busy dying” - inspired everyone and everything, from songwriters to t-shirt designers and tattooists.
And at the time of the movie premiere, the Variety edition called The Shawshank Redemption a “rough diamond,” and it really took the film pressure (multiple views) and time (two decades) to become a cinematic diamond.
I do not know about you, but I was puzzled after watching.
The moral of the film - that we should never give up, always hope and fight to the bitter end - contradicts its ending. Instead of taking up the solution of the problems, the injustices that caused the heroes so much suffering, Red and Andy leave them. They prefer to be alone with nature and with their friendship, to forget everything that happened, and just enjoy life. However, you cannot do that! Who, then, will create this world?
What a terrific review! It is a brilliant movie based on a brilliant book.
I really like that you brought Stoicism into this. It is an intriguing aspect of the whole deal.
A great movie which teaches us valuable lessons about life. The main character was able to change his completely destroyed life by his carefree attitude and wisdom. He could use his mind to gain the trust of the jail staff and also get free from the jail. He also taught a lesson to the corrupt jail officers.
This movie tells us about the jail life and also teaches us not to give up.
That has always been one of my favorite movies. Poor Andy got a raw deal on that whole thing.
The Shawshank Redemption has always been one of my favorites, I think it's probably still Darabont's greatest achievement as a director. It's incredibly moving and inspirational with incredible performances all the way through, I just can't say enough good things about it.