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Review: The Shawshank Redemption


How you doing! Hope you are spending energetic days cuz it sucks to have a slump...
As for me, things are going in a slothful way. Yesterday I finished watching a movie that was stacked in my watchlist for long time and I think it was a perfect pick during a slump. It's the 1994's movie, considered to be one of the best of all time, 'The Shawshank Redemption'. Today's post is supposed to be a review (⚠️may contain spoilers) but I assume I'm gonna go all over the place with whatever thought the movie provoked in me. Of course there are other interpretations out there, this one is solely my point of view. 

Andy Dufresne, our main character, is sent to Shawshank prison after being convicted of the murder of his wife and the man she had affair with. He learns about the brutality inside the cage where unlaw is sometimes law itself. However, he appeared different from other prisoners with his strong-resolved personality and big plans. Andy turns himself into an important man of Shawshank but has to take the hard route to find himself justice when he is denied of his right to do so. 

Shawshank is like a metaphor of a place where you are but don't want to be, yet can't leave. As Red had said about the prison-
          
          “These walls are funny. First you hate ’em. Then you get used to ’em. Enough time passes, you get so you depend on them.”

Life sometimes brings us to circumstances which are like Shawshank. It's frustrating to live through it but as time passes, we adapt to it. And when the time comes to get away from it, we are scared- cuz we've forgotten or haven't learned how to live without it. Retiring from job, getting out of a toxic relationship, even graduating can be examples of it. But people like Andy realize that they don't deserve to live like this and even if breaking free from the chain seems like an illusion, they make it happen. 

The Shawshank Redemption also made me think about the long term punishment system. The purpose of it is to make the criminal repent his action and turn him into a good fellow or maybe just daunt him enough so he dares coming to the prison ever again. But I wonder if this system does more than turning the criminal socially cripple and making him less fearful of the cage which has become like a home to him. Idk, I just think there should be a better system to make psychological improvement of a criminal mind. 

The Shawshank Redemption also points out to how much time matters in life. This movie is an worth watching one and worth coming back to. It resonates with our hope of salvation and inspiration to live the remnant of life as it comes down to a simple choice, really. Get busy living or get busy dying.

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