Review of the movie, "Shawshank Redemption".

Essay by adkinsleyUniversity, Bachelor'sA, April 2006

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The movie "Shawshank Redemption", written and directed by Frank Darabont is about Andy Dufresne (Tim Robbins) who in 1947 is sentenced to two consecutive life terms in prison for the murders of his wife and her lover. However, only Andy knows that he didn't commit the crimes. Sent to Shawshank Prison to do hard time, Andy, a banker in the outside world has to learn to get by in the brutal, cutthroat confines of prison life as he is subjected to vicious attacks from the guards and his fellow in-mates. His quiet strength slowly earns the respect of his fellow inmates, most notably, Red (Morgan Freeman) and even much of the prison staff. His previous experience as a banker also earns him favor with the guards and the warden as he begins to launder money for them all. In return, Andy is permitted special privileges which include working in the warden's office and building a library for the rest of the prison.

But Andy's seemingly stoic acceptance of his unjust imprisonment hides a fierce determination for freedom, especially after his innocence is proven seventeen years later. Eventually, after serving nineteen years of his sentence, the warden uncovers a series of events which leaves Shawshank sinking in scandal and Andy Dufresne nowhere to be found.

In relating this movie to some of the concepts of communication, we can first start by defining interpersonal communication which is the type of communication that dominates in most of the movie. Two people interacting together is what is known as interpersonal or dyadic communication. According to Understanding Human Communication, Eighth Edition, by Ronald B. Adler and George Rodman, interpersonal communication occurs when people treat one another as unique individuals. This is without regard of the context in which the interaction occurs or the number...