4 ms·

Shawshank Redemption is one of the most "American" of all movies, the movie Frank Capra allways wanted to make but never did. When I first saw this movie, in t

Shawshank Redemption is one of the most "American" of all movies, the movie Frank Capra allways wanted to make but never did. When I first saw this movie, in theaters, in 1995 I found it highly enjoyable, with a narrative very well built, but certainly not a classic. It is very conventional and I didn't see anything revealing or innovative about it. Now I understand that its virtues are exactly its conventionalism. Its message is the same belief that drags people to churches and self help books: "preserve and you will prevail". The storytelling is perfect: a slow and steady stream of setbacks until a liberating end. It has a Morgan Freeman voice over, what can be more reassuring than this? That voice is so reliable that the man played the role God more than one time and Nelson Mandela. Whenever you're unsure, confused and insecure about what you think or believe "Shawshank Redemption" is the most reassuring and comforting of all movies. Not even Frank Capra could do better.

findjashua 12y ago
'persevere', and you will prevail
- anigbrowl 12y ago
  On the other hand, screenwriters are strongly advised to make sure their protagonist ends up in a jam...
  - findjashua 12y ago
    ba-dum-tss
- dekhn 12y ago
  I dunno, those who preserve the past are less likely to repeat it?
cbd1984 12y ago
It's a Good Bad Movie: http://orwell.ru/library/reviews/books/english/e_books http://orwell.ru/library/reviews/books/english/e_books > A type of book which we hardly seem to produce in these days, but which flowered with great richness in the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries, is what Chesterton called the “good bad book”: that is, the kind of book that has no literary pretensions but which remains readable when more serious productions have perished. [snip] > In each of these books the author has been able to identify himself with his imagined characters, to feel with them and invite sympathy on their behalf, with a kind of abandonment that cleverer people would find it difficult to achieve.
- webnrrd2k 12y ago
  "The good bad book" is a wonderful term - thanks for pointing it out. It does a great job of expressing how I think of Lord of the Rings... It doesn't have a lot of literary pretensions, and it's just a great read.
fit2rule 12y ago
It is a very American movie because it is 100% bullshit, and I mean that with all sincerity. It contains all the fantasy of the 20th-century zeitgeist, the modern human condition - which in America, means: prison, for after all America is a true police state. Even though it offends you, and makes you feel stupid, for indeed you are its prisoner - you cater to it, over and again. After all the pain and suffering, at the end - you realize its just been a total joke all along! To be fair, as a modern westerner, it was around the time of Shawshank that I began to be turned off the movie genre, or at least - the mainstream genre. I actually don't think I've paid for a movie since that era of movie making. Shawshank Redemption may well be the very last movie I ever saw in a theatre, willingly.
- hga 12y ago
  Strange, every time I walk outside my door, I carry a handgun that I consider to be superior to the ones almost all police have (a M1911), using a license issued by the local sheriff ... I don't recall any prison or "true police state" that allows its inmates or subjects to be about as well or better armed than the guards or police, let alone encourages them (which is more of a local thing for me, but is true for many others). I share this ability with the residents of 42 states who haven't been convicted of felonies or domestic misdemeanors. Last time I checked that was > 2/3rd of the population, and with California (and Hawaii) currently losing a court case this could well become 44 states and ~3/4ths of the population. I trust I needn't mention our right to own serious rifles "of military utility" as well...
  - code_duck 12y ago
    There are more aspects to a police state than whether the citizens can possess firearms. Besides, regardless of your handgun or rifle, the authorities command overwhelming force. They possess and are glad to use grenades, armored vehicles, automatic weapons, shotguns, superior numbers and chemical weapons against citizens when deemed necessary.
    - hga 12y ago
      There are certainly more aspects, but my point remains, there is no "true police state" where subjects are allowed to keep and bear arms like our's does. (Well, there's exceptions like NYC and D.C. that perhaps prove the rule.) In fact, we RKBA activists know that the history of police states always includes an early period where guns are systematically confiscated from the people. I know for example the basic stories for Nazi Germany, China, Japan (1588!) and Cuba off the top of my head. As for your latter point, you're assuming two things: someone wanting revenge on the police/government for something unforgivable is going to give a damn about that, and that if things got nasty, the citizens would play by the "rules of war" of the police. Not to mention numbers, we would utterly swamp them if it came down to something like that. Look at how batshit insane California police got when one crazy started hunting them (Christopher Dorner).

findjashua 12y ago

'persevere', and you will prevail

anigbrowl 12y ago
On the other hand, screenwriters are strongly advised to make sure their protagonist ends up in a jam...
- findjashua 12y ago
  ba-dum-tss
dekhn 12y ago
I dunno, those who preserve the past are less likely to repeat it?

cbd1984 12y ago

It's a Good Bad Movie: http://orwell.ru/library/reviews/books/english/e_books http://orwell.ru/library/reviews/books/english/e_books > A type of book which we hardly seem to produce in these days, but which flowered with great richness in the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries, is what Chesterton called the “good bad book”: that is, the kind of book that has no literary pretensions but which remains readable when more serious productions have perished. [snip] > In each of these books the author has been able to identify himself with his imagined characters, to feel with them and invite sympathy on their behalf, with a kind of abandonment that cleverer people would find it difficult to achieve.

webnrrd2k 12y ago
"The good bad book" is a wonderful term - thanks for pointing it out. It does a great job of expressing how I think of Lord of the Rings... It doesn't have a lot of literary pretensions, and it's just a great read.

fit2rule 12y ago

It is a very American movie because it is 100% bullshit, and I mean that with all sincerity. It contains all the fantasy of the 20th-century zeitgeist, the modern human condition - which in America, means: prison, for after all America is a true police state. Even though it offends you, and makes you feel stupid, for indeed you are its prisoner - you cater to it, over and again. After all the pain and suffering, at the end - you realize its just been a total joke all along! To be fair, as a modern westerner, it was around the time of Shawshank that I began to be turned off the movie genre, or at least - the mainstream genre. I actually don't think I've paid for a movie since that era of movie making. Shawshank Redemption may well be the very last movie I ever saw in a theatre, willingly.

hga 12y ago
Strange, every time I walk outside my door, I carry a handgun that I consider to be superior to the ones almost all police have (a M1911), using a license issued by the local sheriff ... I don't recall any prison or "true police state" that allows its inmates or subjects to be about as well or better armed than the guards or police, let alone encourages them (which is more of a local thing for me, but is true for many others). I share this ability with the residents of 42 states who haven't been convicted of felonies or domestic misdemeanors. Last time I checked that was > 2/3rd of the population, and with California (and Hawaii) currently losing a court case this could well become 44 states and ~3/4ths of the population. I trust I needn't mention our right to own serious rifles "of military utility" as well...
- code_duck 12y ago
  There are more aspects to a police state than whether the citizens can possess firearms. Besides, regardless of your handgun or rifle, the authorities command overwhelming force. They possess and are glad to use grenades, armored vehicles, automatic weapons, shotguns, superior numbers and chemical weapons against citizens when deemed necessary.
  - hga 12y ago
    There are certainly more aspects, but my point remains, there is no "true police state" where subjects are allowed to keep and bear arms like our's does. (Well, there's exceptions like NYC and D.C. that perhaps prove the rule.) In fact, we RKBA activists know that the history of police states always includes an early period where guns are systematically confiscated from the people. I know for example the basic stories for Nazi Germany, China, Japan (1588!) and Cuba off the top of my head. As for your latter point, you're assuming two things: someone wanting revenge on the police/government for something unforgivable is going to give a damn about that, and that if things got nasty, the citizens would play by the "rules of war" of the police. Not to mention numbers, we would utterly swamp them if it came down to something like that. Look at how batshit insane California police got when one crazy started hunting them (Christopher Dorner).