Vulgarity In The Shawshank Redemption

Throughout the film The Shawshank Redemption, language with religious overtones is repeatedly used. The repetition insures that the audience does not miss the fact that at the heart of the film, religious ideas are being wrestled with. It is easy enough to have a meaningless prison film, filled with vulgarity and violence for the sake of pure entertainment. The Shawshank Redemption is different, however. The vulgarity and violence is not presented for the sake of entertainment, it is presented as a reality that must be reckoned with. In a place as dirty and filthy as prison, how are religious ideas to be reconciled? By weaving many religious ideas and figures into the film, the makers of The Shawshank Redemption force each viewer to wrestle with the reconciliation for themselves. Shawshank prison itself is a representation of a modern day Hell, full of sinners in need of redemption. The Warden of the prison emphasizes religion, but does not bother to live it out in his own life. His repeated use of religious language in contrast to his actions, set him up to be the greatest sinner in Shawshank. He is a cruel, brutal man who repeatedly commits acts of murder and abuse when it best benefits him. He represents Satan in the form of the anti-Christ. The masses adore him, and look to him to save the souls of the prisoners. However, he can save no-one, not even himself. The …show more content…
On one hand, it points to the religious ideas woven into the film, which have been explained in earlier paragraphs. On the other hand, it reveals the hypocrisy of the Warden, causing organized religion, specifically Christianity to leave a horrible impression. Which effect the filmmakers were aiming for is unclear. Perhaps the answer is both. Without question, the many religious elements force the viewer, no matter what their beliefs, to examine how to reconcile their beliefs with the harsh realities of