At some level we want prison to be a way of transforming those who have done wrong. There are many reasons given for incarcerating criminals—punishment, the public safety, deterrence. Rehabilitation is another goal for prisons. Certainly many people come out of prison as different people—for better or worse.

This means that prison movies can be fertile ground for speaking about transformation. The Shawshank Redemption follows the life of Andy Dufresne after he’s convicted of murdering his wife and her lover and sentenced to two consecutive life terms. Shawshank State Prison is not a pleasant place. It is filled with hard men—not just the prisoners, but also the guards and the warden. Life in such a place is hard. It inevitably changes those who are there, but not always for the better.

Dufresne is different. For starters, he’s actually innocent (unlike everyone else in Shawshank who claims innocence.) But even though he’s wrongfully imprisoned, he manages to somehow keep his dignity and continues to live with a certain freedom. How can that be?

In this film, the human spirit survives through hope. The rehabilitation of the penal system may leave a lot to be desired, but the transformation that comes from hope brings the chance at new life.

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