Realism and "The Shawshank Redemption".

 For decades there has been arguments about the "essence of cinema" (as Stam would call it in his work on "The Phenomenology of Realism") between the "formative" theorists who believed that film should be radically different from reality, and the "realist" theorists who believed that film should be a truthful representation of everyday life. Personally I agree with the uses and gratifications model, more specifically, escapism, the idea that we watch films to escape from our everyday lives, as a way to explore different worlds or connect with unique and complicated characters.

"The Shawshank Redemption" (1994, Frank Darabont) is an adaptation of the Steven King novel by the same name. The film contains aspects of formalism through its portrayal of larger than life characters such as Clancy Brown's character "Captain Byron Hadly", a sadistic prison guard, or Morgan Freeman's "Ellis "Red" Redding" who narrates most of the film, giving himself an almost omniscient role in the film. Other than that, the film mostly relies on realism as shown through its long shots and portrayal of mundane tasks such as the roof tarring scene where we see a long take using a mid shot of a small group of inmates drinking beers in the sun as if they were, as Red put it, free men. Even though the scene is romanticised through its use of music, narration and scenery, it still portrays a real life moment in all its glory, a moment most people cherish. Another example of realism is when Tim Robbins's "Andy Dufresne" locks himself in the warden's office and plays opera over the speakers. This scene offers no relevance to the plot itself but is instead used to show what kind of a man Any Dufresne is, someone who will do anything to make life in prison feel normal for himself and his fellow inmates, no matter the consequences.