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What You Need To Know:
Content:
(NA, LLL, VVV, SS, NN, A, Ho, B, M) Paganism; 126 obscenities & 19 profanities; 2 suicides -- 1 by hanging & 1 by gunshot to the head, guards violently beat prisoners, & repeated acts of homosexual rape; implied forced homosexual acts, references to oral sex, strongly & clearly implied adultery; rear male nudity; alcohol abuse; homosexual prisoners engage in sexual acts & sexual brutality; several quotes of Scripture; and, illegal acts are justified.
More Detail:
Set at the Shawshank State Prison in Maine and spanning the decades between 1946-1967, THE SHAWSHANK REDEMPTION deals with the prisoners struggle to find a way to survive within the walls of a maximum security prison. Andy Dufresne (Tim Robbins) is a mild-mannered Maine banker convicted for the murders of his unfaithful wife and her lover. Andy slowly forges an unlikely relationship with the prison “fixer,” Red (Morgan Freeman). After spending decades in prison, Red feels he has become “institutionalized” and would not be able to survive in the outside world. As his relationship with Andy grows, Red’s outlook on life changes.
The movie is adapted from the Stephen King novella RITA HAYWORTH AND THE SHAWSHANK REDEMPTION which appeared in his 1982 best-seller, DIFFERENT SEASONS. The movie concentrates on character development and thematic issues instead of trying to make a political statement about the conditions of the prison system. Andy is learning how to be intimate and open with others, and Red is learning about hope. Regrettably, the movie states that “salvation lies within” and not with God. Guards beating prisoners, foul language, fights to escape “gang bangers,” implied homosexual acts, and male rear nudity help to establish the “hell” that prisoners go through but are disturbing for the discerning viewer.
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