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S1:E11 - Rita Hayworth and Shawshank Redemption (1994 Film)
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In this episode of Based on a Book, we’re diving into Stephen King's novella Rita Hayworth and the Shawshank Redemption from his collection Different Seasons, and its 1994 film adaptation, The Shawshank Redemption, starring Tim Robbins and Morgan Freeman. We’ll discuss the themes of hope, freedom, and perseverance as portrayed in both the book and the film, and how the adaptation beautifully captures King’s message of friendship and survival against all odds.
Hosted by Lindsey with co-hosts Crystal and Keri.
Content Warnings: SA, violence, suicidal themes, murder, corruption, strong language, mental health issues, imprisonment, and substance abuse.
Books & Adaptations Mentioned:
Question of the Episode:
- If you were stuck in a place for 19 years, what hobby or skill would you master to pass the time?
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Intro/Outro Music - Music from #Uppbeat (free for Creators!)
Thanks for listening to “Based on a Book” - see you in the next chapter!
Chapters:
(00:00) Introductions
(00:43) Synopsis
(01:20) Ratings and Non-Spoiler Reviews
(06:45) Book vs. Movie Breakdown
(1:08:41) Final Verdicts
(1:12:59) Question of the Episode
Recommended
Transcript
00:00:09
Speaker
the minimal justice system. The men and women behind bars often have stories that go untold. But today, we're cracking open the case of one such man. This is his story. I'm Lindsay. This is based on a book. Cue the Law and Order to theme song.
00:00:25
Speaker
dutan I'm Crystal. I can pretty much get you anything you need. And I'm Carrie. And I'm innocent.
00:00:35
Speaker
Today, we are discussing one of the most powerful and timeless stories of hope, friendship, and resilience, Stephen King's novella, Rita Hayworth, and Shawshank Redemption, and its ah iconic film adaptation, The Shawshank Redemption. We'll explore the journey of Andrew Dufresne, his fight for freedom, and the bonds he forms within Shawshank Prison.
00:00:59
Speaker
Is the adaptation as strong as the novella? Does it capture King's vision of redemption and humanity? Stay tuned and we will break it all down. Love it. I love it. Oh, word. We're going to start with our ratings and many non-spoiler reviews. I want to start with Carrie. Carrie, what you got? OK, so just for the book.
00:01:29
Speaker
only reading the book, doing my non-spoiler review for just the book. I'm gonna give it, and I did physically read it, never seen the movie before, but I may or may not have stopped reading the book halfway and watched the movie. But I have reasons, I got reasons. So you're not innocent. Everyone's in it innocent.
00:01:57
Speaker
in Shawshank, okay? Okay. Okay. But I gave it three rocks and a pebble. So 3.5. Okay. Okay. I like it. Okay. Yeah. So basically the reason why I gave it 3.5 is because in classic Stephen King fashion, he does this thing where he likes to, when he introduces characters, he gives them first last names and gives them full backstory. And then we never speak to these characters again. And when that happens, my brain just like,
00:02:41
Speaker
is like goodbye like i can't listen to it anymore so i kept like having a short attention span with the story because of that and so i actually had to stop it and i was like i feel like i would really like the story so i actually stopped it and went and watched the movie and then i came back to the book and actually it helped me appreciate the story as a whole more because i did that Okay that's fair. I think it was the writing style was an issue for me why I didn't love it so much. I just when you have like such a short story and such a short novella and you're name dropping and you're showing so much backstory for characters that
00:03:27
Speaker
They are, I mean, sure, they're significant to the story, right? But they're not going to stay with you for a really long time, at least for me personally. I just like the attention span was not sticking with it. So I it wasn't I wasn't like fully with the story the whole time. So that's for my three point five. Still a good story, though.
00:03:50
Speaker
Okay, Crystal. So I think it's really interesting that part of why you were struggling with it is because of all of the characters. And I instantly thought of that as a device.
00:04:03
Speaker
for Stephen King to show us the realities of prison, that so many prisoners come in and out and you don't get a chance to know them. And yet there are that core few that are going to be there, those lifers, the 20 plus, you know, that are going to be around forever. And so those are the ones we got to know better. And to me,
00:04:23
Speaker
he really kind of captured that that part of the prison experience for that and quite a few other reasons. I give this book four days in the hole. I really enjoyed this. it was ah It was quite a good read. I feel like from start to finish,
00:04:46
Speaker
We got into the mind of the narrator, Red, who didn't get a name right away. And I was panicked that he wouldn't get a name and carry with him his mind. Same. Same. I was stressed. But then he did. I was stressed. He got a name. And so I was like, whoo, like he there. so So our narrator, Red, really, I feel like he really captured the, I don't know, like the watching people come in with hope and lose it, watching people change through the experience of being in prison, watching how those different kinds of people change in different ways, the different stereotypes of the different people and why they tend to fit those. Like, he really captured, to me, the whole the whole big picture. I felt immersed in this experience, too, and it was an emotional rollercoaster for me. You know, the highs and the lows and the fear
00:05:41
Speaker
because there is a lot of fear in here. This is, I know it's not one of his classic horrors by any means, but it is horrible. so and And I feel like he really captured that. And so though like my, this book made me cry more than once for a multitude of reasons. It's, you know, it's a very short story, but it really, it really tugged at me emotionally. So, so yeah, four, I give it a four. I liked it. Okay.
00:06:06
Speaker
Well, I have to say I do agree with Crystal. I actually also gave it four, I gave it four chattering squirrels.
00:06:15
Speaker
I felt like the story was really, it was really well written. It was really heavy at times. It got to the point where when I was reading it, I actually lost track of time and I forgot that it wasn't a true story. Yeah, me too. So I did kind of like lose myself in the story. Like it was good. I liked it.
00:06:38
Speaker
I guess before we go any further, we'll... Let's see. there There are quite a few trigger warnings for this one. I want to go ahead and go throw those out there. There's SA, violence, suicidal themes, murder, corruption, strong language, mental health issues, imprisonment, and substance abuse. If I missed any, let me know. Did you mention racism? Did you mention that one? I didn't. That was a long list, but that's there.
00:07:09
Speaker
Yeah, it's a heavy story. it's It's got a lot to it. And it's set in prison where all of those things tend to get highlighted. and Absolutely. so And this was an incredibly immersive story. So yeah, if anything, any stereotype you can think of about prison, that's definitely a trigger warning that should be out there. Yeah, for sure.
00:07:30
Speaker
All right, so if you have not read the book or watched the movie, because apparently little hasn't, go ahead and pause us. Go do one of those things. It's a novella. It's pretty short. You can get it done and ah join us. It's a long movie for a novella. It always is, isn't it? Yep. But come back to us and we'll discuss it all. All right. Welcome back.
00:08:01
Speaker
Can we start with that, though? like then The novellas have a tendency to end up being longer movies. And I feel like that's because there's just enough open space left to the left to interpret by the reader in the novella that directors and producers can really just and writers can run with it on the script. And part of me hates that because I feel like what I had already developed in my brain and interpreted as the reader is always gonna be different from how any you know screenwriter would would write it. But I also kind of love it because I feel like I get to see more of the world that I hadn't already thought of.
00:08:41
Speaker
Yeah, I think that what I found really interesting about this is, okay, so the movie is what, like two hours and what? Two hours and 22 minutes. Yeah, two hours and 22 minutes. Novella is what, a hundred pages, I think? Yeah, I think it's a hundred and three. yeah In the short story clung collection in different seasons, it was about a hundred pages.
00:09:02
Speaker
Yeah. And I mean, my personal opinion, it was very, very close. The novella was very close to the movie. It was. So a hundred page novella was very close to a two hour in twenty two minute movie.
00:09:19
Speaker
That's crazy to me. I have to say, Frank Darabont usually does like a pretty spot-on adaptation, which we covered The Mist in our first October episode, and he he did change the ending. yep Just a little bit.
00:09:37
Speaker
Still mad about it. literally but There aren't a ton of changes in the story, which, you know, I'll point them out as we come across them. But he they did a spot on adaptation. I feel like the changes were minor. like They did not necessarily change the storyline at all. They just sped it up.
00:09:59
Speaker
Just sped it up a little bit, you know, cut out some things that didn't quite matter left in the things that really hit hard in the in the story. And overall, like, you know, overall, I really enjoyed the movie, too. So I'm i'm i'm glad for the experience of both. Yeah, even kept the same actors from the.
00:10:22
Speaker
I'm like they must have the same casting person or something. Like what is going on here? They're just really good friends with Frank Darabond. That's fun. Honestly, that's honestly my favorite part of this experience. Like now I kind of want to start doing all of his movies just so I can be like, oh,
00:10:39
Speaker
they're from all they're all part of that group like they're all the same movies together and we got another the guy from the walking dead again also in the mist as the prosecutor like in the beginning yep oh look who it is it's dale except it's like a really young version of dale i couldn't recognize him at first without yeah i think shawshank was the first one that he filmed in the mist was the last one and then three miles in the middle yeah i was like wait is that dale I was like, wait a second. I literally screamed out loud. I was like, oh my God. It was hilarious. With this story though, like I said, we're back in Maine. It is told from the perspective of Shawshank state penitentiary prisoner, Ellis Red Reading, who was played by Morgan Freeman in the movie. Did an excellent job. Loved it. Yes. Absolutely. Now his backstory was a little different between the book and the movie.
00:11:39
Speaker
In the book in 1938, Red staged a car accident, having previously insured his wife for a large amount of money, but a neighbor and her child also got into his wife's car. As a result, Red was sentenced to three life sentences for the murders. In the movie, Red is just in prison for a robbery gone wrong. I didn't even notice that. I didn't even notice that.
00:12:07
Speaker
Yeah. In the movie, his he says something about the the robbery turns into a shootout or something. so Yeah. I don't think I remember in the movie him even mentioning what crime he did. I know he went over it a little bit at the beginning, but then he never mentions it again. Yeah. It's it's very quick. But even in the book, he never talks about his we find out what his crime was in the beginning, and then he never mentions it again because there's no point.
00:12:35
Speaker
you know he He does admit that he's the only guilty person in Shawshank, so he admits to it. But Red is also known for his ability to smuggle in almost any contraband via his connections. and In 1947, Portland main banker, Andy Dufresne,
00:12:56
Speaker
who was almost played by Tom Cruise. I know, I saw that. Actually like played by Tim Robbins. I was like, thank God we did not have to deal with Tom Cruise again. I wouldn't. Tim Robbins ended up being in War of the Worlds with Tom Cruise, so full circle. Yep. Eddie DuFern arrives at Shawshank State Prison to serve two consecutive life sentences for murdering his wife and her lover despite his claims of innocence.
00:13:25
Speaker
And one day in 1948, Red is approached by Dufresne who asks him to get him a $10 rock hammer, which today would be $138.
00:13:37
Speaker
yeah he He explains that he's collecting minerals. He's also been assigned to work in the prison laundry. And unfortunately, Andy is frequently attacked.
00:13:50
Speaker
by the sisters. They are prison gang and their leader is Boggs Diamond. I'm not going to get into too many details. I'm not going to get into detail details, but I feel like we need to spell out for anybody who's listening who has not read the book yet, this this part is incredibly graphic in the book. It's not I mean, it's not a comfortable read. No. And it's it's implied in the movie, obviously, you don't see it, but it is implied. Also in the book, it is told in the perspective of Red. Yes. Red's retelling the story. Yes, he's retelling the story. He actually, in the book, it's like he's writing it down almost like a memoir. Yeah. So it is, again, being told in the past.
00:14:41
Speaker
Much like the mist, what do you know? I was going to say, much like the mist. Yes. A common theme with Stephen King, I feel. Yes. It works. Lee's got me hooked. Yes. So a year after Andy gets his rock hammer, he requests a large poster of actress Rita Hayworth. And the same year,
00:15:09
Speaker
They decide to re-tar the roof of the plate factory because they they make plate, I guess it's like license plates in the prison. And Red, Andy, and their group of friends in the prison, they all get on the the team to work on the roof.
00:15:28
Speaker
And while they're working, Andy overhears the captain of the guards, Byron Hadley, complaining about being taxed on an inheritance of $35,000 and offers to help him get the full amount of money legally without any taxes being charged, which today, that $35,000 would be $455,000.
00:15:50
Speaker
Thanks for doing the conversion. I wanted to, but I was like, you know. Well, I got to the end of the book and I don't, I'm not going to say too much. I got to the end of the book and I saw how much money that Andy leaves red. And I was like, that doesn't seem like much, but yeah. What would that be today? Yeah. right That's where it all started and I had to go back through. She went in a deep dive. I did. So, but like before you say what's about to happen, like,
00:16:19
Speaker
Andy wasn't just getting harassed by the sisters. He was just having a bad time of it altogether. And he managed to like keep his cool, remain calm. yeah you know He didn't cause any trouble or trouble than what was brought to him, because in prison that's what happens. The guards did not give him a a single break. you know the The prison gang didn't give him, the sisters didn't give him any sort of break. He was really,
00:16:47
Speaker
having a rough time of it, but he didn't whine. He didn't complain. He didn't. Yeah, I was going to say ban about his day and they didn't really like ah from what I remember in the book, they didn't like him that much, too, because he was very like like very stoic, like he was very. They thought he was stuck up, but he was just trying to be unemotional. Exactly. He appeared like an outward appearance of stuck up, but he was trying to be like put together, trying to keep it together as, you know. In the in the movie, Red even says it's like the the guy with the silver spoon stuck up his ass. yeah And I laughed at that far part because like it's that particular line isn't in the book, but that really sums up yeah how everybody kind of took him. Here's this guy who's in education, he was a banker, he comes rolling into the prison and he thinks he's better than the rest of us, you know? and
00:17:47
Speaker
I got it. I just was going to say something and then it totally just like left my mind. Oh, I remember what I was going to say. Something I really loved about the movie is they were keeping so many exact quotes. Yes. From the book, exact quotes, like paragraph who from the book. I kept like saying that out loud. I was like, oh, my gosh, they're keeping exact quotes. on her That's exactly from like him on the book. And i'll I've said it before and I'll say it again. Stephen King writes good movies.
00:18:17
Speaker
Yep. The majority of his books almost seem to be written with the sole purpose of becoming a screenplay. Yeah. I don't know why he doesn't just go straight to writing screenplays. Maybe he did. Totally. I don't know enough about Stephen King, but all of the books that I've read, they're just obvious, they're movie material right from the start. Totally. And so a screenwriter gets ahold of it and they're like, easy peasy. It's already done for me. Don't need to add anything else. We're good. Moving on.
00:18:45
Speaker
But going back to Andy's personality, like he was even that way before he was in prison because right when he's on trial for the murder of his wife and her lover, they, well, Red kind of tells it like Andy is on the stand and he's giving his testimony and he just has this dead look in his eyes. Yeah, he's doing himself no favors. yeah Right. You know, it's basically you're ridiculous yeah the jury, the the judge, they all think that he's not remorseful.
00:19:15
Speaker
and that he's not even upset that she's gone. But in reality to Andy, he's like, I'm just trying to stick. I'm just telling the truth. I'm trying to be logical. I'm trying to stick with the truth. Yeah. I'm trying to just get through my day to day being emotional isn't going to help anything. Yeah. And that's what got him convicted. Yeah. So back on the prison roof, Hadley accepts Andy's offer and as a payment Andy requests that the prisoners are treated to beer, which was very nice because Andy isn't even a drinker.
00:19:51
Speaker
but this was I mean, it was a power play because Andy had something to offer the prison guard, which prison guards for the most part thought that all the prisoners were below them. There's nothing they could offer society, let alone us. They were worthless. So now Andy has a value to the prison guards o and he's scored favor with a lot of the other prisoners.
00:20:14
Speaker
So that was a brilliant move on his part. And the narrator even mentions it in the book. Red says that he felt the shift when like right there on the roof, he felt that shift happen. And it was then he talks about how like being an actual witness to that event, not just hearing it third hand or fourth hand, but like being there for that moment changed everything. Yeah, totally. And so then to kind of like scope Andy out, there's a scene that's not in the book that's in the movie where the warden does a surprise cell inspection and Andy is reading his Bible when the guards come in and they they start to tear the room apart and they're looking for contraband. the The warden notices that Andy is reading his Bible, which all of the prisoners get once they're admitted into Shawshank and they start to discuss their favorite passages.
00:21:11
Speaker
The inspection's over, everyone goes to leave, and the warden is still holding Andy's Bible. They shut the... I wanna say door, but... They shut the cell door, and the warden goes, oh, almost forgot, and he hands him the Bible through the bars. And he says, salvation lies within.
00:21:36
Speaker
Mm-hmm. Mm-hmm. Remember this moment is important yeah but lot no for that whole scene. Well a couple things He also looks at the poster on the wall. He's looking at the poster on the wall and he's like, this is technically like contraband or whatever, but he's like, I'll let it stay. I find the polishing cloths too. And they're like, we'll just let it stay, whatever.
00:22:06
Speaker
and And then also something that is different from the book and the movie is that in the book, this particular warden doesn't come into later. Like they go through like several wardens right in the before this one. Yeah. But in the movie, they just keep it. There's just one warden throughout the whole movie. And it's one that's like constantly like carrying the Bible around and like talking about you can't say to you like profanity and things like that. And that's kind of the warden that we meet later.
00:22:38
Speaker
in the book. Yeah. Also, the actor who played the ah Warden Norton, no that that was that character was executed so well to me. So will. Because like it wasn't just that he was standing there self-righteous jerk all the time. He genuinely thought that he was better than and and this actor, and I should have looked it up, was so good at like, you know, he would say like what he thought was a witty line and he'd kind of grin at himself for his witty line. Or, you know, if he thought he was better than someone, you could just see on his face that like little bit of a smirk, but not going to give it away. And he would just, it was the epitome of evil and
00:23:29
Speaker
And he gave me chills. he Honestly, like one of the best supporting roles in yeah I've seen in a long time. like That character for not being a main character really freaked me out. Yeah. Well, I'm glad we're talking about Norton because I went...
00:23:47
Speaker
I went through this deep dive conspiracy theory. Oh, I love the conspiracy theory. Let's tell this. So you got Andy Dufresne, whose initials are AD. AD also stands for Anno Domini, or yeah, I think it's Domini, which is the year of our Lord.
00:24:06
Speaker
Andy's nemesis is the warden, who is often portrayed as the devil. Another name for the devil is Lucifer, which stands for bringer of light. And the warden's favorite passage in the Bible is, I am the light of the world. Oh my goodness. Oh my goodness.
00:24:25
Speaker
Okay. Yeah. but That was good. Grab the whole stuff right there. Love it. um I might need you to do these every episode. Yeah, really. Also, I don't think, I don't know if we mentioned this in the beginning. This was all of our first time watching the movie. Yes. All of us had never seen it. Yeah. So this was all of our first time, which honestly is crazy because I feel like it is a very classic like movie.
00:24:53
Speaker
Like everyone I talked to has already seen this movie. Yeah. or it was So much easier to watch so much on streaming services. Right? Yeah. True. Let's see. Where are we? Oh, we're just watching the cell. yeah shake down Yes. So after all this, the sisters then beat Andy again. This is just a normal occurrence. It happens randomly throughout his time in the prison.
00:25:23
Speaker
And in the book, Andy pays off the guards and they beat Boggs. In the movie, it's Hadley that beats Boggs just because of what Andy does for the prison and and the the worth he brings. That Hadley was like, that's not cool. We almost lost him. So he beats Boggs.
00:25:51
Speaker
almost to death. And he is then transferred to a minimum security hospital. And then Andy's never attacked again by the sisters. Mm-hmm. Because Andy now has become valuable yes to the prison administration, basically. Yes, all of them. Right. yep So at this point, Andy is transferred from laundry to the prison library. And this is when we really meet Brooks and Jake the Crow. So I know that this is a book, but I do want to like, I know a few people who have been in prison and like their jobs, the jobs that they get while they're in prison, different ones are like absolutely coveted. And so to go from laundry
00:26:44
Speaker
to library is a huge, like it's a jump in the line. it it like It probably pissed some other people off, and yet in the book, Andy is, again, so valuable at this point that nobody even dreams of complaining about that because in reality,
00:27:06
Speaker
That would have pissed a few people off. You know what I mean? And so when that happened, even I was like, oh, he went like he jumped over KP, heat your kitchen. He du jumped over like he jumped over everything and just went straight to library. That's a big deal. Yeah. I don't think they made it out to be as big of a deal in the book.
00:27:27
Speaker
as they should have, but it's a big deal. Yeah, that's fair. Well, he also goes from, you know, washing laundry to money laundering. So yeah, the same, but not at all. Yeah. um So this is also where he begins writing weekly letters to the state legislature, legislature, wow, requesting funds to improve the library, um which he hopes will better prepare prisoners for life after release.
00:27:56
Speaker
So again, he's just looking out for everyone else. And it does. Because not only does he help the prison guards and administration with you know doing their taxes or setting up trust funds for their kids or whatever, but he's also helping other prisoners to get there their high school equivalency tests, their GEDs and stuff. so like He's not just valuable to the administration anymore. The other prisoners start to really respect him.
00:28:28
Speaker
Not just because they've been threatened within an inch of their lives to leave him alone, but because they've he's actually earned their respect at this point between the beer and then helping them you know with their higher education or further education. so yeah i've I've grown to respect Andy at this point too.
00:28:49
Speaker
but yeah as a As a reader, like I felt like, yeah, this is my guy. like Look at him doing, you know like obviously he's still in prison. There's still not greatness in decisions that he's making that I don't necessarily agree with, but like he also is trying to balance it somehow and trying to survive and he's doing a great job. so i always In the movie, I really liked how they showed how in the library, they like slowly had more people coming in the library, more people like learning and like coming to him to learn more or coming to him. They're like during tax season or something i had like a whole line of people. um He started to get a desk and then I don't know. I don't think that this is in the book. I think this is just the movie. yeah She eventually gets a desk
00:29:41
Speaker
for Red where he comes like basically his quote secretary right or something to help him. Like the way that that showed in the movie is like a funny little thing for something that's so serious that's going on. I really like that. And I will say even in the book there were some a handful of like light-hearted like comments yeah and moments to break up the the like heavy nature of the subject matter. yeah It was pretty nice. But yeah, the movie did that really well with like the library kind of growing. And then suddenly there were a couple more tables in there. And yeah. Because it starts with, I think with one of the guards or they bring him in and he's like, here's the guy. And he's like, I want to set up like a trust fund for like my kids. He's like, all right, well, let's get started. And that's like kind of how I like get started. who And for Brooks, the guy who was the library, like the head of the library,
00:30:30
Speaker
before, who's also a prisoner. Yeah. he's He's what they call a lifer. Like he when he when the first day when Andy comes, Brooks is like, OK, well, let me.
00:30:43
Speaker
give you the tour, this box of books is, you know, is the Reader's Digest, and this box of books is the comics, and this, but like, they're just boxes kind of piled on the floor of a spare, like, what looked like some sort of broom closet, you know? Yeah. and And it was literally a storage closet. Yeah. Yeah. So, like, the fact that we see in the movie that from the closet and pile of books to, like, actual shelves and a desk and some tables, and we kind of see the library growing and growing,
00:31:13
Speaker
It was really cool. I'm glad you brought up Brooks because at this point in the movie, Brooks is paroled in 1954 after serving 50 years. This part makes me so sad. I'm going to say I cried. I cried. I cried in the book and in the movie. In the movie, he almost attempts to... I mean, he tries to almost kill one of his friends to stay in prison. Yeah, and I feel like I mean, I don't know how. What do I know? You know, but I feel like these kind of things happen where people want to stay because they don't know how to live outside right because they've been there for so freaking long. And like had like I got very emotional at this part. I this part kind of killed me. I have a personal connection. Like I said, I know some people who have been or are currently in prison.
00:32:13
Speaker
one of which is in for a very long time. And when we do talk, one of the things that we talk about is what it's going to be like to ever get out and will they be able to take it because they went in when they were young and they'll probably be there until they're near 40. And, you know, they never got the opportunity to kind of learn those life skills that you need of living on your own.
00:32:39
Speaker
And usually, you know, your friends and your family would help you with that. But what do you do when you've been gone for 20 plus years? In Brooke's case, 50 years. You probably don't have parents around anymore. Your family, if you had one to begin with,
00:32:56
Speaker
has probably moved on with the majority of their lives, and now you don't even know how to use the technology that's out. yeah You don't know how to go get a job. You don't know where to start, and that can be really overwhelming. And and I know from the people that i that I talk to that are currently in prison that that's something that they think about when they get out. Like, getting out is just as scary as going in at that point, you know? And so when I saw Brooks do that in the movie, I started to cry, because I started to think about my friends, you know?
00:33:26
Speaker
And that's yeah it's a very scary thing. it's But it's a very real thing. that's That's definitely something that happened that wasn't just for the sake of the movie. Yeah. Unfortunately, since Brooks has a hard time adjusting, he he tries to get a job. He's living in a home. He's he's trying, but he's always afraid. And it becomes too much and and he hangs himself.
00:33:56
Speaker
ah So yeah, that that was that was heartbreaking. And then in the book, they don't it doesn't come up in the movie, but in the book they say that Jake the Crow, whom Brooke raised his entire life from when he was a baby bird to what a grown crow, you know they find him in the in the yard and it looked like he had starved to death because much like Brooks, he couldn't fend for himself outside on his own.
00:34:26
Speaker
and I will say that crows can live a very long time. they're They're not like the birds that only last like three or four years. Crows can live 15, and I'm pretty sure they can live to be like 25 too, like 20, 25. They can live for a very long time. So yeah it wasn't super clear to me in the story. I could probably go back and figure out the math, but I'm pretty sure that this means Brooks had that bird for years and years and years.
00:34:56
Speaker
So when they found him in the yard, I cried at that too. like that That really did upset me. I mean, you know Andy went into the prison in 1948. And at this point, you know he already had the crow. We're at 1954. So it gives you an idea that he had been taking care of this bird for years.
00:35:17
Speaker
ye so So that was depressing. yeah Super depressing. The movie has so much death in it. I was like, oh my gosh, this is so horrific. It was really sad. But back at the prison, the legislature sends a library donation that includes a recording of, I think it's called the marriage of Figaro. The marriage of Figaro. Figaro, oh my God, Figaro.
00:35:48
Speaker
yeah by marrying me I looked this up. This is not in the book. so No, it's not. no like Nothing even close to this is in the book. so I realized that the director or the screenwriters or whoever had to have put this in for a very specific reason. I read this. The story behind it, yeah. The story behind the marriage of Figaro.
00:36:10
Speaker
when it originally came out during the French Revolution, it was it horrified the aristocrats because it specifically focuses on class tensions and the limitations of rank and privilege. And it brings up repeatedly the idea of servants revolting against their masters. So the fact that he stopped and played this and turned the volume all the way up and put it on the PA for the whole prison to hear. And then Red was like, don't know what those ladies were singing about, but I was sure glad to hear it. who hope it was viewed like I wish you knew, I wish you knew.
00:36:52
Speaker
The actor, what's his name that plays? Tim Robbins. Yeah, Tim Robbins. He actually, it wasn't planned to turn it back up. It wasn't even planned. yeah He actually did it himself. He was just like, I'm just going to keep doing this. This is also one of the script very, very few scenes in the movie where we see him smile. Yeah. He was genuinely happy and showing an emotion in this moment.
00:37:20
Speaker
And, you know, the warden and the guard Hadley, they're like banging on the door, let us in, let us in. And he just kicks back in that chair and grins. And I thought to myself, yeah, bud, again, I'm at this point, Andy and I are best friends. a I'm pretty sure the director like put that in because he said while writing the script, he was like listening to a bunch of like Mozart. Yeah, I think I read that. Yeah. Yeah.
00:37:49
Speaker
I just think it was so neat that it turned out to be like the servants revolting against their masters. I was like, i love it that's that was excellent. That really had me very excited. I was like, pause the movie, Google. Well, because of the stunt, Andy is thrown into solitary.
00:38:08
Speaker
once Once he is released, he's he explains to Red that hope is what gets him through his sentence. This is how he made it through solitary. This is how he's making it through his time in prison, his hope. I think This is probably one of my favorite themes of the whole story is that Andy and his hope and Red with no hope because Red is kind of, I don't want to say he's mad at Andy, but he's worried about Andy because he thinks that this hope could destroy him. There's no point in having hope here. they're You're stuck here. You're going to be here forever. Like this is only going to hurt you. You probably need to give that up.
00:38:55
Speaker
you know, and and that happens in the book and in the movie where they kind of They're at odds, and Andy's just like, I'm never gonna give that up. I'm never gonna give that up. and And Red's over here like, I hate to see you like this. I hate to see you disappointed and hurt and broken, because they will break you, you know? there's a like They can't break me as long as I have this hope. like There's a big scene toward the end that I'm gonna bring up where hope comes into play again. But hope is definitely the theme of this
00:39:30
Speaker
book and movie. Yeah. Another scene that's in the movie that's not in the book that I actually really like is it comes up now is the library received a donation of books and one of them is the Count of Monte Cristo.
00:39:45
Speaker
the which is also about a man falsely in prison who escapes after spending years digging a tunnel. yeah yeah I love that scene. um But this is also a part of the, this is kind of, I think in the timeframe where within the the movie versus the book, in the book,
00:40:06
Speaker
Andy never gets a roommate. This is one of those things that he has somewhat negotiated with the administration. I'll keep doing your money laundering. I'll keep doing your taxes. does want woman He does get one room and he ends up getting one. okay Okay. Yeah. That roommate is only there for eight months and it's only because that prison at this point is super overcrowded and there was no, right? So it's one guy, he seems a pretty chill dude.
00:40:32
Speaker
And Red asks him later, after he's no longer a roommate with Andy, like, what was it like being a roommate with Andy? And the roommate's like, you know, he seemed cool. He was he was a chill guy. He was a nice man. He was a little peculiar. Like, he didn't want me to touch his stuff, but he was nice. He didn't he didn't judge, you know. And he was like, he was just always drafty in there. He was a nice man, but it was was a cold room. It was a drafty room. Put your thinking caps on.
00:41:03
Speaker
and And it was in like, this is when this is like, I was already kind of starting to put the pieces together. But this is when I was like, I already know what's going on here. Me having no idea. Why do I always have no idea? I never have any idea what's going on. The clueless detective strikes again. The clueless is back. That's my new nickname.
00:41:27
Speaker
it really We're going to put it on a t-shirt for everybody. Oh my gosh, can we? That's my new sticker. Yes. It's your new sticker. Perfect. Write it down.
00:41:39
Speaker
So at this point it's 1963 and Norton begins exploiting prison labor for public work and he's profiting from undercutting skilled labor costs and receiving bribes.
00:41:54
Speaker
And Andy admits to read that he is laundering the money and he's using an alias named Randall Stevens, uh, which it's a boring name. It better be. It's perfect. It's really, it's supposed to be. Yeah. Which is a little different from the book, but we'll get into that a little bit later because it's kind of out of sequence between the book and the movie at this point. Mm-hmm.
00:42:22
Speaker
In 1965, Andy meets Tommy Williams, who is a young prisoner incarcerated for burglary.
00:42:33
Speaker
In the movie, we get more of a backstory to Tommy. We learn that he is a young father, he has a young wife. In the book, the wife wants him to better himself and get a GED. In the movie, he kind of I think Andy makes fun of him and says, I think you need to find a better line of work because he admits to having been in and out of prisons and jails all over New England because he keeps getting caught. He's like, I think you need a better line of work. You seem like a really bad thief. I cracked up. Yeah. But these are those moments of levity thrown into this heavy stuff. Yeah.
00:43:19
Speaker
So in the in the movie, Andy does help Tommy get his GED at the point. So he takes his test. They don't know if he passes or not. And he actually sends the test off for him. But Andy's actually in the hole when Tommy finds out that he passed and ah he's in the hole because Tommy told him what he found out or what he like.
00:43:47
Speaker
You explain it. It's convoluted. I'll let Lindsay do it. so in the In the movie, he Tommy sits Andy and Red down, and Tommy admits that he was previously in another prison. He had a cellmate, and his cellmate admitted and bragged about committing the murders that Andy was convicted of. Yeah. Because he heard from someone about Andy. Right. Because Andy wasn't like going around telling why he was in prison. Yeah. Because he was innocent. Right. But like Tommy gets curious and asks somebody else and then was like, wait a minute. What? Yeah. And he's like heard the whole story. He recognizes that story. He puts the dots together. He is not a clueless detective.
00:44:39
Speaker
Hey. Dang. no So Andy does go to the warden with this information because it just further proves that he's innocent. Yeah. And he goes, we got to get all of the people together so I can go back and we got to go to court and all these things. Right. Super obvious. I have a witness. And obviously the warden knows that Andy knows too much about the laundering and all of the guards that he's helped Um, the warden's not having it. He's like, yeah, no one's going to listen to you. We're not even going to try. And obviously Andy keeps arguing his case and the warden sends him to the hole. Yeah. And he's like, I'm not going to tell anyone what's going on here. And I just want to get out the warden off. He's like, Oh no. but So yeah, that's when he's in the hole. They find out that Tommy actually did pass the test. This scene.
00:45:38
Speaker
gets a little sad in the movie. But here's the deal. In the book, let's talk about the book first. In the book, the warden tells Andy that he got Tommy transferred out to a better, he got transferred to a low security, low minimum security ah prison that has like for low weekends and stuff like that. So like made it sound like you can't talk to Tommy anymore. I got rid of him, but Tommy's in a better place. Like, you know, he's, I, in the, in like reading this, I said to myself, mm-mm.
00:46:24
Speaker
That's not what happened. like That was too good of a story. yeah The fact that they change it to what I thought it was. Yeah. When they make it blatantly obvious. Yeah, totally. and um Toward the beginning of the book when they're talking about the other wardens before Norton, they mentioned something about the graves that yeah guards dig. The midnight burials in the forest kind of thing.
00:46:50
Speaker
Yeah. I think that kind of alludes to it, which Norton, it yeah it mostly stopped when Norton took over, but you know, it was there. the But in the movie, they make it very obvious. But Tommy is lured outside the prison gate by the warden and the warden asks if he would testify in favor of Andy. And he's like, yeah, of course. And Hadley shoots him. Yeah.
00:47:20
Speaker
And they, they frame it to make it look like he was trying to escape. Yep. And this is why you never speak to a cop without a lawyer. This is why you can't trust your prison guards. You need to talk to a lawyer first. This is why you always have witnesses around you and you don't step outside the prison gates alone. Like this is this, like, I mean, I get that it's a story and it's a movie, but I,
00:47:48
Speaker
we We all know of atrocities that have happened in the news. We all have stories that we've heard from friends in the line of work that we do. We've seen documents that show type these types of things. You just can't talk to the cops but or any form of law enforcement without a lawyer. And this is, like and i mean again, I get it's a story and I get it was set 50, 60, 70 years ago.
00:48:17
Speaker
he should have never gone to the warden with what he knew. He should have instantly asked for a meeting with his lawyer instantly. He like, and I was like thinking about this cause he's like very, he's very like meticulous about like the things that he does, I feel. So I feel like this was like a moment of just like having um so much emotion about I think it was an overabundance of emotion on Andy's part, which is run right. And he trusted the warden. yeah yeah and He had built a relationship with the warden. Yeah, totally. That's exactly what I was going to say. And the warden was never going to see him as a human. He was never going to see him as a person or someone worth any amount of dignity. He was always going to see Andy as a tool, yeah as a pawn in his schemes. Exactly.
00:49:12
Speaker
And this is like, I was devastated again. And he's my bestie at this point. I was devastated, like watching him. Cause even I'm screaming at the book, like, do not tell the warden, do not tell the warden, do not tell the warden. And of course that's what he does. And I'm yeah broke my heart, absolutely broke my heart. And then the same thing with Tommy.
00:49:32
Speaker
I was like, why are you stepping out that gate? Why are you stepping out that gate? Do not go out that gate. this and And you can kind of see it in Tommy's face. He's like, because when he's being led out there, he's like out here. And the guy's like, that's what the warden said. And he's like, OK. And like, nope. I know. Broke my heart. Totally. Well, at this point, Andy's in confinement. He refuses to continue doing the accounting.
00:50:02
Speaker
but he does comply because Norton threatens to worsen his living conditions and destroy the library. um At this point in the book though, it's October 1967. Andy tells Red about Peter Stevens, which is a pseudonym under which Andy has sold off his assets before he went into prison and invested the proceeds.
00:50:30
Speaker
He also had a guy working on the outside for him who... Yeah, his buddy. Yeah, he he I think he has died at this point. Yeah. So he's no longer there. And at this point, Andy is just hoping that everything is still there, the money is still there. Again, hope. Yeah. Also, something that's very... I think there's a big difference between the book and the movie at this point in the story. yeah As in...
00:50:59
Speaker
like Andy's emotional state at this point, at least my interpretation of his emotional state in the book. Yeah. Versus is what we're seeing in the movie. In the movie, he is like very like. He's hitting like a very like his low, a very low point. know And even the other prisoners that we can physically see that he's hit that breaking point and everyone, all of his like people and like Red and everything are very scared.
00:51:29
Speaker
They're scared seeing Andy right now. They're like, I don't recognize him anymore like because he is hitting like his ultimate low at this point. In the book, he's almost hitting like they're like a little freaked out because he's almost like so hopeful in the book. Like he's almost like they're like, whoa,
00:51:51
Speaker
Like you're almost like too hopeful right now. Like, what do you, you almost have like something up your sleeve. Like what do you know that I don't know? Like you just had this devastating thing happen to you. Yeah. You're obviously trapped here for at least another 30, 40, 50 years. And yet you seem to be okay with that. Yeah. Right. And in the movie, they're actually looking out for him because they're afraid that he is going to hurt himself at this point. and then There's also a big difference in the book and the movie here because like in the movie, from him getting out of the hole and Norton threatening him, there's like look see it seems like just a couple of weeks go by. yeah and In the book,
00:52:38
Speaker
Like a decade goes by, like, it's like seven, eight, nine, and maybe even 10 years, like a long time goes by. yeah Like two months of the movie. And I think the difference in the book and the movie at this point is that in the movie or in the book, I feel like this is when Andy is like the idea of a plan that he had turns into, this is the plan I'm going to commit to now. no And in the,
00:53:08
Speaker
movie, I feel like he had already committed to the plan long before that and he just knew he needed to speed up his timeline because he was like, all right, let's go. Like this guy's kind of being an ass. I've done all I can do here. It's time to get out. Yeah. Yeah, that makes sense. But he tells Red that one day Peter Stevens will own a seaside resort hotel in I think it's- Don't try, I'm not yet. Some Mexican village. I think it's Zawatino, Zawatino, Mexico. I'll trust you on that one. They only pronounced it twice in the movie, maybe three times, and I listened real hard and I was still like, I'm not going to try. but but think I think I was writing out pronunciations like three or four different times, different ways. I was like, is this one? Is it this one? It starts with a Z, it ends with an O, it's in Mexico.
00:54:00
Speaker
but There you yeah you go. Apparently it's beautiful. It's on the west coast of Mexico along the Pacific coast. like yeah So like we were saying earlier, in the movie Andy is released from solitary confinement after two months and he asks Red to promise once he's released to travel to a specific hayfield near Buxton and recover a package that Andy buried there.
00:54:28
Speaker
This is, like Carrie was saying, this is where Red is really worried about Andy's mental well-being, especially when he learns that Andy has asked a fellow inmate for a rope. And in the movie, at the next day's roll call, the guards find Andy's cell empty.
00:54:51
Speaker
in the book or you're gonna say okay i was gonna say that this part okay clueless detective over here here i come in all right so i i was watching it with my family because you know this is like a common occurrence now because they love seeing my reactions to these films that apparently everyone and their mother has seen and i was like oh my gosh please because at this point like So many people have died. And I was like, I cannot see another death. And this poor guy dies. Because like I said, I stopped halfway through the book. So you didn't know. OK. So I didn't know the ending. So I when I was watching, I was like, if this guy is that I'm going to lose my freaking mind. And I was like, oh, my gosh, where is he? Where is he? Like, I was like yelling out loud. I was like, he's gone. Like, how is this possible?
00:55:44
Speaker
I will say while I was reading the book, because I'd not seen the movie before, so I didn't know the ending. And I've never read the book and i I knew what Shawshank was kind of about, but I never knew. So even as I was reading the book, when he disappeared, he finally disappears. I'm like, oh no, they're going to just find his body somewhere. He's he's not going to have made it. Like i was yeah I was terrified that that was going to be the end.
00:56:09
Speaker
like I was, because it was really towards the end of the book too. It's a short story, so you only have so many pages left, and I'm thinking, he's he's the goner. It's going to be really depressing and sad at the end. I don't want it to be. Well, I just want to go back to the book for this point, because I kind of want to, there's a difference in timeframe, like we mentioned. And in the book, it's March 12th, 1975.
00:56:35
Speaker
And Andy has been in prison for 28 years at the point that he disappeared from his locked cell. In the movie, he's only been there for 19 years. So there's there's quite a difference and in length there. Yeah. But his cell's empty, Norton's brought in, he throws a hissy fit in the movie, starts throwing rocks. And he discovers that the poster that is on Andy's cell wall is covering a perfectly round man-sized hole. Why was it perfectly round? Because Andy. Like, it was literally perfectly round. Like, you don't need to make it per... Just go, just go, go, go. You don't need to make it perfect. Andy was so precise in everything he did. There was no way his escape attempt was going to be anything other than perfect. And what did they say? Artistically and logically. And what did they say at the very beginning? They said when he got his...
00:57:35
Speaker
Like the rock pick. The rock hammer. Yeah, the rock hammer. He said, whenever he asked for it, I'm pretty sure Red made a comment how long it would take to dig a hole with a rock hammer. He was like, you're going to, it's going to take you 600 years to dig your way out of here with that, you know. And Andrew Dufresne did it in the movie in less than 20. Yup. Yup.
00:57:58
Speaker
so Yeah, Andy used the rock hammer to slowly chip away a tunnel through the wall. and In the movie, this is where the rope comes into play. He used the rope to escape through the tunnel and the prison sewage pipe. Well, and he tied. and i I love how they explain this in or they show this in the movie, but they didn't really explain it very well in the book. In the movie, he had been doing all these favors for the the warden because you know Norton thinks that he's got him back under his thumb now. so He's like, polish my shoes, take my clothes down to the laundry and and get them dry cleaned. and so norton or Andy steals Norton's suit and his shoes and he wears them under his prison clothes to go back to his cell. But then when he gets back to his cell, he changes he takes them back off again and puts on just his prison suit.
00:58:52
Speaker
and puts those clothes and those shoes in a plastic bag that he ties with the rope and drags behind him through the nasty sewage pipe so that when he gets out on the other end, he has a change of clothes. He also swapped out the ledger. Yes. And that was not in the book, but I love that. Right. Because in the book, he just had money invested from before he went into prison. But in the movie, he was like, I'm going to take everything I smuggled for you.
00:59:22
Speaker
It's mine now. You broke. Yeah, that ledger contains all of the evidence of all of the money laundering, the corruption at Shawshank, everything. So while the guards are searching for Andy, he poses as Randall Stevens and he withdraws over $370,000 of the laundered money, which is $3,535,000 today. I knew you'd know that. Thank you. We love to see it. me And then he mails the ledger to a local newspaper.
00:59:55
Speaker
and the state police. Which is brilliant. Loved that too. yeah Again, that part didn't happen in the book. In the book, Norton ends up just quitting because he could never catch Andy and he like he feels like he's kind of a broken man, that this jerk got one over on him, so he ends up quitting.
01:00:13
Speaker
And that's that. He goes away and the new warden comes. But in the movie, he gets what's coming to him. And I like that. The state police arrive at Shawshank and they take Hadley into custody, which if you noticed in the movie, when they take Hadley, they're reading him his Miranda rights.
01:00:31
Speaker
The year that all of this happens in the movie is the year that the case occurred, the Miranda case. Miranda versus Arizona or something. So they were just having to read Miranda rights for the first time. So they didn't have it memorized. So they were having to read it from the paper and they actually had that in the movie. That's awesome. Oh, that's cool. They read him his Miranda rights. But Norton checks the safe and realizes that the ledger has been swapped. And in its place is Andy's Bible. Inside of Andy's Bible, he wrote that the warden was right. The salvation does lie within. And then there's an outline of the rock hammer. What cut out of the rock hammer. Oh my gosh. That was such a... act
01:01:19
Speaker
Perfect tie-in. I loved that. That was beautiful. And then, like Crystal was saying, Norton does not resign like he does in the book. He actually commits suicide to avoid it. I don't usually say that about people who hurt themselves or harm themselves, but in this case, it's exactly what that was.
01:01:43
Speaker
Yeah, he didn't want to answer to any of his crimes. So, yeah. Six months later, in the book, after Andy's escape, Red receives a blank postcard from McNary, Texas, which is a tiny town near the Mexican border. And he surmises that Andy has crossed the border from that point. And in March 1977, Red is paroled. And He also has a difficult time like Brooks did. He's trying to adjust. Go ahead. i I love what he said to the parole board because at this point he thinks he's never going to get paroled.
01:02:23
Speaker
And so he was just like this is in the movie. It's yeah just in the movie. Yeah, but I really love that because he was just like, you know, if I don't know if I'm gonna give you the answers that you want, but if you're asking what, you know, do I regret what I did? I regret it every single day. And if I could go back in time and talk to that young stupid kid who did this, I wouldn't have done it. But right now you're just wasting my time. So if you'd stamp the paper and let me go back, like, that would be great. And they release approved. Yeah.
01:02:53
Speaker
in the In the book, he just goes for this one parole hearing and he's accepted and he gets out. In the movie, he's actually rejected twice and his first rejection when he walks into the parole room, the the people on the board, they're like... They're all old white dudes, basically. I don't remember exactly what's said, but it's something like...
01:03:17
Speaker
sit down, and then he goes again, and again, they're just like, sit. And then his third parole hearing, they're like, please have a seat. And they're younger people, and there's a woman, you know so like the parole board is like a completely different turned over entirely group of people. Also- Which he'd been there at this point for what, 40 plus forty years? 40 years, I think, yeah. ah The picture that they used in his mugshot is actually Morgan Freeman's youngest son,
01:03:46
Speaker
Oh, I didn't know that. Oh, really? Because i want it hit they wanted the character to look like a young guy. So they just used Morgan Freeman's son. I actually knew that before I even watched the movie. Little things we we hear and they stick with us forever. Yep, apparently.
01:04:05
Speaker
So Red is out of prison now and he's having a difficult time adjusting to life outside of prison. But he remembers his promise to Andy and he visits Buxton and he finds the the cash that Andy has hidden there. And there's a letter that invites him to come to Mexico. And there's also $1,000, which today is $5,202.99.
01:04:34
Speaker
So perfect amount to just slowly take your time getting to Mexico. Yep. Perfect. So Red violates his parole and he goes to Mexico. This is kind of basically where the book ends.
01:04:48
Speaker
But in the movie, Red does find Andy in Mexico on a beach and they're reunited and they have their little friendly embrace. I was going to say they run on the sand towards each other. They do. They run. start on wash and ride They start out walking and then as they get closer, they kind of speed up a little because they're both very old men at this point too.
01:05:10
Speaker
yes i think this is how the book ends it's i like this whole like ending paragraph so i'm so perfect and he's morgan freeman does like do this word for word in the movie he's like i hope andy is down there i hope i can make it across the border i hope to see my friend and shake his hand i hope the pacific is as blue as it has been in my dreams i hope I got goosebumps. I know, it's so good. I want to tear up. That was so good because, again, the theme of the whole book is hope. And through the whole thing, Red's like, there's no point in having hope. And not only does Andy continue to keep his hope through the whole thing, but he had enough hope to spread it to other people. And Tommy got that hope, and then Norton took it from him. And I think Andy, that's when Andy snapped.
01:06:03
Speaker
and to see that he was able to give that to Red, even after all those years apart, that that Red was still there, and that he left that little letter that said, you know, I hope you made it, come on down. Like, that was so beautiful to me, and then for for int for Red to say in the very end, that I hope. That just like, gooseies, I cried, it was. um Speaking of hope, the harmonica.
01:06:34
Speaker
is used throughout the movie as a symbol of hope. and Andy relates music to hope, and Red admits that he quit playing the harmonica after he was incarcerated. And then I think on his second parole rejection, Andy gifts Red a new harmonica to renew his hope. When Red breaks his parole to find the cash that Andy had hidden, there's a specific tree that he's looking for. Once the tree comes into focus,
01:07:04
Speaker
they add a harmonica to the music in the soundtrack to kind of emphasize the hope. I didn't notice the harmonica, but I did notice the shift overall in the music. The soundtrack for this movie, the score for this movie was beautiful. Beautiful.
01:07:22
Speaker
Very, very good. I was listening to it while I was reading the rest of it. I think the score got nominated for an Academy Award, I think. Well, didn't this movie like when it first came out, it actually didn't get like the best reviews. It actually bombed. Yeah, it um because it came out like the same year as or scum. Yeah. um The same year as what I have. There's a whole list. Quite a few. Yeah. Like a ton of big movies came out right around the same time. So it kind of got buried.
01:07:53
Speaker
And that just got like a lot of good reviews and was like nominated for like best like screenplay or something. It was nominated for best screenplay, best actor. Hold on, I had it pulled up just a minute ago, I swear. Yeah, it did really well after that.
01:08:13
Speaker
It got reported or nominated for seven Academy Awards, which is the most for any Stephen King film adaptation. Best picture, best actor, best adapted screenplay, best cinematography, best film editing, best sound, and best original score. Yeah. It was very, very good. It was so good. I just got buried. Yeah. I'm going to be honest. I personally liked the movie a lot more than the book like the movie really really stuck with me you know i was like thinking about this
01:08:53
Speaker
I mean maybe I had like this moment where maybe this is like really silly to say but sometimes you know you want like you usually will gravitate this is just my personal experience I'm not gonna speak for anybody else my personal experience is that I will gravitate to you know a movie that's gonna have like a More like women in it, you know, I'm just gonna gravitate towards that. That's just what I'm gonna do So the fact that this movie didn't does not have any women in it you know, there's no women in it at all and I Fell in love with this movie like I really and I'm you know, usually I wouldn't you know, I'm not usually watching a movie that doesn't have a
01:09:40
Speaker
It's just like not what I'm usually watching. It's a really heavy subject. There's no women in the cast. Yeah, but it's so good. It's incredible. It's so compelling. It's so thought provoking. Everyone should watch this. Everyone should definitely watch this. I would argue that everyone should probably read this book because it's not like it's particularly hard. It's an easy read. Literary wise, it's not like there's a bajillion and a half.
01:10:08
Speaker
like You know, big words or anything in it. It's a, it's a fairly easy read. I think if you're an adult, it says that place in Mexico, except that place in Mexico. I can't pronounce that. Except Lindsey trying to say Figaro. It happens when you see it written down, you don't, you might've heard it a thousand times in your life, but when you finally see something written down, it's definitely different. And I was, I was like hearing it in my head to the Figaro, Figaro, Figaro, Figaro.
01:10:41
Speaker
Exactly. Wait, let me see. Which one which would do you like more? Do you like the book or the movie more? I have to say I do like the movie more just because it does have more of the lighthearted scenes that you kind of need.
01:10:55
Speaker
Yeah, totally bring your spirit back up. But honestly, you know, I'd say read it once. and Yeah. but read it once i I will say I loved both probably about the same. This is probably a story that I will reread. I will probably watch the movie again.
01:11:16
Speaker
But specifically, as someone who advocates for prison reform on the regular, this is a story I wish more people would read because it's not overly far-fetched from some of the experiences that the people that I know have told me. I'm not going to sit here and say, this is just like prison. I've never been to prison, so I'm not going to try and claim that I understand that.
01:11:42
Speaker
But from the people that I do know who have experienced prison, this isn't that far off. It's older. It tells the story of from the 30s, 40s, 50s, 60s, and 70s, but not a ton has changed. And I think it's a real eye-opener for a lot of people, because a lot of people don't like to think about what happens in prison. It doesn't affect them, so they don't want to think about it. And I get that.
01:12:11
Speaker
It's really easy to distance yourself from some place you think you don't belong or my loved ones would never or whatever those people have aren't really people. They're not human that could you know, they're just criminals and like that's not really how it is. And this is something that I think more people should.
01:12:30
Speaker
have their eyes opened to so that we do humanize the actual humans that are in these systems. So I think it's really well written. It's a great story. It's an emotional roller coaster. I loved it. I loved the movie, but it's also a really good eye opener for a lot of people, I think. Yeah, totally.
01:12:52
Speaker
That brings us to our question of the episode. If you were stuck in a place for 19 plus years, what hobby or skill would you master to pass the time?
01:13:05
Speaker
Why do you always pick me first? Because you were real hush-hush about your answer. I mean, nobody knows mine either, so. I was just like laughing like because we were talking so serious about stuff and then we're like, what happened to your scale? Right. That's true. we We did switch it up. Okay. Okay. Well, yeah like i did let's get lighthearted after all the seriousness. If I was stuck in a place for 19 years, honestly, okay, my answer is really stupid. Whatever. You always say that, but I always love your answers.
01:13:40
Speaker
i would Okay, so I've always wanted to be like get really good at... She's cracking herself up. Oh, Lord. I always wanted to get really good at like stretching and being flexible. Okay. Okay. Well, yoga master over here. Yeah, I've always wanted to do that, so I probably would try to learn that skill. like Almost be really good at yoga, be really flexible.
01:14:09
Speaker
That's fair. That's what I would do. That's a good way to center yourself too. So, you know, you to be awesome yeah meditating all that stuff. ah nice so Crystal? I think ae wait I try to get some, assuming I had access to a library, I would probably read books on engineering and tunneling.
01:14:31
Speaker
I can get my ass out of there. Take a page from Andy's book. Pretty much. And be like, blueprints, what's this? I would really learn how to read blueprints. I would learn about engineering. I would learn about mechanical stuff or whatever. You're doing important things, me.
01:14:53
Speaker
You'd be the one I would come to when I pissed off because something I tried didn't work. You'd be like, namaste. Yeah, that's a good team effort. And I'll just follow you out the hole. Give me a musical instrument. I mean, you'd be flexible enough you could, so. Yeah, okay. Give me a musical instrument.
01:15:11
Speaker
I'm learning guitar. Oh, yes. Get it? I don't think they let you have guitars in prison. They got too many strings. I want to be like, all right. Are we in prison or are we just like in a place for 19 years? We're just in a place. Okay. We're just in a place. Okay. Okay. Okay. So, so Crystal's just digging a tunnel for no reason. She stuck there though. I didn't say stuck. I'm stuck. Okay, Okay. I'm learning guitar. This one's Wonderwall. Oh my gosh.
01:15:39
Speaker
Why did you not learn how to play that Riptide song that everyone was learning on the ukulele and guitar for a while there? i I don't ever want to hear that one again. It was such a good song. It definitely got ruined for me. so it did mean Are we stuck together or are we in our separate? We've got to be together.
01:15:57
Speaker
We gotta be together. Yeah, we have to be together. Okay, so we're together in this place. We just hear, it we listen to Lindsay play Wonderwall. I'm gonna really need your namaste at this point. Wrap it up, Lindsay. Play a new song. I'm over here like, and I'm out. so Crystal is just an old bastard. me out of here. It's your motivation. Perfect. So, Wonderwall.
01:16:25
Speaker
Oh, Lord. Just for Crystal. All right. Well, we're going to cut it there. This ends our time at Shawshake. Check out our show notes for more information on what we discussed in this episode, including the question of the episode. Don't forget to follow Rate Review and download our podcast on Spotify and Apple. Check us out on social media. We have Facebook, Instagram, TikTok, and YouTube.
01:16:55
Speaker
ah This is where you will find our reading schedules, sneak peeks, and bonus material for each episode. Join our book club and read along with us. Send us your recommendations for adaptations that we should cover through our book adaptation submission form. As always, thank you for joining