Crossing Boundaries

The film “Shawshank Redemption” clearly illustrates the line between non-conformity and "over the line". The prisoners at Shawshank were clearly afraid to cross the line in fear of severe punishment. In the scene where it was Andy's first night at Shawshank, it was evident that the other prisoners had a sense that something bad was going to happen. When the man broke down and started crying, some of the other prisoners whispered for him to be quiet but nobody said anything aloud. The prisoners were forced to conform because of a fear of punishment. Clearly, the man could have benefited from help, but none of the prisoners was willing to risk punishment. Although boundaries should be supportive and helpful, breaking some boundaries could actually be beneficial.

There are several examples in the film where the filmmakers want us to believe that some boundaries are ok to break. The film almost makes us feel good about these boundaries. One example is when Andy plays music for the prisoners. Even though this clearly infuriates the Warden, Andy chooses to step outside of the boundaries because he felt that it was important. It did in fact seem to boost the morale of the prisoners. Another example is the scene where Andy talks the guard in to getting beer for the crew. Andy didn't even drink any of the beer yet, sat contentedly enjoying the moment. Red narrates that he did this "to feel normal, if only for a little while." Even though this was clearly against the rules, and outside the boundaries, it didn't hurt anybody. Really, it was just a reward for a hard days work and it made the prisoners respect Andy.

There are many instances in the film where the characters were clearly "over the line". The Warden hid behind his Bible to make us feel like he was a good person. The Warden crossed many moral boundaries. The saddest scene was when he killed Tommy because Tommy told him that he was willing, even eager to testify that Andy’s was innocent. The Warden clearly crossed both moral and legal boundaries. He then lied and said that Tommy had tried to commit suicide. The Warden was corrupt and so, the guards were corrupt as well. The guards too, were forced to conform or be punished. Andy was forced to keep the books for the Warden, even though he knew it was wrong. He even stated to his friends "On the outside, I was an honest man, straight as an arrow; I had to come to prison to become a crook." The filmmakers don't make us feel so bad about Andy stepping outside moral boundaries, because Andy was simply being forced to conform to the Warden. On the other hand, the Warden having Tommy killed because Andy knew too much made us feel very bad.

Boundaries are meant to protect us. When we are children, our parents set up boundaries to keep us safe. We continue to learn these boundaries throughout our lives. As defined in the movie, crossing some boundaries is not as bad as crossing others. The film did a great job of helping us to see that the prisoners were decent people. Even though there were clearly boundaries crossed, they did not seem to be bad things when compared to the other things the Warden and guards were doing. To kill, and have no remorse, shows that the Warden and guards had no problem stepping "over the line." The filmmakers did a great job of contrasting the severity of the Warden's corruption and the little boundaries that the prisoners crossed. Some boundaries are all right to cross, if no harm is done and more people benefit.