A Metaphor for the Will to Live

The film after Stephen King's novel is counted by many as a favourite for a good reason. Shawshank Redemption is the metaphor for the will to live, the power of focus, the ability to create the most amazing thing undercover (under the cover of Ursula Anders, perhaps), and the relentless determination to get what one wants.

It so happens that we often watch films passively, i.e. we merely watch what we look at, and we rarely try to see the same situation re-enacted in our own life. Shawshank Redemption is so much bigger than a mere story of how one innocent man ran away from prison, started a new life under the new name, and got even with his adversaries. Some of us have already had such redemptions in our own lives, and some may yet have to experience them.

I wouldn't want to contemplate just yet exactly how Shawshank Redemption manifested itself in my life, simply because I don't think the process is over. But what I do want to do, is to share with you a story that I started telling in this post. Sometimes great things come to us in dreams, and sometimes we can make them happen. My goal has been for a long time to visit my home city but not until earlier this year did I get serious enough to put up a photo of Moscow on my desktop. Since May, every single time I turned up my laptop, which I did nearly every day, I saw the photo below. I don't remember either how I found it, or the name of the photographer. But I was looking at it, even though I almost never hung out near the Bolshoi Theatre in the evening, so the sight of the fountain was by no means marked by any personal memories or experience. And just when it began to look like I had to postpone the visit, all pieces fell together, and I hit the goal.

The truth is, very often we let life get in the way of whatever we want to do, and I have sometimes done the same. Life is the prison, and occasionally it takes some impressive skill to fool the wardens. God knows, under what covers you may have to work to create your tunnel. But if you can accept responsibility for this and to work out the system of getting out, you will soon be enjoying the life you wanted - much sooner than you'd have thought.

By the way, if you haven't discovered it yet, this is the official website of Shawshank Redemption the film. Available on the site are a full screenplay and analysis of the script and the film, including some explanations by the director Frank Darabont.

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