Leadership In The Shawshank Redemption

1886 Words8 Pages
For my movie review, I picked Shawshank Redemption – when I initially watched this movie, leadership was not the key theme I took away from I; friendship was. But on reflection and with the theory from our course in mind, I believe there are many leadership lessons to be found as it clearly demonstrates the difference between leadership as a state of mind versus a position of power and it clearly shows how successful the former can be. The Shawshank Redemption is a story about prisoners and staff at the Shawshank State Penitentiary that takes place over the course of 20 years. The movie focuses on three main characters: Andy Dufresne, Ellis Boyd ‘Red’ Redding, and Warden Samuel Norton - we get to witness the different roles that each of these characters portrays and the interactions between them within the confines of the penal system. The story is focused on Andy Dufresne, a banker wrongly imprisoned for his wife’s murder, and his friendship with the…show more content…
Consumed by greed, his relentless misuse of power is at the core of his demise. Norton shows Andy something that resembles trust and goodwill, affording the latter certain privileges, but he constantly reminds Andy that he is not to be defied. Andy functions in abject servitude, merely a puppet operating at the warden’s whim. Warden Norton is even willing to kill Tommy in order to keep his own secrets and bury the truth about Andy. Warden Norton is an influencer by threat and coercion, Another key contract between these two is their strength of character - despite being repeatedly banished to the hole for insubordination, Andy’s will is never broken, he is determined to overcome every obstacle which is put in his way. However rather than face the consequences of his financial indiscretions, Norton lets his trigger finger cast his
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