Another part of a video series from Wordonfire.org. Bishop Barron will be commenting on subjects from modern day culture. For more visit www.wordonfire.org
Thanks so much for that wonderful response. God bless you. I'll actually be in Dallas in two weeks for the NCDVD Convention. Right after the talk, I'm going to Trinity Seminary in Dallas. Unfortunately, neither of those events is really a public event. Please pray for me.
Ela Lamblin Atwill is not a historian, and has put forward the least tenable of all of "mythical Jesus" theories. Why would the Roman Empire create a religion, only to turn around and persecute the followers of the very religion it had supposedly just created?
I'm not speculating about the sourness of atheism. I know it from direct experience. The attempt to account for a radically contingent world through endless appeal to contingent causes is, epistemically, a dead end, sour. To attempt to satisfy the longing for the unconditioned good and true and beautiful through finite things is, morally and spiritually, a dead end, sour stuff.
This is the first time I have heard of an interpretation through Christology...which I couldn’t see before.. what a revelation for me .. thank you Bishop Barron for always articulating the teachings of Christ
Shawshank is one of my favourite movies. Just watched it again. I loved how Bishop Barron linked the scenes to the life, death and resurrection of Jesus. Very powerful.
All great stories are a reflection of THE Great Story...if they're any good. It's enchanting to me to think how so many of these types of stories are popular in secular culture. Human hearts are yearning for Christ and at a distance love Him yet don't know it's Him. Great commentary Father Barron! Pax Domini!
Thank you, Father Barron, for your insightful commentary. It has been nearly 20 years since I saw the Shawshank Redemption, and it has been one of my favorite movies ever for all that time. You helped me understand why I liked it so much. I watched your whole video all the way through with a big smile on my face, because you explained so well what I already knew but couldn't articulate. Thanks again!
Wow. Wow. Wow. Wow! Makes me want to invite the entire parish out for a "night at the movies" followed by showing this. A truly great film, and now I think I know why my mind and heart have always enjoyed it so much. Thanks for the outstanding insights (as always!), Fr. Barron!
stumbled across your video on Faith , about a month ago , last night , was my 2 nd RCA class and cant wait til Easter . i'm addicted to Word on Fire , I can pause , rewind and re watch, . PLEASE come to the DFW area (Dallas /FT.Worth) my life is changing partially because of your VERY talented speaking abilities( The Modern Day Fulton Sheen ) PLEASE POST YOUR ITINERARY
Father Barron I was lucky enough during the peak of my Atheism to come across your movie review of the Tree of Life a few years ago. After discovering your videos I have learnt so much about Christianity and cleared up a lot of the dogmatic rhetoric and miss-information I once clung to. I even got to meet you on your Australian tour not long ago. Through your videos you've helped broaden my understanding of life and Christ and it all started with your movie reviews. Thank-you Fr Barron :)
It's amazing that you can draw all these parallels. I have seen that movie several times and never made any of these connections. Thank you for opening up my eyes.
I had to watch a Catholic documentary a decade ago that criticized films for being anti-Catholic. It condemned the Shawshank Redemption for the opening scene of the jail superintendent punching one of the inmates after he declared his faith in the Bible. Cheers for posting this video! Father Barron, you have a wonderful mind for analysis and discussion. Shawshank is a great film!
Wow. When I first saw this movie it disturbed me, I think I saw it too young around 13. When I watched it later in High School it became one of my favorite films. I'll have to watch it again with this new insight and see if I agree with it.
Released in 1994, only able to watch this film January 7, 2023 (local time). Special shoutout to Steve Kerr, who cited this as his favorite movie in an "Open Court" episode (aired before becoming the GSW coach). Not mushy. Not sentimental. Andy Dufresne sought redemption, not revenge. Although not totally faithful to Stephen King's work (Tommy Williams is an idea of writer-director Frank Darabont), the adaptation's additional elements only enhances the film's timeless appeal. Glad Bishop Barron has this commentary when he was a Father, giving a deeper narrative on the film's Christian context. Others provide other themes which Darabont let them do, Glad and thrilled to take the plunge. In an instant, it becomes my favorite film, and let's see if time agrees as life goes along.
I too love the movie, seen it a couple of times, I think, and I'm a follower of Jesus Christ. But I never saw the parallels to the life of Jesus in the movie. Until now. Thanks Rabbi Barron.
I must have seen this movie a hundred times, and I just noticed the Bible which contained the rockhammer when opened was on the first page of Exodus. The details in this movie are beyond incredible
Great review of a great film. I just don't understand why I don't see all these themes myself because after listening to you they seem obvious. Thanks anyway.
Interesting that the warden, representing the dark powers, was the closest literal reference in the movie to the church. The church today, in my opinion, gravely underestimates the responsibility of its calling. So much so that in many ways, it has become the greatest tool for causing unbelief ever to exist.
I first watched this film at a crucial point during my adolescence. To say the least, it was inspirational for me. What surprises me, as I reflect now, is the fact that Stephen King - considered to be the "horror master" of our day (though, I can't honestly say I think his work is that scary, nor did I think so when I used to read his stuff) - wrote this sober, obviously "unscary", even philosophical, work. However, I never examined the film as deeply as you did here, especially with the thread of Andy as a figure of Christ.
Interesting, Andy to me always seemed like a Christ figure, with Shawshank prison being a sort of symbol for life on Earth, and the free world a symbol of Heaven. Andy (Jesus, son of God), a completely innocent man, is sent to prison (life on Earth), performs a number of “miracles” (interestingly, both Andy and Jesus’s first miracles are alcohol - related, Jesus turns water into wine and Andy gets his fellow inmates beer after their work), acquires a group of followers/friends (disciples), is abused by the wicked, teaches his friends wise lessons, and one night, which seemed to be his lowest point, they find his cell (tomb) empty (that allusion is very very clever). In reality, Andy has left the prison (life on Earth) and has ascended to the free world (Heaven), meanwhile, judgement strikes on the evils at Shawshank. Thus, Andy (Jesus), the only truly innocent man in all of Shawshank among the wicked murderers, thieves, and sinners, teaches the wicked truth and what is really good in life. Interestingly enough, the story of Shawshank in this view almost tells like a Gospel, written by a disciple since it’s actually completely narrated by Red. Some more evidence to my thesis is how his friends, especially Red, seem to notice that he is different from the other prisoners, and their interest is sparked. Also, Andy literally enters the prison “naked as the day [he] was born,”as spoken in the washing scene, which isn’t even a subtle metaphor for birth 😂. All in all, Andy (Jesus), teaches that while prison (life on Earth) is very confining from the true potential of humankind and is not the true destiny of man, it is still possible to do good, and only in doing good and refraining from evil does one get out of prison (life on Earth) and ascend to the free world (Heaven).
Perfect review of this movie. I love the allegory of Christ in this story. The movie has such a hopeful ending that represents so much what Christ does for us sinners.
That's a nice interpretation, Mr Barron! I find it quite funny that you say the zoom out is to a 'god like perspective' and yet the director, Frank Darabont, chose that shot out of stubborness - he didn't want the pair to meet at the end, and so he showed as little as possible of the reunion to spite the pushy producers! I think it's a still a very delicate and fitting shot though!
Fr Barron, I'm a traditional catholic and a big fan of your videos. You teach me a lot about the faith and your communication skills are "just what we need", as Cardinal Dolan puts it. I'd love to see you share your thoughts on the Traditional Latin Mass, which played such an important role in my conversion ("reconversion", actually). I believe the traditional liturgy plays a very important role in the New Evangelization. Do you agree with that? Sorry for my poor english... God Bless!
At TEDS? Fantastic. That's not usually a super Catholic-friendly place. I saw that Andrew Swafford did an MA there. I'll pray that your visit serves the Lord's purposes. -Jeremy
Fr. Barron, I know the symbolism may be obvious, but would you consider doing an analysis of The Green Mile? I just love John Coffey's line, "That's how it is every day, all over the world."
Perhaps the Christ story captures the human experience on so many levels that even if novelists or filmmakers do not specifically intend to reference it, the story nevertheless manifests. (I don't mean in the case of The Shawskank Redemption, but in general.)
Steven King also wrote the story that became Stand By Me (it is in the same book as the Shawshank Redemption story). Would be interesting to examine the Christ imagery in that book/movie.
Fr. Barron, please make a video of CAPTAIN PHILLIPS. it has lots of Christ's figure's connections. Thank you. This is "Envia tu Espiritu" Jose of Deacon Payne.
Father Barron could you do a comment on the movie "Troy?" I know it may seem silly, but considering the fact they removed the gods from story, I think you may be able to draw some points.
Fr. Baron, firstly - I love your podcast and youtube channel. A few thoughts on this one, however. To start, who says Andy Dufresne is innocent? The movie leaves this point ambiguous, and I believe does so intentionally. Overall, I think you're reaching quite a bit on this one. I see this movie as positioning the warden as an example of the inabilty of any religious power to overcome hopelessness - rather the way is through some vague interior strength that one has to tap into and free oneself.
I was actually surprised to not see anything about the other guy who got out.... the one who couldn't stand the life of freedom and kept doing things that would send him back to Shawshank. Great analysis of the main character though, of course :-)
19 years, but whatever;P Very nice video! I never really thought about Andy as a Christ-figure. But indeed, he is. I did think of him like a Zen-like figure. But I guess... it’s the same thing, really:)
@:51 He showed a way out to who beside himself? And if you mean metaphorically, I still don't think it's possible for the others to feel the way he felt because he knew he had a way out. He also knew that he would have a good deal of money once he got out. I'd feel pretty good about myself too :)
Nice analysis of one of my favourite movies. The Christian themes are pretty clear, as Stephen King is himself quite a devout believer, but they make the movie that much more potent. Just a question though, could Red be a combination of Paul and Peter? I can see how Red resembles Peter In some ways, but Paul was a man who persecuted Christians until he was on the Road to Damascus and saw Christ. Could this resemble how Red was the "only guilty man in Shawshank", and redeemed himself by Andy?
