Comparison between our improvisation project Essay Example

Comparison between our improvisation project Essay Example Comparison between our improvisation project Essay Comparison between our improvisation project Essay Essay Topic: The Shawshank Redemption During this term we have been working on presenting a play based on the theme of liberty. Our particular play is entitled Checkpoint Charlie. This is for option three, improvisation. I will be devising as well as developing this play with three other students from my GCSE drama class in a group of four. I will play the role of Hannah; the daughter of Franz and Bridgett and a sibling to Peter. Hannah is the oldest of the two children. Hannah cares a lot her about her brother, Peter and sacrifices herself instead of him to move away with her alcoholic father, Franz. We began working on this play in January and we expect to present this to the rest of our class in March. The storyline of our play is based on a German family struggling with the effects of a physical barrier; the Berlin wall. We have tried to include our research, for example the dates of which important events happened. We also did some research about a man named Peter who actually died trying to cross the Berlin wall, so our play relates to a true story.  To research our project we watched the film The Shawshanks redemption.  The Shawshanks Redemption is a 1994 movie, written and directed by Frank Darabont. The films main character, Andy Dufresne, was wrongly convicted of murdering his wife and was sentenced to two life sentences in a jail with very harsh conditions. However, even though these prisoners were treated particularly badly he is able to maintain his pride, humanity and hope, in order to survive. He not only does this for himself, but he manages to inspire other prisoners to do things which they wouldnt necessarily do before as well. The one person Andy inspires the most is a character called Ellis Red who becomes his greatest friend inside. Red said that Andy seemed as though he had a coat on that could protect him from this place. Which is true, because throughout the film you can see Andys mind is still free of imprisonment, even though most prisoners accept the fact that they are there for good. Andy concentrates on thinking up an escape plan which eventually he succeeds in doing. Towards the end of the film Red makes his friend Andy a promise that if he was to ever leave Shawshank he will find a certain tree in a certain field and discover what lies beneath it. Red finally after serving forty years gets paroled, but when he is free he finds the outside world lonely and strange which makes him feel afraid. Reds only motivation was to set off and find the place Andy had spoken of. Buried beneath the tree was a letter from Andy with some money, the letter read: Remember Red, hope is a good thing. Maybe the best of things. It never dies. Im hoping this letter finds you and finds you well. Your friend Andy. Reds final words were how he thought hope was the best thing in the world and what he hoped for. He hoped to go and join Andy in Mexico. I hope I make it across the border. I hope the Pacific is as blue as it has been in my dreams. I hope to see my friend and shake his hand. I hope  The film shows how prison life affects prisoners when they are released from jail. When people are in jail for a long period of time, they get used to the simplest things in life. Prisoners get food, have a place to sleep, have clothes to wear, and have books to read. They adapt to the guards always telling them when to wake up or when to eat breakfast. Prisoners get so used to these things that when they get out of jail, they dont know what to do with themselves. In the words of an important character, Andy Dufresne, they have to Get busy living or get busy dying. In the case of Brooks, a long term prisoner, he was unable to cope with fitting back into society after his release and committed suicide not long after. Life in the mid twentieth century in America was a violent time, it was a gun owning society and at this time America was racing for world dominance. This era was full of conflict between societys after the end of World War ll. There was a rise in rebellious behaviour and the civil rights movements taking place in the segregated south. All the events that took place in the 1950s led the way into the 1960s. Communism was still heard about during the Vietnam War, the beats ideas were carried on by hippies, and the Civil Rights Movement carried on well into the 1960s. At this time also, there were distinct gender roles between men and women and the different duties they had. Women were particularly subservient to men and therefore gave the impression that women are not as capable as men. After the war the movement to get rid of the death penalty in America was interrupted by the support of capital punishment. By 1920, 5 states that previously abolished capital punishment had reinforced the penalty. From 1918 to 1959 4,700 people were executed in the United States.