Question 1

Is The Shawshank Redemption woke?

Accepted Answer

The Shawshank Redemption has a woke score of 13/100, which means it is not especially woke compared with higher-scoring titles. This 1994 prison drama sticks to a simple, timeless story of hope, friendship, and beating a corrupt system—no lectures, no identity checkboxes, no agenda. Banker Andy Dufresne (Tim Robbins) and lifer Red (Morgan Freeman) form a bond that carries the whole thing; the prison is brutal and the warden’s a crook, but it’s all about human grit, not politics. Director-writer Frank Darabont adapted Stephen King’s novella straight-up for the heart, not the message. Pure storytelling from a pre-woke era that still hits like a truck.

Question 2

Is there DEI in The Shawshank Redemption?

Accepted Answer

The biggest factors in our score are Institutional / cultural critique, Representation / casting choices, Creator track record context. Imprisoned in the 1940s for the double murder of his wife and her lover, upstanding banker Andy Dufresne begins a new life at the Shawshank prison, where he puts his accounting skills to work for an amoral warden. During his long stretch in prison, Dufresne comes to be admired by the other inmates -- including an older prisoner named Red -- for his integrity and unquenchable sense of hope.

The Shawshank Redemption

Factors & Ratings

Summary

Main Cast

Director & Crew