Stephen King’s Hidden Message About Alcohol

Deciphering The Shawshank Redemption’s masterful metaphors

I’ve been obsessed with The Shawshank Redemption since I first saw it in 1994. The masterful adaptation of author Stephen King’s novella, Rita Hayworth And The Shawshank Redemption, is easily my favorite movie of all time.

I’m not alone in believing it’s the greatest film ever made.

King may be the master of horror, but even The Shining, It, and Carrie take a backseat to Shawshank on the big screen.

Director Frank Darabont captures the tenets of freedom through music and escaping the prison of your mind in unparalleled fashion. In addition to that, the metaphors for substance abuse, recovery, and sobriety are impossible to ignore.

King has spoken publically about his harrowing battle with alcohol abuse throughout the 70s and 80s, and Shawshank is ripe with the symbolism of his experience.

In 1987, his family and friends staged an intervention, and King has been sober ever since. When you examine its brilliance, Shawshank is more than just a story about prison life.