That ‘The Shawshank Redemption’ Plothole Might Be Easily Explained
The 1994 film, The Shawshank Redemption, has stood the test of time as an unlikely classic. Compared to original expectations, the movie performed terribly at the box office and it seemed to all involved that the film based on a short story by Stephen King would become a footnote in 90s cinema history. Like Andy Dufresne making that long crawl to freedom, however, the movie would eventually find tremendous success and critical acclaim beyond its initial release.
Over 25 years later, the film is still immensely popular and beloved worldwide. With millions of fans comes very attentive eyes, and there has always been one glaring plothole called out by fans that director Frank Darabont probably wishes that he explained a little better in the film.
The ‘Shawshank Redemption’ poster plothole
During Dufresne’s legendary escape in the film, a poster of 60s sex icon Raquel Welch was critical to his entire plan. The poster concealed the slowly dug tunnel that he would later use to get free of his cell and access the sewer pipes. Throughout his whole daring escape, all that stood between him and the guards catching on was that thin paper poster of Raquel Welch from the film One Million Years B.C.
It’s already pretty hard for the audience to accept that in nearly two decades of digging, the guards never happened to find a gigantic hole in the cell wall behind the poster. It’s on the night of his eventual escape, however, that many fans’ reactions go from skeptical to total disbelief. After Andy crawls into that tunnel, how did he so perfectly reattach the poster to the wall behind him without anyone to help?
It’s hard to believe that using only rudimentary tools Dufresne would’ve been able to get the poster tightly enough against the wall as to conceal the tunnel after crawling in. While he was working in the tunnel over the years, how would the poster stay attached behind him without making a noise while catching a draft or ending up noticeably crooked? It’s not just good enough to be convincing either. When the warden pokes his finger through the poster, it has enough tension to tear a very deliberate hole… that’s a pretty tightly fastened poster!
As more and more fans have appreciated the film over the years, this has become a frequent point of contention on movie nights throughout the world. Much of the movie’s raw emotional power comes from how grounded in reality the plot is. To many fans, this oversight seems uncharacteristically fantastical in what is otherwise a very realistic story.
Is it really a plothole?
Fans have been discussing the poster for a long time, and they definitely have theories ready. When the poster problem was pointed out on Watch Mojo, some fans were ready to come to the defense of of the film by debunking this supposed plothole.
One commenter pointed out that Andy has more tools than the normal prisoner available to him. “Andy in Shawshank has rock tools. He could have folded the bottom of the poster upward and back. Then put flat stone in the fold and glued it with almost anything.” Indeed, Dufresne was hauling a lot of stone out of his cell into the yard. It wouldn’t have been hard or overcautious for him to weight the bottom of the poster in his 19 years of digging.
Another fan authoritatively remarked, “The poster in “Shawshank redemption” is not a mistake: the scotch tape was invented in 1925, for 1930 its use was common already. The movie starts in 1947, and Andy worked in the library, it is reasonable that he had access to the adhesive tape.” Everyone knows the old hat looped tape trick, so this theory could carry some water.
The commenter further continued, “…well established that the guards gave him special treatment, so is clear why they didn’t make good inspections of his cell.” It’s true, the only reason Dufresne was even allowed the poster in the first place was his preferable treatment from the warden.
With so many fans thinking on this puzzle for decades, at closer glance it seems like Dufresne may have been able to make it work with what he had. Unfortunately, the film doesn’t really say the specific prison engineering he employed to keep the poster firmly attached to the wall.
From flop to cinema classic
Whether or not the poster is in fact a plothole, it doesn’t really diminish the power of the film’s climax that it accompanies. Despite its initial poor box office performance, The Shawshank Redemption has become a beloved classic even more than 25 years later.
The film lacked the mass appeal of other movies released at the time, such as Pulp Fiction, that released on the very same day. Critics absolutely loved The Shawshank Redemption though, and it gained seven Academy Award nominations that year. What started as a flop would eventually be treasured as one of the great films to come out of the 1990s.
The plot is as poignant and meaningul today as it was in 1994. Shawshank’s timeless message of hope continues to resonate with new audiences to this day… whether or not they took some liberties with the physics of a poster on the wall.
