Shawshank Redemption
EST V ACT domestic box office revenue
$23 – 29 V $28MM
Mythosis universal quests used
4
Audience appeal
2.09 – 2.55%
Script Score
0.07
The Shawshank Redemption directed by Frank Darabont is based on Stephen King’s 1982 novella Rita Hayworth and Shawshank Redemption which in turn is inspired from Leo Tolstoy’s God sees the truth, but waits. The movie revolves around a wrongly convicted banker’s resilience, a friendly inmate’s rekindled desire for freedom and a warden’s unexpected defeat.
1. The invisible plot structure of Shawshank Redemption
1A. The script of Shawshank Redemption borrows 95% of its events from 4 mythological tales
Andy’s quest is driven by the desire for self-reliance. The quest borrows events from Daedalus’ tale in Greek mythology. Just as Daedalus flies out of King Minos’ prison, Andy digs his way out.
Andy’s quest is also driven by the desire to be in a safe environment. The quest borrows events from the tale of Odysseus in Greek mythology. Odysseus and Andy devise a way to survive in hostile territory.
Norton’s quest mirrors the tale of Kaikeyi from Hindu mythology. Both are driven by the desire for social standing & respect. Kaikeyi retains her position in the kingdom by forcing her husband to exile his son. Norton refuses to accept the news of Andy’s erroneous incarceration – gets the informant killed and sends Andy into solitary.
Red has an underdeveloped quest driven by the desire of loyalty. Most of Red’s screen time is dedicated to narrating Andy’s quests.
NOTE: Detailed mirroring of each character’s primary quest to their respective mythological tales is in section “3A. Quests of characters and their mythological counterparts”
Mythosis plot structure
# 13,380
Tales interweaved
Daedalus, Hanuman & Kaikeyi
I. How does interweaving mythological tales lead to infinite story plots?
II. Can the pursuit of a Desire have more than one quest?
2. The potential of Shawshank Redemption’s plot structure: $23 – 29MM
The interweaving of 32 mythological tales can generate a billion unique stories. By using these 32 tales, we can extract the plot structure of any story across various genres. Our study of blockbuster, hit, and flop plot structures led to the discovery of the Mythosis Code, a set of principles for creating compelling stories. The plot structure of a story is analyzed to see how well it adheres to these storytelling principles.
2A. Plot structure evaluation of Shawshank Redemption
- All Blockbusters have at least 3 universal quests. Shawshank Redemption uses three universal quests of Independence, Tranquillity & Status. The quest of Honour is sparsely used.
- In Blockbusters, each universal quest is mirrored by ONLY ONE character. Andy mirrors the quest of Independence & Tranquillity. Norton mirrors the quest of Status.
- Every Blockbuster character borrows at least 35% of the universal quest. Andy’s character borrows 36% events from the quest for Independence and 10% events from the quest for Tranquillity. Norton borrows 21% events from the quest for Status. Red borrows 8% of the events from the quest for Honour.
- Blockbusters have a quest interweaving threshold of 0.5. Interweaving occurs when events of 2 quests occur simultaneously in the story. Shawshank Redemption’s quest interweaving score of 0.33 is below par.
An example of interweaving the quests of Andy & Norton:
2B. Box office revenue estimation of Shawshank Redemption
The plot structure of Shawshank Redemption has a very powerful quest of Daedalus. It also reveals the inconsistency in Andy’s quest and shallow quests of other characters.
The Script Score measures a plot structure’s adherence to the four principles of Mythosis Code. We use the Script Score to estimate a movie’s audience appeal & revenues. Blockbuster plot structures have a score of at least 0.64 and appeal to 20% of the audiences.
Script Score
0.07
Audience appeal
2.09 – 2.55%
I. How is Mythosis Code used to estimate revenues?
II. Aren’t box-office revenues influenced by several factors beyond just the story plot?
3. The ideal plot structure of Shawshank Redemption
We have identified 32 mythological tales, the superset of all tales across cultures. The quests of these tales have also recurred over time periods. They represent human behaviours that are deeply embedded in our shared memories. Each tale is the richest expression of the pursuit of a human desire. The tales have a unique pattern of events spread over 5 major arcs.
Mapping a character’s quest to the relevant mythological tale reveals the gaps in their quest, if any. Plugging these gaps with the missing events deepens the character quest. The missing events also provide an opportunity for interweaving the various quests. These events strengthen the story and unlock its hidden potential.
3A.Quest of characters and their mythological counterparts
Quest 1: Andy mirrors the universal quest for Independence
Andy’s desire for Independence stems from the need for self-reliance & autonomy. The tale of Daedalus from Greek mythology is the universal quest for Independence.
Quest 2: Andy also mirrors the universal quest for Tranquillity
Andy’s desire for Tranquillity stems from the need to be in safe environment. The tale of Odysseus from Greek mythology is the universal quest for Tranquillity.
Quest 3: Norton mirrors the universal quest for Status
Norton’s desire for Status stems from the need for social standing & respect. The tale of Kaikeyi from Hindu mythology is the universal quest for Status.
3B.Gaps in the current plot structure
The plot structure of Shawshank Redemption is driven by Andy’s quest that is inconsistent.
3C.Unlocking the hidden potential
The plot of Shawshank Redemption is a sub set of Mythosis plot structure # 13,380. It emerges from interweaving the tales of Daedalus, Hanuman & Kaikeyi.
Explore Mythosis plot structure # 13,380 that unlocks the potential of Shawshank Redemption
Tags: Kaikeyi, Hanuman, Daedalus, Independence, Status, Honour, Frank Darabont, Castle Rock Entertainment, Columbia Pictures, 1994