This image is the cover image of the 1994 film, “The Shawshank Redemption”. It is about a man who is falsely accused of murder and sent to prison to serve a life sentence, after many years he eventually escapes and becomes a free man again. He had been slowly working his way out of the prison without anybody knowing, slowly chipping away at the wall in his cell till eventually he was able to get all the way through and escape. This image represents the feeling of finally becoming free in many different ways. It gives off a feeling of relief. Through the way that the man in the image is standing, the lighting of the image, and the camera angle at which the picture was taken.  All of these aspects of the image come together to symbolize a central theme, freedom. 

The image of relief is shown through the man’s body position, he has his arms completely outstretched with his hands open, along with both his body and head leaning back as though he is taking everything in. This is the classic look one does when they have finally been set free, they are thankful for everything around them, thankful for being able to experience this feeling again. It shows how he had been locked up and is now finally able to take in the sunlightand fresh air again, it is even pouring down rain in the picture and he seems to be enjoying that also.   It also looks as though his mouth is wide open and he is possibly screaming. He was locked up for so long, restricted in what he could do and say, he was finally able to let it all out, and that is exactly what it looks like he is doing. It looks as though he is feeling very emotional about this moment 

Through the other aspects of the image such as the lighting and the camera angle, they also can be seen as representing freedom. About half of the image has light and the other half is completely dark. It is extremely important to note that it is the top half that is lit up and the bottom half is dark, but it is not that there is a direct cut off, the light fades from top to bottom. It looks as though he is escaping from the darkness at the bottom of the image and rising toward the top, he is going towards the light, which is freedom. It could also be looked at as sunlight, he had been cooped up for so long and now the sunlight is finally shinning down on him. Or could be seen as the rain is fading and the sun is taking over. When looking at it this way, his rainy days are over, he is free and his future is bright. The angle of the picture is slightly taken in a way that seems to be looking up at the man. It is taken in a way that looks like he is rising, as though he is emerging from the darkness at the bottom of the picture and again rising towards the light.

There are also words at the top of the image that read “Fear can hold you prisoner. Hope can set you free”. These words can be taken as one of the themes of this image.  The light in the image can be seen as the hope, such as the light at the end of the tunnel. He can see the light at the end of the tunnel and that is what is helped him to never give up, that is what gave him hope. The hope to never give up, the hope that someday he will be free and that could be why he is so emotional because through it all he never did give up and he is finally free. 

Through many different aspects of this picture it can be seen that this man is going through an emotional experience of relief. He has the look of someone who had been tied down by something and finally set free, in this case it was prison. The words at the top of the image tied together with the lighting and the body language of the man show he was able to overcome this adversity through having hope. It had taken him years to dig his way out of the prison and the light at the end of the tunnel kept him going.  