How to start (this is my first blog and I am a bit drowsy today)... Symbolism in "The Shining"- for years I agreed with many on the net that Kubrick's version was about the destruction of the North American Indian, but that doesn't entirely hold up. "Indians" are also mentioned in the King novel, as a bit for foreshadowing to paranormal activity (things creeping up on you that you can't see coming ahead of time) and the "Indian" artwork and designs seen in "The Overlook" are what you'd expect from a hotel in Colorado (yes, I know the Timberline is not in CO, but in the book the "Overlook" hotel existed in CO). I guess you can take anything too far looking for patterns... so just a few basic points that I believe hold up (you are free to disagree, of course, and I don't know about you but for me, the more I analyze this movie the more questions I have, seemingly unanswerable questions).
If you go to imbd.com and type in "The Shining" and go to "goofs" you'll see a long list of apparent "goofs". Most of these are considered "Continuity" errors, but I don't believe they are actual errors. Kubrick was well known for being extremely perfectionistic and was very demanding not only of his crew and cast, but of himself. He spent literally years working on "The Shining" and analyzed it thoroughly. So huge continuity errors, I can't really see him making. Things moved around so much in "The Shining" because the hotel really was haunted- it was very creepy and effective to do it the way he did (many people don't even consciously notice a lot of the continuity "errors", but their subconscious minds probably pick up on the anamolies in the "pattern" which heightens the sense of unease). If cups, chairs, clocks (whatever) had moved when the camera was on them, like in so many horror movies, it would've looked cheap and campy. But the fact is, most people aren't that aware of their environments... people who analyze movies will see gaffes, but most people, in my experience (and lately, I am one of them) can be in a place for months or years and be so intrsopective that they'll miss subtle external changes in their environment. Most people, for instance, can't tell you in any great detail what the inside of the washroom they last used looks like (if it's a public place)- they'll have a rough estimate but they won't be able to neatly pin down every single detail and the location of objects. The tendency of humans to overlook (no pun intended) the mundane, every day objects we "should" be familiar with gave Kubrick a lot of lee-way to play around and move things on us (on purpose); especially considering that "The Overlook" is haunted... the spirits of the Overlook might go after psychic vulnerablities, but where it comes to telekenesis they seem to be pretty restrained.
They'll move things, but they aren't the same spiritual entities as seen in movies like "The Exorcist" that shove dressers half-way across the room to block the door and make beds levitate. Which to me is creepier, and instills a greater sense of paranoia because... if they are moving things so quietly, when you aren't watching... how do you ever really know where to look?
Yes, this movie still creeps me out and builds a restless, cabin-feverish sensation in me.
Another thing I believe is that, yes, Danny has the "shining" and so does Halloran, but so does Jack, as well. The scenes with the disappearing Calumet cans, and the music that accompanies them, plus Jack's ability to kill Halloran at the end without Halloran seeing it suggest to me that Jack had the ability to "shine". Personally I believe that the hotel itself was a hotspot for supernatural phenomena (as is suggested in the book) so that people who already had some degree of psychic ability might've become more powerful. There are a lot of unanswered questions for me... why didn't Halloran's ability to "shine" equal Jack's at the end? Was it because Halloran had been away for a while and the hotel itself was "feeding" Jack's innate abilities? Or was the hotel feeding "off" Jack, feeding off his rage (deep-rooted alcoholism, history of abusing his son, problems with his own father, etc)? Was Jack's mind too unpredictable at the end, for Halloran to get a proper read on him? This seems to make sense to me, as I personally didn't get the vibe Jack knew exactly when Halloran would arrive, but rather, was in the foyer with the ax searching single-mindedly for Daniel. He knew Danny had tried to contact "Halloran" via the scene with Grady in the Goldroom's washroom, but did he impulsively kill Halloran at the end; saw his chance and took it? Is that why Halloran couldn't get a read?
I originally started this blog thinking I'd outline my points of view regarding this movie, and I am attempting to do that, but once again, am left with more questions than answers. I have read multiple essays on this movie, and they have all entertained me, but I am still not sure what the "right" answer is (or if there is even supposed to be a "right" answer here- The Shining, to me, is a strange dream-like movie and while I agree that there are certainly symbolic references there are also going to be people who disagree about the meaning of the symbols).
The twins, for instance. Even in the movie, Ullman refers to Grady's daughters as "8 and 10" (he thinks...) but they are depicted as monozygotic twins. Why? I have a few theories, some of which are probably "deeper" than others:
1. Visually, the twins are creepier and they are symmetrical. Besides being a great film-maker when it came to symbolism and imbedding clues, Kubrick was also an artist- he painted with light, instead of paint, but he still visualized the scenes and brought them to life. In terms of sheer aesthetics, the twins are symmetrical and "fit" the scene better (two girls, two years apart would be creepy but wouldn't look as strange... and as politically incorrect as it sounds, there is still the association in many people's minds of "good twins" versus "bad twins" and many, many people are convinced twins can "share thoughts"... given that the subject of the film has to do with psychic abilities of all sorts, I can't ignore this angle). But first point would be, the simple aesthetics. (Many bloggers have spoken about how Kubrick "doubles" many aspects of this movie, and it's true, he does, but what is the symbolism of the "double"?)
2. Danny's visions always struck me as more symbolic than literal, much like dreams (and dream interpretation). Blood never actually flows from the elevator (only in Danny's mind, and later in Wendy's)- the blood coming out of the twin elevators (what could be said to be the "heart" of the hotel) is pretty potent symbolism. The girls themselves died "twin" deaths, both killed by their father with an ax in the hallway (this sounds like the game Clue). So Danny "seeing" them as twins makes sense in a psychic, symbolic sense. Just like the blood coming out of the elevators could symbollically be viewed as a host of "ghosts" in The Overlook (all the people that died there, more obvious if you've read the novel).
3. The twins represent duplicity. On the surface "The Overlook" looks like a beautiful, safe hotel... the perfect place to "start over", kick the alcoholism (for Jack) and write his book; the perfect place for Danny to learn to read (okay, I admit, the kid is pretty isolated...) but on the surface, it looks like a great place. But for those close to the edge who can "shine" it's a literal horror show.
And on and on... in fact, one could write about the symbolism of "twinning" things for hours (the repeated use of mirrors, the Overlook's reflection in the lake at the beginning, etc).
Many people have focused on the repeating numbers like 12 and 21, 24 and 42 (etc) but I won't. For one, I don't have the movie in front of me right now, and for another thing, I would probably get very carried away with the numerology aspect and descend into madness myself.
So, regarding the movie, I believe Jack can shine, as well as Danny and Halloran (and Wendy can, at the end, when she is seeing the visions). This brings up the inevitable question: is "Shining" (from Kubrick's stand-point) something inherent in all of us to lesser and greater degrees, or is it something you're born with which can be activated and turned on by certain places? The movie suggests to me that Jack is shining (not only because of the music and some of his visions and his claim of deja vu at the beginning) but also Wendy's fear of the hotel at the beginning and her "visions" towards the end. But Grady, the "previous" caretaker, also ended up killing his entire family and one of his daughters (probably the older one) tried to burn the hotel down with matches... this suggests to me that not only could Grady's daughters (at least one of them) shine, but Grady could as well, or was at least under the influence of the building. So, we have all these people who can "shine", who (with the exception of Danny and Halloran) don't seem to have that ability when not in or near the hotel. Suggests to me that the hotel is "shining" the images/visions directly into their minds, sort of like they are recieving satellite dishes and the hotel is preying on their worst fears and obsessions.
Much has been said about the "American Indian" influence in this movie, that Kubrick was making a statement about the slaughter/holocaust of the "Indians" (where I live they are referred to as 'First Nation'). While this seems obvious (why a Calumet tin, afterall?), Indians are also mentioned in the novel and King's version has nothing to do with their holocaust. No "Indian attacks" were reported in King's book, but "Indians" are referenced in the book (if memory serves me correctly, when Danny is looking at a picture book and trying to spot "hidden Indians" and I believe Jack says something to Danny that "red rum" sounds like something an Indian might drink... but that last point I have no idea about, as it's been years). An Indian attack is mentioned by Ullman in the movie (this isn't in the book), and there is Navajo and Apache artwork and designs inside (the rugs) but considering the location of the hotel and its history, that is to be expected. The Mayan Indians are also hinted at in this movie (though I have read some people mention them, fewer tend to)- both in the design of the maze, which does look like a Mayan temple, and there is also Mayan work on the walls... and everyone knows about the Mayans ability to "foresee" events (they were way ahead of their "time" with their calenders and other inventions, as well as predicting the "end" of the world, symbolism that fits really nicely with the whole "shining" theme of being able to- somewhat- predict the future).
By having Jack die in a hedge maze that looks (from aerial view) like a Mayan pyramid, was Kubrick foreshadowing the end of Jack's days (the end of the world for Jack)?
Was "The Overlook" itself, as a building, alive? I realize that it's "haunted" but is the building itself alive in some way? When Jack is locked in the food store-room, for instance, we are led to believe that "Grady" lets him out, but in every scene involving Grady or the girls previous to this they are unnable to alter physical objects. Lloyd, the bar-tender, never gives Jack a drink, he imagines the entire thing (on and on)- but the door opens for Jack. Did the hotel itself (and not an individual spirit) let him out? Likewise with the chain on the door when Danny is supposedly comatose (after Wendy leaves to go speak to Jack)- Danny didn't get up to put the chain on, so how is it on? Also, at the end, when Wendy tries to escape out of the window, but can only get the window up high enough for Danny- people will argue that the window was frozen, old, had expanded from water damage, etc... but was the building itself trying to keep them in? Was the actual building an entity in and of itself that literally fed of it's inhabitants and needed them to die in the hotel or on the grounds to "digest" them?
I always saw this movie as more of a "the hotel itself is alive and is a venus-fly-trap-type monster" movie rather than "it's a haunted hotel movie". For one thing, you can't deny the connection between food and The Overlook. When Halloran first "shines" to Danny he is showing Wendy around the food store room. When Danny first talks to Halloran and admits he can "shine" they are eating ice cream. After Jack attacks Wendy she "stores" him in the pantry, and he gets out after assuring Grady he has the "belly" to kill his family. All these references to food (and consumption) suggest to me that it's the Overlook itself running the show: the "ghosts" are pretty ineffectual, like mirages ("after-tastes" maybe?), and nowhere in the entire movie does an actual ghost (one of the twins, Grady, any of the people at the party, etc) physically alter the hotel. But the hotel DOES change and alter, and if not by a spirit (or one of the Torrances) than by who? Even the hedge maze (which could've led to Danny's death and which ultimately "consumes" Jack) reminds me of a strange sort of intestine. Of course, all this is just speculation, I have no idea. Wendy might've just stored Jack in the pantry because it seemed the most "secure", running through the halls at the end with a kitchen knife could just be a coincidence, Danny hiding from his father in a metal cupboard near the kitchen could also be a coincidence... but I just get the sense that the visitors to the hotel are "flies" about to be eaten, and that the more the Overlook "eats" the stronger it becomes.
Okay, too tired to write more. I am not sure this is even any good, and it's probably a lot of boring rambling. If any of you find it interesting, cool. If you think it sucked, well, it's my first blog and I am really tired right now. I am also really scatter brained in general, and I KNOW there was more (a lot more) about "The Shining" I wanted to get into (the red VW bug that was hit by the semi, inversions from the novel- although the inversions have been done at length by others, etc).
The one thing I wanted to add was that the song during the opening credits is called "Dies Irae" (Days of Wrath)- I can't remember the composer right now, and even the song title I may be wrong on (I don't think so, though, but it's been years since I looked that up). But Dies Irae is also a 13th century latin hymn, and here, from wikipedia is more information about the hymn/poem: The poem describes the day of judgment, the last trumpet summoning souls before the throne of God, where the saved will be delivered and the unsaved cast into eternal flames.
Does anyone else think that the name of the song playing during the opening credits is more than just a coincidence?
I'm sorry I didn't get more into numerology, the American Indian aspect, The Mayans or the other symbols or even babbly more about the calumet tins or... ahhh, Kubrick...
