This makes the scene even more baffling and the unknown even more frightening. The Shining's Room 237 is known for having a female specter, as referenced when Jack encounters a woman in the bath. In attempting to answer "what is The Shining about?" Halloran grows concerned about whats going on in the hotel and flies back to Colorado. Super Dark The Shining Theory Reveals The Story Is All In Wendy's Head. Unable to pass through that same window, Wendy is trapped when Jack arrives and breaks through the door with the axe the famous Heres Johnny! scene. It was great. Copyright 2023 Metaflix Media LLC. There are also various historical parallels that support the theory that Kubrick wanted to express subtle themes surrounding the genocide of Native Americans. Figurative representations of hell can be found in other horror films, so it wouldnt be a stretch to imagine Kubrick was doing the same thing. The bear symbolizes homosexuality and sexual abuse. Related: The Shining Movie's Most Significant Difference From Stephen King's Book. When the psychiatrist asks Danny Who's Tony Wendy, stood defensively with her arms folded, quickly interjects, Tonys his imaginary friend, as if trying to gloss over the issue. For example, during the scene where Danny is speaking to his psychiatrist, he is laying on stuffed bears. Few films inspire as many diverse fan theories and interpretations as Stanley Kubricks The Shining. the scene really doesnt make sense in the movie and i've never read the book so idk if its explained there? He then follows that up by complaining about his wife and son, and you can sense the contempt for Wendy in his voice through the suppressed grins that indicate madness instead of anger. This documentary is an exhaustive cataloguing of allThe Shining fan theories big and small. Note how the scene opens with a close-up shot of the beige typewriter and slowly zooms out. An analysis of one. The Shining movie's brief moment of intimacy between the man in the bear costume and his partner has a different context behind it in King's book. A rotating shot followed by a hawk-eye shot of pine forests that point out of the screen like needles with the nerve-wracking high pitched background score. Why does Tony stay in Dannys mouth? Perhaps explaining The Shining in this manner falls more in line with the book rather than the film despite the conjecture to the contrary. Danny driving a different tricycle, the disappearance of the wooden mantelpiece, the typewriters changing or a shot of Jack waking up right after a tracking shot (which is shown through a mirror, a reflection of reality in the movie). The aforementioned Room 237 doc covers this theory and the following video digs even deeper into this Native American genocide interpretation. With a narrative that's as puzzling and confusing as the hedge maze found in the terrifying climax, The Shining has led fans to rack their head for it's various meanings for the past 40 years. Adrienne Tyler is a features writer for Screen Rant. A month passes and we are greeted with the most iconic tracking shot of all time and unlike most of them, it tracks the tricycle of a kid moving around empty corridors with the echoing sound of the wheels rolling against the wooden floor creating a oddly satisfying atmosphere. The bear man appears to be giving felatio to the man on the bed, just as the dog man in the book was carrying out a sexual submission role with his partner. Mr Ullmann converses with Jack regarding formal details and warns him about the history of the Overlook. The complete lack of wires running to the TV, pointed out by of my correspondents, may also be related to the concept of a fractal film. Both of them keep their personal writings hidden from their wives. Here's the end of The Shining explained. One final detail hinting at Jack's guilt as an abuser of his family is his rotten glance to Danny's bedroom (and the camera) after argueing with Wendy about Danny's injuries. 2023 Cinemaholic Inc. All rights reserved. In any other film from any other director, you may discard the information as sheer coincidence, but Kubrick was famously cryptic, scattering clues and imagery throughout each and every one of his films leading to a more concealed secret. Another tracking shot, where Danny finds Room 237 and is about to open it before changing his mind and quickly wheeling away. She clutches a knife and slowly ascends up stairs. The Shining Caretaker Explained. Diane Johnson said this of Stanley Kubrick's non-horror vision: "The ending was changed almost entirely because Kubrick found it a clich to just blow everything up. Beyond being one of the most incredible and beloved horror movies ever made, it's also a project . In Kubricks version Tony is never shown and communicates with Danny through an involuntary movement of Dannysindex finger, since Kubrick never intended on giving a ghostly theme to the movie. Danny writes REDRUM with a red crayon on the door of the bathroom while Wendys sleeping and starts repeating it to wake her up. Many people have asked me about the significance of the number 42 on Dannys T-shirt in the tooth brushing / shining scene. Look carefully at this teddy pillow. He also informs Danny about the hotels ability to shine owing to its tragic past from being built on an Indian burial site to the murders, discovered and undiscovered. Watch my new Shining analysis video \"Danny's ordeal and the bear costumed man\" here https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dW2GrG7Zk0UMy written Shining analysis articles and videos are at: http://www.collativelearning.com/FILMS%20reviews%20BY%20ROB%20AGER.htmlRob Ager's analysis of The Shining was plagiarized in a video posted on the Screen Prism channel and credited to Jeff Saporito. At one point in the movie, there is an unexplained scene of a man in a bear suit performing a sexual act on another man. Did Jack put them there? The scene seemed almost accidental but knowing Stanley Kubrick, every shot that made it to the final cut was necessary. She was also a contributor for FanSided's BamSmackPow and 1428 Elm. The interaction between Tony and Danny takes place with the camera focused on a mirror in the bathroom and the shot composition is similar to the bear man shot later on in the movie. But there are also plenty of ludicrously far-fetched The Shining conspiracy theories that made the cut as well. The maze in The Shining went over better than the hedge animals would've in Kubrick's vision. Among those are the ending of The Shining and some of the scenes that come moments before that final shot of the photo. Breaking the cycle. Funnily enough, director Stanley Kubrick had a couple different endings in mind for The Shining, each of them very different. While he may be one of the weirdest Overlook Hotel ghosts in the movie, Mike Flanagan decided to keep all the ghosts that would've stuck with Danny the most, and that wasn't the bear man. After being freed from the kitchen pantry by Gradys ghost, Jack (whose sanity was already shattered by that point) goes after Wendy and Danny, axe in hand. A visual medium requires visual methods. He is unable to put his undivided attention towards detailing while writing the story or thinking about it, since his consciousness pertains to a limit of recollection. Those who believe in this theory point to a particular poster visible on the wall in the background as proof. Kubrick deliberately left many things unexplained, including many details from the third act he did, however, explain why Jack Torrance appears in The Shining picture at the end. In the scene, Wendy Torrance (Shelley Duvall) is roaming through the halls of The Overlook Hotel with a knife when she approaches a door at the end of a long hallway. Powered by WordPress.com VIP. He also extended the closing date of the hotel to October 30, to welcome the series of Halloween events. The Shining is full of allegory and mystery, but none are as wild and potentially insidious as what could be lurking behind that strange man in a bear suit. Where the clear subtext and The Shining abuse theory diverge is on the type and extent of the abuse. Supporting this theory are the way Danny/Theseus overcomes Jack/the minotaur which parallel each other to a certain degree but not explicitly. The shot of the bathroom door with Danny bending is very similar to the shot of the room with the bear man performing fellatio on an unknown man in a posture similar to Dannys. Yes, one involves the furries. Whilst a framed picture of two bears can be seen hanging above Dannys bed at the start of the film, the most obvious reference to the terrifying animals can be seen when the boy is speaking to the psychiatrist after he faints in the bathroom. The bears are only discernible in the HD version. We see Halloran whos in Miami but suddenly gets shocking visions that arent shown and the shot switches to a traumatised Danny whimpering because of the visions. Her relationship with Jack seems to be totally lacking in intimacy. Why did Kubrick break his code of on-set secrecy and why did he show this meeting in the documentary? Note how Jack wears dull colored clothes in the beginning but wears a burgundy jacket throughout the second half and the opposite for Wendy who wears a bright red and blue costume, similar to that of the Goofy poster in Dannys bedroom but towards the end opts for dull ones. Jack calls Danny and makes him sit on his lap while asking him about the Overlook and if he liked it, saying I want you to like it with a weak smile while rubbing Dannys shoulder, emphasizing the control he is inflicting. This appearance doesn't clear up the question about why Jack is seen in the 1921 photo at the Overlook, but it does suggest that the theory about his soul being somehow absorbed by the haunted hotel is actually true. If you love The Shining, then theres a good chance that youre a fan of the horror genre. This next theory also suggests that the continuity errors are actually intentional and represent something different entirely. Despite all the changes Stanley Kubrick made to the ending, one of the director's visions remained in place throughout all of it: The Shining picture at the end. In this post, well break down the six biggest theories on. Tony is a little boy that lives in my mouth, Danny states, complaining about his mental condition, to which the doctor replies: If you were to open your mouth could I see TonyDoes Tony ever ask you to do things?. Before he can retaliate, we hear the sounds of an engine running, marking the arrival of Halloran. Jack Torrance accepts a caretaker job at the Overlook Hotel, where he, along with his wife Wendy and their son Danny, must live isolated from the rest of the world for the winter. Its actually quite simple. Wendy Torrance, (played by Shelly Duvall) frantically roams the halls of the Overlook Hotel looking for her son Danny while her husband, Jack Torrence ( played by Jack Nicholson) goes on an axe rampage. This is one of the more popular and widely circulated The Shining theories, but its also one of the sillier interpretations. Here's The Shining bear scene explained. The film is very different from the novel so much so that Stephen King has said he hates The Shining many times. The scene dissolves and we can feel the frustration dripping out of Jack, which is brilliantly conveyed through the thumping rebounds of the tennis ball. Next: The Shining: The True Story & Real-Life Hotel Behind The Movie. Physical child abuse is clear from Dannys broken arm, his trauma response, and the words of his child psychologist. The number 42 was shown on Dannys shirt as a parallel with the sexual relationship content of the film Summer of 42, and Danny is wearing it in the early summer scenes of the film. Dwarfed by the towering presence of the building, however, Jack soon becomes engulfed by an evil, violent presence, influencing his temper toward his wife and psychic son. The ball itself is featured in another scene with Jack throwing it against a wall in the hotel lobby. The last of our The Shiningmovie theories is the most cogent of the bunch:The Shining abuse theory. published July 29, 2020. But it is the mystery and strangeness of it all that makes it so terrifying. Please contact the developer of this form processor to improve this message. This idea even served as the basis for a mockumentary film from director Matt Johnson calledOperation Avalanche. All Rights Reserved. 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