Interestingly, in the 1997 Shining miniseries, which King himself wrote, there's a brief epilogue in which a graduating Danny is visited by the ghost of Jack, beaming with pride, suggesting that Jack's spirit was fully freed when the Overlook blew up. Coming to Room 237 again, it was Jack who physically assaulted Danny and not the old lady, who serves as a metaphor for the disgusting act carried out by Jack on Danny, and this is exactly why it is shown through a mirror. The second half brings out the worst in Jack, his actions replicating that of Gradys and also notice the scrapbook placed beside the typewriter. The meaning and topics addressed in the novel are very different than those in The Shining movie Stephen King hates so much, given Kubricks many changes to the story in order to fit his vision. All the aforementioned signs, and many more, point to the likelihood that Jack sexually abused Danny, making sense of the childs fragile mental state where he frequently has terrifying visions about the vast hotel. On its own, this again seems more like a tiny error rather than an intentional clue. The Bear Man is the biggest evidence of Dannys sexual abuse. INCEST: Why parents sleep with their children. As well as the incest parallels with the film Lolita, The Shining also carries abuse parallels with another Kubrick film called Barry Lyndon. The Bear Man. ew films inspire as many diverse fan theories and interpretations as Stanley Kubricks, a film that can be definitively explained? Directly above Dannys bed is a framed picture of two bears, one standing and one sitting. The Shining's Overlook Hotel itself also has a history of cyclical violence: it was built over an Indian burial ground, and by its existence is a testament to the violence of colonization. Here's the meaning of The Shining Bear Man explained. Proponents of this theory also point to objects and furniture in the background moving and disappearing between takes as further evidence. But that hasnt stopped people all over the world from trying. Further evidence includes the cases of Tang in the Overlooks pantry and the otherwise innocuous change from Room 217 in the novel to Room 237 in the film. Sam Kench is an internationally-awarded screenwriter, independent filmmaker, and film critic. Danny has visions about the hotel right after Jack gets the job and during his time at the hotel, and has a traumatizing experience when drawn into the forbidden room 237. The elevator blood scene first appears as a vision to Danny, and materializes near the end of the film when Wendy is looking for him. Stanley Kubrick's The Shining is a textbook example of a storied film. Either way, The Shining is not so much a ghost story in a literal sense, but a story about the ghosts (or demons, in some cases) of violence and abuse, and how these can come back to continue with the cycle. Jacks manifestation as a rotten, naked old woman in the room 237 dream sequence parallels the horrific physical disgust Danny would have felt during his nightmarish ordeal. . Buy a book on film making from any part of the world, either Russia or Japan or Sweden, and youll find this name mentioned not once but in every chapter, ranging from minutely monumental details like breaking the 180 degree rule to establishing genres like science fiction and satirical comedy. Played with quiet confidence and wounded reservation by "Charm City Kings" star Winston, Kevin starts "We Have a Ghost . ), or wondering what life would have been like had Pushing Daisies, Firefly, and Limitless not been cancelled. This is followed by an incredible shot of microscopic Danny and Wendy walking around in the center of the maze model that Jack was looking at, like ants crawling in his mind but are never shown to leave it. He also made a brief appearance in one of the bizarre " WTF ?" scenes in the 1980 adaptation of The Shining by director Stanley Kubrick. Observe the thick scrapbook with newspaper cutouts beside the typewriter which is only shown for a scene unlike the novel where Jack continuously uses the scrapbook describing the tragedies that took place at The Overlook, a catalyst for his descent into madness. The hotel makes one last attempt to possess Hallorann but he successfully manages to avoid it. While it may not work for Stephen King, Stanley Kubrick's ending perfectly fits the film he created. This chapter will cover the first of those themes. These observations could easily be interpreted as evidence that Wendy has also had an incestuous relationship with Danny, but my guess is the older woman relationship refers to the woman in room 237, who we know is simply a dream manifestation of Jack. Powered by WordPress.com VIP. Copyright 2023 Metaflix Media LLC. 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. Danny (manifested as his own father in room 237) embraces the naked woman and sees the horror of his predicament in a mirror. So how can you break put from the pack and get your idea onto the small screen? Both Jack and Humbert are writers. While some fans felt this missed an opportunity to add some meaning to The Shining bear suit, Flanagan felt trying to give the bear from The Shining a backstory would disrupt the rest of the movie. The poster in question depicts a skier, despite Jack being told there is no skiing in the area. One strong and memorable element of The Shining that didnt directly factor into any of these theories was the soundtrack. Back in Boulder, we meet Jacks wife Wendy (Shelley Duvall) and his son Danny. Jack is left in the snow and freezes to death, and its implied that the Overlook Hotel continued with its cycle of murder by bringing in more reincarnations of past workers. We see this relationship between Vitali and Danny when shooting the scene of Danny looking for a hiding space. Add to that the fact that he reads Playgirl magazine. Halloran grows concerned about whats going on in the hotel and flies back to Colorado. At the hedge maze, Danny manages to escape by laying a false trail to mislead Jack. The bear also appears when a doctor visits Danny and his mother at. The latter is the one that Jack says he saw in the newspaper (and the one who killed his family in the hotel), and thus the reincarnation of Delbert Grady. It is less of a stretch to consider this interpretation as a distillation of clear subtext on child abuse that some viewers might miss. Because the movie's Overlook Hotel was built on an Indian burial ground, the blood coming out from the elevator has been interpreted as that of the Indians buried there. The video was called The Shining Who is the man in the bear costume. We are given a tour of The Overlook, and in these long takes Kubrick covers every detail and clue that is crucial to the story, a prime example of his unparalleled intelligence, something that left me shell-shocked on a second watch. Moving forward, we meet Dick Halloran (Scatman Crauthers) the head cook at the hotel who notices the telekinetic and precognitive powers Danny possesses, which he calls The Shining. 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. The supposed connection is that Monarch is believed to be the codename for one of the CIAs mind control experiments, though this is mere conjecture. What happens to Wendy and Danny after that is unknown (in the film, at least), although a deleted scene featured them in a hospital, recovering both physically and mentally from everything they went through. But some take the theory farther and interpret the film as a representation of sexual abuse. Perhaps the Overlook hotel is merely something of a mental prison for Danny, with his peculiar powers bringing in the consciousnesses of his mother and father in order to process his sexual abuse. First few seconds and we are already given a taste of the mise en scne. In this post, well break down the six biggest theories on The Shining, including our own theory that its actually a Christmas movie! Of course the caption relating to incest is the one thats relevant to this chapter, while the Starsky & Hutch caption may be a reference to Jack giving his soul for a drink and the affair caption could be related to Jacks encounter with the woman in room 237. {{#message}}{{{message}}}{{/message}}{{^message}}Your submission failed. An analysis of one. He goes upto the bar and meets Lloyd who fixes him another drink and says the expense is on the house, indicating the effort of the Overlook to carry Jack down the hill of madness. Jack embraced Danny on the bed in the fatherly love scene, from which Danny would have also been able to see his own predicament in a mirror. Its now even more clear why Kubrick chose such a sombre piece of music for the fatherly love scene. Vivian Kubrick explains in the commentary that James Mason was acting in a local theatre, and so Kubrick gave him an invitation. Spiked with sexual innuendo, this conversation holds several clues to the truth behind the relationship between Danny, his father and the imagery of the bear, with many suggesting that the animal is symbolic of Jacks predatory control over his family and sexual abuse of his son. Jack had a history of anger issues and violence, mainly against his family. Despite being strange and somewhat out of place, The Shining bear scene exists in the book as well but involves a man dressed as a dog who is performing the sex act on one of The Overlook's owners, who was bisexual. Well, a 102 minutes long documentary titled Room 237 was made focusing only on explaining the events that take place in the movie incorporating multiple perspectives, and yet I think it couldnt come to a totally justified conclusion. By rejecting non-essential cookies, Reddit may still use certain cookies to ensure the proper functionality of our platform. This imagery in itself is enough to unsettle some people. He doesnt want to spend any time with her, he refuses to take her for a walk after breakfast, he bars her from entering the Colorado Lounge where he hangs out and he stays up all night while she's in bed and sleeps alone in the day. He also echoes back the same words the Grady twins say, forever and ever and ever. Another connection is that both of these bear motifs are featured in relation to beds or bedrooms. Famous Guns in Movies Cinemas Most Creative Movie Guns, What is SAG-AFTRA Guild History, Eligibility & Membership. Pausing, Danny snaps back: I dont wanna talk about Tony any more, ending the conversation and the scene. 2023 Cinemaholic Inc. All rights reserved. Did Jack put them there? and our Danny has been sexually abused by Jack. it is impossible not to mention the documentary Room 237. Beyond being one of the most incredible and beloved horror movies ever made, it's also a project . What's more, while staying at the Stanley Hotel, King reports having caught glimpses of a young boy roaming the halls even though he and his wife were the only registered guests at the time. The visual imagery along with the symbolism, sound and production design, character mannerisms or dialogues have their own story to telland every single one of them could take you down through a different path, like a maze except theres no area of convergence. This makes sense when going back to his conversation with Grady in the bathroom, where the butler tells Jack that he has always been the caretaker. It also fits with the role of both Grady characters mentioned in the film: the past caretaker and the ghost. But also the sexual abuse is shown in a scene between Jack and his father in the bizarre scene with the man in the bear costume and older gentleman. Ultimately, it's all speculative, but Ager's cogent proof unravels the mystery of the bear man all the same. Kubrick thought topiary animals might be too goofy and cute, but he always liked the idea of a maze." Kubrick used a yellow car instead of a red one and used a red snowcar contrary to yellow in the novel. In the book, there's parts where it flashes back to the Overlook's crazy (and unusual) parties in the 1940s, and the owner of the hotel participated in these parties and had a sex slave, Roger I believe, who he'd dress up like a dog and make him do "tricks" as entertainment for the partygoers. This fan theory posits that Danny is Theseus and Jack is the minotaur in Kubricks extended metaphor. Here is a piece of evidence which on its own acts as virtual confirmation of this theme. Some details supporting the latter is that Jack leers at other women several times in the film. Stanley Kubricks The Shining is regarded by many as one of the greatest films ever made, and one that to this day continues to be the subject of many debates and discussions. Specifically, the spaceship sweater with Apollo 11 written on it, which was the name of the rocket used in the moon landing. But that isnt exactly true. The server responded with {{status_text}} (code {{status_code}}). She has either overlooked or deliberately ignored the abuse that has cause Dannys problems. Jack later speaks to a disappointed Grady through the door, who believes Jack doesnt have the stomach to carry out the task. He tells her that he had disabled both the radio and the snowcat and there was no means of escape left, while the camera points at him in an inverted position giving the impression of him hanging upside down, innovative angles to insert craziness. 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