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. Add to that the fact that he reads Playgirl magazine. First few seconds and we are already given a taste of the mise en scne. For King fans, check out our list of the best Stephen King adaptations. This truly sums up the enigmatic genius of the great Stanley Kubrick. Privacy Policy. It is less of a stretch to consider this interpretation as a distillation of clear subtext on child abuse that some viewers might miss. Jack has clearly gone haywire and absent-mindedly proceeds to the Gold Room. And the parallels continue. The Shining Is About Sexual Abuse. Directly above Dannys bed is a framed picture of two bears, one standing and one sitting. How did these pictures get there if Wendy does all the menial chores. Also to be noted, this is the first time we see Jack in the burgundy jacket, the color similar to that of the liquid gushing out of the elevator in Dannys vision. The similarities are intentional. But it is the mystery and strangeness of it all that makes it so terrifying. Notice how Ullman even points his finger at the magazine as if informing us of its significance. All Rights Reserved. Notice how we are shown a freaked out Jack through the mirror (reality) calling Danny to come to him. ", Doctor: "Does Tony ever ask you to do things? Although King didnt oppose to that at the time, he wasnt expecting Kubrick to go as far as to change the essence of the book. This scene is during the most climatic part of the movie. As mentioned above, Kubrick left many details open to interpretation, whether for viewers to come up with their own explanations or just to mess with them. Jack then goes after Danny, who runs into the hedge maze all this during a snowstorm. Inside, a man in a bear suit is performing fellatio on one of the Overlook's guests. The sequel to The Shining, 2019's Doctor Sleep movie managed to walk a delicate tightrope between adapting King's Shining sequel book and being a follow-up to Kubrick's Shining movie. Strangelove, at once scary and comical; the brutal pop future of A Clockwork Orange; the raw intimacy of the exchanges between Tom Cruise and Nicole Kidman in Eyes Wide Shut. This is the kind of influence he had on other directors in the industry including legends like Spielberg and Scorsese, who aimed to shoot as precisely as him. Ager cites Jack's experience in Room 237 as evidence that he's abusing his son. You look up and wonder, how could anyone have climbed that high? Set in the towering, fictional Overlook Hotel, located in the Colorado Rockies, the haunting tale follows Jack Torrance (Nicholson), his wife, Wendy (Duvall) and son Danny (Danny Lloyd) who opt to look after the hotel over the winter. For a detailed description of this subplot follow this link. But they aren't prepared for the madness that lurks within. Since the movie is so extensive, lets discuss about three independently primary talking points : Jack, Overlook Hotel and the Bear Man. Also notice his two hands placed on his crotch, almost like protecting it from something. Few films inspire as many diverse fan theories and interpretations as Stanley Kubricks The Shining. Even when looked at more literally, The Shining's meaning is still up for debate, as some fans disagree on whether the ghosts in The Shining are even real. From the sinister musical scoring to the casts class acts, the film has all the components for a great horror movie. These dates line up to the precise year that lightning strikes hit a monument a town wrought with countless Native American deaths. Jack as warned by Grady kills Halloran with a strike to the chest in the lobby. Shrouded in strange mystery, puzzling cinephiles for decades, one of the films darkest secrets is the curious meaning behind the bear who appears to Shelley Duvalls Wendy as she is desperately escaping Jacks grasp. This interpretation suggests that the changing layout of the hotel and moving objects aremetaphorsto indicate that the Torrance family is suffering from hallucinations. This theory goes all the way back to classic Greek myths. {{#message}}{{{message}}}{{/message}}{{^message}}Your submission failed. About the Jack in the picture, Kubrick confirmed that it wasnt taken at The Overlook and doesnt serve as an evidence of Gradys claim that Jack had always been the caretaker. Flanagan purposefully decided to leave the ghost out, despite Doctor Sleep containing many ghosts from The Shining. But it is clear that there is no Jack Torrance left, his insanity has reached its zenith. The scene with the man in the dog costume and the man in a tuxedo is the one used to support this theory, which says the dog represents young Danny Torrance (who earlier in the film is shown to have a plush toy) and the man in the tuxedo represents Jack. Rumor has it Kubrick himself typed those words. Vitali became a close career-long collaborator of Kubricks and on the set of The Shining he was assigned to work closely with the young actor Danny Lloyd (there are several parallels in The Shining between actors first names and the first names of characters two Jacks, two Dannys and two Lloyds). Even though the server responded OK, it is possible the submission was not processed. The puzzled look on Jacks face can be interpreted as an effort to get his mind straight, and notice him using slurs every time he talks to Wendy. The shot passes by within 13 seconds and is never referenced again which raises many unanswered questions. The second obvious factor is that Kubrick has omitted the entire back story associated to the dog costumed man in the book, leaving his audience at a complete loss as to the scenes meaning. 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. The last of our The Shiningmovie theories is the most cogent of the bunch:The Shining abuse theory. I believe this prominently takes place in the scene where Jack makes Danny sit on his lap. Roger the Dog Man is a fictional minor character featured in the 1977 horror novel The Shining by author Stephen King. 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. The Shining novel, however, has a very different ending, and one that even made way for a sequel: Doctor Sleep. At the hedge maze, Danny manages to escape by laying a false trail to mislead Jack. I've watched the movie somewhere between 5-10 times over the years and still haven't been able to figure out the meaning of this scene. This is the same mirror in which Wendy hugs Danny before seeing the REDRUM graffiti on the bathroom door. Kubrick was never into the idea of making a typical horror film, and he certainly got what he wanted out of the film, even if Stephen King didn't like it. The most obvious parallel is that both stories feature their combating opponents showing down in a sprawling maze. The most disturbing aspect of the movie and something that creeped me out after thinking about it (I am an avid horror movie fan but this aspect is just terrifying). There is also an odd Mickey Mouse parallel. Here's The Shining bear scene explained. Danny on the other hand after the physical trauma goes into a semi-conscious state, Tony taking hold of the reigns and keeps on repeating the word redrum in a very mechanical trance. Its now even more clear why Kubrick chose such a sombre piece of music for the fatherly love scene. Ager suggests that Danny's experience in Room 237 was his way of externalizing his abuse and that it was his father who assaulted him instead. She clutches a knife and slowly ascends up stairs. The core ofThe Shiningmoon landing theory posits that not only was the 1969 moon landing a hoax, but that Kubrick was the one who constructed the fake footage. Without Kubrick around to spell out his intentions, the answer is probably not. 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. Decoding this puzzling moment, superfans of The Shining have long pointed to the relevance of bears throughout the film, with several references being made throughout the movie that each build to one likely explanation. Kubrick used a yellow car instead of a red one and used a red snowcar contrary to yellow in the novel. Jack takes his wife, Wendy (Shelley Duvall), and their son, Danny (Danny Lloyd), with him, but little do they know, the Overlook has some dark secrets of its own. Another tracking shot, where Danny finds Room 237 and is about to open it before changing his mind and quickly wheeling away. Some believe this suggests Lloyd the bartender was never a real person, and instead just a role the Overlook assigns to one of the souls it owns. 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. Without Kubrick around to spell out his intentions, the answer is, . While it may not work for Stephen King, Stanley Kubrick's ending perfectly fits the film he created. The server responded with {{status_text}} (code {{status_code}}). Quite sensibly quoting Martin Scorsese Watching a Kubrick film is like gazing up at a mountaintop. This led to him intentionally reversing a lot of features from the book, changing them, experimenting with them and using disrupted continuity. Roger in his costume, jumping, running, barking, howling, and absolutely humiliating himself in front of an assortment of celebrators. Realizing that he is leaving footprints in the snow, Danny carefully maneuvers backwards over his own . Look carefully at this teddy pillow. 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. Upload images to make storyboards and slideshows. The first thing to note is that in the film the guy is dressed in a bear costume instead of a dog costume. Parents just don't understand. Some details supporting the latter is that Jack leers at other women several times in the film. The book and movie are extremely divergent. Its Tuesday, and frankly speaking shits about to go down. Wendy defends herself with a knife and slashes Jacks arm, causing him to retreat. Although this makes sense, Kubrick himself has said the photo actually suggests Jack being a reincarnation of an earlier official at the hotel. As mentioned above, the film ends with Wendy and Danny escaping during a snowstorm thanks to the snowcat Hallorann arrived in. The three remain close, and Hallorann comforts Danny over the loss of his father and teaches him to fish. Another bear reference is found in Dannys bedroom at the Overlook. The infamous bear costume scene and the quick view of Jack reading a Playgirl magazine are pointed to as evidence that Dannys abuse goes beyond physical into sexual. When Wendy finds Danny after he enters room 237, hes in shock and physically injured, and Wendy immediately blames Jack for it as he has hurt their son before. It seems ridiculous on the surface, but Ager's in-depth analysis points to some very compelling evidence of sexual abuse. Stanley Kubrick's iconic Stephen King adaptation is intentionally dense and even nonsensical at times. 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). Kubrick was renowned for not allowing visitors during a shoot, but in the documentary we see James Mason and his family visiting the Torrance apartment set. But The Shining bear man does have a disturbing and specific implication. Move forward, we see Wendy talking to the radio operator about the failed telephone connectivity because of the snow storm. By rejecting non-essential cookies, Reddit may still use certain cookies to ensure the proper functionality of our platform. The core of this theory suggests thatThe Shiningis secretly about CIA mind control experiments. In the psychiatrist scene Danny lays on the bed with his jeans removed and his hands curiously covering his groin area, just as Jack did in the fatherly love scene. Tony, Dannys imaginary friend, is believed by some to be Dannys way to cope with the trauma of sexual abuse from his father. For all of the supernatural twists and turns in The Shining's story, knowing that it's based on a real location makes the film (and its ending) all the creepier, even though King reportedly hated many of the changes. While Danny's barbs do eventually seem to wake up part of Jack's consciousness from inside his Lloyd identity, whatever good he had left in him was clearly erased once Jack was fully taken over. 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. This parallels the big brotherly relationship in Barry Lyndon between the adult Lord Bullingdon and his younger half brother, who is also a Danny Torrance look-alike. And what is the meaning? Sam Kench is an internationally-awarded screenwriter, independent filmmaker, and film critic. Please contact the developer of this form processor to improve this message. When she's not writing, you can find her trying to learn a new language, watching hockey (go Avs! Here's the trailer. The dialogue of the scene is full of innuendos about abuse. In the close up of Danny we see that his pillow has a teddy bear face on it. Frankly speaking shits about to go down being a reincarnation of an earlier official at hedge... Lightning strikes hit a monument a town wrought with countless Native American deaths learn a language. 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