The Shining....

“The Shining”

Most of my readers know by now am not a fervent reader. I’ve always wanted to be and I have always struggled to be one, but my impatient nature craves to know what will happen in a story somewhat quickly, between an hour to three hours, and with this character trait, a really good book might take me eight to nine weeks to read (if not more). Not because I read slowly, No, but rather due to the lack of time dedicated to it. It's a shame too, because horror narrative is portrays the greatest sense of originality in the literature. It is well known that the genre engulfs and allows the reader to travel into another dimension full of goblins, big gory beasts and even little grotesque creatures that kill to thrill.

When it comes to Stephen Kings, “The Shining” it’s no surprise the book made millions worldwide. Those who have been fortunate enough to have read it know that it is a masterpiece (I’m not one of them). So when King gave Kubrick the rights it’s no surprise he expected the film to be a replica of his book. However what Kubrick delivered was unpredictable, but most of all very different from King’s version. No wonder King hated it (so much so that he scripted an abysmal TV movie version). According to King, Kubrick didn't understand the horror genre. Personally after watching the film I feel he did understand the genre, only too well. He knew that it was a genre full of conventions, cheap tricks and boring cliches. Therefore Kubrick decided to throw all that gobbledygook out of the window and make a film based on feeling rather than predictable thrills. Kubrick's version of “The Shining” is an amazing film.

The shining tells the story of Jack Torrence a man who takes a job as a winter caretaker in a hotel in the middle of nowehere. Jack takes his wife and son. Alls well till Jack's son Danny sees disturbing visions of the hotel's past using a telepathic gift known as "The Shining." Jack Torrence is pursuing a writting carrer when he slowly starts slipping into a world of insanity and loses it eventually when the one of the ghost waiters convinces him to kill his family...

What works for the film???
Loved the film...Kubrick is surely a master...

The concept of doubles has always had a hold on the combined imagination of human beings. The idea of the good and evil twin scenario, Jekyll and Hyde, proves to be both naturally disturbing and fascinating, that two entities that look alike can be so different or one thing can be two conflicting entities at once. According to Donohoe, Kubrick openly admits to his adaptation of duality from the classic Rouben Mamoulian’s “Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde” in his film “The Shining”. He has clearly tapped into this archetype throughout the film. He does this mainly by the use of mirrors.
Mirrors don’t only act as a great cinematographic effect they also play an extremely important role in building characterisation especially for the character of Jack Torrance the main protagonist. He often seems to be addressing mirrors in false pretences he is actually communicating with people. This happens in his interaction with Lloyd, Grady, Wendy, and Danny. It's fair to say that Jack is very much in his own world, (clearly insane) with reality materialized and presented to the viewer often through the mirror view.
He certainly has his own conflicting selves to deal with. Initially he appears to be a rather secure father and husband; however this changes as he nears the Overlook. The first instance where we are aware he has been assimilated into the hotel in the film comes after the 'A Month Later' cut. We see poor Jack lying in bed, but it isn't til his wife comes in to the bedroom and the camera moves back that we realize we were actually looking at his reflection in the mirror. As Wendy walks in, the camera moves back into the mirror, where we watch Jack ponder on his latest connection to the Overlook. It is a assertion of Jack's emerging integration into the hotel. (Philips, 2001 pp 112-120)

The haunting images of the Grady sisters consistently make themselves evident in Danny’s world. He notices them for the very first time only for a second. The second time he sees them he is in the Overlook throwing darts. Quiet, foreboding, and zombie-like, their sunken-in eyes stare at Danny in his visions. There is something definitely unnatural in their symmetry, their similarity. What is even more surprising is that in reality these two girls are two years apart however I think that this 'forced symmetry' is more disconcerting than a natural one. (Donohoe, 2007, pp112)



While in a lustful state of mind Jack encounters another two-sided occupant of the Overlook Hotel. The woman who apparently choked Danny lays waiting for Jack Torrance in the bathtub in room 237. Yet again, we find that appearances can be deceiving, and judging a book by the cover proves very wrong especially in this instance, as the beautiful young occupant of the room has her illusion stripped away when Jack looks into the mirror. She turns into an old haggard figure with wrinkles and seems altogether grotesque.
Influences the Shining had on various forms.
I’d like to end this section of the essay by discussing references made to “The Shining.” These references are quite prominent in U.S. popular culture, not only in visual media (movies, TV) but also in audio. Countless examples exist of Kubrick’s effect on entertainment. The music video for the song "Symphony 2000" by rapper EPMD involves the rapper acting out a scene from The Shining. In the film Clerks 2, during the scene where Elias is explaining "Pillow Pants" to Randal, the theme to The Shining can be heard in the background, giving a seemingly silly story an air of creepiness.
Another example of Stanley Kubrick’s influence on modern culture is the vast number of references to popular culture that explicitly reference the film in TV shows such as “The Simpsons” particularly the Halloween episodes. In computer games, “The Blood” has a level which resembles the Overlook Hotel. The level, which is on the fourth level of the second episode, is entitled "The Overlooked Hotel", and even features a frozen Jack Torrance. Even in the anime Magical Shopping Arcade “Abenobashi”, the scene where Jack breaks down the door with an ax is recreated for comedical effect when the female protagonist, Arumi, tries to escape a bunch of monsters in a building. (Philips, 2001, pp 89-110)
“The shining” was quiet original and unique in that it influenced more works than most films in that decade. It was and still is a master piece.