The Shining

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granpa

Member
Much has been discussed about the meaning of the film and in particular who or what is to blame. Jack? Beer? Ghosts?

I think the real lesson is that all are to blame.

Jack either is Grady or is possessed by Grady
Wendy either is the lady in the bath or is possessed by the lady in the bath
Danny either is tony or is possessed by Tony

All are tragically flawed individuals but instead of coming together as a family and confiding in one another and helping one another to overcome their difficulties they instead are suspicious of each other and turn on each other thereby making their situation infinitely worse.

In the film they all die but in the book Wendy and Danny are rescued by Dick. But even this seems to me to not be a happy ending. It just means that Wendy and Danny abandon Jack and run away with a creepy, possibly pedophilic, black man. (A bit like choosing Barabas over Jesus)

I am still not certain what the "shine" has to do with it. Since its the title I suppose it must be important.
 
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Whateverman

Whateverman

Well-known member
granpa said:
I am still not certain what the "shine" has to do with it. Since its the title I suppose it must be important.
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If I'm remembering my folklore correctly, a "shining" is equivalent to someone having "the sight". They can perceive things that others cannot, possibly due to the supernatural. As in the pirits taking a shining to someone (and thereby granting his/her with some power, etc).

I'm not sure that this explains why the story is named "The Shining", but without looking up the details, it's my best guess...
 
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granpa

Member
It was obviously Wendy in room 237 that strangled Danny and it might have even been Wendy who broke Danny's arm. Yet she tries to pass the blame onto Jack. Through all this Jack supports her. He tells her that Danny must have done it to himself.

This also explains why Jack says that she has "fucked up his life".
 
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granpa

Member
In the most famous scene of the movie Jack follows Wendy up the stairs as he tries to take away her baseball bat.
She knocks him down the stairs and locks herself and Danny in a bathroom. Maybe Jack was afraid she would use the baseball bat on Danny.
Maybe that is why he broke through the door with an axe.

Seems as though the movie is being told through the eyes of Wendy who seems to be somewhat out of touch with reality.
 
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LifeIn

Well-known member
It is interesting how many references there are to The Shining in Pixar and other animated movies. For example, the carpet pattern from the Overlook Hotel is seen in Sid's room in Toy Story and in the socks of Katie Mitchel in The Mitchells vs the Machines. In Pixar's Coco, a red storage drum ("REDRUM") along with Jack's axe is seen in the beginning when we meet Dante. The number 237 (the room where things happen with Jack in The Shining) appears in Toy Story 3 as RM237 as the license number on a garbage truck and the model number of a security camera at the day care is "Overlook R237". Lee Unkrich, the director of many of these films, is a great Shining fan has admitted to adding the references just for fun.
 
Fenuay

Fenuay

Well-known member
LifeIn said:
It is interesting how many references there are to The Shining in Pixar and other animated movies. For example, the carpet pattern from the Overlook Hotel is seen in Sid's room in Toy Story and in the socks of Katie Mitchel in The Mitchells vs the Machines. In Pixar's Coco, a red storage drum ("REDRUM") along with Jack's axe is seen in the beginning when we meet Dante. The number 237 (the room where things happen with Jack in The Shining) appears in Toy Story 3 as RM237 as the license number on a garbage truck and the model number of a security camera at the day care is "Overlook R237". Lee Unkrich, the director of many of these films, is a great Shining fan has admitted to adding the references just for fun.
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That's really interesting. I'll have to look at those films again to see the references!
 
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