In an interview with ew, producers jan harlan and diane johnson explain the steps that were taken in making the film, and the decisions made by director stanley kubrick to create the final ending. Its just messages before it even existed and you do it in your mind. Hidden meaning in the shining earthling cinema youtube. At the end of the shining, why is jack in the photo of. The shining summary we watch a car drive up a long and windy road to a fancylooking hotel way up in the mountains. For nearly 40 years now, the shining has reigned as one of the most. Which means it was playing to people who didnt give a fuck about stanley kubrick, and were only going to go see the shining because of the trailer. As it stands, the ultimate fate of the lost ending remains as indeterminate as the shining itself. Until the last minute, the plot seems to be wrapping up in a conventional way. The shining study guide contains a biography of stanley kubrick, literature essays, quiz questions, major themes, characters, and a full summary and analysis. The shining or the shine is an ability that some of kings characters have throughout his novels, most notably jack and danny torrance in the shining. The shining s 1980 hedge maze chase is one of the most iconic endings in horror history. Even if youve seen the movie 100 times, theres still probably a lot you dont know about what went on behind the scenes.
The shining is a psychological power that danny and hallorann have. The shining hidden meanings of the shining buy study guide given the legendary place that kubricks the shining occupies in cinema culture, it is perhaps unsurprising that it has been the subject of endless interpretation, including a few extreme readings. The shining seemed the final nail in the suddenly squareshape coffin. I got up, lit a cigarette, sat in the chair looking out the window at the rockies, and by the time the cigarette was done, i had the bones of the book firmly set in my mind. The setting and characters are influenced by kings personal experiences, including both his visit to the stanley hotel in 1974 and his recovery from alcoholism. The true story behind the legendary lost ending of the.
The 10 most outrageous theories about what the shining really means director stanley kubricks the shining is arguably the most cerebral horror film ever made. Every book will open more connections, and eventually, you will know everything. Other than that, the hidden meaning or the true meaning of the shining is still not known to this day because of kubricks genius power. What is the symbolic meaning of halloranns death in the. The official synopsis for the novel from kings website reads evil forces residing in. It was a rough year for the heroes of youth, with bob dylan born again, muhammad ali finished, and now kubrick. The shining is a film about cyclical violence, and about how we cant escape the dark specter of history. The shining is the story of jack torrance, who is employed as the caretaker. The shining hidden meanings of the shining gradesaver. Theres plenty of speculation surrounding hidden meanings and conspiracy theories of the shining a featurelength documentarys worth, to be exact but the strangest part of the film may forever be wendys sudden discovery of a man in a work suit receiving fellatio from a man in a bear suit stanley kubrick famously tried to distance. The novel was adapted into a 1980 film of the same name and later followed by a sequel, doctor sle.
When stephen kings third novel the shining hit the shelves in 1977, it became his first hardcover bestseller. The story behind kubricks carpet in the shining revealed updated 30. As the offseason caretaker at the atmospheric old hotel, hell have plenty of time to spend reconnecting with his family and working on his. The shining is a horror novel by american author stephen king. The final shot of the shining, its ambiguity forever helping stanley kubricks most popular film carry on its enduring legacy for nearly thirty. The 10 most outrageous theories about what the shining.
Seriously exhaustive analysis of the shining shows. The original book is close enough to the movie in story that when i. Jack torrances new job at the overlook hotel is the perfect chance for a fresh start. What happened at the end of stanley kubricks the shining. Seriously exhaustive analysis of the shining shows kubricks inversion of kings novel shares the documentary room 237 has been called a diy mashup of the many theories put forward over the years as interpretations of stanley kubrickss 1980 horror classic, the shining. The shining symbols, allegory and motifs gradesaver. Theres the sense that a great talent has been wasted. Is the shining really about native american history. The tension felt when jack jack nicholson chases danny danny lloyd through the hotel grounds is incredible. The shining is about physical and sexual abuse perpetrated on. Many of the interpretations of the shining, especially those on the room 237 documentary. Stanley kubricks the shining has been interpreted in numerous ways. I woke up with a tremendous jerk, sweating all over, within an inch of falling out of bed. The shining is a 1980 psychological horror film produced and directed by stanley kubrick and cowritten with novelist diane johnson.
It is probably covered in one of the documentaries already mentioned, but bill blakemores theory on the meaning of the shining is one of my favorite movie theories of all time. Welcome to earthling cinema, where we examine the last remaining artifacts of a once. What if an alien in the future stumbled upon the shining. Published in 1977, it is kings third published novel and first hardback bestseller. Eclipsed perhaps only by its 1980 film adaptation, the novel is one of the most popular and enduring horror stories of all time. Followed by the stand in 1978, these books cemented kings place as. An alternate adaptation written by king himself, the shining 1997, was released as a threepart tv. It was adapted for the screen by directorproducer stanley kubrick and novelistacademic diane johnson. How does the ending of the shining differ from stephen. The overlook is built on the sacred lands of native americans slaughtered by white. The shining novel and film work best as separate pieces, and each ending has a different meaning. One of the most popular theories about the film is that its about native american history, specifically the settlement of.
The shining is the story of jack torrance, who is employed as the caretaker of the gargantuan overlook hotel in colorado one winter. The shining is a tragedy, and wed be remiss to classify the ending otherwise. There has been much speculation into the meanings and actions in the film because of inconsistencies, ambiguities, symbolism, and differences from the book. The shining, one of the stephen kings bestselling novels and the film that has had a huge impact in pop culture, finally has the ending explained. Analysis of the shining mawr gorshin film analysis, freud, horror novel, literature analysis, psychoanalysis october 9, 2016 may 23, 2017 11 minutes the shining is a supernatural horror novel written by stephen king and published in 1977. He is aware of this as he saw this in a vision prior to arriving at the overlook hotel. One of the many mysteries of stanley kubricks the shining is why jack. A groundbreaking film by stanley kupbrick in which jack nickolsons family is terrorized by a host of spirits and bad omens which posess a hotel and its inhabitants. A shitty horror movie that ur lifelong friend gets fingered to while you watch in horror.
For the first time, the shining s producer and cowriter explain in detail why the horror tales ending changed from stephen kings novel and how it evolved again and again during the filming. It is explained more in the book but since holloran has the shining as well, they are linked. The shining 1977 is a novel by american author stephen king. In the movie, dannys parents dont know about his supernatural ability but in the book they do. The shining book edit danny torrance has a vision of the word redrum appearing on a wall, where it then transforms into the word murder, directly below the word redrum. One of the most frequent questions ive received about the shining is what does the guy in the bear costume mean. Interpretations, also known as theories or readings are fan based interpretations of the meanings of hidden themes found in the 1980 stanley kubrick film version of the 1977 stephen king novel the shining. A new documentary explores the meanings that obsessive fans of the film. Why that bear performed fellatio on that guy in the shining. He read the first few pages of each book, groaned, and threw it. The popular interpretation is that the scene is a throwback to a subplot of stephen kings book, in which a party guest in a dog costume has a homosexual relationship with one of the hotels former owners.
Not only is the site called the overlook hotel with its overlook maze, but one of the key scenes takes place at the july 4th ball. The whole thing would be beautiful if it werent for the super creepy music playing in. Learn about the different symbols such as boiler in the shining and how they contribute to the plot of the book. The aforementioned sequel, doctor sleep, got a cinematic adaptation that serves as both a sequel to the shinin g novel and kubricks film, in a way. The shining is a gothic horror novel by stephen king, first published in 1977. At first, it feels like a traditional horror setup a guy gets hired to spend the winter in an enormous hotel, secluded from civilization, where obviously something will go very wrong. The shining is also explicitly about americas general inability to admit to the gravity of the genocide of the indians or, more exactly, its ability to overlook that genocide.
I originally created this article and video during the infancy of the illuminatiwatcher project. He had a multibook contract from doubleday and hed gone from worrying. Stanley kubricks the shining is widely considered to be among the best bigscreen adaptations of a stephen king storyand with good reason. The title of the novel was inspired by the john lennon song instant karma. The shining, which ones better, stephen kings book or kubricks movie.
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