When society goes bad, horror films get good, and the 1970s marked a return to the big budget, respectable horror film, dealing with contemporary societal issues, addressing genuine psychological fears. Released in 1980, The Shining was released in the same time period as horror movies such as The Exorcist, Stepford Wives, The Omen, and Carrie. These films were physcological horrors, creating fear that horror could be around you. Whether it be your sister, father or someone you know, they brought horror into the audience's personal lives, creating a more believable storyline. This theme dominates the 1970s, as the crumbling family unit becomes the source of much fear and mistrust. This time around 'the enemy within' is not a shape shifting alien from another planet altogether. This time the enemy is to be found in your own home. Released on the brink of the 1980's, where special effects transformed horror movies with technology, it created the then-largest ever set at Elstree Studios, and spent over a year shooting on it, was filmed in various hotels and in order to give The Overlook a specific identity, Kubrick used Native American designs in the carpets and stained glass windows.
A man, his son and wife become the winter caretakers of an isolated hotel where Danny, the son, sees disturbing visions of the hotel's past using a telepathic gift known as "The Shining". The father, Jack Torrance, is underway in a writing project when he slowly slips into insanity as a result of cabin fever and former guests of the hotel's ghosts. After being convinced by a waiter's ghost to "correct" the family, Jack goes completely insane. The only thing that can save Danny and his mother is "The Shining".
Blakemore takes a predominantly metaphorical approach to the film, arguing that hidden meaning is to be found beneath the surface, and that that hidden meaning, when discovered in an individual scene or character, can then be applied to the film as a whole. For example, he finds the scene immediately after Jack kills Hallorann as particularly significant in a metaphorical sense. Blakemore argues that the long shot showing the grinning Jack standing over Hallorann's bleeding body, which is lying across a rug decorated with an Indian motif, is a metaphor for the violence perpetrated by white people over black people and Indians in America.
Blakemore works to connect different aspects of the film which may not initially seem connected at all. For example, he argues that the reference to Indian burial ground and the river of blood flowing from the elevator are intimately tied together;
The Shining was the first film to use Steadicam, creating a spooky stalking-like effect as it follows the little boy around the hotel. The soundtrack of the movie consists of arty, classical, contemporary music, whilst using high pitched screeching sounds to emphasise fearful and mysterious events. In one scene, the sound of a heart beat is used to build tension.
the first and most frequently seen of the film's very real American "ghosts" is the flooding river of blood that wells out of the elevator shaft, which presumably sinks into the Indian burial ground itself. The blood squeezes out in spite of the fact that the red doors are kept firmly shut within their surrounding Indian artwork embellished frames. We never hear the rushing blood. It is a mute nightmare. It is the blood upon which this nation, like most nations, was built, as was the Overlook Hotel.
Common iconography used in horror movies feature in The Shining, such as scenes of blood as it gushes through the hall, the haunted setting of the movie and weapons such as knives, bats and axes. Because of these features and the creepy, mysterious and ghostly characters, this film is a prime example of a typical horror movie. It includes blood and graphic injuries as well as presenting the theme of horror psychologically through the possessed and mad characters.
The Shining also uses alot of 'tunnel vision' when Danny (the son) is biking around the hotel. This makes the viewer seem inclosed and small, giving them the view from his lower point of view, and making them feel smaller in stature and trapped.
Mirrors around the hotel are used to progress the plot. The mirrors and their reflections act like another realm, where the truth is revealed. The father is often shown through a mirror, this shows how his insanity is hidden and that his family see something different to what he revealed to be. It also shows the audience that this character, in the beginning of the film, is not really the character he presents himself to be . In one scene, the theme of sex and desire is present as the father watches a naked lady get out of a bath and they begin to kiss.
Looking in the mirror revealed the truth, that the lady was indeed an old mouldy zombie-like body. The most notable use of mirror reflection is when the little boy writes “redrum” on a door, with the mirror exposing the word “murder”. The mirror again reveals the truth and is an object of horror.
Villain
Jack is portrayed first as a man who puts work before his family, before becoming a villain by becoming a maniac.
Jack is portrayed first as a man who puts work before his family, before becoming a villain by becoming a maniac.
Victim/Hero
Jack's wife is firstly a victim of the villain's plot, but also ultimately a hero in the film.
Jack's wife is firstly a victim of the villain's plot, but also ultimately a hero in the film.
Victim/Donor/Prince
A victim of Jack's plot, but also a donor as he possess physic powers, explained to him by the dispatcher (Hallorann). He is also the prince, as he is the object of the victim's schemes, and his safety is the reward for the mother.
A victim of Jack's plot, but also a donor as he possess physic powers, explained to him by the dispatcher (Hallorann). He is also the prince, as he is the object of the victim's schemes, and his safety is the reward for the mother.
Dispatcher/Helper
Hallorann is the helper as he warns the mother of the hotel's dark past, looks after her, and also starts to warn her about Jack. He is plays the part of the dispatcher as he tells Danny (the son) of his 'shining' powers, and sends him on his way to discovering the secrets of the hotel.
Due to The Shining containing limited character's, they each play several parts in Propp's character type theory. This gives each character more dimensional and more purpose within the narrative.
However, it is arguable who the villain in the narrative is. Some may say that the hotel is the villain because until the family move into the hotel they live a normal life, however others may argue that it is Jack.
The Overlook hotel in flames at the end of the movie - the real villain?
Binary opposition is also present. This film contains the theme of good/evil. The 'good' being presented as the loving, innocent, caring, doting mother who caters for her family's every whim and the innocent, playful son who does what he is told. The 'bad', of course, is played by the workaholic, relapsed alcoholic who has been previously violent towards the son. It also has the opposition of power; the weak characters - the mother and the child - being pitted against the powerful - the father. Females and children are often seen as weaker and defenceless, whereas males are seen as powerful leaders in the stereotypical society at the time when this film was released.
However, the binary oppositions between the living and the dead are blurred in a surreal way, which makes it hard to gauge the relevance of the image of Jack in the aged crowd in the final shot. The distinction between the real and imaginary is also unclear. This makes you think about where the boundaries lie, which therefore makes you consider various interpretations of events depending on how you define the binary oppositions. (eg, in deciding that all of Jack's visions are fake you make decide that Jack is evil). This makes the Levi-Strauss theory very useful when analysing The Shining.
Ending shot
The Shining follows the typical narrative structure outlined by Todorov. It follows the 'classic realist' narrative structure as the equilibrium is shown at the start of the film, the enigma of change/event is introduced in the form of the hotel, followed by the pathway to the resolution (involving the maddening of Jack and the chase) ending with the closure of a funeral (Jack's) and the escape.
However, Jack isn't a typical hero which complicates the part of the theory when the hero meets the agent of change, because Jack himself (although he is the main character) is not the hero, and so it is in fact the villain (or villain-to-be) who meets the agent of change. Plus, not all questions the audience may have had are resolved by the end of the film, therefore it could be said that the audience never reaches closure. This is due to the movie not being able to include everything which is included in the book format, so the audience is left with loose ends.
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