1. The Shining Stanley Kubrick
By: Alija, Maddie, Kinsey, Katie KC

2. How Much Do You Know?

3. Plot Summary
Jack Torrance, a husband and father of one is hired to be the caretaker during the winter for the Overlook Hotel, an isolated hotel with a history of cabin fever and murder.
As the months advance through the harsh winter the family is forced to be contained in the hotel. Tension grows between wife Wendy, and husband as Jack becomes irritable, paranoid and withdrawn.
Their son Danny has several visions caused by his special gift known as “the shine”. He is haunted by the horrifying images of the hotel’s past.
Wendy discovers that Jack is not getting his work done which causes Jack to lash out in a violent outburst.
Wendy and Danny fear for their life as Jack becomes more psychotic and his desire to hurt them becomes real.
Wendy and Danny try to escape the isolated hotel as they are being followed by Jack. They outsmart him and escape while Jack is left to freeze and die at the Overlook Hotel. AH

4. Behind the the title “The Shining”
Danny has the ability to “shine” or the ability to read and communicate with others without using words, as well as see visions of the past and future
Symbolic- shining on the outside seems positive, but on the inside it gets more complicated and dark, we see as Danny goes through troubling images and experiences, like seeing ghosts of two little girls, and images of murdered and bloody bodies on the ground. These images haunt him throughout the film and makes “ shining” seem less appealing
Title also inspired by the John Lennon song, “We All Shine On” (Or known as “Instant Karma”)
“Instant Karma's gonna get you, Gonna knock you right on the head, You better get yourself together, Pretty soon you're gonna be dead” AH

5. Historical Context of The Shining
Through the 60s and 70s America saw political and social chaos that was impossible to ignore by the new generations. In The Shining, this is demonstrated by using the hotel as a symbol of America and different characters as the views of different groups of people during that time.
The Overlook Hotel was built on a Native American burial site which sparked controversy about the film’s intentions towards Native Americans.
At this time in history, the “American Dream” was being questioned. More people were coming to understand how this dream was not all that it was made up to be. In reality, America was built on the history of the violence that was shown to Native Americans.
Native rugs and tapestries are shown throughout the movie
Danny only wears red, white, and blue
Elevator full of blood represents lives lost in the hotel= Native American lives lost because of the settlement of Americans
Jack mentions Rudyard Kipling’s “White Man’s Burden”
“White man's burden, Lloyd my man. White man's burden.” MM

6. Thesis Statement
Kubrick’s classic film, The Shining, uses visual recurring symbols and overarching themes to create a sense of panic and suspense within viewers, instilling the idea in their mind that insanity is predisposed within us all, and even the sanctity of a family unit can be torn apart if external factors exacerbate the effects of insanity. KC

7. Major Themes
Deterioration of the family unit
The Overlook Hotel has a history of tearing families apart, and the trend continues with the Torrence family
The family was never fully cohesive, as seen in early encounters between Jack and Wendy, but the family unit is completely destroyed by the end
Isolation
The Overlook hotel is located at the top of a mountain, that is shown to take a long treacherous journey to get to
Jack is warned that the isolation has been known to cause insanity in the past
Insanity
Insanity is subjective, and each viewer perceives it differently
Is there a true breaking point or was Jack always insane? KC

8. Symbolism
The number 237 (217 in the book)- the fear of the unknown until Danny and Jack discover what lies behind it
The phrase “All work and no play makes Jack a dull boy”- a sign that Jack is losing his sanity as he writes the phrase more and more
In German versions, the phrase translates to: “Don’t put off till tomorrow what you can do today.” The Spanish translation is: “Although one will rise early, it won’t dawn sooner.” In Italian: “He who wakes up early meets a golden day.”
The word(s) REDRUM- represents the possibility of murder between Jack and Wendy- they come close to killing each other but never do
The elevator full of blood- represents the blood shed from the lives lost at the hotel
Laughter - throughout the film laughter is used much like in Batman- as a sign of insanity. Jack laughs more and more in a demonic and creepy way which frightens his family KE

9. Characterization
Wendy: Wendy represents the overall view of the majority of Americans in the 80s. She is “blind” to the reality of what has happened in the hotel and it is not until she is exposed to violence that she is able to see the ghosts in the end of the film. This can be related to how most Americans put their success on the idea of the American Dream, and fail to see how this country was formed through destroying the lives of Native Americans.
Jack: Jack is a sympathetic character in that he has the potential to be a good person-good father, husband, writer, etc.-but instead he chooses violence to control him. This ties to our forefathers who had great potential for a new country, but instead harnessed violence and built it on top the graves of millions of Native Americans.
Danny: Danny represents the “new generation” and this generation's inability to ignore the history of the past. Danny’s voice inside of his mouth, “Tony”, is the past telling Danny things through his “shine” power. MM

10. Perspective https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cy7ztJ3NUMI
The hotel has bright colors and is lit up- opposite of setting of most horror films and brings creepy events and supernatural experiences into reality
The doors in the hotel are all closed, and found to be locked
This creates suspense, as there is no telling what could be behind any of the doors
Locked doors are seen broken down with an axe as Jack goes on his murder spree
Pattern of mazes throughout movie-
Danny rides his tricycle down long hallways that look very similar with similar carpeting and structure
Hedge maze outside the hotel at the climax of the story- builds suspense because it all looks the same and the viewer is not sure where the characters are geographically
There are interrupting title cards which show the progression of time through the movie. They begin by occurring months apart, and eventually go day to day, and ultimately hour by hour during the climax of the action KE

11. Suspense
Kubrick creates suspense in an unusual way that isn’t seen in most horror films. Whenever there is suspenseful music, creating a feeling that something scary is about to happen, it never actually does, or does not pop out like traditional horror films. He creates a false sense of tension in order for the audience to always be on the edge of their seats
The recurring scene of Danny riding his bicycle through the hallways creates suspense as well. The perspective shifts to us only being able to see what Danny sees as he rides, causing us to have the same fear that a child like Danny would in this isolated hotel. The audience expects something scary to pop out while Danny is doing an innocent activity.
The progression title cards also create suspense-as time grows closer and closer together, we pick up that what we have been dreading the whole film is about to occur. AH

12. Music
The music used in the film creates a suspenseful effect on the audience using unpleasant and unknown noises.
The music was never composed for cinema
Kubrick started a movement of horror movies using the same type of score and now in a staple in suspenseful thrillers- string-heavy and classical motifs (repeated musical phrase)
This class of noises called 'nonlinear' sounds range from the sort of distorted notes that come from a hi-fi cranked up too high, to the squeal produced by blowing too hard into a trumpet.
Horror films also had higher than expected number of abrupt shifts up and down in pitch- creates eerie atmosphere
By using these nonlinear sounds it evokes a human instinct that overall increases the level of emotional response and impact of scenes
Also, when a suspenseful scene is about to take place it can usually be foreshadowed by the pace or tone of the music leading up to that scene. KE

13. Kubrick’s twisted “normal”
As we have seen in films such as Batman and One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest, authors and filmmakers often will turn “normal” everyday elements into frightening scenes and ideas. It brings horror into real life situations
Laughter
What would normally be an indicator of happiness and sanity is morphed into a suggestion of insanity
“Here’s Johnny!”
This line is pulled from the family friendly Johnny Carson show- turned into one of the most terrifying iconic lines in movie history
The Overlook Hotel
As mentioned earlier, the hotel appears to be brightly colored, normal hotel anyone would stay at- not where countless people have been murdered
The family unit
Especially in America, the family is seen as an essential part to a happy and healthy life- the film gives the family negative connotations as we see the father of this family plan to murder his wife and son MM

14. Who is the monster?
Jack Torrance is the monster
His character strays from the stereotypical providing and caring father figure- instead he is distanced from his wife and son and fears mental intimacy with loved ones
Much like Jekyll and Hyde, Jack almost has 2 personalities
In the beginning of the film, Jack as seen as a normal man, interviewing for a job and providing collected coherent thoughts
During a confrontation with his wife Wendy, the stress of living up to his “fatherly” roles becomes apparent
“Have you ever thought about my responsibilites?”
The cliche line “Honey I’m Home!” normally shown in suburban homes when the father returns from a long day at work; in the film it is used when Jack returns to their hotel room with an axe in his hand,with intentions of murdering his wife
As Jack becomes less exposed to the outside world, and more kept within the hotel’s isolation, his public facade starts to fade and his private thoughts begin to take action.
An example of this is shown when Danny asks if he would ever hurt the family and Jack responds with no because that is what a father should say, however there is a moment of hesitation as he contemplates the idea
Jack demonstrates the idea that even the ideal human in society- a father, a mother etc., can be turned into a monster MM

15. Does the film still have relevance today?
One of the main themes that still has relevance into the 21st century is the breakdown of the nuclear family. Whenever a scene in The Shining revolves around the T.V., negative aspects are brought out in the family. The only time that Jack seems to show pride in his son is when he says that he knows what cannibalism is because he saw it on T.V. Jack watches TV before he has an odd conversation with Danny. Where the television used to be something that brought families together, has shifted to breaking them down.
When Danny comes to tell his parents that he has been attacked, he is wearing an Apollo 11 sweater that has been torn. This American icon is a symbol of his innocence taken from him due to a situation that his parents placed him in.
There is an American flag theme throughout the entire film, with different aspects of items showing the red, white, and blue, during moments of violence.
Racism, classism, and the deterioration of the family all cause us to take an introspective look at the negative parts of our culture and the decline of our society. KE

16. Overall Message/Purpose
Anyone can be a monster- even the “normal” people
Isolation can bring out the monstrous elements in people
The “American Dream” is not what it appears to be
Families aren’t always picture perfect KC

17. Fun Facts
The most famous line, “Here’s Johnny” was improvised by Nicholson
The scene in which Wendy is swinging a bat at Jack made it into The Guinness Book of Records because it took 127 takes, the most for a scene with spoken dialogue.
The novel ends with The Overlook Hotel burning down.
There is an abstract theory that Kubrick “directed” (faked) the moon landing of 1969, and references it with imagery in the movie
The actual hotel plays The Shining on a loop on one of its TV channels, available in every guest room
The actor who played Danny thought he was filming a drama, not a horror film, and didn’t see the full version until he was 17 KC

18. http://www. dailymail. co