The Shining Discussion. It needs to be attended for it is being closed in the winter. Again, the insignificance of the child (and by extension, the audience) heightens the fear of the greater unknown powers at work in the hotel. The only possibility to unmask the deceit is change way of looking at things. In the scenes inside the hotel, backlighting functions as a technique that ‘reveals’, as it leaks into the hotel with subtle variations of intensity. There is no obvious indicator of time change. Since its release more than 30 years ago, movie lovers have been obsessed with The Shining. By recording a character slowly approaching a constantly receding foreground, a viewer waits attentively in growing concern for where the character is going and what it is they are seeing or about to see. Published on 09/05/2020. The other aspect is the colour of the chosen carpets. It is the heterogeneous mixture of two methods working together that is able to truly instil a sense of fear in the viewer. In this pivotal scene, the ‘shining’ that has been present in Danny, as his ‘gift’—but clearly also a curse— is now revealed fully by the silhouette. The music is also very powerfully used in the film to change the mood. The uncertainty about the exterior also gives an impression that it is less important than what happens inside the hotel. ‘Shining’ and ‘Berlin, Symphony of a Great City’ presents different way of describing passage of time in that ‘Shining’ is driven by a plot in chronological order, whereas ‘Berlin’ presents the city life such as activities on streets and factory workers in no particular timeline. As such it is significant for purposes of an encyclopedia that Dick Hallorann is African-American, although a fuller discussion would be more appropriate to the article on the novel of The Shining. The Shining is a horror cinema masterpiece, and figuring out its haunting and iconic ending was no easy task for Stanley Kubrick. Discussion of themes and motifs in Stephen King's The Shining. The resulting effect is one that builds up tension through a set of eerily staged sequences, ‘setting-up’ some sort of dramatic climax. Dick Hallorann, the head cook at the Overlook Hotel, uses this term to describe intuition. Fall 2009. In terms of visualizing the spaces, while the framing of the scene maintains the same ratio and size, asymmetrical scenes in the film tended to generate the sense of a broader scope of the surroundings. Others are mostly cockamamie, like the theory that Kubrick had made the film as an apologia for his role in faking the moon landing. This surreal effect is largely achieved through use of camera angles and careful contextual progression. The few hand-held shots scattered throughout the movie work well as moments of climax. 5/25/2016 08:23:21 am. Question: Compare the use of the Overlook to the use of buildings of similar types in films of a different genre. This is why, in the opening scene, these shots do not reveal the maze or any of the exterior hotel grounds - they don't exist in the real hotel. “All the best people” stayed at The Overlook, Jack is told, and where have you heard that phrase before? The kitchen, the living quarters, the Gold Room, the upper floors where the previous caretaker axed his own family, the dreaded Room 237 — all distinct spaces, but there’s no guessing how they all connect. Posted by 2 days ago. Will it stand the test of time? By. As a result, the light and the snow appear as one ephemeral substance and contrasts starkly with Danny’s figure and the parts of the hedge that are snow-free. Why do you think he chose this room type and what in particular makes this a frightening setting (in the way Kubrick has filmed these scenes)? Around any corner, there may be room full of death, or at least something that would terrify you as soon as you got a glimpse of it. Question: Comment on the use of close up views of the characters in the film. At first grand spaces and luxurious adornments are shown in full use. This does subliminally hints at a number of aspects in the horror film. 4 Here, Kubrick coyly foreshadows the escape from the labyrinth, casting Wendy in the role of Ariadne. 3 Wikipedia. Stephen King's The Shining Chapter Summary. Question: What do you think is the “essence” of the subversion of the hotel into an architecture of fear? Each reading has discussion prompts meant to encourage thoughtful and entertaining group interaction. In both these films it is apparent that the building is essentially another central character in the film and not just a simple backdrop or setting. This room is where the ghost of the deceased occupies, and in doing so, the carpet helps create this ethereal atmosphere. When Kubrick shoots a scene through an open or slightly open door, the contrast between the spaces is immediately evident visually because you can see both spaces simultaneously, but when the door is closed or locked, there is a marked sensation of disjunction as the camera position jumps from one side of the door to other, such as in the famous axe-to-the-door scene and the scene where Wendy locks Jack in the dry cellar and Jack tries to convince her to open the door again. Hood in Oregon. Indeed, the door of the bathroom is the only life line from the amok father who is knocking down the bedroom's door with his axe. Backlighting is also used to create the hazy and eerie mood that prevails in the hotel as Wendy fearfully tiptoes her way through the hotel. (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Franz_Kafka#Writing_style). Symmetry also gives the allusion of larger, spacious backdrops because the scene blends into itself. Wanting to consummate her attraction, she had Daedalus build her a wooden cow; as a result, the Minotaur was born. The composition of a scene is one of layers, layers of light, sound, space, and time. The first, and purely spacial change it can make comes from the psychology behind the use of symmetry to induce greater fear on the viewer. Question: The geometry of the carpets in the scenes feeds into the feeling of fear by altering the general feeling of the spaces. Winters gleeful treasure hunt for sounds is mixed with the larger discovery of the charming city. In the latter case, Jack paces through the corridor, internalizing the demons that lead to his progressive insanity. What is the lasting power of Stanley Kubrick’s terrifying film? It gives a warning that Danny is going to see something scary and terrifying. (referring specifically to ones where the cameraman is walking backward while the actor is coming towards). The first are obstacles, as we can see in the picture below, or, once opened, they attract characters to evil places; on the other side, mirrors reflect reality as it is, they are the only way to look the upside down world of the Overlook Hotel. The Shining Book Discussion. 6 According to Greek mythology, King Minos asked Poseidon for a white bull as a sign of approval; Poseidon obliged, under the condition that it be sacrificed in his honour. The audioscape adds a vital layer to the film, drawing out feelings that the audience could have never been experienced with picture alone. Instead of exterior shots showing the snow gradually piling up outside, a play could make use of dialog to describe the deteriorating conditions. Just before Wendy steps out of the bedroom armed with a baseball bat (leaving Danny possessed by the his imaginary friend, a personality whom Danny allows to come to the fore as a self-preservation measure), the locked door of the bedroom causes the bedroom to read as a kind of fortress, but a fortress whose walls are paper thin, and the forces of evil are literally slithering across its outer surface. This unnatural sound soon transitions into a piercing whine, giving the audience the sense that something is very out of place. A family heads to an isolated hotel for the winter where a sinister presence influences the father into violence, while his psychic son sees horrific forebodings from both past and future. Question: Comment on the means to describe the passage of time in this movie as compared to the Berlin and Man with a Movie camera. In order to fulfill this desire, he accepts a job as a caretaker for the Overlook Hotel (Godfrey, 2015). Question: Comment on the use of the tracking shot as Kubrick follows Wendy through the space. Alternately, a foggy setting with little light could also produce a feeling of danger of the unknown, while not as being as obvious as the use of the colour red. TV, in all rooms, replaces the fireplace. Given that the purpose of the film is to show life in Berlin, time sequence between shots are less of importance. We can find an opposition between two different labyrinths, one inside and other outside. Much of the film’s power comes from transforming the initially benign (though somewhat intimidating and badly decorated) spaces of the Overlook Hotel into settings for terror using various filming techniques including extreme camera angles, long view shots, aerial views, close-ups and hand-held camera work. Early perceptions from the initial tour of the hotel, as Jack commences work and the family arrive, place the spaces and materials within the allusions of daily life. The carpets are definitely more vibrant than you would expect of a typical hotel. Arch Seeing this, you feel that Jack's story is just one of many. If the hotel had no characters in it would merely be an empty building without threat whereas the Overlook remains in its character solely as it is. With the disturbing and gory images, the incredibly scary music brings the audience into an extreme malevolent horror. However, weather cannot be portrayed the same way in live theatre as it is in the film. Also, certain spaces could be presented as being quite small or claustrophobic, so that the characters in the film feel as though there are no means for escape from a dangerous situation. This increases the sense of suspense in the rising action, and releases the previously built-up tension after the anticipated moment of crisis. Question: How does the choice of music feed into the atmosphere of the film. This is why Stephen King hates The Shining so much. By linking the two girls and Danny in the same type of shot, Danny’s visions of the girls begins to take a reality and become the warning signs that Danny will personify in the plot. Eclipsed perhaps only by its 1980 film adaptation, the novel is one of the most popular and enduring horror stories of all time. Like a lot of Kubrick’s work, especially the films toward the back half of his career, The Shining was greeted first with bafflement and hostility before people started to come around on it. Question: What changes would be necessary to translate this film into a play? For example, during the interview at the beginning of the film, the camera shifted between an angled view of the office and one where the manager was at the centre while Jack and the other employee were on either side of him. Winter just wanders into a rehearsal and is instantly attracted by the leading singer. Kubrick shows us two kinds of space at the Overlook Hotel. By altering the depth of the scene with light, Kubrick presents the audience with scenes that are perhaps mere visions, like the one’s Danny sees. You should be prepared It's on a door that Danny, during a trance moment writes the word REDRUM. This is exemplified through the polar aspects of changes in materials as he circulates through disconnected circulation corridors from the orange abstracted carpet to the clinical and cold spaces such as the green corridors and kitchen areas. (Why else would Danny be wearing an Apollo 11 sweater?!). Whether the scene is calm or highly tense, this is the shot that is used in dialogue. For others steeped in horror movie criticism, it might be the strange Overlook Hotel itself. It would also be possible to use different backdrops and layer snow on the windows as the play progressed. In fact, there's really only one murder in the story's course of events. The moment that a fully gone Jack Torrance leaps out in the lobby to murder poor Dick Hallorann, however, is still quite a big shock in the movie. The book my group read for May was The Shining by Stephen King. Kubrick makes a joke out of titles announcing different days of the week, as if time has any meaning in isolation, and the geography of The Overlook is impossible to map, despite (or because of) the many shots of Danny rolling through the hallways on his Big Wheel. Stephen King had actually written The Shining after staying at The Stanley Hotel, another inspirational hotel for the Overlook. Is The Shining serious literature? But the actual scariest part of The Shining might not be what you think. Two possible solutions where to lock up someone (Jack) inside in case of danger. The television not only acts as a portal for the shining, but it creates a reference point within the hotel, to the outside world. The two scenes in question are very different in terms of the lighting conditions. Share; Tweet; There are many reasons why Stanley Kubrick’s “The Shining” is considered one of the most influential horror movies of all time. For today's "12 Days of Downloads", NECA has released an official Visual Guide for their Toony Terrors 6" Figures. This repetitive contrast creates an eye illusion that helps feed into this mysterious effect throughout the film. Note the variety of door types. At the end Danny and Wendy wants to get out of the hotel and they seek help from outside and help always came from the exterior although it looked somehow more fearful but the reality is different from what the camera shows. In fact, there's really only one murder in the story's course of events. In order to translate the atmosphere achieved in Kubrick’s The Shining into a live theatrical production, several changes would need to be made. The ball rolling directly into the middle of the “Danny” shot places the camera in the middle most position between him and the ball’s source. Email me your responses in Word However when the direction takes a drastic turn and adopts a hand-held camera (as is the case during the grand stair scene) the space seems to become more intimate as well as the events seem to become more immediate. All these occurrences work to further personify the hotel. If not, why? How does this impact the reading of the space and sense of the story? Every time the scene happens inside the Hotel, doors create a labyrinthic space, closed, defined by geometrical borders and drawings (we can think about carpets and floors). Hood in Oregon, http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_human_brain, http://www.visual-memory.co.uk/amk/doc/interview.ts.html, http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Franz_Kafka#Writing_style, http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Id,_ego,_and_super-ego. Kubrick often uses mirrors as well, complicating the space which he wants to have particular emphasis while at the same time providing a visual stimulus to the viewer. Is The Shining serious literature? Learn more about The Shining in this article. This is apparent when Danny sees the twins and the woman in 237 as well as when Jack sees the party scene in the ballroom and talks to the old groundkeeper in the red room. Lighting also seems to be used to draw the attention of the viewer and create a sense of contrast which adds to the level of intrigue. Jack having been there before, and Jack attempting more or less the same murder as a previous caretaker, is a sign that history will keep on repeating itself. Between the black screens, however, there is no major leap of time. If these sequences of action were shot in a less directed/confined space they would lack this third dimension that conveys the grandness of the Overlook Hotel. This effect conveys to the audience the manic state and bipolar nature of this state. Question: Comment on the choice of the building type (resort hotel) with respect to it manipulation as a source of fright in the film. When the camera is in an objective view behind the child, he blocks the audience’s view of his destination, thus increasing the feeling of unease of the unknown. http://www.bbc.co.uk/blogs/markkermode This Halloween, The Shining is back in cinemas. Again this assurance become further defined as he converses with Dilbert Grady in the washroom of two pure colours, red and white. The majority of the mysterious and atmospheric scenes take place in a setting with the unusual carpets: when Danny sees the deceased twins in the hallway or when Jack enters room 237 to find the ghost of the deceased wife. This diagram of the regions of the human brain illustrates a physical similarity between the labyrinthine, distinctly-divided corridors and the brain itself. Jack is more often shown in these rooms, and they represent his growing isolation from his family and his detachment from reality. Official Stephen King Subreddit Discussion - The Shining [SPOILERS] spoiler. Chapter Summary for Stephen King's The Shining, part 3 chapter 24 summary. Does it have moments of comic relief? This is possible because the objects in the foreground: furniture, Danny, Wendy, and the frame of the television itself, are rendered flat by the light that enters through the large windows in the background. excessively texture or angular, perhaps incorporating forced perspective) that, when lit a certain way, cast dark shadows. The viewer is seemingly forced to squeeze through the slightly open door only to be engulfed by a completely new environment which feels smaller and more complicated than the last. E ight years ago, the Rodney Ascher documentary Room 237 reignited discussion over Stanley Kubrick’s The Shining by surveying a range of different fan … An extreme close–up, where only the face fills the frame, is usually used by a director when a character’s deeper emotion is of concern, often almost as if the camera were trying to get into the character’s head. The Shining is a 1980 psychological horror film produced and directed by Stanley Kubrick and co-written with novelist Diane Johnson.The film is based on Stephen King's 1977 novel of the same name and stars Jack Nicholson, Shelley Duvall, Scatman Crothers, and Danny Lloyd.. To watch my previous video analysis of The Shining, based upon some of the concepts described in the text of the article, scroll to the bottom of this page. Movie Talk - The Shining Discussion -- questions, theories, spoilers, etc. Hand the abstracts out in class as a study guide, or use them as a "key" for a class discussion. This familiar scenario is only administered to the audience for a short period of time. The atmosphere of The Shining is manipulated through use of space and place. The interior of the hotel is defined by who is placed in it and how they translate the space into the feelings. The Torrance family, too, seems discomforted; they feel trapped by the hotel’s unforgiving isolation and incongruous vastness, and burdened with its dark history. The compression of space would, in effect, undermine the dominant force of the hotel over the protagonists. Kubrick’s translation of materiality in The Shining asserts a tone of fear and anxiety which is the psychological conditions the characters are experiencing. The unsettling music also gives the audiences the feeling that there are “traces” everywhere in the hotel of previous lives. Please only send to my sympatico address as I use this for the film course so that I run less of a risk of misplacing your answers. He introduces his documentary Stanley Kubrick: A Life in Pictures on 14 November. Kubrick only produces a closer shot of his characters—an extreme close–up—by slowly zooming in from a slightly further shot, rather than cutting to it immediately. 5 ‘Knives Out’ Exposes the Veiled Prejudice of Seemingly Nice People. The geometry of the carpets in the hotel is definitely a method of altering the general feeling of the spaces. However once the scene shifted to the symmetrical view, it provoked a sense of suspicion and tension between the characters. Later, however, the film subtly transfers the power of the protagonist to Danny. Published in 1977. The Shining (The Shining #1), Stephen King The Shining is a horror novel by American author Stephen King. The feeling of fear is controlled by the music and cinematography of the film, and the carpets help create a setting that feeds into this atmosphere. Question: Comment on the use of the “long view” to heighten the anticipation in this scene. The maze and back facade of the hotel were also built on the set, with the use of polystyrene chips, salt and smoke machines to recreate the cold snowy environment. The second image is a composition of bright warm colours and warm colours that are subdued in darkness. It is manipulated through the eyes of each of the family members. The Shining, by Stephen King, the undisputed master of the modern horror story. Weather is also an important aspect in The Shining, as it is the major factor isolating the family in the hotel from the rest of society. It's interesting to highlight that, differently from the storeroom's door opened “by the Hotel”, this last door can be opened only by Jack's axe, now it's up to him to kill his family. The sad truth about The Overlook is that what happened to the Torrances will probably get cleaned up for the next season and turn into a cautionary anecdote for the next half-cracked caretaker who wants the job. He is somewhat famous for his use of this kind of shot, in his case nicknamed “the glare”, where he depicts a character in an emotional or psychological crisis. the_shining_-_part_1_|_print_-_quizizz.pdf: File Size: 45 kb: File Type: pdf: Download File. Like a warning, these sounds are soon followed by scenes of gore and apparitions of murdered children and long deceased guests. Another example, at the beginning of the movie, an unsettled music is played with an extremely long shot of the car traveling in the wilderness. The anticipation is heightened while the audience is left in fear for what might lie ahead. Jack Nicholson and Stanley Kubrick on the set. The strange voices are used within the title music and unsettling music is played to show all the abnormality of the hotel. The viewers are more aware of the stress put on by the time spent in the hotel. The conditions such as snow, fog or night add to the feeling of insecurity and horror. Its deeper purpose was to celebrate The Shining as a glorious enigma, a film that invites Grand Unifying Theories without ever quite affirming any of them. The neutralized green presents itself as an unfamiliar territory (by nature of just the colour) but also as a space to pause in comparison the red room beyond. The Shining (1980) Horror Movie Review/Discussion - YouTube By focusing on a single object, person or thing in the scene, the viewer loses the sense of what’s happening beyond that focus and thereby creates a sense of anticipation for what is not seen. Question: Discuss the use of the various materials in the film with respect to the way that they feed into the sense of fear and anxiety in the film. Question: Referring to the above question (25), comment on the changes that might be necessary if this film were to be shot in black and white in order to achieve a similar feeling. Therefore indication of chronological time sequence is critical in plot and creating atmosphere in ‘Shining’. In the film The Shining, Kubrick makes use of symmetry and asymmetry in many scenes. Stanley Kubrick makes extensive use of the “long view” to heighten the anticipation and, effectively, add to the overall suspense of The Shining. The discussion of the loneliness of the space during the off-season permeates the beginning of the film and establishes an anticipatory progression towards the major shift in occupation. To lead your eye to an unfamiliar space or mysterious corner of a Mountain be compared to other horror thriller... Tabby and I spent a night at a grand old hotel in Estes Park, the carpet create! For participants of this and each minute staying in the panel discussion the Shining back! Together that is causing all of the scope of view when the scene to. Scene shifted to the audience ’ s film “ the Shining so you can be! 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