The Shining
Stanley Kubrick’sThe Shiningis so dissimilar from Stephen King ’s novel that it has made way for a miscellanea of theory , including one that suggeststhe Overlook Hotelis hell and the Torrances are snare in it . Stephen King has terrify genesis of reader for decades , and his novel and little tale have become so popular that many of them have been adapted to other media , though not all of them successfully . One of the most popular but also controversial adaption of a Stephen King novel isThe Shining , by Stanley Kubrick , who made expectant change to the original story .
The Shiningtells the write up of Jack Torrance ( Jack Nicholson ) , a struggling writer and recover alcoholic who claim a place as the off - time of year caretaker of the Overlook Hotel in the Colorado Rockies . Jack hopes to find the breathing in he take to work on a gambling while at the hotel , and he also takes his wife , Wendy ( Shelley Duvall ) , and their son , Danny ( Danny Lloyd ) , in hopes that they can reconnect and reconstruct their family relationship , but it all gets complicated and terrible when a blizzard leaves them cut off from the external world . Along withDanny ’s occult psychic abilities , the supernatural forces dwell the Overlook Hotel begin to awaken and begin messing with Jack ’s saneness , leave alone Wendy and Danny fighting for their life-time .
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The way Kubrick represented the Overlook ’s supernatural forces and Jack ’s mental state has made way for a assortment of theories on the real signification ofThe Shiningand what its many chemical element be . Among those is a theory that suggests the Overlook Hotel is actually hell , and the Torrance family is trapped there due to Jack ’s actions , and through this , it explains some ofThe reflect ’s biggest mysteries .
The Overlook Hotel’s Impossible Layout
Over the eld , witness have aim out that the Overlook Hotel in Kubrick’sThe Shininghas an impossible layout , with corridor , rooms , steps , and more change spot all the time , as well as the scene outside the window change between fit . The Overlook ’s design alteration between cutsin different scenes , top to a lot of interpretations by viewers , but this was actually done on purpose by Kubrick , who require to raise the unsettling vibe of the Overlook Hotel through object that vanish between cuts , patterns alter in the same scene ( such as the rug in the scene where a ball rolls towards Danny ) , and more . Through this , Kubrick disoriented the hearing along with the Torrances and ground that the Overlook Hotel had life story of its own , while also showing that nothing and no one could be trusted inside the hotel .
Theory: The Overlook Hotel Is Hell
The Overlook ’s changing layout has made agency for a hypothesis that suggests the hotel is actually hell , thus why its nonsensical computer architecture and its many changes throughoutThe Shining . There are different reading of the theory , but most coincide with Jack go long ago , and when he rent the job of caretaker , he was actually signing his soul away to the hotel / hell . Jack , then , is trapped in the Overlook Hotel for eternity and is fate to repeat the last winter of his life in a never - ending loop-the-loop . Amongthe chemical element ofThe Shiningthat can support the hypothesis are the hotel already housing various ghostwriter , most notably Delbert Grady , the Overlook ’s previous caretaker who go mad and killed his family , hence why his twin daughters show up in the hotel . Grady does n’t seem to call back he killed his crime syndicate , and that ’s because , like Jack , he ’s trapped in hell , repeating his own nightmarish scenario over and over again .
The theory ofThe Shining ’s Overlook Hotel being infernal region and the Torrances being trapped in it can also solve the mystery of some of the movie ’s most confusing and mysterious short letter , such as Jack say that , when he arrived for his interview , he felt as if he had been there before , and afterwards Grady tell him that he has “ always been the caretaker ” because he ’s spending eternity in the hotel . The possibility is further supported by Jack never being seen outside the Overlook Hotel or the road that extend up to it , while Wendy and Danny are show at nursing home , suggesting that Jack has , in fact , always been the caretaker – at least in his own , personal hell at the hotel , and this is also why he appears inthe pic at the end ofThe Shining .
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What The Photo At The End of The Shining Really Means
The last shot in Kubrick’sThe Shiningis a 1921 picture of Jack and other guests at the hotel ’s dance hall , which has been interpret in a number of ways over the year . The most pop account is that it represent the Overlook Hotel “ absorb ” Jack ’s soul once he freezes to death , though Kubrick once say the photo suggest Jack is the reincarnation of an earlier functionary at the hotel , with Charles Grady , the retiring caretaker , being the reincarnation of Delbert Grady , the human who murdered his class . However , seen under the lens of the possibility of the Overlook Hotel being perdition , the photograph could reveal when Jack Torrance pass and join hell , and the remainder of the guests are ghosts who are also doomed to delay there for infinity and relive their own versions of hell . Stanley Kubrick’sThe Shiningisn’t loyal to Stephen King ’s book , but it has certainly made manner for some interesting interpretation that can elevate the audience ’s consider experience .
