THE SHINING 1980 (I KNOW!)

The Shining (I Know!)

What can there possibly be left to be said about this film.

A11 work and no play makes’ Jack a dull boy …

Ad Nauseam Like the Critique

Mark Fisher makes a concise and pointed analysis available in his book ‘Ghosts of My life. Writings on Depression,  Hauntology and Lost Futures’.

Suffice to say it is about the perpetuation of Patriarchy. Kubrick’s Addition of the maze (not present in the book), was a genius move, an analogy in contrast to the looping, Labyrinthine corridors of the Hotel. (A Labyrinth has one route a maze does not)The Hotel being deterministic and repetitive, the maze being similar and yet ultimately exploratative and playful in nature- one must mess up, get lost and start again in the maze- in the hotel there are no restarts, you either get somewhere or you don’t.  

As Fisher points out Danny’s key to escape from the inevitabilities of patriarchy is the maze. One- to learn the maze through play (alongside a loving mother). To not erase ones steps but be able to retrace them, back-track and take a different direction. This goes beyond an analogy of the activity of psychotherapy, to be the embodiment of its enabling properties- and the reason people seek it out.

Anyway I am sure this has been covered by others, but it is the crux of my reading.

AN EXAMPLE:

Maybe the whole film should have just been the family car ride up there to the hotel. When Danny presents a problem- That he is hungry, his fathers’ solution is deterministic in nature- that he should have eaten his breakfast; he is where he is (hungry) because of the inevitable consequences of history (not eating beforehand). His mother’s solution is more dynamic- we will get some food as soon as possible; Not much more satisfactory but it allows for more possibilities even if it does rely on some assumptions about the hotel and how it functions, that they will have food etc.

WHAT IS THE GIFT OF THE SHINING?

After ALL the Film Criticism- I have not come across the most obvious point…

Question: What is the Shining?

Beyond a magical prop to allow the story to happen, that is. (Stephen King ffs)

For me the gift of the Shining must be insight and the uncanny, i.e. the methods of psychoanalysis (especially Jungian); the methods used to break the laborious repetitive cul-de-sacs people’s lives slip into. (Cul-de-sacs which are shaped by grand systems of patriarchy, economy, power and all the ghosts of colonialism.)

This is the film; Danny’s dynamism! He still has ability to escape out of and see the world differently, whilst Jack! Jack is stuck in his loop of dull boyness; 

Throwing the ball at the wall and it always bouncing back.  All he has to do is sit at the type writer everyday- get into the habit of writing and it will come… No! Creativity is not Labour.

For all the focus on room 237 within the analysis, there is a surprising lack of focus on a glaring trope; which is a door once locked becomes un-locked, the key appears…

 (Y’know because of the faked moon landings- No not really..!)

…and when does this happen just as we see Danny playing- OK he’s a kid he is always playing, forever, and ever, and ever…

But something about how he is playing with toy cars; the tow truck helping the other, reverberates with other themes.

As the theories have touched on there is a faint relationship between the Twins and Danny’s Mother, which relates to how the way to combat patriarchy is not to remain a child always at play; or a mother figure always aiding others growth and not addressing one’s own growth; But for play (as in the maze) and insight/ inspiration/ uncanny (The gift of shining) to be both activity/work and direction/autonomy, to escape the cycle of patriarchy.  

Play is the paradox of unlocking Patriarchy, it is play not for its own sake and yet not goal orientated in order to achieve a specific thing. It is explorative, reflexive, dynamic, psycho-dynamic.

So, I think that is basically my point, I think this is both compatible with and enhances the commonly accepted readings, (I mean the moon landings were just play... NO, not really! Jokes!)

STANDARD READINGS:

The other elements are there to be seen, Jack resents Wendy’s trust of him. When he lies to her and she believes it, it makes him hate her even more, and the more he hates her the more he lies. He clearly sees them both as a burden and doesn’t really relate to them …

“Perfect for a child.”

(Jack; upon being shown the room for Danny to stay in- note, not “perfect for Danny”, or, “Danny would love this”, or, “he will really like the colour” etc. No, just “A Child.”)

And so on..

I don’t think it is worth going into whether Jack specifically sexually abuses Danny or not, it isn’t really the point of the film, it doesn’t add anything to say yes he definitely did, it is more effective as something hovering distantly in the background, rather than resolved. In fact, this is how sexual abuse functions in reality, in its nature it is often blocked- it can however be said to be another function of patriarchy.

However this is the nature of the “unlocked door”, that is Danny’s insight, that the cycle will continue, he will become his father, this is the true horror. To simply say it is about sexual abuse robs it of the historical, patriarchal, and colonial imperative of this perpetuating cycle. It is to say, 'just don’t rape kids and everything will be fine.' – This may in fact be a causal error.

As I say it is not something that the film is specifically about, just as it is not specifically about Indigenous land rights- that is how Horror functions it is the ghosts, the unseen history and historical systems that have disappeared but by the very nature of the fact that they are how we got where we are, are still present.

THERE AND NOT THERE- GHOSTS OR HISTORY

This is the definition of a ghost it is both there and not there. It is a body not inhabited (A Zombie/ undead) or it is something that is there without a body to inhabit (spirit/ Psyche/History)

And how do you defeat the ghosts? Yes to stair unblinkingly and critically at it to understand its causes and effects but that only helps you understand how we got here, to truly escape you must be prepared to get lost in the maze… Otherwise you may be writing a different script but you could still be writing it for ever. Jack Died because he had not explored the maze.

Anyway I prefer Full Metal Jacket TBH

NOTES/FURTHER READING

Mark Fisher Ghosts of my Life (2013) Zero Books,

Mark Fisher Capitalist Realism (2009) Zero Books

Red Riding Trilogy (2009) Channel 4[or the books]

Gas Light (1944)

Aaron Esterson and R.D. Laing: Sanity Madness and the Family
John Cleese Lecture on Creativity in Management for Video Arts 1991

Adam Curtis etc