The Shining

Having just seen seen The Shining for the first time, Its already due for a rewatch. The first time I felt truly uneasy was the scene where Wendy and Danny were out in the snow while Jack was watching from the hotel. There was something about the way Jack watched them that made me want to warn them about what would be to come. There are so many ways to interpret this movie but they way I viewed it is that from Jack's point of view it is about how he feels burnt out from his family and his failure as an author. Jack believes Wendy and Danny are holding him back from being a successful author. The supernatural power of the house abuses this to drive his descent to insanity. From Wendy's and Danny's point of view this looks to be a story of abuse, rather its emotional abuse with Wendy or physical/sexual abuse with Danny. A lot of the elements in this movie could be a symbol for abuse such as the isolation of the hotel and how abusers often times attempt to isolate the victims by cutting off ties to their friends or family. The bruises on Danny's neck and what happens in room 237 also point towards how Jack has sexually abused Danny in the past. Either way this movie definitely displays domestic relations and the struggle that can prevail in them. There are definite tones of alcoholism present throughout as its when Jack starts to go to the bar that he truly goes mad. I have no idea how Jack got out of the food storage or what the final photograph is suggesting, but maybe thats even more reasons to rewatch it. Even though Shelley Duvall got criticized harshly for her portrayl of Wendy, I think she did a fantastic job of demonstrating a woman caught with a husband as an abuser. The Shining is hailed as one of Kubrick's greats and for good reason.