Tension builds in the film as the viewer listens to the metronome of Danny riding his tricycle across the two surface, wood and carpet. If the colour red is used in the presentation of the spaces in the film to foreshadow and symbolize danger, fear, anger, blood, passion and pain; some significant changes would have to be made to achieve a similar feeling if shot in black and white. The rarity of these scenes alone result in an amplifying effect, however it is the nature of the interaction between the subject and the audience within these scenes that truly creates a distinct perception of the space. The manipulation of colour, based on the understanding of semiotics, a study that suggests that we are inherently affected by colour, signs and symbols, is a powerful layer of a scene and can greatly contribute to the anxiety’s felt by the viewer. Kubrick shows us two kinds of space at the Overlook Hotel. Their complexity and scale is invokes the mythological Labyrinth and the violent Minotaur lurking inside of it; yet, they appear innocuous, creating a tension between good and evil analogous to that between Id and Ego. Question: What changes would be necessary to translate this film into a play? As the plot evolves and Jack becoming progressively insane, the television reminds the viewers of the datum, contrasting the increasing tension and frightening mood to the neutral outside world. Hearing about the hotel being built on a Native American burial ground may add the threat of retribution from beyond the grave, but Kubrick suggests this desecration is the original sin, like an evil embedded in the hotel’s foundation. The immensity of the sets, used to evoke feelings of individual insignificance, emptiness and isolation, would be almost impossible to duplicate on stage when you consider the spatial limitations and mobility requirements associated with live theatre. Frightening because of the use of long shots to create feelings of isolation as well as carefully scored music, which bring the tension of thrill to virtually unbearable levels. Question: Listen carefully to the “sound” of the various rooms in the Overlook? As the plot progresses, the soundtrack consistently leads the audience into states of suspense and expectation before various scenes of horror or surprise. It is like a fourth person in the hotel. This is most apparent when comparing the use of the Overlook to the hotel used in Dirty Dancing. Published on 09/05/2020. These mixed patterns of sound not only reflect the audience’s own sense of confusion, but also initiate a feeling of curiosity. No one will know the truth from the outside unless they go in which also adds to the sense of fear and the tension of going back to what is waiting inside. However, weather cannot be portrayed the same way in live theatre as it is in the film. With Jack Nicholson, Shelley Duvall, Danny Lloyd, Scatman Crothers. Watching The Shining under Covid-19 quarantine, too, makes it seems like an uncanny echo of the anxious state of isolation, where the days are blurry and borderless, and a cavernous hotel can feel as confined as a studio apartment. 80. Jack’s descent into madness is conveyed in this way also, using jarring sound effects in a near audio wash, often paired with widening shots suggesting the growing influence that the hotel has over him. Interestingly enough, the only main character in the film not to be the subject of an extreme close–up, despite significant emotional trauma, is Wendy. Specifically this shot, you cannot exactly tell where and what Danny is sitting on. The shots in each act could have been recorded at the same time by multiple cameras. The uncertainty about the exterior also gives an impression that it is less important than what happens inside the hotel. 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. A focus of the viewer’s attention on one point for an extended period of time builds up suspense (as opposed to allowing the viewer’s eye to wander around the shot). In ‘The Shining’, backlighting is used as a technique to set the mood and alter the architectural space of the film. In order to fulfill this desire, he accepts a job as a caretaker for the Overlook Hotel (Godfrey, 2015). The book my group read for May was The Shining by Stephen King. Some of the ideas are legitimately compelling, like one that posits the film as an excoriation of American imperialism, jumping off from the fact that its haunted hotel, The Overlook, was built on a Native American burial ground, and continuing with other references and bric-a-brac to back it up (Can those cans of Calumet Baking Powder be a coincidence?!). The view gives Jack an omnipotent power over the members of his family, as he is more acutely aware of their movements than they are themselves. The key spaces of the movie - such as the lobby, Colorado lounge and the gold room - were inspired by a number of existing hotel interiors. 4 Here, Kubrick coyly foreshadows the escape from the labyrinth, casting Wendy in the role of Ariadne. In fact when looking at the website for the Mountain Lake Resort it blatantly advertises that this is the hotel where Dirty Dancing was filmed and encourages visitors to experience the Dirty Dancing experience. This can serve as a reminder of how long the viewer has not seen what lies ahead of the character and that in these confined spaces an end to the procession could occur at any moment. Official Stephen King Subreddit Discussion - The Shining [SPOILERS] spoiler. 5 Though irrelevant to topic at hand (corridors) and therefore not elaborated in this paper, Kubrick suggests this force could also be Native American spirits: the hotel manager mentions that the hotel was built on an Indian burial ground; the décor in main hall and the lounge feature Native American motifs;  and Jack makes a veiled reference to the “white man’s guilt” when he quotes Rudyard Kipling at the bar. 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. As the length of leap between scenes decreases, the width of shot also decreases from wide view, to closer shots. This does subliminally hints at a number of aspects in the horror film. The intensity of the cool light merges with the snow on the ground and the tall hedges. The hotel is more of a set and doesn’t have a particular character. This stark contrast in focus is a prime reason asymmetry would not be as successful in setting up as strong a feeling of fear as symmetry would. This quality can be understood when the images are broken down into the colour arrangements they are comprised of. The Shining is a gothic horror novel by Stephen King, first published in 1977. Instead of exterior shots showing the snow gradually piling up outside, a play could make use of dialog to describe the deteriorating conditions. A more subtle way of achieving the atmosphere of fear in a black and white film is the use of light and shadow. Wendy and Danny’s ignorance of Jack’s surveillance (as usual in overhead shots) creates further fear for their well-being. Perhaps the stuffy tweed bellbottom-wearing film critics of 1980 were disappointed that the infamously cerebral Kubrick had turned his sights towards the "lowbrow" genre of horror. The key difference is that in the Labyrinth there aren't doors, there are no barriers; there is just a free choice, it's all up to people walking there. There is an somewhat uneasy and unnatural feeling to a symmetrucal shot that adds greatly to the sense of suspense. By offsetting the viewer’s focus, the tension in the shot immediately drops because there are multiple points of focus. Each space is accompanied by its unique tone or melody that evolves with the change in plot. While watching the TV through the reflection, he predicts the phone call. The fact that Jack’s visions are indeed entirely inside his own head is highlighted by the fact that he is completely alone inside a locked room. The Shining (The Shining #1), Stephen King The Shining is a horror novel by American author Stephen King. The soundtrack that accompanies the various rooms in the Overlook plays a vital role in the craft and creation of feelings of horror and suspense experienced by audiences worldwide. It gives audiences a sense of going into the unknowing world and foreshadows evil things will happen after. It is curious that in the shot of Jack Torrance at his desk, the zooming of the single, centered subject from behind is somewhat relieved at the entrance of Wendy Torrance (right image). 7 There are many aspects of this geometric pattern that helps further the atmosphere created by the director. Later, however, the film subtly transfers the power of the protagonist to Danny. Director also uses music to reveal the appearance of the city. The static frame combined with the fluid panning of vistas creates a stage-like feel, removing the audience from the action while putting them in an overseeing position. The colours in room 237 are ugly and a completely unattractive choice for a floor, let alone a hotel room. In the scenes inside the hotel, backlighting functions as a technique that ‘reveals’, as it leaks into the hotel with subtle variations of intensity. The Overlook Hotel resembles its mountainous surroundings, both in shape and colour. 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. An online discussion forum has been set up for participants of this course. Question: Referring to the question above, would the use of asymmetry be as successful in creating a fearful portrayal of the space? A complete sense of isolation of the hotel brings about emptiness and the thought of helplessness. Therefore indication of chronological time sequence is critical in plot and creating atmosphere in ‘Shining’. Find summaries for every chapter, including a The Shining Chapter Summary Chart to help you understand the book. This familiar scenario is only administered to the audience for a short period of time. With the characters taken out of the scene the focus is shifted to the surrounding environment, which seemingly becomes more interactive. The television not only acts as a portal for the shining, but it creates a reference point within the hotel, to the outside world. Initially, the audioscape consists of familiar sounds; the bustling tourists, the shifting of luggage, and a loud murmur of conversation. Learn more about The Shining in this article. Indeed, the hotel’s corridors, and their outdoor counterpart, the hedge maze, establish a labyrinthine iconography that reinforces the notion that the hotel suppresses some supernatural, violent force ;5 the Labyrinth of Greek mythology was essentially an elaborate enclosure, built to contain the Minotaur .6 In The Shining, the eerily innocuous interiors are analogous to Freud’s concept of the Ego, grounded in reality, which checks the more impulsive Id: Discussion of themes and motifs in Stephen King's The Shining. The use of asymmetry, relative to the use of symmetry, seemed to portray more regular scenes that didn’t build up as much tension throughout the film. The Shining revolves around the life of Jack Torrance, a recovering alcoholic seeking to find solace to focus on his writing. 5/25/2016 4 Comments 4 Comments Matt Cates. Thinking about Dirty Dancing or that type of film where the architecture supports a more traditional “use” of the building. Rather than providing warmth and a sense of closure, it provides a feeling of a void, almost a heterotopia, ‘the other space’ of the reality. Apply this to the wave-like pattern; it creates this sense of invitation, but an invitation into the unknown. The geometric maze created by doors inside the hotel is a bright reference to human mind, a reference to our human labyrinth, where doors are main entrances to subconscious. As a matter of fact, showing different rooms, he focalizes their attention expecially on two rooms: the refrigerating room and the storeroom. The Torrance family, too, seems discomforted; they feel trapped by the hotel’s unforgiving isolation and incongruous vastness, and burdened with its dark history. icon-close The strikingly original-sounding band confirms Lisbon Story’s desire to be free of the traditional dramatic story constraints. An open door is used as the focus of a scene and it begs the viewer to explore every inch of its openness in order to understand what will come next. ight years ago, the Rodney Ascher documentary Room 237 reignited discussion over Stanley Kubrick’s The Shining by surveying a range of different fan theories on what the film is about, and the evidence that exists to support those theories. The camera leaves the exterior vague and focuses on the spaces and details from the interior. 5 ‘Knives Out’ Exposes the Veiled Prejudice of Seemingly Nice People. And everything is so clear inside. How does Stephen King attempt to capture what it's like to be five, in the figure of Danny Torrance? Chapter Summary for Stephen King's The Shining, part 3 chapter 24 summary. The essence of the subversion into and architecture of fear is in the purposeful juxtaposition of the apparent programmatic intention of the environments depicted with the form of occupation depicted. 3 Wikipedia. The pace of this particular type of shot taken in reverse, viewing a character head on, again increases anticipation as the person may encounter something around any of these corners and the scene could abruptly end. (The shining is a relatively rare power to begin with, and Danny's shine is extremely strong and powerful). The inauspicious influence of the id on the ego is clear in the hotel’s corridors. In my opinion the importance of door can also be seen during the visiting tour made by Danny, his mom and Halloran. The Shining set itself apart from so many of the popular horror movies that would emerge throughout the 1980s simply by not being about the kills. 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