There were many controversies regarding the adaptation taking its own course halfway down the line, and is still lambasted by King and many bookworms. In conversation with Deadline, King stated: I think The Shining is a beautiful film and it looks terrific and as Ive said before, its like a big, beautiful Cadillac with no engine inside itI kept my mouth shut at the time, but I didnt care for it much. Decoding this puzzling moment, superfans of The Shining have long pointed to the relevance of bears throughout the film, with several references being made throughout the movie that each build to one likely explanation. Yes, one involves the furries. The Shining Explained . The Shining novel, however, has a very different ending, and one that even made way for a sequel: Doctor Sleep. Played with quiet confidence and wounded reservation by "Charm City Kings" star Winston, Kevin starts "We Have a Ghost . The Shining Caretaker Explained, Every Shining Character Who Returns In Doctor Sleep. Danny goes back to his room to get his firetruck and sees a grim looking Jack, his face shown through the mirror again. A drunk Jack, in a fit of rage had dislocated Dannys shoulder and this is presented as a possible explanation for Danny to develop a separate personality (Tony). The abuse part of the story is both physical and psychological: both Wendy and Danny are clearly scared of Jack, even before the hotels influence took control of him, and yet they stayed with him. The similarities are intentional. We identified in previous chapters that Jack strangled Danny in the fatherly love scene and with these new details it would seem that he also sexually abused his son during this event. Here's The Shining bear scene explained. One of the most memorable scenes from The Shining is the blood coming out from the elevator. With scenes that show an elevator gushing out blood or creepy twins that greet you at the end of a hallway, its not hard to see that the visuals of the film are enough to keep anyone on the edge of their seat. Perhaps the Overlook hotel is merely something of a mental prison for Danny, with his peculiar powers bringing in the consciousnesses of his mother and father in order to process his sexual abuse. Wendy Torrance, (played by Shelly Duvall) frantically roams the halls of the Overlook Hotel looking for her son Danny while her husband, Jack Torrence ( played by Jack Nicholson) goes on an axe rampage. But one of the films most unforgettable elements has to be the haunting visuals of the film. In one of the most beautiful 5 minutes on the big screen (the heavenly use of colors and symmetry and such calm destruction of the imaginary axis), we see Grady convince Jack to correct his family and reminds him that he has always been the caretaker, which was then shown in the B/W picture at the end. Jack is left in the snow and freezes to death, and its implied that the Overlook Hotel continued with its cycle of murder by bringing in more reincarnations of past workers. Stanley Kubrick. Dick tells Danny that many people shine but arent aware of it and demands him to not explore Room 237. Beyond being one of the most incredible and beloved horror movies ever made, it's also a project . She was also a contributor for FanSided's BamSmackPow and 1428 Elm. But The Shining bear man does have a disturbing and specific implication. Before he can retaliate, we hear the sounds of an engine running, marking the arrival of Halloran. Ager suggests that Danny's experience in Room 237 was his way of externalizing his abuse and that it was his father who assaulted him instead. When the psychiatrist asks Danny Who's Tony Wendy, stood defensively with her arms folded, quickly interjects, Tonys his imaginary friend, as if trying to gloss over the issue. About the Jack in the picture, Kubrick confirmed that it wasnt taken at The Overlook and doesnt serve as an evidence of Gradys claim that Jack had always been the caretaker. For a detailed description of this subplot follow this link. Perhaps the most analyzed part of The Shining is the ending; the final shot in the Stephen King movie adaptation is a 1921 photograph showing Jack with other guests in the hotels ballroom. Despite being strange and somewhat out of place, The Shining bear scene exists in the book as well but involves a man dressed as a dog who is performing the sex act on one of The Overlook's owners, who was bisexual. Its rumbling overcome by Jacks maddening bellows, who eventually freezes to death. Here's the end of The Shining explained. Inside, a man in a bear suit is performing fellatio on one of the Overlook's guests. There are many reasons why Stanley Kubricks The Shining is considered one of the most influential horror movies of all time. Although only 13 seconds, this scene was an eerie moment that is enough to disturb viewers and keep them questioning even 40 years after the film has been released. Jack takes his wife, Wendy (Shelley Duvall), and their son, Danny (Danny Lloyd), with him, but little do they know, the Overlook has some dark secrets of its own. Stanley Kubrick's epic, bizarre, somewhat controversial adaptation of Stephen King's The Shining was released 40 years ago this week. Danny on the other hand after the physical trauma goes into a semi-conscious state, Tony taking hold of the reigns and keeps on repeating the word redrum in a very mechanical trance. The bears are only discernible in the HD version. These observations could easily be interpreted as evidence that Wendy has also had an incestuous relationship with Danny, but my guess is the older woman relationship refers to the woman in room 237, who we know is simply a dream manifestation of Jack. The shot passes by within 13 seconds and is never referenced again which raises many unanswered questions. Mr Ullmann converses with Jack regarding formal details and warns him about the history of the Overlook. Watch my new Shining analysis video \"Danny's ordeal and the bear costumed man\" here https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dW2GrG7Zk0UMy written Shining analysis articles and videos are at: http://www.collativelearning.com/FILMS%20reviews%20BY%20ROB%20AGER.htmlRob Ager's analysis of The Shining was plagiarized in a video posted on the Screen Prism channel and credited to Jeff Saporito. Here's The Shining bear scene explained. In the book, the man dressed in a suit is actually Horace Derwent, the mysterious owner of the Overlook Hotel, and the man in the costume (which is a dog in the book) is Roger, a one-time lover of his. We see an overly terrified Wendy screaming in agony at the sight, but slashes Jacks hand when he tries to turn the knob open. Copyright 2023 Metaflix Media LLC. Cookie Notice I dont go for number interpretations generally, but here Ill make an exception. When the hotels forces get a hold of Jack, Danny starts chanting and drawing the word REDRUM, which Wendy later sees reversed in the mirror, revealing the word MURDER. Danny was warned by the Grady twins that something terrible was going to happen, and REDRUM was the warning passed on to Danny and Wendy through Danny. Rumor has it Kubrick himself typed those words. The Overlook is built on the sacred lands of Native Americans . Sound familiar? Jack later speaks to a disappointed Grady through the door, who believes Jack doesnt have the stomach to carry out the task. The one on the left would be overlapped by the stretched size of 237, seen in the bathroom scene and the one on the right shows a stairway going downstairs where Room 237 is. Even though the server responded OK, it is possible the submission was not processed. In the psychiatrist scene Danny lays on the bed with his jeans removed and his hands curiously covering his groin area, just as Jack did in the fatherly love scene. 2023 Cinemaholic Inc. All rights reserved. To some, the scene may seem insignificant and almost forgettable especially in the midst of Jacks murderous rampage. This documentary is an exhaustive cataloguing of allThe Shining fan theories big and small. Lover of foreign films; hater of American remakes. Danny (manifested as his own father in room 237) embraces the naked woman and sees the horror of his predicament in a mirror. In the same interview, the screenwriter says, "The photograph was always in the ending. Spiked with sexual innuendo, this conversation holds several clues to the truth behind the relationship between Danny, his father and the imagery of the bear, with many suggesting that the animal is symbolic of Jacks predatory control over his family and sexual abuse of his son. As mentioned above, Kubrick left many details open to interpretation, whether for viewers to come up with their own explanations or just to mess with them. As well as the incest parallels with the film Lolita, The Shining also carries abuse parallels with another Kubrick film called Barry Lyndon. The film Stanley Kubrick called "the best film I think I have ever seen" Shrouded in strange mystery, puzzling cinephiles for decades, one of the film's darkest secrets is the curious meaning behind the bear who appears to Shelley Duvall's Wendy as she is desperately escaping Jack's grasp. Instead of being inside, the young boy is out in the hedge maze being pursued by his father. It was great. This is typed inconsistently throughout , with typos and no punctuations highlighting Jacks own ever-growing trance or unstable mental health over the course. The film is very different from the novel so much so that Stephen King has said he hates The Shining many times. Why the bear costume? And what is the meaning? Returning to the comparisons between the bear costumed man scene and Danny talking to the psychiatrist, sexuality is subtly referenced in both scenes. Coming to Room 237 again, it was Jack who physically assaulted Danny and not the old lady, who serves as a metaphor for the disgusting act carried out by Jack on Danny, and this is exactly why it is shown through a mirror. Jack gets annoyed by Wendy coming in while he was working and tries hard not to completely lose it. But that hasnt stopped people all over the world from trying. Although this makes sense, Kubrick himself has said the photo actually suggests Jack being a reincarnation of an earlier official at the hotel. The Stanley Hotel in Estes Park, Colorado made a strong impression on King thanks to its long, eerily empty corridors during his stay right before the hotel closed for the winter. Viewing the figure through an open hotel room door, Wendy sees the person in a bear costume give oral sex to another man lying on a bed initially out of shot. Now starts a series of intentional continuity errors and weird set designs, that are prevalent throughout the movie. Even when looked at more literally, The Shining's meaning is still up for debate, as some fans disagree on whether the ghosts in The Shining are even real. Tony is a little boy that lives in my mouth, Danny states, complaining about his mental condition, to which the doctor replies: If you were to open your mouth could I see TonyDoes Tony ever ask you to do things?. This gives you an inkling of the absurd lengths Kubrick will go to make a tiny subliminal detail that will go unnoticed by almost everyone watching the picture. Another connection is that both of these bear motifs are featured in relation to beds or bedrooms. It seems ridiculous on the surface, but Ager's in-depth analysis points to some very compelling evidence of sexual abuse. At the beginning of the movie, Wendy mentions that Jack once injured Danny's arm, and it's later implied that Danny's imaginary friend, Tony, is . Shrouded in strange mystery, puzzling cinephiles for decades, one of the films darkest secrets is the curious meaning behind the bear who appears to Shelley Duvalls Wendy as she is desperately escaping Jacks grasp. Theres something inherently wrong with the human personality. You dont know Jack and neither do I. Well, a 102 minutes long documentary titled Room 237 was made focusing only on explaining the events that take place in the movie incorporating multiple perspectives, and yet I think it couldnt come to a totally justified conclusion. The biggest reason for the sideways panning when Ullman shows the hotel is to let the viewers sink in every corridor and direction, before he changes the set design completely, creating an anomaly to disorientate the viewers.Theres also an EXIT sign cleverly put on the left end of the hallway leading to Torrances apartment where the bathroom is, strange foreshadowing. However, skeptics would say these could easily be a result of simple continuity errors. Create robust and customizable shot lists. When Shelley Duvall witnesses the bear giving oral sex to another man, she is confronting the true horror and cruelty of her husbands actions toward her son, animating in front of her eyes as a disturbing vision. The last of our The Shiningmovie theories is the most cogent of the bunch:The Shining abuse theory. In any other film from any other director, you may discard the information as sheer coincidence, but Kubrick was famously cryptic, scattering clues and imagery throughout each and every one of his films leading to a more concealed secret. We see a disoriented Danny walking towards them and spot bruises on his neck, with Wendy putting the blame on Jack, eventually reminding him of his earlier physical assault on Danny. Like The Shining's Overlook Hotel, the Stanley Hotel also has a haunted history, even possessing a particularly haunted room (number 217) just like the Overlook's room 237. In the scene, Wendy Torrance (Shelley Duvall) is roaming through the halls of The Overlook Hotel with a knife when she approaches a door at the end of a long hallway. ", Doctor: "If you were to open your mouth could I see Tony? Who is the man in the bear costume in "The Shining"? In this post, well break down the six biggest theories on The Shining, including our own theory that its actually a Christmas movie! With a narrative that's as puzzling and confusing as the hedge maze found in the terrifying climax, The Shining has led fans to rack their head for it's various meanings for the past 40 years. {{#message}}{{{message}}}{{/message}}{{^message}}Your submission failed. On its own, this again seems more like a tiny error rather than an intentional clue. The maze in The Shining went over better than the hedge animals would've in Kubrick's vision. Of course the caption relating to incest is the one thats relevant to this chapter, while the Starsky & Hutch caption may be a reference to Jack giving his soul for a drink and the affair caption could be related to Jacks encounter with the woman in room 237. 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