tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-20081408.post114383956260886583..comments2023-04-11T03:27:30.609-07:00Comments on The Exploding Kinetoscope: "Dad, Do You Feel Bad?": The Secret History Lesson of THE SHINING (1980)Chris Stanglhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06300723935864517305noreply@blogger.comBlogger17125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-20081408.post-51964211218304644352013-03-28T19:05:08.018-07:002013-03-28T19:05:08.018-07:00The movie playing on the TV behind Wendy is "...The movie playing on the TV behind Wendy is "Carson City"DickHallorannhttp://kdk12.tumblr.com/noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-20081408.post-34805220652693544222012-02-24T09:21:41.397-08:002012-02-24T09:21:41.397-08:00Your a self indulged idiot.Your a self indulged idiot.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-20081408.post-19864388297635407122011-03-03T16:34:41.754-08:002011-03-03T16:34:41.754-08:00Hey, this article is totally awesome. It gave me a...Hey, this article is totally awesome. It gave me a wonderfully new perspective on a film I love. Kubrick's hidden messages are just insane. I have created a film and series review blog and I will be recommending our visitors to check this article. <br /><br />http://2minutereviews.blogspot.com/<br /><br />If you ever feel interested in writing outside your blog you will be more than welcome on our's.killianlansinghhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01840070733518321856noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-20081408.post-33407642603426513612010-08-15T19:31:47.509-07:002010-08-15T19:31:47.509-07:00i believe the western playing behind wendy in the ...i believe the western playing behind wendy in the referenced picture is, "high noon."Dr. Smallberrieshttp://www.acmevaporware.comnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-20081408.post-36419309312280350182009-11-07T15:58:11.445-08:002009-11-07T15:58:11.445-08:00This is an amazingly stupendous assessment of The ...This is an amazingly stupendous assessment of The Shining in particular and Kubrick in general. Thank you for itnorthern flicker filmshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15512357058595382726noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-20081408.post-12176537258788553012008-08-12T15:01:00.000-07:002008-08-12T15:01:00.000-07:00The film clip I'm wondering about is actually the ...The film clip I'm wondering about is actually the Western playing on television in the background as Wendy talks on the phone (there's a screencap in the article above) in Boulder before even setting foot in the Overlook.<BR/><BR/>Thanks, though - and anyone who hasn't should check out SUMMER OF '42!Chris Stanglhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06300723935864517305noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-20081408.post-17017351604851125882008-08-12T12:21:00.000-07:002008-08-12T12:21:00.000-07:00Hello, I really enjoyed your review and found an a...Hello, I really enjoyed your review and found an answer to your question...(the movie on in the background)<BR/><BR/>http://www.answers.com/topic/the-shining-film<BR/><BR/>"The film that Danny and Wendy watch on television at the beginning of the "Monday" segment is Summer of '42, reportedly one of Kubrick's favorite films."justin reedhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08648127869937021280noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-20081408.post-14344452715867995012007-12-15T13:03:00.000-08:002007-12-15T13:03:00.000-08:00Hm. Well, that website has fallen under fire for s...Hm. Well, that website has fallen under fire for swiping other writers' work and collectors' materials. I don't wish to make unfounded accusations, but the vast majority of the article in question rehashes most of what you'll find in my piece above, in plodding list form.Chris Stanglhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06300723935864517305noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-20081408.post-57537324414167802232007-12-15T11:33:00.000-08:002007-12-15T11:33:00.000-08:00here is another article that has similar points an...here is another article that has similar points and is definitely worth a look at. <BR/><BR/>http://kubrickfilms.tripod.com/id4.html<BR/><BR/>This may clear a few more things upAnonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-20081408.post-50120885969076740352007-10-04T17:56:00.000-07:002007-10-04T17:56:00.000-07:00Erm. Kubrick was obsessed and saddened by man's in...Erm. <BR/><BR/>Kubrick was obsessed and saddened by man's inhumanity to man, Indian genocide included. This comes out as a very interesting subplot in the Shining - the design of the hotel, etc mirroring it. <BR/><BR/>Kubrick knew that humans who get in power are cruel to those not in power, and he explored that theme in most of his movies. Jack - white, male, head of the family, is certainly representative of this mad abuse of power seen in Dr. Strangelove (the other Jack and also Buck), Full Metal Jacket (everyone except Joker, Pyle and Cowboy), Eyes Wide Shut (jealous, destructive, hypocritical chauvinist Bill), Clockwork Orange (the government more than Alex), Lolita (controlling, abusive Humbert), Barry Lyndon (Napoleonic Lyndon destroys his own personal life and fortune by his own jerkishness), etc etc etc ...<BR/><BR/>Kubrick, as was mentioned, was a New Yorker in accent and thought until the last. He knew a great deal of American history, despite his regular truancy from high school.dumb_n00bhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/13096031798052114225noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-20081408.post-50851587516768291212007-09-24T14:02:00.000-07:002007-09-24T14:02:00.000-07:00I just discovered a very interesting point when ex...I just discovered a very interesting point when experimentally analyzing my own work and comparing it to Dickens, other authors, and other filmmakers, and noticed something that might interest you:<BR/>My work, though it is much less in quality than that of Dickens, contains symbolism too. However, I only wrote the story, and never intended symbolism to be placed in there.<BR/>And then I realized something: the authors of the books I prefer most seem to have done the same thing: They put symbolism in, and may not think of it as symbolism when they write it. If they know where they are going, subtle clues will subconsciously appear in their work. Then you find the authors who do this on purpose and achieve results that, much like in "Tess of the D'Urbervilles" and other somewhat-contrived works, seem too obvious and less hidden. For this reason, I think Kubrick probably wanted to do something that seemed obvious to him at the time, but took years of scholars working at the code to figure it out.<BR/>Either that, or we could always all be wrong. I don't know.<BR/>And yes, this is (sorry again) the anonymous who bashed your essay a while back.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-20081408.post-54313008851993998682007-08-23T11:42:00.000-07:002007-08-23T11:42:00.000-07:00I'm very sorry. I was, if memory serves, very tir...I'm very sorry. I was, if memory serves, very tired and feeling somewhat random the morning I typed that note. Frankly, I think your essay is very sensible, and is well-written.<BR/>As for the Kubrick growing up in England thing, I only thought that because my father had told me with such conviction that I assumed it was true. Oh, well. Anyway, I hope you'll accept my apology for my somewhat incoherent and unintelligent remarks. The only reason I would have to doubt your essay is simple fact that I have no recording of Kubrick saying it himself, but I myself will ignore that problem.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-20081408.post-11674080028672669092007-07-29T14:41:00.000-07:002007-07-29T14:41:00.000-07:00hi chris -- I found your illuminating piece on the...hi chris -- I found your illuminating piece on the shining today while searching for film stills as research on light and frame for my own film -- a psychological horror thriller about the nuclear family in peril. you obviously have a sharper eye for detail than most, in that 'hidden' motifs have difficulty proving themselves as such after reading your well played critique. In response to Anonymous, who apparently knows nothing about screenwriting, directing, or production design (all of which, when properly exercised, are loaded with subtle and not-so-subtle clues) -- sir, you are out of your league in this discussion. In planning my own film -- and I'm nowhere near the filmmaker Kubrick was -- I have endless details planned that the audience may never pick up on, that critics may never interpret correctly, and that I am -- in some cases -- unaware of my own reasons for, other than an overarching thematic resonance I wish to achieve in every frame.<BR/><BR/>If Anonymous thinks for one second that the hotel The Shining was shot in came 'as is' -- he's beyond naive. I've production designed dozens of projects and NOTHING comes 'as is'. Especially to a filmmaker whose symbolic references are essential to his message(s). <BR/><BR/>Chris -- thank you for spending time opening the calumet baking powder on one of the better American films of the last 30 years. <BR/><BR/>Cheers,<BR/>Todd Fjelstedfjelstedhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/00588078882045663673noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-20081408.post-80612542217988122202007-07-05T19:22:00.000-07:002007-07-05T19:22:00.000-07:00Gee, thanks for the condescension, confusion about...Gee, thanks for the condescension, confusion about the purpose of textual analysis, and anti-intellectual dismission, Teach! By the by, in the pseudo-intellectual world, we call your major malfunction the "fallacy of intentionality." It certainly suggests a lack of familiarity with film analysis of any kind, but I'm positive you didn't read the piece very closely. I doesn't suggest Kubrick is hiding his hand, just that there are visual and linguistic motifs that require careful scrutiny. As a writer and artist, I can tell you first hand, that lodging interesting data in obscure corners of every piece is a real phenomenon, but it doesn't matter: it is not the artist's job to interpret his own work, but the critic's.<BR/><BR/>Sucking the symbolism in THE MATRIX in as an example can only weaken this facile argument; of all pop cinema, THE MATRIX contains bottomless cultural, religious, mythological references. The mirror motif alone links into a larger system of ALICE IN WONDERLAND symbolism, and makes connections to several world religious traditions. These are consciously built into the text, but it remains comprehensible to the viewer without a background in comparative religion, developmental psychology, blah blah blah. But Neo confronting his mirror-surfaced hand, for instance, gains additional resonance for the viewer familiar with Shinto, Buddhism, Lacan, Joseph Campbell and Silver Surfer comics.<BR/><BR/>"Kubrick was English, and therefore probably didn't have a lot to do with American History"? I'm sure that would be news to Mr. Kubrick, who was born in Manhattan and raised in the Bronx. If the argument is seriously that Britons could not possibly have anything to say about early American history, then you're a lost cause to begin with.<BR/><BR/>Like Maimonides' nested filigreed apples of precious metal, THE SHINING bears new fruit to the unflinching gaze. Place your eye against the skin and look as deeply as you dare; it's no concern of mine.Chris Stanglhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06300723935864517305noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-20081408.post-85736450805043101452007-07-04T08:43:00.000-07:002007-07-04T08:43:00.000-07:00Chris:I don't know much about you, but I found thi...Chris:<BR/><BR/>I don't know much about you, but I found this article on the Shining somewhat interesting. I just wanted to point out a few things.<BR/>To start, it seems you have, no offense intended, fallen into the standard "english scholar" trap of over-analyzing, and from your citations, you don't seem to be the first to do so with this movie.<BR/>The problem is, this article is perfect on a college thesis level, but you have to realise that in the real world, authors are generally trying to prove their point, not hide it in obscure imagery. Take the Matrix, for example: A brilliant movie, and in some ways subtle, but themes and motifs are relatively easy to understand, such as the mirror motif, symbolizing the blurring of reality. You see this even in the 'masters' of writing and film, like Dickens and Kubrick.<BR/>Another bit of food for thought: Kubrick was English, and therefore probably didn't have a lot to do with American History. Not a fact that is useable as proof on an English paper, but certainly proof by normal standards.<BR/>You're doing a great job at digging for details, but you just have to try to look at it from a normal movie standpoint: Kubrick was smart enough not to expect people to watch his movie with such careful scrutiny. Again, if his point was related to the Indians, he would have said it. See his other movies for comparison: His points are obvious, when he has a specific one.<BR/>You just take some set pieces to be more than they are. The indian cultural pieces you see, like paintings and other things, were probably already in the hotel where most of this was filmed [It was filmed in a real hotel].<BR/>However, it is an interesting paper, and is well-written and supported, were I to grade it as an English teacher.<BR/><BR/>-AnonymousAnonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-20081408.post-1144098993168059792006-04-03T14:16:00.000-07:002006-04-03T14:16:00.000-07:00Hey ChrisThis was just amazing. Really. For a la...Hey Chris<BR/><BR/>This was just amazing. Really. <BR/><BR/>For a laugh I'd love to see your opinion on the made-for-tv stephen king produced "The Shining."<BR/>My favorite is the ending where Ghost Dad gives Danny a thumbs up on his graduation. Ahhh, all is well! <BR/><BR/><BR/>-Jordan<BR/>www.jordancooperlalala.comAnonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-20081408.post-1144020696860396782006-04-02T16:31:00.000-07:002006-04-02T16:31:00.000-07:00very interesting stuff, stangl. looks like i'm go...very interesting stuff, stangl. looks like i'm going to have to netflix the shining again.<BR/>-ryan "lovedoll"<BR/><BR/>ps. you should find a way to syndicate this blog, it's one of my favorites.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.com