Kool-Aid is an American drink mix. Its placement in No.6 and No.16 can be read as an American cultural staple, but it also evokes the idiom “to drink the Kool-Aid”: unquestioning loyalty to a person or idea.
The expression is associated with the November 1978 deaths at Jonestown. That shorthand obscures the coercion and murder involved, including the killing of children; it should not be treated as a description of every victim’s choice. The Jonestown research archive identifies Flavor Aid as the drink used in the poisoned mixture.
Within this reading, the idiom connects loyalty with danger. The product’s appearance in both the Torrance home and the Overlook pantry also links the two spaces: wherever you go, there you are.
In this image · No.6
American History & American Culture
Joy and Ivory soap as American culture and history.
Kool-Aid on the counter and the two containers on the fridge.
Wendy washes the dishes from lunch. The Tom and Jerry mug and milk glass are clearly shown: “women’s work” versus “men’s work.”
Culture as decoration: Wendy wears a Native American beaded belt.
Colonialism and assimilation: the religious image on the fridge in comparison with Wendy’s beaded belt.
The Maze
Kool-Aid on the counter and the two containers on the fridge.