Depending on the context, the pairing of “cowboys and Indians” plays out like the cultural version of Wile E. Coyote and the Roadrunner.
Shown in children’s cartoons, in Westerns and in things like The Lone Ranger (where they work together in a primary/secondary relationship), it’s a fantasy within American Culture.
References are shown as a poster within The Games Room and Jack’s use of Marlboro cigarettes*.
Marlboro used a cowboy in its advertising campaign, the Marlboro man became a mainstay in American Culture for a symbol of American masculinity.
*Marlboro is the brand Jack Nicholson smokes, as seen in the BTS footage of The Shining, but Shelley Duvall is seen smoking a different brand of cigarettes than her character of Wendy, so the inclusion of the packaging within No.25 is intentional.
In this image · No.6
American History & American Culture
Culture as decoration: the Native American bamboo wall decoration.
The Torrances are shown to have the poorer version of Halloran’s furnishings, which are a step down from the Overlook’s furnishings: the television, the stand, and the furniture. Black people have to work harder and be more successful to even be treated with a modicum of respect. See: Halloran Having Nice Things.
American culture romanticizes westerns: Cowboys and Indians.
Wendy & Television
Wendy and television reflect Jack’s snarky comment in No.9.
Wendy watches a black and white western.