Primarily a theme that stems from American History and American Culture, which drugs are shown as acceptable— and how much is acceptable— is subtly shown across the film.
Ullman has a beer stein as a pencil cup and a bottle opener amongst his writing utensils.
Jack announces how they don’t drink in front of the bar, yet it’s the place he’s shown headed when things get rough “at home”.
Wendy recounts a story of Jack’s drunkeness in response to frustrations at work, but it’s her cigarette’s ash that’s stolen everyone’s attention in that scene.
A culture moment for sure: cigarette machines line the hallways of The Overlook.
While we don’t think of coffee as a drug, caffeine is. Even though it’s accepted, normalized, and heavily pushed, the coffee machines fall into this category.
In this image · No.5
Drugs & Alcohol
The beer stein and bottle opener on the desk.