No.11
Scene No.11 opens up to The Colorado Lounge, and we see the characters exit the elevator, signifying this space is below or above the Lobby.
Calling the space The Colorado Lounge is in itself a reference to America. There is immense juxtaposition with western styling combined with Native American imagery, and the entire scene can be viewed through the lens of talking about America.
As mentioned in No.10, the people in front of the elevator are styled like the Torrance’s luggage, and the group waiting for the elevator is 3 women and 1 man. The group that comes out of the elevator (Ullman, Wendy, Jack, Watson) are 3 men and 1 woman.
Within this scene we learn about the hotel guests and how high in society they were: “All The Best People”
American History/Culture
The dialogue spoken, the name of the space itself, the styling across the stained glass, the rugs, the banding, the inclusion of the American Flag, the portraiture—all speak to American History. Usage of ‘authentic’ Native American designs, and the relativism of royalty and movie starts being ‘all the best people’ as opposed to what a Native American chief represents speaks to American Culture.
The abundance of Native American symbols combined with the Black and White photos communicate tension between the settlers and the conquered.
Combining the Elevator with the Native American symbols, after seeing No.6 and hearing the disembodied shrills and cries from The Opening Credits communicate violence and blood from how America was ‘settled’.
“Are all these Indian designs authentic?”
The importance of authenticity in conquered cultures.
“Oh this old place has had an illustrious past”
This comment pairs with No.5 “Hard to believe it happened here. But, it did” in the conceptually applicable to America’s historic atrocities.
"All The Best People":
If you’ve studied history at all, you’d be well aware that the most famous of us are hardly the ‘best’ within a moral or ethical standard, especially if you’re talking about presidents. Having Ullman declare “All the best people” directly in front of a Native American chief is a tongue-in-cheek dark joke.
Domestic abuse
What is easily seen as people moving things around the hotel is more than meets than eye. Kubrick shows a man carrying a rolled carpet down the stairs while Ullman speaks of the ‘illustrious past’. This serves as foreshadowing scenes to come: No.64, as Wendy and Jack’s argument escalates and Jack falls to the landing, and Wendy’s shown dragging Jack, unconscious to the kitchen.
The Maze
Kubrick pans the camera pulled far back from the characters, panning outside walls. This allows us to hear the characters while watching the space, people cleaning and moving. These actions will be repeated in future scenes.
The pan over the couch ‘living room’ set is reflected in No.47
The pan over the black and white photos as Ullman talks about ‘the illustrious past’ speaks to No.53 and the discussion held there
The inclusion of the red couches links to The Gold Room, the party, and the elevator sequence showing blood soaking couches.
Kubrick as Unreliable Narrator:
We are witnessing this space under the guise of viewing Jack’s apartment.
As the film plays out, the furniture within The Colorado Lounge disappears. Realistically this could be to account for the various shots, but it also conveys a message of sparse-ness or a diminishing quality, and that Kubrick’s compositions can’t be taken for granted.
Furniture as People
As the film plays out, the furniture within The Colorado Lounge disappears. Realistically this could be to account for the various shots, but it also conveys a message of what is being removed in relation to Jack’s mental capabilities and familial connection.
Ghost Story
The Black and White photos become the ghosts of No.53.
Cabin Fever
The expansive space makes it difficult to see how Cabin Fever can be the reason for Jack’s behavior.
The camera pans from right to left, from the elevator to an inset space, a direct opposite from how the camera panned through the Lobby a scene earlier.
The dialogue is important, even though it seems banal and steeped in small, polite talk.
The Colorado Lounge is a space of aggression, tension, and danger.
No.23, shows Danny triking around Jack’s work space, reflecting No.7’s conversation, foreshadowing harm.
No.30 shows outright domestic abuse around Jack’s work and Wendy.
No.33 conflates Jack’s disassociation with Wendy and Danny playing outside.
No.36 shows Jack working on his writing
No.45 shows Wendy working on Jack’s actual work, and devolves into an awareness of Jack’s mental state and Danny’s physical one.
No.64 is a culmination of all of these themes as Wendy discovers what Jack has been writing, and a fight escalates to physical violence for self protection.
Color as indicator & Mirroring
The scene opens and we see brown Native American patterned rugs. The scene ends and we see the same Native American pattern rugs in orange.
In both instances, there are two rugs per space.
The shift in color correlates with the shift in conversation.
Visual conflict between oppressor and conquered
The blocks of black and white photos and the myriad of ‘authentic’ Native American designs creates visual conflict, speaking to both American History and American Culture.
The dialogue is dually layered: seemingly simple on the surface, but indicating layers of meaning underneath.
There is no additional sound.