No.38
No.38 is one of the most famous scenes in the whole film, containing one of the most quoted lines. "Come Play With Us, Danny" has Danny meeting The Grady Girls with the West Wing Living Quarters. In a way, it’s recreating the painting shown in No.7 and referenced in No.37, Horse & Train. Danny is the horse and the Grady Girls the train, and how that’s translated will influence whether you see this as about ghosts or warnings.
American History/Culture
Danny is dressed in red, white, and blue, and the Grady Girls (once slain), match his color palette exactly.
Domestic abuse
The Grady Girls as Scene Reflection
The image of the slain Grady Girls is composed intentionally with elements shown across other parts of the film. The horseshoe is from No.37, while the chair and the axe are foreshadowing No.72.
Bulletin Boards
The bulletin boards show up when characters are updated on the situation, to see the rise in danger surrounding them. In Jack’s case, it’s danger he causes. In Wendy, Danny and Halloran’s case, it’s about their proximity with Jack’s decisions and how dangerous they are.
The Maze
Kubrick as Unreliable Narrator:
The Grady Girls aren’t twins, but they’re styled like they are.
The Grady Girls are based on Diane Arbus’ Identical Twins, Roselle New Jersey 1967. In the image, one twin is smiling and one is frowning- Kubrick used this concept in Danny and Tony and the duality of self explored in imagery.
“It’s just like Mr. Halloran said, just like pictures in a book, it isn’t real”
This is referring to A19, where Halloran and Danny talked about The Shining, what it’s like, and how it works. We didn’t see Halloran say this to Danny, but we know they had a conversation, so the viewer assumes this as truth.
Semiotic Splice:
“Just like pictures in a book, it isn’t real”
This, coupled with the question “Is there something bad here?” amounts to a whole lot of miscommunication. The Grady Girls are dead— and therefore are just like pictures in a book and are not there to harm Danny, but they are there to warn him about the very real threat of Jack, where Jack is totally able to harm him.
Doubling
There are two hallways shown that Danny could have triked through, but the right one (closed doors) doesn’t lead to anywhere
Furniture As People
The rolled blue and white mattresses (the standing and the rumpled and dirty) speak to The Grady Girls standing and then bloody/dead.
Proximity
Again, Wendy and Danny are situated near each other but not engaging with each other. A foreshadowing of A44 and A45 where Wendy is below Danny near Room 237, and continuation of the theme that Danny is near his parents when they fight (and therefore he sees dangerous/harmful imagery).
Time:
The timeframe in which Grady, and his daughters, exist.
In No.5 we hear about Charles Grady in 1970, but A53 has Delbert Grady in a 1920’s style party.
Here, The Grady Girls are ambiguously styled, but the girl in the forefront looks like she’s got bloomers on, which would place them in the 1920’s, or similar- older than 1970’s.
Work:
The time clock on the wall of the Green Hallway (and it’s proximity connection to Ullman’s Office) connect this with Jack’s work.
Color Palette Reflection:
The close up crop of Danny and the handlebars reflect the image of the slain Grady Girls right down to the silver axe blade.
Green:
Tied to Jack, the Games Room, the outdoors, jealousy, being inexperienced, and greed.
Blue:
Tied to femininity and sadness.
Pattern
Floral patterns are associated with fantasy & make believe.
Ghost Story:
Danny does see ghosts, but having Jack repeat their line makes their presence more of a warning than the actual threat.
The camera is far behind Danny within the Green Hallway as he is already triking around the corner. The camera cuts to him triking through a West Wing Living Quarters hallway and we see the two spaces are connected.
The Green Hallway
The West Wing Hallway
Danny
The Grady Girls
Penderecki’s De Natura Sonoris #1 is used here.