Cultural Viscera

American History/Culture

Danny wears a handmade sweater

Mickey Mouse, a famous Disney character, popular with children. 

Football is something culturally driven into young boys and men.

The objects on the vanity are centered around classic markers of femininity: rollers, jewelry box, nail polish, hair brush, skin creams. Signifying that Wendy participates in these activities and products, assumed to improve her appearance, but we don’t see her ‘before and after’, or using the products.

Domestic abuse

The mood and the dialogue are not indicative of a healthy relationship between father and son. Jack’s mood is not well and Danny is afraid of him. 

Jack extends a hand to Danny, inviting him— to threaten him. 

Jack uses Danny to suss out any inappropriate behavior from Wendy. 

The Maze

Kubrick as Unreliable Narrator:

Jack repeating the line “forever and ever and ever” gives a connection to the ghosts, but it’s delivery from the Grady Girls serve as a warning for Danny about Jack, not Jack’s influence from ghosts. 

Jack’s pose and outfit reflects artwork shown No.30

The wood plaque above the bed reflects the opening shot No.2

Kubrick moves the night table and lamp to include the bathroom in the shot, pushing the fatalism. 

Pulling Danny to Jack’s lap is the kindest gesture Jack shows his son, but the tone is mournful and sad. The tone shifts during the conversation to threatening. 

Jack’s hand placement on Danny foreshadows where Danny’s bruises will show up. 

Kubrick’s Aesthetic

The football on Danny’s sweater becomes a visual arrow that points to the bathroom window, another signifier foreshadowing No.72:i1625

Fatalism

The bathroom, in No.13 Jack calls it “Homey”, here it’s included as Danny asks if Jack will ever harm them. In No.72 we see that he will. 

Euphemism & Idiom

Mickey Mouse is a military euphemism for ‘nonsense’. 

“Butterflies” are a feeling of excitement or fear in the stomach. 

The Vanity

definition: 

1. excessive pride in or admiration of one's own appearance or achievements.

2. the quality of being worthless or futile.

The objects on the vanity are standard for the piece of furniture: rollers, jewelry box, nail polish, hair brush, skin creams. Signifying that Wendy participates in these activities and products, assumed to improve her appearance, but we don’t see her ‘before and after’, or using the products. 

Color Palette reflection:

Danny’s wearing red, white and blue—but it also reflects No.38—both in his outfit and the hallway with the slain Grady Girls. 

The pink & gold within the Living Quarters reflect the color palette of the Gold Room. 

Colors:

Yellow: optimism, hopefulness. 

Pink: Softness, femininity. 

Blue: Sadness, or at the most obvious: emotional heaviness. 

Saturation as Emotional Intensity:

The saturated blue and light blues both Danny and Jack wear are reflected in the exterior hallways of the WWLQ. 

Ghost Story

Jack’s insomnia, especially after seeing The Grady Girls, his and Wendy’s interaction in No.31— a lot can be chucked into “he’s being haunted” bucket. 

Cabin Fever

Jack’s insomnia and distant behavior can be thought of as a result of Cabin Fever, but Wendy and Danny have always been shown at home, insulated from going out. 

Direct reflection:

No.24

Wendy (w/ the tray of food) and Danny stand in the same spot, greeting Jack. In No.24, we only see Jack in the mirror. Here, Kubrick includes the duality of “both” Jacks.  

No.38

Not only for the repetition of the line of staying in the hotel forever and ever and ever, but Danny’s outfit and the hallway are the same color palette of the Grady Girl portion of the previous scene. Kubrick has your subconscious carry the information over. 

No.62

Same space, similar tone, but definitely the next level for Danny who’s completely removed and disassociated. 

No.72

Same space, Danny grabs a lipstick and marks the bathroom door with REDRUM while Wendy sleeps. Wendy & Danny hide in the bathroom and Jack axes down the door. 

Jack’s work

Jack’s comment that he has “too much to do” to sleep, reflects how he rejects Wendy in No.24, but it preempts No.53 and what Jack’s “work” and “duty” have transformed into. 

Jack and Danny’s dynamic

No.9

No.13

No.17

No.19

No.40

No.45

No.47

No.53

No.79

No.81, maze sequences

Jack and The Bathroom:

While it could be looked at that the bathroom is a part of everyday life, what happens in/around the bathrooms in the film give a deeper connection. Jack and bathrooms combine to negativity & contempt, destruction, threats, sexual desire and conquest. 

A13:i321 “homey”

A48:i946,i947

A53:i1099

A72:i1736

Danny’s Awareness of his Parents:

Kid’s know their parents, and they definitely know when their parent isn’t right. Danny asks outright; regardless of extra-sensory abilities or imaginary friends: Danny is shown to be aware of what his parents feel and are doing. 

This scene is similar to No.24:i493 and how the scene cuts off as Wendy approaches the door. Here the camera is inside the room, waiting for Danny to enter. 

The camera pans over to Jack, similar to camera pan in A83:i1884, i1885 where Wendy sees Halloran’s body and then to the “Great Party Isn’t It?” ghost. This device signifies shock and new information. 

The camera is fixed on Jack and Danny once Danny joins Jack’s lap. The bathroom’s inclusion within the frame is important— so important that the lamp and night table have been moved to remove any visual blocks. 

The West Wing Living Quarters. The space where Jack declared it cozy and homey, becomes a tense and moody space. 

Jack

Danny

Bela Bartok, Music for Strings Percussion and Celesta

The piece of music begins as Danny and Jack talk about the hotel. 

It is reflected across:

No.26:i527) Wendy and Danny tour the hedge maze, while Jack stares over the model hedge maze

No.30:i572) Danny trikes around 2nd floor hallway and stops on Room 237. Touching the door knob he “sees” The Grady Girls. 

In each iteration of the use of this music, what is being shown is not what is truly happening. While No.24 shows Wendy and Danny in the hedge maze and Jack over the model, what’s happening is Jack’s calcification of control over his family.

No.30 has Danny thinking that Room 237 is where The Grady Girls stems from and the scary feelings surrounding them, but when we see Room 237 (No.44, No.48), it’s Jack we see. The Grady Girls are related to the living quarters. 

No.41 has a seemingly nice conversation between Jack and Danny, on paper. But in delivery the tone is mournful, distrusting, and threatening. 

The fantasy of the music hints at the duality of the sequences.