Cultural Viscera

American History/Culture:

If it’s anything, it could easily be “greed and violent men are why we can’t have nice things”, but they’re also why we have those very things to begin with. All of the products in The Pantry are references to colonized places. 

Having Jack stalk an intruder with an axe through The Kitchen speaks to protection of ownership. 

Domestic abuse:

The Kitchen space holds a lot of reference to abuse, both overtly and subtextual. Having Jack limber through it with an axe to go and “handle” an intruder, and specifically having him go through the kitchen connects violence and the home (yet again). 

The Maze:

Kubrick as Unreliable Narrator:

The last time we saw Jack he was in the West Wing Living Quarters, and maybe it’s close to The Kitchen — we have no idea. When No.22 happens, we see Wendy walk through The Gold Room and The Lobby.

Ghost Story:

Ghosts and their influence are the rationale behind why Jack is now taking his rage to the intruder of the hotel. 

Cabin Fever:

Jack’s mental state has been compromised by the stay in the hotel so much that he’s actively working to kill his wife and son.. and whoever else gets in his way. 

Scene Reflection:

No.22 

Only to show the variety in paths Kubrick chooses to show and how they differ from character to character. 

No.16

Here is where Wendy catches Halloran in a lie (and where Danny and Halloran will connect telephonically for the first time)

No.19

The scene opens right where Danny and Halloran talk about the hotel, their shared talent, and whether or not “something is bad here”

No.65

This scene opens right where Wendy cried after locking Jack in The Pantry. 

No.69

The open door is a reference to whoever unlocked Jack from The Pantry.

There is no true reason to have Jack walk through The Kitchen, except to communicate something about it. Because the last time we saw him was in The Bedroom trying to axe Wendy down, it continues the message of ‘violence in the home’. 

Kubrick also has the camera positioned way deep in the space, so much so that much of the kitchen equipment eclipses Jack. The only time we see anything like this is in No.53 with the large fake palms acting as “hunting blinds”. But this could simply speak for obfuscation, like when Kubrick pans through walls or when he had Jack enter the screen from blackness (aka the wall). 

The Overlook Kitchen

Jack

Wind is heard.