No.79
Primarily a visual scene, No.79 continues with Jack as he realizes he’s heard where Danny has been hiding. Now Jack becomes The Big Bad Wolf, chasing Danny through The Green Hallway. Kubrick metaphorically connects the internal space with the Hedge Maze sequences.
American History/Culture:
The breakdown of how easily Americans can justify murder:
Hearing about it “objectively”— there is still loads of bias in Ullman’s delivery and in Jack’s deflection of its seriousness.A5
By A38:i676 we are shown the results of it, from the victim’s peer/equal and potential next victim as Danny runs into The Grady Girls and witnesses the logical conclusion that awaits him.
A53:i1153
By we are hearing it (justified) from the perpetrator’s point of view.
In this way, A50’s “He did it to himself” is similar to A53 “My girls /but I corrected them and when my wife tried to prevent me, I corrected her too” in that Wendy “did this to herself” by ‘interfering’.
No.72
We witness Jack actively try to kill Wendy and Danny.
A77, A78 has us watch Jack prepare to kill and then kill Halloran- a man who has done nothing but act on helping the Torrances.
On one level, it can be said that Jack is insane and that this insanity lead him to kill - but this thought process dissolves when you look at A6, A7, A47.
Halloran is killed in front of The Cashier:
Jack kills Halloran to validate his role as amongst “The Best People”.
See:
Ullman as Uncle Sam
Grady as Imperialism
The Elevator & blood as Jack’s rising rage: American people, ‘average weak men’ attacking minorities to grow their own status, forsaking future generations for their own current gain & comfort.
Domestic abuse:
The breakdown of how easily Americans can excuse/ignore abuse:
Hearing about it “objectively”— there is still loads of bias in Wendy’s delivery (paired with Ullman’s mitigating speech) and in Jack’s deflection of its seriousness.A5
By A38:i676 we are shown the results of it, from the victim’s peer/equal and potential next victim as Danny runs into The Grady Girls and witnesses the logical conclusion that awaits him.
A53:i1153
By we are hearing it (justified) from the perpetrator’s point of view.
In this way, A50’s “He did it to himself” is similar to A53 “My girls /but I corrected them and when my wife tried to prevent me, I corrected her too” in that Wendy “did this to herself” by ‘interfering’.
No.72
We witness Jack actively try to kill Wendy and Danny.
A77, A78 has us watch Jack prepare to kill and then kill Halloran- a man who has done nothing but act on helping the Torrances.
On one level, it can be said that Jack is insane and that this insanity lead him to kill - but this thought process dissolves when you look at A6, A7, A47.
Experiencing Halloran’s death at the hand of his father is what causes Danny to scream and what he sees through Tony in A6.
The Maze:
Kubrick as Unreliable Narrator:
“Come play with us Danny”
There’s chasing and then there’s chasing.
“Do you like lamb, Doc?”
Both Halloran and Danny are essentially sacrifices. Halloran is the one who IS sacrificed, and through killing him, Jack is able to scare Danny out of hiding.
Jack as the “Big Bad Wolf”
Compare this primal animalistic Jack to A72:i1676 as he’s playfully taunting (but still threatening) as The Big Bad Wolf
Euphemism/Idiom:
Visual Idiom:
“Checkered”, as in “Checkered Past”
The Lobby is designed like a checkerboard, but euphemistically,
“Checkered” can refer to:
Including good parts and bad parts
In the Abuse Narrative, it’s Jack’s behavior: A3, A5, and A7/A47, A50, AML + TUES.
In American History, it is EASY to make this case: Beauty, freedom, accessibility, modern comforts- and what was needed to procure those things.
Including many problems or failures:
“ It’s hard for me to believe it happened here, but it did”
“I could really write my own ticket if I went back to Boulder now, couldn’t I?” (No.50)
“We've got a very serious problem the people who are taking care of the place. They've turned out to be completely unreliable assholes.” (No.60)
“Do you have any idea what would happen to my future if I failed to live up to my responsibilities? (No.64)
Color:
Red & Black:
The Lobby shot, aside from the pop of green on the left, is Red and Black.
Halloran’s slain body lays in a banded area of Red and Black.
Green & Red:
Jack’s jacket and the Green Hallway
The red pipes in The Green Hallway
Green:
The color of the hallway reflects the green of The Hedge Maze.
Artwork:
Not just Halloran’s blood, but the darkness of the shot intensifies how red the columns look. Reflecting No.53 and foreshadowing No.87.
Ghost Story:
The ghostly influence has played out to its conclusion, Jack is murdering someone to appease Grady and “the others”.
Cabin Fever:
On one level, it can be said that Jack is insane and that this insanity lead him to kill - but this thought process dissolves when you look at A6, A7, A47 and Wendy’s not killing anyone.
The camera is focused on the darkened hallway and Jack rises to fill the shot. The camera pulls back to reveal Jack standing over a slain halloran— whose blood is filling the banding. He’s in front of the cashier and in front of the Green Hallway entrance.
As Jack runs towards the camera to find Danny, he moves in Wendy’s path to Ullman’s Office from the radio room (but obviously in reverse).(No.37)
The Lobby
No.3
Jack walks in for his Interview.
No.26
Jack throws a tennis ball down the same space.
No.37
Wendy walks to Ullman’s Office to talk to the ranger on the Radio.
No.51
Jack walks through this space to see balloons and streamers. In No.79, he stands where a puddle of streamers lay in No.51.
No.55
Jack walks through this space to dismantle the Radio.
The Green Hallway
No.18
Wendy, Jack, Ullman, and Watson walk continuing their tour, Wendy mentions how the hotel feels like a ghost ship.
No.38
Danny starts his trike sequence in The Green Hallway and runs into The Grady Girls in a hallway near The West Wing Living Quarters.
No.73
Freed from the Living Quarters Bathroom, Danny has found himself in The Green Hallway to hide within a metal sideboard.
Halloran
Jack
Danny
Danny’s scream carries the last scene and this scene together. There are human voices heard, whispering — or chanting— it is not clear. It signifies a layered concept of ghosts and/or Jack’s internal mental state as he moves from killing Halloran to try to kill Danny.
Utrenja II: Ewangelica
The ‘sting’ of percussion that hits hard, is done so to accentuate awareness and the reality of the situation, and the immediate danger they are all in.
No.72 (Jack axes through apartment door) / Wendy sees ‘REDRUM’
No.78 Jack kills Halloran
No.79 Danny runs from Jack
No.80 Wendy sees bear blow job
No.83 Wendy sees dead halloran, Wendy gets shocked from “great party isn’t it”
No.84 Jack yells out “I’m right behind you”