The Shining

The Shining (1980) is a psychological horror film by director Stanley Kubrick. Kubrick's work, such as 2001: A Space Odyssey and A Clockwork Orange are both films with much the same balance of horror and tragedy. The aim, much with 2001, is to confuse the audience- they are left unsure of the meaning of the ending, and the plot seems to jump around towards the end as Jack's madness increases. I began to notice this in the 'All work and no play' scene. The scene begins with Wendy beginning to read the work Jack has been doing on his typewriter. Her head appears over the top of a close up of the typewriter, she soon knows that all is not well, when it its revealed through a Point of View shot that all he has typed, over and over again is 'all work and no play makes Jack a dull boy' she examines the paper quickly, leaving just enough time for the viewer to see what is written. I felt like I was connected to Wendy at that particular moment, as I was afraid of what had happened and what could happen to her and Danny, as Jack had lost his mind. There is another reaction shot of Wendy as she goes to examine the previous work Jack has done. As she shifts her gaze to them, it zooms in, creating a feeling of dread as if you know immediately what is written. There are constant switch from Point of View shots to reaction shots as you see the effect it has on Wendy. The reaction shot was ow angle, and I felt almost as if she was in a position of power over Jack, because of her sanity and therefore her clarity of the situation. The faster she looks through the papers, the tenser the music gets, as the camera switches to her face, you see a looks of fear and sadness in her face, and I felt empathy with her and concern for her. The camera suddenly pulls back to the wall behind her, and pans the length of it, revealing several photographs. The audience can make out crosses, and to me the represents the running theme of godlessness by Jack acting like God himself. As the camera pans to reveal Wendy, Jack steps into the foreground staring at Wendy. His being in the foreground represents his power, his is one of strength whilst Wendy's is one of intelligence. It is mention the character of Wendy is highly intelligent- more so than Jack. The music cuts off as soon as he steps into shot. His menace makes me feel uneasy and concerned for Wendy. She screams and turns around, clearly in fear of her life, her face shows she is weak with terror. As they speak, Wendy is retreating in terror as well as shaking and crying whilst Jack is advancing, showing almost an animal stalking it's prey, playing with it rather than killing it straight away. There are more crosses, this time inverted, revealing a darker side to the religious theme, that of the devil. The good versus evil of heaven and hell, with Jack representing the Devil and Wendy and an angel. The stairs are another example of a cross in this scene, and they are walking toward it, wendy first. then followed by Jack as he verbally berates her. There are only point of view shots whilst they are talking as they are against each, similar to a standoff. When Wendy swings the bat at him he continues talking. Even as Wendy is the victim as she is the one backing away, and Jack is advancing, there is still an aspect of Wendy having the power, even as she is hysterical she has the bat and has the sanity that she needs to escape the hotel. The hotel is a  possible symbol for America, as Kubrick wanted to escape America, and some costume had been made red, white and blue to show the American flag. Jack's crumbling sanity could represent the crumbling of America, such as getting involved in war and politics.