The Shining’s renewable energy

Some classic movies have generated so much attention, capturing our imagination during the years, that even scientist must take this phenomenon of renewable energy into consideration. It might sound as a joke but it is amazing how much generated energy is on display online for some iconic movies like Stanley Kubrick’s “The shining”. That energy is evident when it comes to conspiracy theories regarding Kubrick’s hidden apology for participation in Apollo 11 fake moon landing and other popular topics like CIA mind control and Illuminati assassinations. Therefor, success of the movie can be measured by number of conspiracy theories. Kubrick was passionate chess player and he love to play mind games and deliberately disorientate us as we try to make a mental blueprint of places he is taking us to. His work is fertile playground for conspiracy theorist.
I am part of writers group that meet occasional and just chatting about writing and all the angst that goes with it. Up until one point when we agreed that we can work together, write something, for example if that is what we do. Idea was: “Why don’t we rewrite classics?” Short stories from a different perspective of a character that don’t have a point of view in original or to be abstract, or address modern day issues. I thought about writing a story from the perspective of a twin sisters from The Shining. That supposed to be a perspective of a dead teenage twins with a remains of a persons they once were and emptiness they possess while they watch little Danny just before the first show up. They supposed to communicate with themselves, with dark figure of dead father and with even greater authority deeper in the shadows. Nice, but it was Stanley Kubrick, not Stephen King. In the novel girls are not twins at all and they don’t appear. And as this was rewriting classics in literature and not movies I put that project on hold. But I watch movie again, read novel and took a little online voyage through shining phenomenon.
There are a lot of difference between King’s and Kubrick’s vision. King was never fond of a movie, or Stanley as well. In one of the recent interview, where he announced novel Doctor Sleep as a sequel of The Shining, he said that Kubrick tell a very cold story (“We’re looking at these people, but they’re like ants in an anthill”) that story is lacking human warmth and even accusing Stanley of being misogynistic since Kings character Wendy act more like a heroine and less like someone that is “just basically there to scream and be stupid”. Then King in novel is more focused on issue of Jacks alcoholism. He is not mad. Jack is ordinary man driven to madness with help of both hotels evil powers and more important, alcoholism as a trigger. I surely miss that in movie, as well as more color on Wendy’s nature. Jacks character, performed by distinctive genius of Nicholson, is unstable from the very beginning, alcoholic or not. Stephen King stated that Jack is the most autobiographical character he ever made, so no wonder he take it personally.
The Shining was the scariest thing I saw in my childhood and the only movie I was turning my head away from screen. I was intrigued by so many untold stories inside the bigger picture, like when man in a Bear suit kneeling in front of another man show up. That was pure unsettling madness to me. Those inexplicable few seconds terrified my poor child mind. Well… What scares us the most are the things without any rational explanation.
I like both Stanley Kubrick and Stephen King. There are some serious intimate explorations of human inner states in Kings novels with lovable and rememberable characters. You care for them while you read. But I never liked how he end his novels. He put enormous effort writing the novel, that is so evident, but when he reach climax, he ends almost every novel hasty and unconvincing and spoil everything. In novel Overlook hotel blast away in explosion, but in movie it is just frozen and could be awaken again. That is more terrifying. Open end without clear conclusion will keep us in a state of discomfort more than happy conclusion. So, I am more in a favor of Kubrick ending. More creepy.
In a first, telephone conversation between King and Kubrick, Stanley said: “I think stories of the supernatural are fundamentally optimistic, don’t you? If there are ghosts then that means we survive death.” King is an optimistic guy, even he admitted he suffer from a number of phobias. Part of explanation why is he so good in writing horror. But Stanley is not optimistic guy, but you should not discard his philosophy for being cold. There is chilling coldness in Sartre existentialism, as well. David Cronenberg stated that Kubrick didn’t understand horror genre and that he, Cronenberg, is more intimate and personal then he ever was, but I don’t agree and that surely sound narcissistic with a hint of jealousy. It is not a fair statement. John Cusack is interested in adapting Doctor Sleep for a movie and there is some buzz that Warner Bros is developing a prequel called The Overlook Hotel from the pen of Walking Dead writer Glen Mazzara. So all this story and comparisons will be told and retold in times ahead. Constant attention on this classic, that is made 34 years ago, tells a lot about longevity of this masterpiece. Photo: © 1980 – Warner Bros. Entertainment