To some, the scene may seem insignificant and almost forgettable especially in the midst of Jacks murderous rampage. Contrary to the novel, Danny is not super intelligent and watches The Roadrunner Show (foreshadowing). But The Shining bear man does have a disturbing and specific implication. We meet Delbert Grady (not the Grady who killed his family) as he spills a drink on Jacks jacket and then takes him to the washroom to get cleaned up (more like clean him off his conscience). Physical child abuse is clear from Dannys broken arm, his trauma response, and the words of his child psychologist. In this post, well break down the six biggest theories on The Shining, including our own theory that its actually a Christmas movie! The Shining is Stephen King's third published novel and the one that established his name in the horror genre. Famous Guns in Movies Cinemas Most Creative Movie Guns, What is SAG-AFTRA Guild History, Eligibility & Membership. One of the most chilling and surprising shots in the movie is the man in the horrible, bear suit giving felattio to a man dressed in a tuxedo. Wendy runs around the hotel searching for Danny, and encounters ghosts, the flooding red liquid, skeletons in a completely changed section of the hotel covered with cobwebs and torn hangings and probably the most disturbing instance in the movie, the bear man performing fellatio on a man with blazing tribal music in the background. Spiked with sexual innuendo, this conversation holds several clues to the truth behind the relationship between Danny, his father and the imagery of the bear, with many suggesting that the animal is symbolic of Jacks predatory control over his family and sexual abuse of his son. Theres barely any ambiguity about the end, since it only exists if we are certain of any one explanation, but there isnt one in this case. For all of the supernatural twists and turns in The Shining's story, knowing that it's based on a real location makes the film (and its ending) all the creepier, even though King reportedly hated many of the changes. Copyright 2023 Metaflix Media LLC. When Jack walks from the reception to the room, the camera travels in a perpendicular fashion highlighting the angle of the room and the apparent absence of a wall behind Ullmans room. As for all the weird stuff Wendy stumbles across while running through the hotel, like the guy in the bear suit blowing the party guest and the lift full of blood, it's like Halloran said earlier in the film: "A lot of things happened in this hotel over the years, and not all of them were good". You look up and wonder, how could anyone have climbed that high? Is she a lesbian? In this interview, Stephen King supports the notion that the Overlook Hotel could represent hell. Perhaps the Overlook hotel is merely something of a mental prison for Danny, with his peculiar powers bringing in the consciousnesses of his mother and father in order to process his sexual abuse. There are actually several other references in the film to bears. But, to be perfectly honest, every other piece of evidence in support of this theory is beyond far-fetched and not to be taken seriously. At the hedge maze, Danny manages to escape by laying a false trail to mislead Jack. Here, Im going by the theory that the Jack in the second half was typed into existence by the real Jack Torrance. Upload images to make storyboards and slideshows. Simply put, this The Shining analysis posits that the film is just as much about the genocide of Native Americans as it is about ghosts haunting the hotel. The Shiningmoon landing connection is the one theory that extends film and into the life and work of Stanley Kubrick in general. The Overlook or the hedge structure. By rejecting non-essential cookies, Reddit may still use certain cookies to ensure the proper functionality of our platform. So how can you break put from the pack and get your idea onto the small screen? The sequel to The Shining, 2019's Doctor Sleep movie managed to walk a delicate tightrope between adapting King's Shining sequel book and being a follow-up to Kubrick's Shining movie. Set in the towering, fictional Overlook Hotel, located in the Colorado Rockies, the haunting tale follows Jack Torrance (Nicholson), his wife, Wendy (Duvall) and son Danny (Danny Lloyd) who opt to look after the hotel over the winter. Introducing aspiring bodypainterCharrar.basPennywise the Dancing Clownfrom Stephen Kings It, the hit book, television adaptation, and film adaptation. His name is a rightful synonym for perfection, with even his errors draining the life out of you in deciphering the genius behind them. The dialogue of the scene is full of innuendos about abuse. Rumor has it Kubrick himself typed those words. One of the most chilling details about both the novel and film versions of The Shining is that the Overlook Hotel is based on a real (possibly haunted) location that Stephen King once visited. By accepting all cookies, you agree to our use of cookies to deliver and maintain our services and site, improve the quality of Reddit, personalize Reddit content and advertising, and measure the effectiveness of advertising. He might have had his anger under control for a while before taking the job, but he went back to it there. Dannys shine reaches its peak at the Overlook Hotel, which mixed with the hotels spirits and own evil, unleashes some real horrors. The video was called The Shining Who is the man in the bear costume. Returning to the comparisons between the bear costumed man scene and Danny talking to the psychiatrist, sexuality is subtly referenced in both scenes. In the lobby Danny and Wendy watch a film called Summer of 42, which is about a young man who has an affair with an older woman. Well explain each theory, why people believe it, and look at the corroborating evidence. Kubrick was never into the idea of making a typical horror film, and he certainly got what he wanted out of the film, even if Stephen King didn't like it. The most obvious parallel is that both stories feature their combating opponents showing down in a sprawling maze. In 2019, famed horror director Mike Flanagan brought the story to the big screen, starring Ewan McGregor in the titular role. It's no secret that Kubrick's take on The Shining deviated largely from Stephen King's novel in fact, Stephen King hates The Shining, somewhat notoriously but film scholar Rob Ager delved deep into what Kubrick may have been implying with The Shining bear man, that the novelization didn't clear up. Jack hadnt slida single drop of liquor for the past 5 months, a vow out of guilt. And another strange aspect is that there are lots of pornographic pictures of women on the billboard in the basement (see HD version of the film). Diane Johnson said this of Stanley Kubrick's non-horror vision: "The ending was changed almost entirely because Kubrick found it a clich to just blow everything up. Jack then goes after Danny, who runs into the hedge maze all this during a snowstorm. The film Stanley Kubrick called "the best film I think I have ever seen" Shrouded in strange mystery, puzzling cinephiles for decades, one of the film's darkest secrets is the curious meaning behind the bear who appears to Shelley Duvall's Wendy as she is desperately escaping Jack's grasp. The Bear Man. Next to the bed is a mirror above a sink and in front of the sink is a stool for the child to stand on, just as he was stood on a stool when brushing his teeth. Traces of his films can even be seen decades after their release; Interstellar and The Tree of Life (2001 : A Space Odyssey), Trainspotting (A Clockwork Orange), almost every heist movie pays tribute to The Killing, Alice in Wonderland (The Shining) or House of Cards (Eyes Wide Shut). Danny has been sexually abused by Jack. Played with quiet confidence and wounded reservation by "Charm City Kings" star Winston, Kevin starts "We Have a Ghost . Jack has clearly gone haywire and absent-mindedly proceeds to the Gold Room. Interesting. The hallucination ends when an hysteric Wendy comes running in and informs Jack about a woman in Room 237 who tried to strangle Danny. Dannys exposure to T.V is also mentioned and it does raise questions over the authenticity of the visions that we see. Shrouded in strange mystery, puzzling cinephiles for decades, one of the films darkest secrets is the curious meaning behind the bear who appears to Shelley Duvalls Wendy as she is desperately escaping Jacks grasp. A rotating shot followed by a hawk-eye shot of pine forests that point out of the screen like needles with the nerve-wracking high pitched background score. The scene seemed almost accidental but knowing Stanley Kubrick, every shot that made it to the final cut was necessary. Tony is a little boy that lives in my mouth, Danny states, complaining about his mental condition, to which the doctor replies: If you were to open your mouth could I see TonyDoes Tony ever ask you to do things?. Another shot through the mirrors perspective with Jack waking up and explaining Wendy about a feelingof deja vu in the hotel. She was also a contributor for FanSided's BamSmackPow and 1428 Elm. The hotel makes one last attempt to possess Hallorann but he successfully manages to avoid it. Lets take a look from the beginning. He tells her that he had disabled both the radio and the snowcat and there was no means of escape left, while the camera points at him in an inverted position giving the impression of him hanging upside down, innovative angles to insert craziness. But that hasnt stopped people all over the world from trying. The latter is the one that Jack says he saw in the newspaper (and the one who killed his family in the hotel), and thus the reincarnation of Delbert Grady. Simply put, this The Shining analysis posits that the film is just as much about the genocide of Native Americans as it is about ghosts haunting the hotel. He also informs Danny about the hotels ability to shine owing to its tragic past from being built on an Indian burial site to the murders, discovered and undiscovered. There are so many doors in the movie that lead nowhere, like our ideas of the movie that according to Kubrick offer no explanation and hence raises the question : What is the maze? Of course, there are some more convincing (and coherent) than others, but The Shining is, at its core, a story about violence and abuse and how these are often cyclical. This video is my attempt to put the record straight. The Shining novel, however, has a very different ending, and one that even made way for a sequel: Doctor Sleep. Starring Jack Nicholson and Shelley Duvall, Kubricks film was adapted from the novel by Stephen King, with the author famously opposed to the directors vision, despite it being considered an iconic movie of the genre. The Bear Man is the biggest evidence of Dannys sexual abuse. Wendy calls a doctor who checks Danny and asks about some sort of trauma Danny may have suffered that may have caused him to make up his imaginary friend. The second half brings out the worst in Jack, his actions replicating that of Gradys and also notice the scrapbook placed beside the typewriter. More and more people are flocking to the small screen to find daily entertainment. Realizing that he is leaving footprints in the snow, Danny carefully maneuvers backwards over his own . Directed by modern horror master Mike Flanagan, Doctor Sleep offered an unexpected treat in the form of an extended cameo by none other than Jack Torrance himself, now played by Henry Thomas. The particular scene from Summer of 42 that we see on the lobby television shows the older woman telling the young man to sit down while she makes lunch for him. It's considered one of his best novels to date and one that has gone through all types of analysis thanks to the various themes it addresses, such as family, addiction, isolation, and mental health. Its a new day, and Jack shows an increasing sense of depersonalization in a chilling conversation if you notice the details. The layout of the hotel seeming to fluctuate throughout the film is also used as evidence toward this interpretation. Both the usage of pre-existing music and the original score composed for The Shining are standouts of the genre. That being said, The Shining bear didn't appear in the sequel. In an interview (via EW), executive producer Jan Harlan and screenwriter Diane Johnson both expand on the final scenes of The Shining, including The Shining picture at the end. When Wendy finds Danny after he enters room 237, hes in shock and physically injured, and Wendy immediately blames Jack for it as he has hurt their son before. The bear man appears to be giving felatio to the man on the bed, just as the dog man in the book was carrying out a sexual submission role with his partner. Charles Grady killed his family with an axe, and Jack was on track to replicate that. In conversation with Deadline, King stated: I think The Shining is a beautiful film and it looks terrific and as Ive said before, its like a big, beautiful Cadillac with no engine inside itI kept my mouth shut at the time, but I didnt care for it much. The Shining is a film about cyclical violence, and about how we can't escape the dark specter of history. Here's The Shining bear scene explained. In Barry Lyndon a commoner, who marries his way into high society, systematically beats his stepson, Lord Bullingdon. This concept is further paralleled in our first view of Dannys bedroom in the Overlook. A flustered Jack heads to the empty Gold Room, where he starts talking to the bartender Lloyd and opts to drink. Jack Torrance accepts a caretaker job at the Overlook Hotel, where he, along with his wife Wendy and their son Danny, must live isolated from the rest of the world for the winter. The Bear in The Shining has a lasting legacy though an especially unsettling moment in an already unsettling film. If you love The Shining, then theres a good chance that youre a fan of the horror genre. Because the movie's Overlook Hotel was built on an Indian burial ground, the blood coming out from the elevator has been interpreted as that of the Indians buried there. Surprisingly, Jack expresses nothing but anticipation towards the role of the caretaker. And both of them have sexual relations with a minor within their own family unit. There are many reasons why Stanley Kubricks The Shining is considered one of the most influential horror movies of all time. He also informs Jack about Danny involving an outside party (Halloran) in the situation and stresses on words like will, to upset Jack. Jack admits to having underestimated the task and promises to go to any length to finish it, and his door unseemingly gets unlocked. The dog/sexual abuse interpretation hasnt been confirmed by those involved in the film, so its up to each viewer if they accept it or not. The core of this theory suggests thatThe Shiningis secretly about CIA mind control experiments. He then follows that up by complaining about his wife and son, and you can sense the contempt for Wendy in his voice through the suppressed grins that indicate madness instead of anger. Wendy too looks in the mirror, and overlap the two scenes and you find Jack holding Danny while the mirror shows the filthiness of his atrocities. This theory goes all the way back to classic Greek myths. The Shining Caretaker Explained. Theres also a poster of bears right above Dannys bed with the smaller bear on its knees. Inside, a man in a bear suit is performing fellatio on one of the Overlook's guests. As for Jack, he does die but not in the snow: a malfunctioning boiler explodes and kills Jack while also destroying the hotel. The elevator blood scene first appears as a vision to Danny, and materializes near the end of the film when Wendy is looking for him. Kubrick used a yellow car instead of a red one and used a red snowcar contrary to yellow in the novel. The Shining is full of allegory and mystery, but none are as wild and potentially insidious as what could be lurking behind that strange man in a bear suit. Netflix. Yet, this isn't Jack, rather, it's Lloyd the bartender, albeit not the same Lloyd Jack himself encountered. In the novels story, one of the hotels former owners has a homosexual relationship with a party guest in a dog costume. What makes The Shining so special? Unable to pass through that same window, Wendy is trapped when Jack arrives and breaks through the door with the axe the famous Heres Johnny! scene. He decided to adapt Stephen Kings best selling novel, The Shining. We see this relationship between Vitali and Danny when shooting the scene of Danny looking for a hiding space. 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