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@@timbeck6726 thanks very much!

I've only just stumbled upon this, but I've been toying with making a video along the same lines. Knowing that I'm not crazy for thinking this, is encouraging.

Absolutely. It is about our irrationality, when it comes to fear. Kubrick gets a kick out of scaring us, using simple music, and lighting. Or changing sets. The main thing to remember is that Kubrick does not believe in ghosts. Therefore, every supernatural event has a perfectly natural explanation.

@@happinesstanand or the ghosts/super natural are only in jacks story not in the “real life portion” of the movie

@@mskid1166 Exactly. The only thing that can't be explained rationally, is Jack's escape from the stores. A scene which Kubrick stated was the "clearest evidence of ghosts". I might be misremembering what he said exactly, but it came across as being the ONLY evidence, as if to say "there are no ghosts in my film"

It's all in the same layer. Jack's attempts to secure his family's future, by writing a book, is representative of him following the American Dream. He's got the keys to the country club, but he has to prove himself first. Wendy's abuse? I'm not sure what you are referring to. Are you saying Wendy was abusive? Or are you referring to Jack's abuse of Wendy, which I believe is 100% in Jack's book. I guess 237 could be personal to Kubrck, I don't think it disputes this interpretation of the film. Redrum is just murder, reflected. It scares audiences.

​ @happinesstan The American Dream is a good point, I hadn't thought about that. Like when he talks about having to shovel driveways, etc. if they left the hotel. That's excellent, thnx. Ok, let me explain Wendy using the novel theory. Think about the scene in the Colorado lounge given in the video from 3:42, where Jack is working on his novel until Wendy comes in. There we see that Jack has the murders-at-the-hotel scrap book that he is using as a reference text for the novel that he is writing. That scrap book being there, incidentally, proves the novel theory, because if all he was writing was the "All work and no play" line endlessly, then that would mean that Jack has just gone mad and is possessed by the hotel as the front horror story posits. But, he's not just writing "All work" endlessly, he is writing his novel; _yet_, that is what Wendy sees when _she_ looks at it. So, what are we being shown is that scene? That Wendy is the one who is "crazy". Jack is not going crazy, Wendy is, and in her delusional state, she re-interprets or imagines everything that Jack is saying and doing as him becoming a psycho monster trying to kill her and Danny. And, the reason for this is that she was abused as a child. I assume it was in a situation similar to the hotel where they are now staying, and, as such, being at this hotel triggers this trauma, and she begins to re-live her abuse vicariously through Jack. The movie is kind of like her "therapy session" where she works out all her childhood traumas and destroys the "monster" in her psyche that allows her to "escape the hotel", or, put her traumatic past behind her. It's not so much that 237 is personal to Kubrick, it's that all of his movies, from Dr. Strangelove onwards, are part of a connected tapestry of revelatory exposition. In other words, he is telling one story via multiple films. Each film covers different aspects of it. And, it's not that the understanding of what 237 means disputes the novel theory, but that to understand it requires going beyond the novel theory; that's why I used it as an example. Let me ask you this, can you find it in 2001, and how many places can you find it in The Shining? Understanding that it is used throughout the movie is the key to understanding the movie. I'll give you a hint, that scene shown at 3:42 is a 237 scene. What is red and connected to murder? Rum is an intoxicating drink. What red drink do people drink to become intoxicated after having scared them and then killed them? I won't be giving the answer on this board; if you don't know, then you don't know. But, for those who do know what I'm talking about, Redrum is the key to what this movie is about, and is bigger than just Jack's novel. It is related to the scene at the end when Wendy sees the dog-masked man.

@@talonkarrde9904 I'm going to take my time reading this, so my replies migt be short, and incessant. Or I might be silenced. I disagree that Wendy is crazy in any way. She simply offers the support that a loving wife does. what we see is Jack's imagined response, if he was still struggling to overcome his writer's block. His growing frustration with himself, turning against those he loves, and love him. What the scene with the notes tells us, the viewer, is that although the words are repetitive, their is a lot of creativity in the arrangement of the words. as if he is working out the best sentence structure. It certainly doesn't support any argument of a continued lack of creativity.

@@talonkarrde9904 I'm struggling to see where you have conjured up Wendy history of abuse. Wendy doesn't destroy the monster. If anybody defeats the monster, it's Danny, but in truth, it is Jack who defeats the monster, that failure would otherwise manifest, and secures his families security by writing the most discussed ghost story, ever.

@@talonkarrde9904 i agree that his films are inter-connected, but I don't know what 237 mans, specifically. His theme is strongly linked to the beliefs we hold. The American Dream is it's own [cultural if not religious, but the two are one and the same, in reality] belief system. Halloran's "shining" is a belief. Jack's decision to isolate at the hotel, to help him write a book, is a belief that many authors adhere to, successfully. Our fears, or susceptibility to them, are strongly linked to our beliefs. Which is why when Halloran speaks of his voodoo [an old horror trope] like abilities, we are triggered by our understanding of it as supernatural. But it is perfectly natural to believers.

It's a pretty generic horror film. A vey well acted horror film. But more than that, it is Kubrick's horror film. A horror film by somebody who has a strong disbelief in ghosts, but knows how easy it is to frighten people with shaky beliefs.

Nah. The end photo serves to confirm that Jack, in the film, is not the same Jack, in Jack's book.

Yeah it s crazy me saying all this. but who we must blame? The picture in self is crazy puzzle of false walls and doors...its crazyness

@@juanmanuelbaccino If you watch the film, with a blank slate, and look for signs of Jack being evil, you won't find many, until Jack begins writing his book. I appreciate the accepted canon is that Jack is an abusive husband and father, and recovering alcoholic. I believed it myself for the longest time. But the film actually does very little to demonstrate this. In fact a times it appears to reject the notion. But you have to watch it without the assumption that Jack is evil, which is difficult after all these years.

Yes but you have to look at the whole, not just the words. If Jack was struggling, creatively, he would not vary the styles in which he typed "all work and no pla...". We see him trying out new ideas.

@@happinesstan your comment makes no sense.

@@Teabagsforlife We see obvious creativity in what Jack types out. He doesn't just repeat "all work.." he types it in varying patterns. This represents him going through the creative process.

@@Teabagsforlife You're taking the words at face value, but not the entire scene.

@@happinesstan no it represents the guy who typed it, miss typing because it's a typewriter, not a pc.

@@idonthavethefoggiestidea7187 Great movie! Great explosion! 💥

@@julianmarco4185 yeah, I based this solely on this movie, no books or sequels.

Wow, thank you! 🙏

The basic plot is perfectly valid. It's what makes it a horror film. But it is this plot that makes it a Kubrick film. He s mocking the superstitious and easily frightened.

@@BrendanLorenzo it did. Thank you!

@@willlackman8709 maybe in the next one.

Yep. The Jack, in the film. And the Jack in Jack's book.

I think the various ways in which Jack types "All work and no play..." is representative of him going through the creative process. If he was struggling, creatively, he would just write it out in straight lines. What we actually see, is Jack trying different ideas out.

Whoa, I was right. You DO think the same as me. I've been thinking about making my own video [my theory runs deeper than this, every single scene can be used to support the theory.] and knowing that I'm not crazy to think this, is encouraging.

Okay. I don't agree with everything. But the central theme is spot on. You just need to get over the idea that Jack is evil. He's actually a very loving, and appreciative, husband and father. The character that Jack writes, is inspired by his own biggest fears, that he could be a monster who would harm his family, and it all rests on him overcoming his writer's block. The character in the book represents who Jack might become if he fails. He might decide that a shot of whiskey could help, but that would represent a failure to quit drinking, driving him deeper into his despair. We also need to ignore the idea that Jack goes stir crazy, in the isolation. He is an author, who specifically seeks out the isolation, in order to be able to get passed his most mundane ideas, and confront his deepest feelings. It is different to a seasoned hotel worker, constantly surrounded by guests, thinking they can survive a winter, alone, in the same hotel that is usually filled with an abundance of life.

Do you assume that Jack brought the magazine with him, or that he picked it up in reception?