The Shining Explored: A psychoanalytic interpretation of Stanley Kubrick's 1980 film, The Shining

by Paul Whittington

On May 23, 1980, The Shining premiered in theaters across North America. It was co-written and directed by acclaimed filmmaker Stanley Kubrick and was presented to audiences as a movie based on Stephen King’s novel. But the similarities between novel and film have been a subject of debate among fans and critics ever since the release of the movie. Does Kubrick’s version of The Shining accurately depict King’s story about one man’s descent into madness while spending the winter with his family in a haunted hotel? Or, is it possible to interpret the supernatural aspects of the film in a different light?Employing Freudian psychoanalysis, The Shining Explored examines Kubrick's 1980 masterpiece from a psychological standpoint in order to derive a rational, real world explanation for Jack's homicidal tendencies as well as for many of the bizarre events that transpire in the film. Who is the mysterious woman in Room 237? Are the twin girls the murdered daughters of former caretaker, Charles Grady? Why is Jack featured in a photograph from 1921? These questions and more are explored in this in-depth interpretation of The Shining.

Genres: Film

128 pages, Kindle Edition

Published October 7, 2015

Reviews

[Ben De Bono · Rating 4 out of 5]

I wish the book was quite a bit more fleshed out than it is, but what's there provides a lot of good insights into The Shining. Kubrick was highly interested in Freud so a psychoanalytic reading of the film is one that's of a lot of value for trying to understand what Kubrick's own mindset was in making the film.

The biggest weakness in this reading is trying to delineate between ESP and the supernatural. Whittington's interpretation accepts ESP in the story but not the supernatural yet it's not always clear where the one ends and the other begins. In other words, if what Danny sees are psychic echoes of traumatic events at the Overlook, is that really substantially different claiming what he sees are ghosts? It would have been helpful for Whittington to spend a bit more time breaking down the spectrum between the two.

[Eurydactyl · Rating 2 out of 5]

Not a bad analysis, but the author makes some assertions about the film that in reality are only theories. The author does a good job of detailing various symbols in the story (both book and film versions), some of the history behind and some of the psychological analysis of those symbols. That said, the author jumps from topic to topic, timeline to timeline, subject to subject, and you end up feeling like you’re wandering through the Overlook hedge-maze yourself. Definitely an interesting read for any Shining fanatic like myself, but not my favourite.

[Spanishinquisition · Rating 3 out of 5]

Interessante, le teorie sono abbastanza note, ma il procedere con un confronto continuo tra le teorie di Freud e il film è avvincente. Peccato per i numerosi errori di battitura

[Mike Gonzalez · Rating 5 out of 5]

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