Stanley Kubrick’s 1980s film The Shining is widely regarded
as one of the biggest masterpieces in film. Part of the reason for this is it’s
innovative way of using film conventions in a none conventional manner.
Although the film fits under the category of “horror”, most aspects of the film
are far from horror’s gothic roots. “Kubrick’s
relationship to the horror genre was soon grasped in a different way by more
reflective critics. The director seemed to have a parodic or subversive
approach, turning Gothic conventions on their head, locating the horror not in
supernatural threats to the nuclear family but erupting from its domestic
heart.” (Luckhurt, 2013). The
film is set in garish, spacious, 70s hotel with labyrinthial metaphors used
throughout. The fear in the film doesn’t come from the dark or the spooky, it
comes the not knowing what aspect of seemingly normal reality will be torn
apart next.
The way the film is shot adds to its stylised eeriness. The
use of symmetry and one point perspective gives the world a warped feel, like
everything is mapped and planned out. The different camera angles put you in
different perspectives- most poignantly in the perspective of Danny as he winds
round the disorientating corridors (fig 1), wide shots (making characters small
and unhelpable) and long shots. Kubrick uses long shots in many of his films,
symbolising many different things. This essay suggests;- “The scene opens with an extreme long shot tracking Danny as he rides
his tricycle away from the camera, down a hallway in the Overlook… Kubrick
holds this shot for another few seconds, suggesting that Danny has just entered
a dangerous place to where the camera is afraid to follow.” (Polselli,
2008)
(fig 1) Long warped corridor |
Colour and patterns are also strong
throughout the film. The brash wallpapers and patterns on the walls and floor
give the impression of the overly intensified warped world they’ve come to live
in. It is as if everything is trying to be a little too friendly, when in
reality everything this is a little too oversized, intensifying the loneliness.
The patterns, most famously the corridor carpet (fig 2), seem to imply
labyrinths and inner confusion. It’s
like everything in the hotel is against Danny and his mother. Ryan Lambie,
blogger from “den of geek” says “Even
the carpets accentuate the how small and vulnerable Danny and his
mother are; one shot shows the little boy playing on a carpet whose huge
geometric patterns surround him like a cage.” (Lambie, 2011)
(fig 2) Geometric carpet |
Bibliography
Luckhurt, R, 2013 The
Shining: Palgrave Macmillan
Polselli, A, 2008 “How Stanley Kubrick’s Editing Conveys a Horrifying Supernatural Vision
in The Shining” via
http://adampolselli.com/2008/01/06/stanley-kubricks-editing-in-the-shining/
Lambie, R, 2008 Iconic set
design: The Shining's Overlook Hotel via
http://www.denofgeek.com/movies/18283/iconic-set-design-the-shinings-overlook-hotel#ixzz2mR2tFIjm
Image List
(fig 1) Still from The Shining via http://www.toddalcott.com/the-shining-part-4-a-month-later-tuesday-thursday-saturday.html
(fig 2) Still from The Shining via http://www.idyllopuspress.com/meanwhile/30410/the-shining-how-the-kubrick-carpet-trick-works/
Hi Livi
ReplyDeleteGood discussion around the labyrinthine elements within the film.
Be careful when you are introducing your quotes; you say,
This essay suggests;- “The scene opens with an extreme long shot...' and even though you have referenced it afterwards, it makes it sound as though it is your essay that is suggesting it, rather than Polselli's.
Make sure that you remember to italicise the film names!
Have another look at the referencing guide; there is still a bit missing from your image list...also use 'At' rather than 'via' - (you did it right in the other reviews!)
also - consider justifying your text and also leaving a space between your paragraphs - will make the reader's experience of your content much more effortless.
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