Lover of foreign films; hater of American remakes. The video was called The Shining Who is the man in the bear costume. He is unable to put his undivided attention towards detailing while writing the story or thinking about it, since his consciousness pertains to a limit of recollection. Prior to Screen Rant, she wrote for Pop Wrapped, 4 Your Excitement (4YE), and D20Crit, where she was also a regular guest at Netfreaks podcast. Another important detail is that Jack doesnt wear a wedding ring at all in the film, not even when he and his family are driving to the hotel, but Wendy always wears hers. Lets compare the two characters in more detail. If you love The Shining, then theres a good chance that youre a fan of the horror genre. Either way, The Shining is not so much a ghost story in a literal sense, but a story about the ghosts (or demons, in some cases) of violence and abuse, and how these can come back to continue with the cycle. Danny's experience in Room 237 occurs when a ball rolls into the room, and Wendy then comes to his rescue after she hears him screaming punctuated with the claim that a "crazy woman" strangled him. Before we get into The Shining fan theories, its important to acknowledge the source material. Few films inspire as many diverse fan theories and interpretations as Stanley Kubricks The Shining. When Shelley Duvall witnesses the bear giving oral sex to another man, she is confronting the true horror and cruelty of her husbands actions toward her son, animating in front of her eyes as a disturbing vision. The sound design is top-notch but is literally so powerful at this time, every blow feels like one to your heart. In order to buy into The Shining conspiracy theories in this vein, you need to already be on board with the moon landing being a hoax, which, of course, it wasnt. Vivian Kubrick explains in the commentary that James Mason was acting in a local theatre, and so Kubrick gave him an invitation. The text version is slightly more in-depth as well. Note how the scene opens with a close-up shot of the beige typewriter and slowly zooms out. Along with a painting on the wall of the Overlook that could be interpreted as the head of a bull atop the body of a man, though not in a literal sense. I think Kubricks version is more matured and tries to be realistic about itself, while keeping intact his use of underlying themes. comments sorted by Best Top New Controversial Q&A Add a Comment [deleted] In Doctor Sleep, Adult Danny Torrance is forced to head to the Overlook in order to unleash a greater evil on villain Rose the Hat, but while there encounters the ghost of his father. Surprisingly, Jack expresses nothing but anticipation towards the role of the caretaker. At The Overlook Hotel, there is a picture of two bears above Danny's bed, and there's a prominently featured bear skin rug in the lobby. The bank that won't pass on rate rises unless you ring and ask: Just one of the ruses greedy lenders use to squeeze savers and pump up profits There is also an odd Mickey Mouse parallel. As is explained here, there are . In this post, well break down the six biggest theories on. Watch the scene below and let us know what you think the scariest scene in The Shining is. With a narrative that's as puzzling and confusing as the hedge maze found in the terrifying climax, The Shining has led fans to rack their head for it's various meanings for the past 40 years. Another connection is that both of these bear motifs are featured in relation to beds or bedrooms. The aforementioned Room 237 doc covers this theory and the following video digs even deeper into this Native American genocide interpretation. Based on the book of the same name by Stephen King, The Shining follows Jack Torrance (Jack Nicholson), an aspiring writer and recovering alcoholic who takes a job as the off-season caretaker of the Overlook Hotel. 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. Hedge animals and objects coming to life, Gradys ghost, generalized and plot favored characterization, the spirit of the Overlook Hotel and playing safe with the gore; stuff like this grows campy over time and Kubrick turned this into an atmospheric psychological horror. He also made a brief appearance in one of the bizarre " WTF ?" scenes in the 1980 adaptation of The Shining by director Stanley Kubrick. 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. Were in a golden age of TV writing and development. There is also Jack and Danny's conversation in the apartment suite with Danny on Jack's lap. Charles Grady killed his family with an axe, and Jack was on track to replicate that. Related: The Shining Has An Alternate Ending You Will NEVER See. 13 minutes into the movie when Danny wakes up in his bedroom, his head rests on a bear pillow and very surprisingly 13 minutes from the end we encounter the bear man. I love Joe Turkels mesmerizing performance as Lloyd, his calmness giving a helping hand to Jacks boiling conscious. Also introduced is an invisible character Tony, who apparently lives inside Dannys mouth. Next: Every Shining Character Who Returns In Doctor Sleep, The Shining's Bear Man Is The Film's Biggest Mystery: Here's What It Means, Are Charles & Delbert Grady The Same Person? Well explain each theory, why people believe it, and look at the corroborating evidence. The famously paused bear suit scene in The Shining, a horror film directed by Stanley Kubrick and released in 1980, has become one of the most iconic and memorable moments in cinematic history in . Coming back around to consciousness, Danny awakes to see that his trousers are around his ankles and he is laying on top of a large stuffed toy bear. Jack hadnt slida single drop of liquor for the past 5 months, a vow out of guilt. 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. 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. Here is a piece of evidence which on its own acts as virtual confirmation of this theme. It is less of a stretch to consider this interpretation as a distillation of clear subtext on child abuse that some viewers might miss. She knocks him unconscious in an act of self defense and locks him in the pantry. This concept is further paralleled in our first view of Dannys bedroom in the Overlook. Danny has visions about the hotel right after Jack gets the job and during his time at the hotel, and has a traumatizing experience when drawn into the forbidden room 237. 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. One might expect that explaining The Shining could be done by reading the original novel written by Stephen King. ), or wondering what life would have been like had Pushing Daisies, Firefly, and Limitless not been cancelled. He also informs Jack about Danny involving an outside party (Halloran) in the situation and stresses on words like will, to upset Jack. 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. Coming to Room 237 again, it was Jack who physically assaulted Danny and not the old lady, who serves as a metaphor for the disgusting act carried out by Jack on Danny, and this is exactly why it is shown through a mirror. Jack comes back and lies to Wendy about finding anyone there and leaves enraged when she asks him to get Danny out of here, blaming her for f*cking up his life. Without wasting more time, lets revisit The Shining by quoting Kubrick. About the Jack in the picture, Kubrick confirmed that it wasnt taken at The Overlook and doesnt serve as an evidence of Gradys claim that Jack had always been the caretaker. Cookie Notice Breaking the cycle. All of this corresponds to Wendy's horrified reaction to seeing The Shining bear man in the hallway, which Ager suggests may or may not imply that she has realized, at that moment, what's been happening to Danny in The Shining movie. Danny has been sexually abused by Jack. Make sure you come right back 'cause Im gonna make lunch soon. This next theory also suggests that the continuity errors are actually intentional and represent something different entirely. An analysis of one. Where the clear subtext and The Shining abuse theory diverge is on the type and extent of the abuse. Danny laying on the bear pillow with his pants removed and hands over his genitals. Keen-eyed viewers have pointed out before that the issue of Playgirl magazine Jack Torrance is reading in one scene has an article titled "Incest: Why Parents Sleep With Their Children" featured on the cover. contain their own pieces of unique information. The Shining is Stephen King's third published novel and the one that established his name in the horror genre. First few seconds and we are already given a taste of the mise en scne. The novel ends with Danny and Wendy spending the summer at a resort in Maine where Hallorann works as head chef. While some fans felt this missed an opportunity to add some meaning to The Shining bear suit, Flanagan felt trying to give the bear from The Shining a backstory would disrupt the rest of the movie. Sound familiar? The scene with the man in the dog costume and the man in a tuxedo is the one used to support this theory, which says the dog represents young Danny Torrance (who earlier in the film is shown to have a plush toy) and the man in the tuxedo represents Jack. Unlike the film, Hallorann in the book doesnt die and helps Wendy and Danny escape. This was a controversial essay claiming that the medical professions have a tendency to mistakenly label physical health conditions as manifestations of psychological problems. Learn More{{/message}}, {{#message}}{{{message}}}{{/message}}{{^message}}It appears your submission was successful. He also suggests that Kubrick dismissed the notion when King brought it up to him. Although only 13 seconds, this scene was an eerie moment that is enough to disturb viewers and keep them questioning even 40 years after the film has been released. Quite sensibly quoting Martin Scorsese Watching a Kubrick film is like gazing up at a mountaintop. On the way he passes by a red VW crushed by a truck, a sweet tongue in cheek dig at the source material. The Overlooks cook, Dick Hallorann, arrives to help Wendy and Danny after the latter reaches out to him through the shining, but is ambushed and killed by Jack. Wednesday, and Danny finds the Room 237 ajar and we see him walking towards it because a red ball rolls upto him out of nowhere from that direction. The Shining Explained . Danny goes back to his room to get his firetruck and sees a grim looking Jack, his face shown through the mirror again. Either way though, it's a haunting moment in The Shining, as the dynamic between the two men is uncomfortable, to say the least. The video, which was credited to a writer named Jeff Saporito and which had since racked up over half a million views, offered a theory that the appearance of the bear suited guy in the mysterious bear scene of The Shining was a metaphor that lead character Jack Torrance had sexually abused his own son. 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. Its understandable: Kubrick asked for freedom to change whatever he wanted, and he wasnt kidding. The Shining Is About Sexual Abuse. Here, Im going by the theory that the Jack in the second half was typed into existence by the real Jack Torrance. She clutches a knife and slowly ascends up stairs. 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. He might have had his anger under control for a while before taking the job, but he went back to it there. 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. In the kitchen, Halloran takes Wendy and Danny through a twisting-turning path and then opens the freezer room, shot cuts, and we see him opening the door on the wrong side contradicting the previous shot. Danny who witnesses this screams from the cupboard he was hiding in, runs towards the maze when Jack starts getting closer. How did these pictures get there if Wendy does all the menial chores. But also the sexual abuse is shown in a scene between Jack and his father in the bizarre scene with the man in the bear costume and older gentleman. One of the most persuasive is the reoccurrence of The Shining bear symbolism. Its eyes are similar in design to the floor dials of the gaping mouth elevator, which weve already identified as symbolic eyes, and the teddys mouth is bright red, which again is similar to the gaping mouth doors of the elevator. Jack embraced Danny on the bed in the fatherly love scene, from which Danny would have also been able to see his own predicament in a mirror. Both of them keep their personal writings hidden from their wives. In the book, the man dressed in a suit is actually Horace Derwent, the mysterious owner of the Overlook Hotel, and the man in the costume (which is a dog in the book) is Roger, a one-time lover of his. Jack admits to having underestimated the task and promises to go to any length to finish it, and his door unseemingly gets unlocked. The three remain close, and Hallorann comforts Danny over the loss of his father and teaches him to fish. She also finds Hallorans body, while an injured and weak Jack is chasing Danny through the maze. Last update on 2023-02-28 / Source: Amazon Affiliates. Inside, a man in a bear suit is performing fellatio on one of the Overlook's guests. The sexual abuse theme is even communicated in the making of documentary. . The following video is based upon chapters 16 & 17 of this analysis, though both the video and article equivalents Every time she manages to commit to a TV show without getting bored, an angel gets its wings. Mickey and Minnie Mouse stickers are shown on Dannys bedroom door as he brushes his teeth and in the fatherly love scene he wears a Mickey Mouse sweater. Buy a book on film making from any part of the world, either Russia or Japan or Sweden, and youll find this name mentioned not once but in every chapter, ranging from minutely monumental details like breaking the 180 degree rule to establishing genres like science fiction and satirical comedy. (Rob Ager's work plagiarized) Collative Learning 214K subscribers Subscribe 4.1K 167K views 5 years ago Watch my new Shining analysis video. At one point in the movie, there is an unexplained scene of a man in a bear suit performing a sexual act on another man. Danny: "Tony is a little boy that lives in my mouth. Contents 1 Biography 2 Notes & Trivia 3 See also 4 External Links 5 Appearances 6 References This is one of the more popular and widely circulated The Shining theories, but its also one of the sillier interpretations. This makes the scene even more baffling and the unknown even more frightening. The ball itself is featured in another scene with Jack throwing it against a wall in the hotel lobby. The number 42 was shown on Dannys shirt as a parallel with the sexual relationship content of the film Summer of 42, and Danny is wearing it in the early summer scenes of the film. In the games room, Danny encounters the two girls who are supposed to be the Grady twins. Jack takes his wife, Wendy (Shelley Duvall), and their son, Danny (Danny Lloyd), with him, but little do they know, the Overlook has some dark secrets of its own. Now comes the most shocking question. Also notice his two hands placed on his crotch, almost like protecting it from something. 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. The Shining (1980) R Horror Drama Director: Stanley Kubrick Release Date: June 13, 1980 Cast: Danny Lloyd, Shelley Duvall, Jack Nicholson, Scatman Crothers Writers: Diane Johnson, Stanley Kubrick Rating: R Runtime: 146 minutes Cinematographer: John Alcott Producer: Stanley Kubrick Production Company: Famous Guns in Movies Cinemas Most Creative Movie Guns, What is SAG-AFTRA Guild History, Eligibility & Membership. Vitali became a close career-long collaborator of Kubricks and on the set of The Shining he was assigned to work closely with the young actor Danny Lloyd (there are several parallels in The Shining between actors first names and the first names of characters two Jacks, two Dannys and two Lloyds). Related:Are Charles & Delbert Grady The Same Person? However, there are two different levels to this theory, and one is far more apparent than the other. Jack had a history of anger issues and violence, mainly against his family. The ghost is Delbert Grady, and the past caretaker was Charles Grady. Here's the end of The Shining explained. Related: IT Chapter Two's Shining Reference Hints At Stephen King's Shared Universe. Some details supporting the latter is that Jack leers at other women several times in the film. Jack later speaks to a disappointed Grady through the door, who believes Jack doesnt have the stomach to carry out the task. Danny escapes the maze and reunites with Wendy, and they escape in Hallorans snowcat. 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. In an earlier scene, for a split second we see Jack reading a PlayGirl magazine which has an article on incest. Well explain each theory, why people believe it, and look at the corroborating evidence. Believers in this theory also suggest that the tidal wave of blood in the famous elevator scene represents the collective spilled blood of Native Americans. One of the most frequent questions Ive received about The Shining is What does the guy in the bear costume mean? The popular interpretation is that the scene is a throwback to a subplot of Stephen Kings book, in which a party guest in a dog costume has a homosexual relationship with one of the hotels former owners. Wendy keeps swinging the bat to keep him away, and begs him to take Danny to a doctor. Its not much of a marriage. Danny on the other hand after the physical trauma goes into a semi-conscious state, Tony taking hold of the reigns and keeps on repeating the word redrum in a very mechanical trance. Theres an evil side to it. Its more than likely that Kubrick placed this article title in the scene to communicate that the psychiatrists dismissal of Dannys health problem is mistaken. The movie doesn't expressly explain the identity of the man, but in the book, Stephen King provides the answer. The interaction between Tony and Danny takes place with the camera focused on a mirror in the bathroom and the shot composition is similar to the bear man shot later on in the movie. Copyright 2023 Metaflix Media LLC. Theres something inherently wrong with the human personality. He tells Kubricks daughter Vivian, You look cute in your red shirt, a soft porn calendar is seen on his bathroom door, he is seen unzipping his pants to pull out a tape recorder and he provocatively unbuttons his shirt to pull out the connecting wires. The open patch on the bear man's behind in the film simply adds to the sexual emphasis. But that isnt exactly true. The Shining bear is no different, and, if Rob Ager's theory is correct, could explain a much darker nature to the relationship between Danny Torrance (Danny Lloyd) and his father, Jack Torrance (Jack Nicholson). , Firefly, and one is far more apparent than the other a bear suit is performing fellatio one... This makes the scene below and let us know what you think the scene... A local theatre, and look at the corroborating evidence be done by the! 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