Breakdown, Fantasy, and Redemption: A Man's Midlife Crisis in “The Shining”

The first time I watched "The Shining," I believe many people, like myself, may feel somewhat disappointed. The praise and reputation you've heard about don't entirely fit this film by director Kubrick. However, it can be accepted that only some people can fully understand the story's development and the hidden metaphors regarding history and societal realities upon their first viewing.

Many aspects of the original plot have been altered in Kubrick's film. For instance, in King's novel, Jack learns about the previous caretaker's murder-suicide in the hotel's basement from newspaper clippings. In the movie, he's warned by the hotel manager instead. Additionally, Dick Hallorann, the black chef who comes to rescue the mother and son, is portrayed as a hero in the book but meets a quick demise in the film, with his most significant contribution being providing a snowcat. The film only partially portrays numerous details and sometimes takes on a distinct twist. What was Kubrick trying to convey with these changes?

Kubrick wanted to show how a series of similar events, hidden under the surface of this story, are brought about. He tried to illustrate the precursor to this tragedy and warn that such events, large or small, whether in a nation, a family, or an individual, will continue to occur.

Many reviews of "The Shining" have mentioned Kubrick's metaphors, drawing connections to the Native American genocide of the 16th to 19th centuries and the critique of the moral decay and corruption beneath the veneer of a capitalist society. Kubrick was, in many ways, an anarchist, although he didn't openly admit to it. His critiques of various political systems are often evident in his works. However, by reducing the "shining" ability of the boy in the novel and emphasizing the transformation of the boy's father from an ordinary writer to a murderous madman, Kubrick was not only aiming at more prominent political metaphor;. he also intended to address contemporary family tensions and individual mental crises. When we see the 1921 photograph at the end of the film, we can understand that it's all part of a large and small cycle: the past becomes history, the murderer becomes the next phantom, and future events will repeat.

Now, let's briefly analyze the psychological evolution of the film's main characters. The most prominent is Jack, the head of the family and a full-time writer. When the story unfolds, he is a middle age man, a period when mental and physical decline is setting in. By this time, he is expected to have achieved success in his career and have a harmonious family life. The pressure of time passing by causes middle-aged individuals to undergo a psychological "midlife crisis." Jack is no exception. He transitions from being a teacher to a writer, and to in order to find the peace and inspiration to write, he has to work as the caretaker of a highly isolated hotel in the mountains. At this point, he is extremely anxious, and completing his work is almost his last ideal and the pillar holding up his spirit. Although his wife Wendy encourages him to find his inspiration, inadvertently, this increases his pressure. The more he worries, the harder it is to create, and his negative emotions accumulate daily, creating a vicious cycle. The strong contradiction between his ideals and reality is the fundamental source of pain that has been building up within him for a long time and is the most fundamental reason for his inability to endure it.

As a husband and father, Jack has his own roles and responsibilities in the family, but he stubbornly keeps the pressure from such rolessuppressed and hidden. He needs to communicate more with the other family members. He expects to gain the trust and support of his wife and son, but his wife's inability to understand his actions and his son's fear due to past experiences widen the gaps between them. As a result, he can only vent his emotions through complaints directed towards his wife (it's evident that he feels guilty towards his son from their conversation in the room). He also immerses himself in his fantasies about the hotel bar. Jack gradually gets lost in his own world of imagination and chooses to ignore many aspects of reality and his strange behavior. Eventually, he distorts the ideal of family that he cannot achieve and pours all his responsibilities into being a good hotel manager. He believes that by doing so, he can build a successful career and become an excellent husband and father. Anything that hinders him from achieving this goal needs to be eliminated. In the film's climax, he takes up an axe to attack his wife and child, essentially viewing them as the embodiment of the various flaws, distrust, and fears he despises.

If extreme disappointment with oneself and one's family is the fundamental reason for this tragedy, then the desolation of the isolated hotel, the horrors of the previous caretaker, and the unleashed "shining" ability serve as stimuli for his complete transformation. Faced with a mundane and empty life as a caretaker, days pass uneventfully. He is not immune to the influence of the previous caretaker, as seen through his hallucinations, where the previous caretaker becomes the embodiment of the evil within his psyche, pushing him further down the path of distortion. The "shining" ability allows him to feel past events, much like his son, and the people who attended the party, the bartenders, and the waitstaff, all subconsciously encourage him to perform those incomprehensible actions. However, if Jack didn't have the need to vent his emotions, these things would have no impact. Nonetheless, they are essential triggers in the film that drive the story forward.

Jack's experiences, coupled with his suppressed emotions, are a microcosm of the situation faced by contemporary family heads. In those times, fathers bore the weight of many family matters, serving as the financial backbone and handling household issues. The fast pace of life led to a lack of communication and understanding within families, just as with Jack's family. Their story is an amplified version of the problems many underprivileged families face. Under extreme influence, such families could quickly become tragic. Kubrick used the psychological breakdown of a character who became immersed in "shining" fantasies due to inner emptiness and loneliness to represent the psychological crisis and family issues modern people face, warning against the neglect of relationships between individuals and personal adjustment.

Of course, "The Shining" is still a high-quality horror film, but Kubrick's exceptional directing skills set it apart from other horror films. He often uses a child's perspective in the movie to depict fear. For example, shooting the environment from a low angle upwards places the audience in a vulnerable and passive position, intensifying the feeling of insecurity. There are several long shots of the son riding his bike around, which not only adds realism to the scenes but also provides a clear visual of the film's setting, emphasizing the vast and desolate nature of the hotel, creating a sense of loneliness that can be maddening.

After experiencing a mental breakdown and the rest of his delusions, Jack ultimately cannot escape his fate and becomes the next deranged caretaker. His transformation is a cry for the tragedy of a minor character at the end, the emergence of madness and a rebirth. After the burst of rage, death is inevitable. It's a nightmare for many families striving for happiness while enduring harsh realities – a real and possibly existing nightmare.