How else does Kubrick effectively portray the idea of the complete isolation of the Torrance family?
Monday, November 17, 2014
The Shining
We know from the location of the Overlook hotel alone that the Torrance family will be spending the cold winter months very alone and isolated from the rest of society. But Stanley Kubrick does a very good job of depicting the remoteness of the hotel through shots in the beginning of the film that should seem very normal if a family had actually moved into the Overlook for the winter. One scene that especially how secluded the family is is when Wendy and Danny are exploring the hedge maze together. When they were being shown the maze during their first tour of the hotel, they were told that they shouldn't go in there unless they have an hour of time to kill because without being able to see the whole view of the maze, anyone inside could be really trapped in there for a long period of time, just like the family could be trapped inside the hotel for the remainder of their time there.
This specific shot of the film shows how small Wendy and Danny are when they reach the center of the maze, and how much is around them that they have to weave their way out of. There is no one on the outside to see this birds eye view and to help them to find their way out, so Wendy and Danny are truly alone to try to get out of the maze.
How else does Kubrick effectively portray the idea of the complete isolation of the Torrance family?
How else does Kubrick effectively portray the idea of the complete isolation of the Torrance family?
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Another way Kubrick protrays the idea of complete isolation is in the beginning of the film in the car ride up to the hotel. As Wendy, Jack, and Danny are in the car, the viewer is exposed to long shots from high angles as we see the setting of the road. Also, in the beginning of the film when Jack was in the car alone on his way up to the hotel, it is a very lengthy segment dedicated to the drive only. Kubrick makes it clear that the hotel is very isolated from everything else by showing the car's long journey up.
ReplyDeleteI don't think Kubrick could've portrayed this idea of complete isolation without the use of snow and their location. He establishes the Overlook as a completely isolated place in the very beginning of the film when the family is driving up the winding roads on the mountain side, and because of the fact that But I don't think that the viewer understands just how isolated the Torrance family is until the scene when Wendy is hopelessly running around the hotel trying to save herself and Danny from Jack. You see her try to use the phone despite it not being connected, and you also see her discover that the snow cat's engine has been disconnected. It is here where the viewer truly understands that Wendy and Jack may not escape Jack now that they have no way to contact the outside world. These two scenes are shot with a medium shot. To me, especially when she is running to the garage where the snow cat is kept, you can see just how much snow there is, showing that without the snow cat, there is no way they can escape. I thought the way this was shot was very powerful since it proves just how isolated the Torrance family is.
ReplyDeleteJack's alcoholism and bad temper are probably the biggest factors in his isolation from his family; we see from a very early point of the film that Danny and Wendy are almost always together and that Jack has injured Danny in the past by mistake after having several drinks. Also, Danny's ability to read minds and see what might happen in the future is extremely isolating for him. At five, he must deal with something that isn't normal and even heard of within society. His parents refer to Tony as his imaginary friend, and brush it off as being nonchalant since he's a young boy. Kubrick eases this isolation when he meets Dick Halloran, who has similar abilities because Danny has found someone else like him.
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