The Shining

Stanley Kubrick’s “The Shining” explores several psychological fears as related to themes in mass society including isolation, family dysfunction, and the unknown.  Though the horror aspects in “The Shining” are themselves terrorizing and somewhat typically expected of the larger genre, certain aspects of this film identify it as part of the psychological horror subgenre, specifically within the transformation of Jack as he is seemingly compelled to kill his family. 

In the beginning we are introduced to Jack as a former teacher turned full-time writer, who is looking for a job that will coincide with his work and perhaps a new beginning.  Immediately after his interview, we are then introduced to Jack’s family and his son where we are made aware of Danny’s “special” ability and their family’s troubled past.  Right away we are presented with social imbalances simply from this introduction.  First, Jack is not a wealthy man and there is an unsettled disposition about his family.  He is taking a job that essentially isolates himself from the rest of the world and is sort of left to deal with his personal and familial issues without outside assistance.  This isolation can be said to be a major fear in the context of a larger society, sort of like in the way films and sitcoms like “Lost” and “The Simpsons Movie” explore the idea of containment and separation.  Ultimately, when characters are contained from the outside, their imbalances as human beings begin to emerge and that is what we see in Jack.

Aside from his lowly status as former teacher and stagnant writer, the viewers see aspects of Jack that suggest his deficiencies.  He enjoys drinking, in fact depends on it, and he has succumbed to family abuse in his past.  His character, by the time he is consumed by his craziness, is almost expected to succumb to his weakness by reverting back to his previous behaviors with a vengeance.  While Jack himself sees his actions as taking charge of his life and his family, whom he believes purposefully brings him down, in the larger context of what we define as being manly, Jack is actually on the opposite end of the spectrum and his actions can be seen as a poor way to compensate for his deficiencies. 

Although the larger genre of horror typically explores ideas of death, I believe “The Shining” represents this idea differently, especially as the motive for the already dead characters isn’t necessarily to kill all of the characters, but rather to trick Jack into murdering his family through his delusions.  While there are otherworldly aspects of the film, such as when both Jack and Danny see the dead, it is more alarming for a “typical” person such as Jack to change into a monster and become a murderer.  It is in this transformation that we are aware of the psychological aspects that classify it as part of the subgenre.  Though not necessarily terrorizing in a traditional sense, “The Shining” can perhaps be more horrifying if only for its suggested possibilities.