The Shining Film Analysis

“Do you have the slightest idea what a moral or ethical principle is?” Deontology, or the adherence of one’s actions to a certain moral or ethical principle of operation, stands as an intruiging philosophy by itself. The opening sentence of this essay clearly possesses relevance to deontology. However, the quote does not originate from any philosopher, but instead from Jack Torrance of Stanley Kubrick’s The Shining. The film, from a superficial point of view, stands as an atmospheric horror film. However, instead of providing audiences with just a technically proficient film, Kubrick weaves the grounds for a foreboding subtext throughout his film. This essay examines The Shining by examining Robert Tonkin’s distinction between religion and

belief and Jacques Derrida’s divide between reality and texts. Additionally, this essay relates the film to Edmund Leach’s comparison between ritualization and repetition, and Arnold Van Gennep’s theories about ritualization and perception. In The Shining, Kubrick employs subtext to tell an introspection into the pitfalls of the impact religion, in association with deontology, has on the human psyche.

Firstly, The Shining provides a pessimistic outlook of the dichotomous relationship between belief and knowledge in relation to deontology. As Malory Nye details in Religion: The Basics, Robert Tonkinson observes a clear divide between religiosity and belief. What an external observer may classify as a “belief” may be “commonsensical” to a religious follower (Nye 2008, 122). As a result, religious belief can become “an explanation in itself” (Nye 2008, 117). In The Shining, Jack and Wendy represent opposing points of view on the issue. Furthermore, Wendy does not understand Jack’s beliefs, but Jack considers them a form of knowledge; Wendy’s inability to agree with him causes significant conflict between the two. Wendy merely sees Jack going mad because of what she thinks are his beliefs about the hotel. Wendy even outright proclaims her confusion when Jack asks her why she wants to go back to her room in the midst of a debate. However, to Jack, the occurrences in the hotel are facts. They predicate the actions which drive Jack to the violence he commits throughout the film, and are thus a basis for his deontology. Thus, the religious “commonsensical” knowledge Jack possesses works in tandem with his deontological views to make him a violent threat to everyone that does not share his abilities. This provides a clear display of the way The Shining negatively portrays the effect extreme religious values and deontology have on a human’s psychology.

Furthermore, Kubrick incorporates theories about textual reliability to portray extremist religious deontology in a negative light. Jacques Derrida postulates that “the links between language and reality are not reliable,” and that “the meanings that are given to words are unstable” (Nye 2008, 159). In other words, texts are not necessarily proper descriptions of reality. In the film, Jack spends much of his time early in the film (prior to his full mental breakdown) by writing on his typewriter. As a writer, Jack must obviously spend much time behind his typewriter, but Jack takes his writing with an obsessive importance. When Wendy discovers the true nature behind Jack’s writing project, where he writes “all work and no play makes Jack a dull boy” hundreds of times over, she realizes the fragility of his mental state. The text that Jack authors shows that he links his text with what he considers the real world. By taking such a reverence to the text, and believing it to be a true descriptor of reality, Jack exhibits a negative application of Derrida’s theory. Indeed, the pessimistic application of the theory in relation to Jack again stems from his deontological views. The text provides a guideline for Jack’s actions, as it gives him a method of operating. This method of operation directs him to his violent actions later in the movie, and therefore The Shining uses textual interpretation and deontology to present extremist religion as damaging to human character.

Similarly, Kubrick uses aspects of ritualization theory to negatively display particularly zealous religion in conjunction deontology. Edmund Leach believes repetition to be “the way in which rituals are communicative” (Nye 2008, 143). As a result, ritualization with lots of repetition can stand as a method of purveying a message to participants within the ritual. Nye elaborates further on this, mentioning that Leach implies a direct, positive correlation exists within ritual repetition and effective communication. The correlation should be unsurprising: internalizing thoughts by memorization often requires repetition. Once again, the pages of writing which Jack produces sheds light on the message behind the movie. Jack’s writing consists entirely of repetition. However, the actual message on the paper points to a deeper relation between ritualization and deontology. As this essay previously details, Jack writes a moral code on the paper. Coupling this with Leach’s theory that ritual repetition facilitates effective communication, Jack essentially teaches himself a moral code through ritualization, and this code becomes the focus for the rest of his actions throughout the movie. In other words, Jack creates the moral code for his deontological method of operating through ritual repetition, and this again shows how aspects of extremist religion can damage the human character.

Consequently, The Shining also incorporates aspects of ritualization theory to demonstrate how ritual action and deontology can transform the perceptions of a person.

Arnold Van Gennep theorizes that “ritual actions often… transform people’s concepts of time, space, and society” (Nye 2008, 145). Nye bolsters Gennep’s points as well, explaining that experiencing rituals can cause people to have “their views of themselves” transform (Nye 2008, 145). These theories are immensely important to understanding how The Shining portrays extremist religious deontology in a negative manner. Jack initially carries himself with indifference before entering the hotel. The movie implies that Jack and his family have a largely healthy relationship before entering The Stanley Hotel. The introductory scene of the movie sees Jack calmly and casually interacting with his family on the drive to the hotel. Jack also gives up drinking for his family. However, after seeing apparitions and undergoing the textual, writing ritualization, Jack changes his perceptions of his family and reality entirely. The ritualistic actions he experiences, along with the deontological basis for his actions, drive him to perceive his family as an obstacle. One particularly pressing example presents itself when Jack returns to the gold ballroom to experience the bar again, but finds himself within a Grady family party. Clearly, Jack takes after Delbert Grady when Grady mentions that his wife is someone trying to “prevent [him] from doing his duty.” Grady directly references deontology with this quote, and the quote provides inscrutable proof for Jack’s deontological manner of thinking. As a result, Jack’s changes in perception after experiencing ritualization prove that The Shining displays the effect deontology and extreme religious experience can have on one’s

psyche.

In conclusion, Stanley Kubrick’s The Shining presents a pessimistic view of religion in combination with deontological philosophy. Robert Tonkinson’s analysis of the divide between belief and knowledge within religion, and Jacques Derrida’s distinction between reality and textual communication displays the way religious extremism and deontological thought affect a person’s mental state. So too does Jacques Derrida’s distinction between reality and textual language, along with Arnold Van Gennep’s theories regarding ritual actions and the transformation of human perception. While Kubrick’s film presents religious devotion in a pessimistic light, the film remains a horror movie. As such The Shining stands as a cautionary tale of extremism, and the movie solidifies itself not just as a technically proficient piece of media, but as a legendary entry to fiction in general.