Film Analysis: The Shining (1980) - Exploring Horror Film Techniques

This report offers a comprehensive analysis of Stanley Kubrick's 1980 horror film, "The Shining." The study dissects the film through the framework of four levels of meaning: explicit, implicit, referential, and symptomatic, as defined by Bordwell and Thompson. The analysis explores the narrative, mise-en-scene, and thematic elements, focusing on the isolated setting of the Overlook Hotel and its impact on the Torrance family. The report examines the characters of Jack, Wendy, and Danny Torrance, highlighting their individual experiences and transformations within the hotel's eerie atmosphere. Key aspects include the hotel's role as a character, the exploration of psychic abilities, and the film's portrayal of isolation, claustrophobia, and the repetition of history. The analysis also considers the symptomatic meanings, such as the portrayal of class hierarchy and the director's potential philosophical and political viewpoints, providing a multifaceted understanding of the film's enduring impact and its place within the horror genre.

Running head: FILM ANALYIS: THE SHINING (1980)
FILM ANALYIS: THE SHINING (1980)
Name of the Student
Name of the University
Author Note

1FILM ANALYIS: THE SHINING (1980)
The study puts forward an essential analysis of the film Shining (1980) on the basis of the
four levels of meaning, i.e. explicit, implicit, referential and symptomatic. The Film is a horror
film directed by Stanley Kubrick. The film script was co-written by Diane Johnson and was
based on the novel “The Shining’ written by Stephen King. The film has used an unusual
atmospheric underlying theme of horror that is very different from most of the other horror films
of its time. The film is about an aspiring writer Jack Torrance and traces the events that occur
after Jack with his wife and son travels to an isolated hotel. Jack is given the role of the off-
season caretaker of the hotel for the winter months when the hotel would be closed. The hotel is
named the Overlook hotel situated in the Colorado Rockies. In the movie Jack has a wife Wendy
and son Danny. Danny is shown to possess a kind of “psychic” ability known as the ‘shining’
enabling him to see the past (Ebert 2019). Danny actually is able to see the horrific past of the
hotel through his abilities. A remarkable part of the story is how the hotel itself is used as
character in the film. The vital aspects of the film are further discussed through the study.
According of Bordwell and Thompson there are four levels of meanings in a film. They
are implicit, explicit, referential and symptomatic. In this regards the implicit meanings refer to
the meanings that the audience create for themselves after viewing the aspects that are displayed
in the film (Bordwell, Thompson and Smith 1997). This is the meaning that either the critics or
the viewer’s make of the film. However, it should be noted that it remains indirect or suppressed
within the actual theme of the film. Explicit refers to the direct conceptual meaning that is
constructed of the film by the audience and critics. The moral of the film, the point of the actual
world that has been constructed in the film is the main focus of the explicit level. The Referential
meaning refers to the world that is constructed by the spectators. There is a reference in each of
the stories that are depicted on the screen. The time, space or place is constructed hence by the

2FILM ANALYIS: THE SHINING (1980)
spectators on which the film will revolve. Symptomatic meaning refers to the repressed meaning
of the film. These are the types of factors that even the director or viewers might not be aware of.
However, at the same time they depict the either the views, opinions, political inclinations or the
vision of the director. This meaning of the film can also run counter to the other three aspects of
the film.
The explicit meaning of “The Shining” is very much evident from the mise-en-scene.
The setting provides an important focus on the actual meaning of the film. The point in the film
is how the present of a given place is very much affected by its past. Hence, the violent past of
the Overlook hotels begin to play an important part in the film. The moral of the film is that the
violent histories of places remain in mystery until revealing them eventually as they repeat
themselves. The violent history of the Overlook hotel hence affects the Torrance family
ultimately ending in tragic consequences. The hotel is projected as a character in the film and its
presence is in accordance of the explicit level. The mysteries of the past is a significant direct
theme of the film. The direct theme deals with situational horror. The explicit meaning of the
film relies on the theme of haunting of the past.
Figure 1: the hallway in the Film

3FILM ANALYIS: THE SHINING (1980)
(Source- IMDB)
Figure 2: The Overlook hotel as used in the film
(Source- www.colorado.com)
The implicit level of the film is far reaching with many sub-themes that are present
within the larger explicit aspects. The implicit meaning of the shining is in reference with the
sub-themes of physic abilities, ability to see the past. One essential implicit element is the Native
American burial ground providing a negative vibe to the place. Claustrophobia is another
important theme that is implicit in the work. The horror of the movie is actually presented though
the mise-en-scene. For example- when Jack visits the various rooms of the hotel in isolation he
meets various figures from the horrific past of the hotel, like Grady, the person who killed his
wife, son and himself much earlier than the visit of the family at the hotels. Also an important
element of the mise-en-scene of the hotel was the continuous feeling of isolation that were being
projected through the aspects of most of the shots. Remarkably the same mise-en-scene actually
was also imposing on the viewer, giving a sense that the hotel is alive. When Jack meets Grady

4FILM ANALYIS: THE SHINING (1980)
in the film the setting was the bathroom. Grady advises Jack to “correct’ his wife and son. The
atmosphere that was created was eerie and gave hints of the events that were to transpire.
Figure 3: The bathroom scene: Jack meets Grady
(Source- Shining 2019)
The referential meaning of the film revolves around the isolated world of the Torrence
family. The mise-en-scene mostly focuses on the fact how the family members go through
separate experiences in the hotel. The most dramatic experiences are met my Jack Torrence who
ultimately loses himself and attempts to murder his wife and son. The mise-en-scene actually
takes the audiences across various historic eras through which violent events have been
witnessed by the hotel. For example- at the end of the film the ballroom photograph from the
early years of the hotel is shown. It shows a lookalike of Jack hinting at Jack actually being
present when the past issues with the hotel were transpiring.

5FILM ANALYIS: THE SHINING (1980)
Figure 4: The old ballroom photograph
(Source- Shining 2019)
The mise-en-scene of the film has always focused on depicting the hotel as an entity
within itself. It can be said that the isolated world of the film as well as the isolated worlds of the
three separate protagonists are effectively shown through the film. Some pictures given below
can effectively point out the separate experiences of the three characters.
Figure 5: Danny experiences the hotel hallways

6FILM ANALYIS: THE SHINING (1980)
(Source- Shining 2019)
Figure 6: Traumatized Wendy after experiencing certain events
(Source- Shining 2019)
Figure 7: Jack getting overwhelmed by the hotel atmosphere

7FILM ANALYIS: THE SHINING (1980)
(Source- Shining 2019)
The referential meaning in accordance with the views of Bordwell & Thompson's four
levels encompasses the world of all the family members. The mise-en-scene has focused on
providing imagery that focus on the experience of the entire family by actually showing separate
experiences of Danny, his mother and Jack Torrence. The mise-en-scene focused much on the
expressions of the characters, through which the horror content was actually revealed.
Coming to the symptomatic meaning of the film, it can be said that the hotel in a way
depicts the isolated world of the workers of the hotel. In a way Kubrick has tried to portray the
horror of isolation. The claustrophobia that can affect a person if he/she is isolated for long.
Hence, it can be said that the mise-en-scene of the film has also focused essentially on the aspect
of isolation. The people that are portrayed from the history of the hotel have a kind of servant
attitude towards their customers. This actually gives the audience a hint that the hotel actually
takes away the actual personas of the workers and shape it according to itself. How the different
souls are trapped in the hotel or rather trapped in time is shown in the film. This alludes to the
philosophical opinion of many and most probably the director’s, that history has a tendency to
repeat itself. This view is also quite political in nature and refers to the changing political
scenario but the establishment of historical political order from time to time (Dickson 2017). The
natural beauty that surrounded the hotel has been portrayed. There is a symptomatic evidence of
the hierarchy of the upper class in the world.

8FILM ANALYIS: THE SHINING (1980)
Figure 8: "Great party isn’t it"
(Source- Shining 2019)
With regards to the mise-en-scene there is the symptomatic view of the both the upper classes as
the visitors of the hotel and the lower classes, who at times even influence the upper classes. The
film portrays the historic isolation of the separate classes.
Considering the mise-en-scene of the film it can be said that the film is focused towards
the essential understanding and portrayal of the horror that unfolds at places with violent and
bloody histories. It is important to understand that the film with regards to all the four factors
gives a picture of horror that is very different from the other horror movies. The explicit,
implicit, referential and symptomatic meaning of the film guides all the essential themes that
have been depicted in the film. The film focuses on providing situational horror. The horror that
is caused due to the atmospheric situations in a given environment. The film is meaningful in the
depiction of the Torrence family and the hotel that form essential part of their lives throughout
the stay. The mise-en-scene focused on the expressionism of the characters. Especially,
experiences of Danny are widely projected through the mis-en-scene. The story also progresses

9FILM ANALYIS: THE SHINING (1980)
upon the changes that Jack Torrence goes through. The transformation is slow but very traceable
in its outcomes. Jack is shown to lose his temper more often as he slowly gets overwhelmed by
the cursed history of the Overlook hotel. Danny’s premonitions increase as the transformation
process of Jack progresses. The mise-en-scene is aligned with the experiences of the characters.
The factors like lighting, sound and editing are done effectively to slowly progress in accordance
with the progress of the story. The film has diverse meanings, one of the underlying themes is
the relationship between the mother and her child. It is shown that that Jack increasingly goes
away from his family in his stay in the hotel. This ultimately transpires in Jack’s willingness to
kill his family in order to “correct” them. One of the important factors that can be seen from the
analysis of the subject is that all the four elements of explicit, implicit, referential and
symptomatic are in a balance.
In conclusion, it can be said that all the characters have played an important role in
determining the message that is provided through the work. The roles of Jack Nicholson as Jack,
Shelly Duvall as Wendy and Deny Lloyd as Danny are perfectly placed within the various mise-
en-scene that can be seen throughout the film. The other characters like Dick Halloran played by
Scatman Crothers come on and off the screen throughout the film. The film is regarded as one of
the best in terms of horror movies that were ever made. The outside nature and the
claustrophobic environment inside the hotel are in sharp contrast. The mise-en-scene has bound
the film together and worked well towards establishing the effectiveness of the message that is
provided.

10FILM ANALYIS: THE SHINING (1980)
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