The Shining was released in 1980, a period that saw the breakdown of the traditional role of women as the domestic housewife, towards the adoption of masculine identities with the emergence of a new breed of ambitious, young professional women. These changes had enormous implications for men and their masculinity, threatening to destabilize the patriarchal society or the status quo upon which their dominance relied upon. No longer could men seek a sense of security and comfort as the breadwinner of the family, as women became accepted into what were considered male jobs and shared the financial burden of the family. During this time, several male rights campaigns were instigated, claiming men’s subjugation was overlooked in favour of female
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Kubrick mirrors the interactions of Jack and Wendy with the power dynamic found in gothic literature of the enigmatic villain and damsel in distress. Wendy is established as the damsel in distress with her terrified facial expressions, wet hair, stuttering and high pitched cries for help. Threatening this weak and submissive woman is Jack as the enigmatic villain. Embodying the threat of the unknown through his unsettling changes in emotion and mannerisms, one moment sympathetic the next bursting into a fit of rage with spontaneous and aggressive movements, depicting him more as a monster than anything human. To illustrate this, Kubrick effectively uses misc en scene, the camera drawing closer to Wendy as she stumbles away depicting her helplessness and subordinate nature, juxtaposed to when the camera instead retreats from Jack as he moves forward, accompanied by non-diegetic use of sporadic violins as well as cold blue lighting to evoke fear and uncertainty. Often gothic composers utilize buildings such as a haunted castle as a reflection of the repressed fears and desires of the gothic villain. Similarly, Kubrick transforms what would otherwise be a domestic space with the Overlook Hotel into a confined setting where abnormal acts of nature occur. The unnatural brash white light emanating from its windows to the river of blood that floods the hallway to delineate Jack’s degrading mental state and impending doom of his
Kubrick mirrors the interactions of Jack and Wendy with the power dynamic found in gothic literature of the enigmatic villain and damsel in distress. Wendy is established as the damsel in distress with her terrified facial expressions, wet hair, stuttering and high pitched cries for help. Threatening this weak and submissive woman is Jack as the enigmatic villain. Embodying the threat of the unknown through his unsettling changes in emotion and mannerisms, one moment sympathetic the next bursting into a fit of rage with spontaneous and aggressive movements, depicting him more as a monster than anything human. To illustrate this, Kubrick effectively uses misc en scene, the camera drawing closer to Wendy as she stumbles away depicting her helplessness and subordinate nature, juxtaposed to when the camera instead retreats from Jack as he moves forward, accompanied by non-diegetic use of sporadic violins as well as cold blue lighting to evoke fear and uncertainty. Often gothic composers utilize buildings such as a haunted castle as a reflection of the repressed fears and desires of the gothic villain. Similarly, Kubrick transforms what would otherwise be a domestic space with the Overlook Hotel into a confined setting where abnormal acts of nature occur. The unnatural brash white light emanating from its windows to the river of blood that floods the hallway to delineate Jack’s degrading mental state and impending doom of his