What does that famous final shot of Stanley Kubrick's The Shining really mean, and what
happens to the traumatized characters left alive?
It's time to talk about those questions, and dig up some answers.
In order to survive the events of The Shining, Danny Torrance was forced to escape his own
father in a freezing hedge maze and flee a haunted hotel where he'd seen enough freaky
stuff to seriously mess up even your average adult.
"Come and play with us, Danny."
So while he lived to tell the tale, it's tough to imagine Danny has a normal life waiting
for him in the aftermath.
If you want to go with Stephen King's version of events, Danny's future is at least partially
written.
In the 2013 novel Doctor Sleep, King's official sequel to The Shining, a grown Danny Torrance
suffers from alcoholism like his father.
Danny gets a job at a nursing home where he's able to help guide the dying into the next
realm.
He eventually encounters a girl with abilities like his own and fights to save her from a
group of psychic vampires.
Sounds strange?
Doctor Sleep is headed for the big screen in late 2019, so you can see it for yourself.
The most debated element of The Shining's ending is the final shot, showing Jack in
the photo of the Overlook's 1921 Fourth of July party, which could mean a few things.
It could be that in death, Jack has been absorbed into The Overlook's history, and now walks
the haunted world where all eras seem to be happening at once.
It could also be that the photo is the hotel's way of showing that Jack's descent into madness
was the fulfilment of some kind of twisted destiny.
One particular interpretation has been adopted by many of the film's hardcore fans.
The Overlook's long series of caretaker murders and the fact that it was built on an Indian
burial ground suggests that the hotel is a place where history repeats itself.
Many believe Jack was a reincarnated soul who was always meant to be part of that cycle.
He was destined to return to the hotel and re-create its bloody past.
According to the theory, this is what the spectral Grady means during the conversation
in the red bathroom when he tells Jack,
"You are the caretaker.
You’ve always been the caretaker."
If you watch The Shining all the way through, get to that final shot of Jack in the photo,
and then rewatch it, you will notice something that stands out about The Overlook.
There are framed black and white photos chronicling the hotel's history everywhere.
Dozens of them, all in identical frames, all covering the hotel's illustrious history.
If Jack was a reincarnation of a past guest or caretaker, and he was always in the photo,
how long will it be before someone notices him there?
And if he's there, it stands to reason that Grady would be there too, proving he was also
a victim of the cycle of reincarnation and violence.
If the fallout from the latest Overlook tragedy goes on long enough, those photos will likely
mean something to someone, and that will set off an entirely different kind of investigation.
Early in The Shining when Dick Hallorann sits down with Danny to explain to him what the
shining is, he tells the boy that he's not alone.
"But there are other folks, though mostly, they don't know it, or don’t believe it."
Considering both Hallorann and Danny, two of the rare souls with this psychic gift,
find themselves in The Overlook, does this mean that in the world of The Shining people
with the gift are drawn to places with powerful supernatural presences, or are they able to
sense the spirits present wherever they are?
The film only scratches the surface, but as Dick draws closer to his violent end, Danny's
journey is just beginning.
"Boy, you read my thoughts!
You've got the Shinnin'!"
"You mean Shining."
"Shhhh!
You wanna get sued?"
The Shining is a film about cyclical violence, and about how we can't escape the dark specter
of history.
The Overlook is built on the sacred lands of Native Americans who were slaughtered in
the name of expansion, and blood continues to spill there.
Jack Torrance's own history with violence doesn't begin in The Overlook, but years before
when he hurt his son during a drunken binge.
That's why when Wendy sees Danny injured she immediately assumes it was Jack who hurt him.
Just as The Overlook uses Jack to continue its own bloody tradition, it traps him back
in his own past when drinking allows him to cross the line into violence.
But this time, the stakes are much higher than a broken bone or two.
"I’m not gonna hurt ya.
I’m just gonna bash your brains in."
Like Jack, The Overlook has its own grisly cycle, first the Native Americans killed for
its creation, Grady murdering his family, and now Jack attempting to slaughter his wife
and son.
It's quite possible there were others we never heard about.
Fortunately, Wendy and Danny escape the hotel relatively unscathed; at least physically.
Does this mean that, through their survival, they've somehow broken the cycle?
Does this mean The Overlook's evil sway is at least somewhat lessened?
The film doesn't make the answer clear, but there is hope.
Check out one of our newest videos right here!
Plus, even more Looper videos about your favorite stuff are coming soon.
Subscribe to our YouTube channel, and hit the bell so you don't miss a single one.