Room 237

          This documentary points out people's theories about the hidden meanings behind Stanley Kubrick's The Shining. It uses clips of other Kubrick films when the commentators reference them, clips from other movies entirely, and of course, clips from The Shining. Basically, one at a time, a group of The Shining enthusiasts narrate clips with their own theories and personal feelings. For example, one historian really believes that The Shining is an allegory for the Holocaust, so he points out that Jack's typewriter is a German brand, which "must mean that this is an allegory for WWII!" Recently an A.D. on the 1980 horror film said that the typewriter belonged to Kubrick, and he liked it for Jack's typewriter. As for the cross-fades, certain images were not placed over one another on purpose; Kubrick simply wanted a nice transition between scenes, like every other filmmaker. The commentators really do seem narrow-minded at times that they are completely right, even to the point of denial that any other perception is false. One man was laughing about some joke that Kubrick made with the framing of a shot that just is too nit-picky to be purposeful. Kubrick was a master of framing and depth of field -- especially since he started out as a still photographer -- but only about half of these commentators' theories are even somewhat true. With that said, it was still interesting to see how this classic has impacted these people's lives. One enthusiast even admitted that he did not see the brilliance of The Shining upon first viewing. I really liked the idea about the Calumet cans' quantity and visibility decreasing being symbolic for the peace "treaties" between characters of the movie being broken. Even if that was not purposeful, it is not far-fetched and it is an interesting concept to ponder. When I watch movies, I like to search for hidden meanings too, but I do not broadcast my theories as being absolute, which is the mistake that the commentators in this movie made. Also, the sound should have been recorded and mixed much better, especially since that was the only thing that the filmmakers had to create themselves. Feel free to express your opinions in the comments section below!