3 responses to “The Shining – A Comparison of the Green Hall Behind the Office and the Red Hall”
Ron
It is interesting to me that we do not see anyone in the all-red hall until the very end of the film, as Wendy searches for Danny and a way out. Maybe the trip through the red hall at the end of the film symbolizes how the cat is now out of the box as it were, and the hotel is no longer couching itself or its intentions (whatever they might be). Maybe the red hall at the end symbolizes blood, murder, now seen literally, as Wendy very near the time she runs through the red hall also witnesses Danny’s much earlier vision of blood from the elevator. At this point, her running through the red hall shows her overcome with fear and a sense of total helplessness, as if the hotel and its entities are swallowing her and all she holds dear whole. This is simply my take on it 🙂 Please see my posts to your other sections about the Shining for other comments, would love to hear your feedback, LOVE your in-depth analysis of this film!
jmk
Ron, thanks for your comments. I’m working on a project right now, but promise to respond to them some time this weekend.
jmk
Fundamentally, yes, I do think those in the audience who are going to perceive it on a paranormal level are supposed to emotionally react to the red hall as showing the evil there having taken over, plus the red representing murder etc. If (a) you’re watching this on a big screen, and (b) you don’t know what’s coming up from one moment to the next, the red hall is pretty amazing. The red hall pretty well consumes the theater and is jarring, a great lead in to the elevator scene that we’ve been waiting for from the beginning, but have seen several times already so in a sense it is itself in danger of being anti-climactic. Positioning the red hall scene immediately before and connecting with the elevator scene helps avoid the anti-climactic let down of, “Oh, finally the elevators which we wanted to see but as we already know about them we’re not real surprised.”
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3 responses to “The Shining – A Comparison of the Green Hall Behind the Office and the Red Hall”
It is interesting to me that we do not see anyone in the all-red hall until the very end of the film, as Wendy searches for Danny and a way out. Maybe the trip through the red hall at the end of the film symbolizes how the cat is now out of the box as it were, and the hotel is no longer couching itself or its intentions (whatever they might be). Maybe the red hall at the end symbolizes blood, murder, now seen literally, as Wendy very near the time she runs through the red hall also witnesses Danny’s much earlier vision of blood from the elevator. At this point, her running through the red hall shows her overcome with fear and a sense of total helplessness, as if the hotel and its entities are swallowing her and all she holds dear whole. This is simply my take on it 🙂 Please see my posts to your other sections about the Shining for other comments, would love to hear your feedback, LOVE your in-depth analysis of this film!
Ron, thanks for your comments. I’m working on a project right now, but promise to respond to them some time this weekend.
Fundamentally, yes, I do think those in the audience who are going to perceive it on a paranormal level are supposed to emotionally react to the red hall as showing the evil there having taken over, plus the red representing murder etc. If (a) you’re watching this on a big screen, and (b) you don’t know what’s coming up from one moment to the next, the red hall is pretty amazing. The red hall pretty well consumes the theater and is jarring, a great lead in to the elevator scene that we’ve been waiting for from the beginning, but have seen several times already so in a sense it is itself in danger of being anti-climactic. Positioning the red hall scene immediately before and connecting with the elevator scene helps avoid the anti-climactic let down of, “Oh, finally the elevators which we wanted to see but as we already know about them we’re not real surprised.”