COMMUNICATION AND FAILURE

The next scene cuts to Danny and Wendy watching television. By carefully excising this scene, as in fact almost all scenes where characters watch television in the European Cut, an important set of imagery has been removed from the film. These scenes imply that television is being used to replace actual conversation - and the only time we see Wendy and Danny together for most of the film they are sat watching television in silence.

In the next scene, Wendy discovers Jacks writing - and his typewriter has changed colour from earlier scenes. Throughout the film Jack�s typewriter appears either white, or blue. Things are not as they seem. Jack�s writing is by no means creative, but instead mechanical, and devoid of personality : much as Jack himself is losing his identity amongst the multitude of spirits permanently in residence at the hotel.

Whilst earlier he claimed to be having many ideas, but no good ones, it now appears his writing is creative only in the sense of flower arrangement. He�s not writing anything, merely arranging words upon the page.

This typing was according to rumour, done by Kubrick himself, but recieved knowledge and common sense says Kubrick had enough to do - and a member of the films production team at Ealing studios instead was tasked with the role. One viewer of the film was heard to remark that the arrangement of the text upon the page was highly reminiscent of papers written by patients in mental institutions, and the collapse of order on the page can be seen as a symptom of the fracturing, and battling, aspects of Jack�s personality / personalities.

In the European versions of the film, the subtitles for this writing (instead of literally translating �All work and no play makes Jack a dull boy�), read, when translated back into English :

Jack�s speech during the following argument is complete hypocrisy and a symptom of desperation : having avoided his responsibilities for the duration of the film, he has finally been exposed for the fraud he is, and it is at this point that he crossess the line of reasonable behaviour. His ranting about responsibilities is groundless on the basis of his actions - for when he suggests what a moral and ethical principle is - he appears to have completely subsumed his own, by neglecting the hotel as Wendy does all the work (as seen in the boiler room) as well as being completely unable to write.

In this scene, note as Jack tumbles that first he is hit on the same hand as he is later knifed on, and also that he collapses onto his knee as he falls. This could explain the limp he demonstrates through the rest of the film. On the other hand, as we see throughout the films climax, Jack degenerates from a person to an animal, and his limping gait seems to suggest a creature that isn�t yet used to walking except on all fours.

A large portion of The Shining�s subtext is also based around the concept of writers block. About the distraction that one will go to in order to prevent writing which, when you have lots of ideas but no good ones, is a intimidating task. And someone who cannot write is someone who cannot communicate - and a failure at their job.