Which of the narrative theories has the most validity when linking it to ‘The Shining’?

After watching the film the shining written by Stanley Kubrick and Stephan King I was then able to relate them to the narrative theories. Although it was hard to link a single theory to the film I was able to break the film down and relate individual theories with certain scenes in the films. For example the Torodov theory, where the main idea focuses on how the basic plot is formed and resolved, linked in with the beginning of the film where the family were living their normal life, the hotel is the change in the life which will later cause problems to the family which is where all of the events will later take place. The audience is aware what is going to happen and are also aware the change will take place when they are alone. This then links in with the theory of Levi Strauss who considers narrative structure in terms of vertical binary oppositions. For example to the audience the hotel appears to be innocent as its being looked after by a family yet Kubrick adds a twist using a binary opposite constantly testing the audiences understanding so the innocence is opposite to corruption, this helps the audience understand there is an opposite to every theme changing the stereotypical view of a hotel.

Another scene in the film that links in with the Strauss theory is the little boy Danny as Kubrick juxtaposes his infant innocence with his visions of blood and his knowledge of cannibalism. This immediately leaves the audience feeling unsure whether he is the protagonist character, it is also one of Kubrick’s trade marks as he likes to put a strange twist to such innocence. Another element of surprise for the audience involving Danny is the fact that he has an imaginary friend called Tony, who is his finger. Not only does Tony tell Danny to do the strangest of things which are far from childlike but he also had a disturbing voice which is spoken through the young boy, this technique is a shock tactic as the audience wouldn’t have expected such sound to come from such a small child. The audience would immediately relate an imaginary friend to a young child to be innocent and just be a friend to them, but this use of binary opposition keeps the audience thinking and linking the events to the theme of the film, which is a thriller. The use of ‘red rum’ an anagram for ‘murder’ is also another shock coming from a little boy, or his imaginary friend Tony. This technique adds to the suspense of the build up and foreshadows oncoming events constantly keeping the audience hooked and relating back to the genre of the film. The use of small children having a binary opposite is a common technique in ‘The Shining’ as the twin girls are also corrupted to remind the reader there is an opposite theme to everything, for example Kubrick’s use of iconography shows the twins with props such as knives and covered in blood, the non diegetic music used whilst the girls are in the scene also suggests a lack of innocence allowing the audience to piece the story and relate back to the theme once again.

The final theory I was able to relate the film back to was Vladimir Propp’s, although it was tricky to judge who fitted the attributes of certain characters at the beginning of the film it got easier to eventually pan out who fitted which category. At the beginning I had suspicion Danny may have been the false hero, this was because of his unexpected visions and because he had ‘The Shining’ which was linked to the title of the film. I immediately knew the head chef Dick was the donor as he informed Danny as well as the audience that he had ‘The Shining’ and gave off a lot of information. I then had the idea that Jack Nickelson was the victim, but of the hotel as it was corrupting his sanity and as the audience we were watching him deteriorate. I then thought the Mum, of Danny, was also a victim but of her husband Jack Nickelson as we witnessed violence verbally and physically towards her by him. We also saw events which could link to her vulnerability and her responsibility to Danny.

Although we looked into another Theory called Boardwell and Thompson I found it difficult to relate this to scenes of the film as such but can only think that Danny’s visions may have something to do with it as they foreshadow the events to come, informing the audience.

Stanely Kubrick's Films



In all of Stanley Kubricks films there is a recurring theme which is man's inhumanity to man. The common similarity that stands out to me is that the lead character is always male and rather difficult to like and usually has some sort of inner conflict to address, a good example of this is Alex from ‘Clockwork Orange’ who is a troubled youth. There's always a bathroom scene and a character point of view scene. Stanley creates this kind of repetition as it makes him films familiar almost like a trade mark so the audience is aware of his work; it also makes his films distinctively stand out. The credits used at the end of his films tend to be a slide show, with the exception of the shining, this all links in with the theme of his film creating an image for himself

  Kubrick had a vision for the future, and directed the film to match his exotic style of art, he lets this theory shine through in his work constantly experiment with different scenery and costumes to portray his obsession with the future as well as his expectations on how this is going to pan out. This allows Kubrick to express himself through his films giving the audience a better understanding of what he is about. Kubrick believed a movie should be viewed as if it were a painting so he used strong visual experience to tell his story, while rarely relying on dialog. His use of classical music is also consistent, or simple computer noises, which helps the audience focuses on what events are taking place, not only does it bring passion to the scene but it adds to the intensity of the visual rather than distract from it. The innocence of classical music is also juxtaposed which the sick events that are taking place, again ‘Clockwork Orange’ is a good example of this especially the scene when the ‘droogs’ are abusing their victims the classical music almost softens the harsh blow to the viewers. Though the audio is a great part of the movies it brings attention to the visual experience, Kubrick’s most established influence.

  It is very hard to put a common theme on all of his films together yet there are certain similarities between specific films, a good example of this is ‘Valhalla Rising’ and ‘2001: A Space Odyssey’ which both have very little dialog. For example Valhalla Rising’s main character is mute, while very little of ‘2001’ is human conversation. Kubrick uses many slow pans and cameras locked on one location with very slow movement within the frame; this is to create suspense for the audience so they remain hooked another technique of Kubricks to add to his familiarity. An example of this is the scene in space, with the shuttle slowly rotating as the camera pans very slowly through space ‘Valhalla Rising’ also uses a similar technique. Kubrick's films are characterized by a formal visual style and have a meticulous attention to detail; this is where the weirdness is recognized in his films and also where Kubrick is able to add his own recognized individuality to his films, which the audience craves. His films are frequently described as ‘slow and methodical’ and are often perceived as a reflection of his obsessive and perfectionist nature.

Clockwork Orange and Kidulthood

After having watched the opening of Clockwork Orange and Kidulthood I was able to draw comparisons and difference. Both films involve a violent gang with a malicious leader for example in Clockwork orange theirs is a boy called Alex and in Kidulthood it’s a boy named Sam. Each group have their own specific identity Sams gang are all dressed in baggy tracksuit bottoms and hoodies covering most of their face with in our day is very stereotypical for being a ‘chav’ which we immediately relate to violence. Alex’s gang in Clockwork Orange isn’t as obvious as they are all dressed in white but specific features such as the use of makeup and fake eyelashes on one eye was very bizarre as it was filmed in the 1970’s, this was an extreme shock. By dressing in similar outfits it makes the gangs appearance shine out above the rest as they are drawing attention to themselves, their sense of dress also reflects a certain image of what sort of person they may be especially in the 21^st century with all the different stereotypes. In the first 10minutes of both films we, as the audience, are immediately introduced to violence, in clockwork orange we see Alex and his ‘droogs’ beat up and old man, we then see Sams gang in Kidulthood beat up other students. Although violence and scenes of nudity are less shocking now there is still use of shock tactics to draw in the viewers. As Clockwork Orange was filmed in the 70’s this was an incredible shock to the public and many frowned upon it. It is accepted a little more into society now as the mass media have labelled young people and informed them on how to behave. Their behaviour is then the response to being labelled.

  In addition in both films the parents are completely oblivious. In the film Kidulthood the young teenage girl Katie, who is a victim, is obviously extremely depressed she comes home from school with noticeable evidence of physical abuse. Her parents don’t question her on how she said she got the cuts and bruises and trust that she is a sensible and smart girl. Much to their surprise Katie then commits suicide in her bedroom leaving a note to her parents on her dressing table, still with attributes of her childlike behaviour shining through as she drew a dainty flower down the side of her paper. If the parents had intervened maybe they could have saved her life. In similarity to this the gang leader in Clockwork Orange also has oblivious parent, they never question him on why he doesn’t go to school, where he is in the evenings and what job he has because of the excessive amount of money in his bedroom. If Alex’s parents were aware of his actions they may be able to put a stop to his uncontrollable behaviour. Although both children are in very different situations the similarity between the parents is very familiar.

  On the other hand there are also many differences, mainly because of the 30+year gap between the films. A good difference is the language that is used by the characters in each film. Clockwork orange uses a very formal style of English, almost old English, as I was watching the film there were some words that I didn’t recognised and some that I realised I pronounce differently to how they were spoken in the film. In comparison, the film Kidulthood uses extremely informal dialect constantly slipping into bathos and using colloquial language. This also adds to their stereotype and portrays a very clear image of a ‘chav’/’gangster’. Not only does the constant use of swearing and slang add to the shock of the film, linked in with the steady violence it’s a real surprise and definitely not a nice one.

How the UK riots portrayed youths

When the UK riots started everybody had their own opinion on them, it seemed like people weren't sticking together as a collective community but instead were rebelling against the dominant capitalism. Many of the newspapers such as the 'Guardian' and 'Daily Mail' were sterotyping these scandelous looters to be 'Youths'. They were identifying these 'youths' to be young people/teenagers who were 'unemployed' and just out to 'follow the crowd'. Surprisingly only certain subcultures such as people who are labelled to be a 'chav' were described to be found rioting which again is sterotyping young people to be portrayed as uncontrollable and showing resentment to the police.

 After i had read a few articles and watched the news and actually seen clips of the riots it was apparent to me that it wasnt just 'youths' rioting it was clear from the videos that it was people of all ages who were rioting, men, women and even children! But information such as this wasnt broadcasted to the public. By portraying young people in this way it gives an overall outcome that all young people are out to cause trouble, admittidley a lot of youths joined in on the rioting but is that to say that all youths are like this? Young people rarely get congratulated on the good things they do in their community as it is never broadcasted people are unaware and are forced to form this hegemony that young people are always up to no good.

 Much like Sam Cohen's theory mass media is labelling young people and telling them how to behave therefor young people respond to this label they are being given. With no help from the media and role models that we are all told to look up to, the identity of youths is going to stay the same preventing young people to ever reach the stage of bourgeois constantly worrying about being a consumerist.