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The Theme of Family from the Movie the Shining Stephen Kubrick is undoubtedly one of the most innovative and influential filmmaker of the late twentieth century. His touching, interesting, appealing, and visionary approach to films coupled with his cinematography and film-making genius are an embodiment of great film-making that leaves an everlasting mark on the audiences. The Shining, a psychological horror film based on the novel by the same name by Stephen King, is one of Kubrick’s greatest projects. In contrast with majority of his previous works which focused on word-of-mouth to gradually develop audiences and win critics, The Shining was produced as a normal mass market film and it was truly an iconic and …show more content…
The purpose of this paper is to explore the theme of family in Stephen Kubrick’s movie The Shining through the lens of positive family motivations as well as the …show more content…
From the very first moments and throughout the film, violence is everywhere. The isolated overlook hotel feeds on violence and Jack is especially vulnerable since he has been battling with issues of violence since he was a child. Growing up, his father, mother, and siblings frequently abused him while Jack himself had a very violent temper. Although Jack’s temper is slightly less when compared to that of his father, he still has extreme aggression and anger inside him and such tendencies threaten to pull his family apart. In addition, his drinking habits worsens the situation and there is an inevitable feeling when watching the film that Jack is gradually losing the battle to control his violence. The picture of a dysfunctional family is clearly painted as the movie creatively showcases the entanglement of love and violence and how such an interrelationship results in abusive relationships. Jack’s wife, Wendy, tries so much to protect her husband despite the pain and turmoil that she and her son go through as a result of Jack’s drunkenness and violence to tendencies. After Jack attacks Danny and dislocates his shoulder, Wendy tries to cover up for him while in the hospital. Wendy said, “It’s just the sort of thing you do a hundred times with a child … in the park and the street” (Kubrick, The Shining). Both jack’s and Wendy’s (who does not want to leave the marriage despite the violence) behaviors