The Shining (film) - Social Interpretations of The Film

Social Interpretations of The Film

Film critic Jonathan Romney writes that the film has been interpreted in many different ways; as being about the crisis in masculinity, sexism, corporate America, and racism: "It's tempting to read The Shining as an Oedipal struggle not just between generations but between Jack's culture of the written word and Danny's culture of images...." Romney writes, "Jack also uses the written word to more mundane purpose – to sign his 'contract' with the Overlook. 'I gave my word,' which we take to mean 'gave his soul' in the Faustian sense. But maybe he means it more literally – by the end he has renounced language entirely, pursuing Danny through the maze with an inarticulate animal roar. What he has entered into is a conventional business deal that places commercial obligation over the unspoken contract of com­passion and empathy that he seems to have neglected to sign with his family."