“All work and no play makes Jack a dull boy.” Over and over again, Stanley Kubrick’s main character types these words in The Shining.
It’s at this point that Wendy (Shelley Duvall) realizes that her husband, Jack (Jack Nicholson) has snapped.
It’s one of the most harrowing moments in the history of cinema, and if you’re a fan of the legendary filmmaker, you probably had visions of him rubbing his hands together behind the camera as he relishes another chance to visually capture one of his protagonists careening around the bend into the shadowy area that he so loves to frame main characters.
It’s a trademark of the director’s long and storied career and is in direct contrast to the role of the hero’s journey that has dominated modern storytelling.
Throughout the history of cinema, we’ve grown accustomed to a traditional narrative that finds our protagonists overcoming the odds
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