Stanley Kubrick’s terrifying Stephen King adaptation is as chilly and confounding as ever, a puzzle that may never be solvedEight years ago, the Rodney Ascher documentary Room 237 reignited discussion over Stanley Kubrick’s The Shining by surveying a range of different fan theories on what the film is about, and the evidence that exists to support those theories.
Some of the ideas are legitimately compelling, like one that posits the film as an excoriation of American imperialism, jumping off from the fact that its haunted hotel, The Overlook, was built on a Native American burial ground, and continuing with other references and bric-a-brac to back it up (Can those cans of Calumet Baking Powder be a coincidence?!).
Others are mostly cockamamie, like the theory that Kubrick had made the film as an apologia for his role in faking the moon landing.
(Why else would Danny be wearing an Apollo 11 sweater?
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