I have watched and listened to a bunch of commentary on the Shining (most recently on @youaregoodpod) and people keep talking about how the movie makes Jack unsympathetic and, like, yes? The book & movie form a Rashomon of POV from abuser & abused. 
Like, I feel like @Remember_Sarah came closer than anyone I've ever heard talk about it on a podcast or documentary or whatever when she noted that the movie feels like a companion piece to the book or a commentary on it rather than an adaptation, but still didn't quite go there.
Like, of COURSE in the book Jack and Wendy actually seem to have some affection for each other, whereas in the movie, they don't.
For Jack, who doesn't WANT to be an abusive husband, he can still love Wendy and remember why they're together.
For Jack, who doesn't WANT to be an abusive husband, he can still love Wendy and remember why they're together.
For Wendy and Danny, trapped with an abuser who literally broke his son's arm and has out of control anger issues that lead to him torturing them, it's a lot harder to remember when things were better.
Of COURSE in the book (Jack's perspective), he does actual work.
And of course in the movie, Wendy just quietly does it all while Jack rants about his responsibilities.
And of course in the movie, Wendy just quietly does it all while Jack rants about his responsibilities.
Of COURSE in the book (Jack's perspective), he has redeeming qualities.
And of course from the point of view of the wife and son trapped with an abuser, he's a monster.
And of course from the point of view of the wife and son trapped with an abuser, he's a monster.
And I think the reason for the switch is because they are both horror, but the medium matters.
If the horror is being an abuser who is struggling not to be one, the drama is largely internal, which works great in book format.
If the horror is being an abuser who is struggling not to be one, the drama is largely internal, which works great in book format.
That's a LOT harder to do well on screen.
On the other hand, it's pretty straightforward to do the horror of being a woman trapped with a man who wants to kill you in movie form. It's practically an entire genre.
On the other hand, it's pretty straightforward to do the horror of being a woman trapped with a man who wants to kill you in movie form. It's practically an entire genre.
and of course this is an oversimplification--the movie obviously spends a lot of time showing us what Jack sees, but most of the big scares are from Wendy and Danny's POV because that's the drama here
It's hard to do horror from the POV of the most powerful person in the film, since horror is largely about powerLESSness
again, if the horror is feeling yourself transform, you can do that with a powerful character, but it's hard to do a purely mental transformation onscreen without an internal monologue, which often comes across as silly or stilted
again, works on the page, not so much onscreen
again, works on the page, not so much onscreen
And I feel like the first two images (in the first tweet of this thread) that come up when you search "the shining book" and "the shining movie" sort of illustrate the difference.
The book cover centers on Jack, and Wendy is in the background, inscrutable, the sort of image of women you see in ads, with no sense of an inner life
The iconic movie shot shows Jack as a grinning monster (without much of an inner life) and Wendy as a terrified human being
The iconic movie shot shows Jack as a grinning monster (without much of an inner life) and Wendy as a terrified human being
omg, men, I am SO not interested in your "but Kubrick RUINED the book" whining
• • •
Missing some Tweet in this thread? You can try to
force a refresh
