Stanley Kubrick, a very famous film director, responsible for some of the greatest films like the Shining and Full Metal Jacket has been noticed throughout his career as a legendary man yet controversial.
We watched four of his films to really get an understanding of his way of working and what he’s like. My two favourite films were The Shining and Full Metal Jacket, both are very different yet similar in their own way due to the fact Stanley Kubrick follows a certain pattern with his filming.
The Shining is significant because it touches upon so many different things like abuse in the family, paranormal activity and metal health. The Shining is so incredibly vague and open for interpretation. Sure, it follows a story but aspects of the film as so very mysterious, especially when it comes to the ghosts of the hotel. Or Jacks hallucinations.
When the film begins and we see Jack talk to the manager about the hotel, the manager mentions a family that were murdered by the father of the family due to a mental illness he developed because he was in such isolation, as the hotel was in the middle of nowhere, in the depths of Oregon, America. This inspires the rest of the film for the audience as when we do see Jacks eventual downfall, some may argue that it was all the metal illness doing it too him rather than ghosts. Especially with the hallucinations, the scene in the bathroom whereby Jack is talking to the man who previously murdered his entire family in the hotel. But there are aspects of the film that indicate ghosts like Danny being able to see them and hear them. Also, at the end when Jack is seen in the picture as a man from 1920’s, it suggests theres an afterlife in the hotel.
Some fan theories however, speculate a much darker idea of sexual abuse in the family, between Danny and his father Jack. There are many hints throughout the film, like the bear performing a sexual act on the man, or the woman in the bath. To put it shortly, some speculate that the woman in the bath is Jack seeing himself as Danny sees him when Jack abuses Danny. It is an interesting theory that only Kubrick knows.
YouTube. 2018. THE SHINING: Danny’s ordeal and the bear costumed man – YouTube. [ONLINE] Available at: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dW2GrG7Zk0U&t=796s. [Accessed 14 March 2018].
With Full Metal Jacket, it was based off the Vietnam war and covers topics like how soldiers treat their guns, how soldiers are treated as well by fellow soldiers and Majors. It also questions the idea of war, similarly to Dr Strangelove.
At the same time, it also lightens the idea of war through comedy and showing strong relationships between characters. The nicknames like Joker and Cowboy also make the whole film seem a bit nicer, along with funny moment like when they meet the prostitute and she tells them she loves them “long time”.
Some theories suggest that Private Pyle is Animal Mother.
Some fans argue that these two are the same people. The argument goes that Stanley Kubrick has experimented with duality in his films before, like in Dr Strangelove, one actor played multiple people. So the theory goes that these two are the same people and the scene where by Private Pyle shoots himself is in fact a dream sequence. People argue that they look very alike, they’re both big men and they both praise and love their rifles.
Fans also argue that when Joker and Animal Mother meet, they have a back and forth, whereby Animal Lover questions Jokers toughness, similar to how they were back at the training camp. Fans also argue that Joker shows a sign of duality as well, by wearing a peace symbol on his jacket and having “born to kill” written on his helmet.
And finally, the idea that the shooting of the General was all a dream is later on in the film, another General asks Joker if his badge and helmet are some kind of sick joke, which is what the General back at the camp asked Private Pyle when he had the gun and shot himself. Fans argue that this shooting scene was in fact some sick joke, and a depiction of what Private Pyle wanted to do to the General. Meaning, Animal Mother could well be Private Pyle, as they argue he didn’t actually shoot himself, it was a dream.
YouTube. 2018. MOVIE CONSPIRACY THEORY FULL METAL JACKET Pvt Pyle is Animal Mother – YouTube. [ONLINE] Available at: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=72bAqM33-ww. [Accessed 14 March 2018].
So, these two films have obvious opposites. One being the fact that Full Metal Jacket is about war and is set in Vietnam and The Shining is set in America and is about mental illness and ghosts. But these aspects can be compared.
In the Shining, the idea of isolation is drilled into the audience, as the hotel is far away from any settlements and the snow makes it even more difficult to escape form the hotel as well. In Full Metal Jacket, in the beginning when we meet and see the bullying of Private Pyle, we actually see him get isolated from the group, similarly to The Shining. Along with isolation in the Shining, we see Jack eventually go crazy and lose control of his actions. Similarly in Full Metal Jack, Private Pyle also goes crazy due to everyone in the Marines isolating him from the group.
Another similar aspect is war, one being literal in Full Metal Jacket and the other being more metaphorical in The Shining. In Full Metal Jacket, we obviously see that there is war on, The Vietnam war. But at the same time, there are self wars with the characters. Once again, Private Pyle is seen battling with himself due to being weaker than the rest. But we also see a war between Private Pyle and the rest of the group as he keeps doing the wrong thing so they have to pay for his actions.
In the Shining, the war is between all of the family members. Poor Wendy finds herself in a war with Jack as she tries to protect herself, Danny and jack on the other hand find themselves in a war with themselves. Especially with Jack as we see him go crazy, and argues with the ghost or hallucination of the previous murderer.
The four films we watched were legendary films and in box office all of them did incredibly well. Here are the stats:
- Dr StrangeLove: Domestic Total Gross: $9,164,370
Domestic Lifetime Gross: $9,440,272
Dr. Strangelove or: How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love the Bomb (1964) – Box Office Mojo. 2018. Dr. Strangelove or: How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love the Bomb (1964) – Box Office Mojo. [ONLINE] Available at: http://www.boxofficemojo.com/movies/?id=drstrangelove.htm. [Accessed 14 March 2018].
- Full Metal Jacket: Domestic Total Gross: $46,357,676
Full Metal Jacket (1987) – Box Office Mojo. 2018. Full Metal Jacket (1987) – Box Office Mojo. [ONLINE] Available at: http://www.boxofficemojo.com/movies/?id=fullmetaljacket.htm. [Accessed 14 March 2018].
- 2001: A Space Odyssey: Domestic Total Gross: $56,715,371
Domestic Lifetime Gross: $56,954,992
2001: A Space Odyssey (1968) – Box Office Mojo. 2018. 2001: A Space Odyssey (1968) – Box Office Mojo. [ONLINE] Available at: http://www.boxofficemojo.com/movies/?id=2001.htm. [Accessed 14 March 2018].
- The Shining: Domestic Total Gross: $44,017,374
Domestic Lifetime Gross: $44,360,123
The Shining (1980) – Box Office Mojo. 2018. The Shining (1980) – Box Office Mojo. [ONLINE] Available at: http://www.boxofficemojo.com/movies/?id=shining.htm. [Accessed 14 March 2018].
When it comes to Stanley Kubrick himself, and his style of filming, one pattern that we can see throughout the films is symmetry. Kubrick had a love for symmetry and vanishing points, which is what stands out so much in his work. He was also a big fan of classical music in his films as well like in 2001: A Space Odyssey.
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