STANLEY KUBRICK'S
THE SHINING
"HOW I BLEW THE MOVIE WIDE OPEN"
ROB AGER'S (frequently plagiarized) ORIGINAL ANALYSIS'
"No matter how well versed you are in the discourse of THE SHINING, whether you’re a newcomer "... Rob Ager's brilliant video essays on the film's psychology and spatial awareness." "If you love overanalyzing every inch of this movie as much as I do, check out Rob Ager's painstakingly researched video analyses on various Shining theories."
PRE-AMBLE We are currently living in an age of ever-increasing plagiarism and rehashing, carried out by lazy, unimaginative, unoriginal human "writers" leeching off the work of others. And the problem is getting worse as human prompters are now using algorythmically produced "A.I." to do the same, but the process uses libraries of internet harvested content originally created by humans. Big tech claim these system are "trained" on this data, but it's basically industrial-scale plagiarism and copyright theft. The "A.I." is unable to create anything original, intelligent or insightful of its own. My work has been subjected more and more to the above, especially on the topic of my film studies on THE SHINING. And so, this page will set the record straight. Here I'll outline my extensive, ground-breaking work on decoding Stanley Kubrick's screen adaptation of THE SHINING, providing links to my videos and articles on the subject. Media references to my studies are included, indicating their broad influence. It also documents the specific interpretations and observations that are original to my studies of the film. References to plagiarizing sources wil be made at the end of this article. My original article, MAZES, MIRRORS, DECEPTION & DENIAL, which features most of my takes on the film, can be read here That article, along with my videos on the subject, has been covered by sources such as ... New York Times ... and has been cited by director Rodney Ascher as the "mastermind" source for the documentary Room 237. Ascher had told me in email correspondence during pre-production on his film that "your analysis really blew my mind and drew attention to 1000 little details I never noticed before!" So in case you're one of the people who thinks the Room 237 film got there first, nope. Check the links provided above and throughout this page. My reasons for choosing not to be interviewed for the Room 237 film are included in this article
ROB AGER'S ORIGINAL DISCOVERIES / INTERPRETATIONS INCLUDE:
1) SET DESIGN SPATIAL IMPOSSIBILITIES I first encountered this aspect of the film in around 2007 / 8 after being informed that a modder of the video game Duke Nukem had tried to reproduce the Overlook Hotel as a video game level, only to find that the window in Stuart Ullman's office had been impossibly placed (a hallway wrapped around the back of it). In 2009 I wrote extensively of this in an update of my Shining analysis article (archived). This update included multiple instances of impossible set design that I'd identified, rather than Ullman's window being a one-off "mistake". To my knowledge this was the first public study identifying the very deliberate pattern of impossible set designs throughout the movie for the purpose of disorienting the viewer. My first video on this subject received externsive media coverage from the likes of ... Endgadget, The Irish Times (archived), The Irish Times again, The Marysue, Bavatuesdays, MentalFloss, BirthmoviesDeath (archived), Badassdigest (archived), Disinfo.com (archived), High Plains Reader (archived), and Dangerous Minds. Despite attempts by screen writer John August to debunk this take on the film, the executive producer of The Shining, Jan Harlan, confirmed the interpretation in Oct 2012 in an article for The Guardian Julie Kearns also covered this aspect of the film at some point, as documented in the documentary film Room 237 (2012), but I've been unable to find her original source, nor a date for it. The earliest link I've been able to find is this page on her site (archived), but its earliest date is from 2013. Watch a 2026 update video, utilizing 3D set reconstructions
2) MOVING FURNITURE & SELF-SWITCHING LIGHT SOURCES In January 2013 I came across an article by a blogger named Johnny53, who had written about chairs moving positions between shots in the film. I directly cited him in my article on Jan 2013 (archived), where I expanded on the issue, identifying multiple additional instances in the film of furniture and other props moving by themselves between shots. When producing a video version of this chapter on moving furniture, I identified an additional pattern in the film of lights switching themselves on and off between shots, a much more subliminal variation on the traditional ghost story, in which lights will flicker due to the presence of ghosts, but in a comparatively too obvious way. To my knowledge, nobody else had identified Kubrick using this method in the film.
3) JACK STRANGLED DANNY Hidden plot detail identified from visual clues in the film. Danny wasn't strangled by a ghost woman in Room 237. He was strangled by his own Father. First presented in chapter nine of my article in Jan 2009 (archived).
4) SEXUAL ABUSE SUBTEXT / SYMBOLISM OF BEAR COSTUMED MAN This is the, now famous (2.3 million views on Youtube for the video version and cited in many media publications), interpretation that Jack Torrance had sexually abused Danny Torrance in Kubrick's alterations to Stephen King's story. Part of this interpretation is that the bear costumed man giving felatio to a party guest represents Danny torrance doing the same to his abusive Father. This theory also incorporates extensive thematic overlap with Kubrick' screen adaptation of Lolita. I first published about this in a Jan 2009 chapter of my analysis article (archived). I've encountered no other instance of this theory in any studies of the film prior to my own. This take on the film has received coverage from sources such as Esquire, Screenrant, Studio Binder, NoFilmschool, Manchester Media Group, minhaseriefavorita.com (portugese site) and Digital Spy
5) HIDDEN DREAM SEQUENCES "It's like I go to sleep, and he shows me things", says Danny to Mr Halloran in the film. From this dialogue, plus multiple indications of dream sequences in other Kubrick films, especially Eyes Wide Shut, I began to identify muliple indicators of specific scenes in The Shining being literal dream sequences within the story. The scenes of the Grady twins, the Room 237 halls and bathroom hag are dreams that depict that psychological troubles of abused son Danny Torrance. This dream structure is mapped out in my studies of the film and, to my knowledge, has not been identified / published elsewhere. First published in Jan 2009 (archived).
6) FORESHADOWING SUBLIMINALS In parallel with young Danny's shining abilities, in which he can see into the future, the film takes the traditional cinematic device of foreshadowing and escalates it to new levels. Foreshadowing is when a film mirrors, in advance, future events of the story. In my original 2007 short analysis of the film I identified multiple specific instances of this, such as Jack's tennis ball throwing as a foreshadow of his axe swinging, and Danny being chased on his tricycle by the camera as a foreshadow of him being chased in the maze by Jack. That video was covered by WIRED magazine in Aug 2007 (archived) Watch an update video on this subject
7) JACK TORRANCE / STANLEY KUBRICK EMBEDDED PARALLEL In Jan 2009 (archived) I published detailed comparisons between the film's antagonist and its diector, citing a possible biographical metaphor.
8) TRUE / FALSE ENLIGHTENMENT THEME The concept of the shining psychological power as a metaphor for intellectual enlightenment related to the perception of ugly truths we otherwise would go into denial of. This is communicated in the film's particular use of very strong light sources in key horror moments, such as Jack seeing the rotten hag in a mirror. But the film also carries the concept of false enlightenment for Jack himself in particular moments. This theme was first "highlighted" in chapter fourteen of my article in Jan 2009 (archived).
9) OVERLOOK HOTEL AS THE UNITED STATES Political history theme identified in chapter eleven "The Bigger Picture" of my article in Jan 2009 (archived) along with the theme of the hedge maze not actually existing, but being a representation of the hotel labyrinth.
10) MULTIPLE GENERATION TIMELINE On Feb 19th 2009 (archived) I published an update of my study to include the notion of the film depicting multiple generations of the "Torrance" family timeline, but with the same actors playing the roles. This take on the film has resurfaced in various other people's studies of the film since, but I'm not aware of any that pre-date my publication of the theme in 2009.
11) SYMBOLISM OF THE TWINS AS DANNY'S SPLIT PSYCHE Also in Feb 2009 (archived) my article update included the concept of the Grady twin daughters representing the split psyche of traumatized Danny and his imaginary friend Tony. Chapter also included foreshadows of the twin horror and the possible basis of the twins' appearance being inspired by two young girls seen visiting the set along with James Mason in The Making of The Shining. My video on this was covered in 2015 by IndieWire (archived) Watch video on symbolism of the twins.
12) BODY IN THE ELEVATOR BLOOD I've been unable to find when exactly I published this, but I believe it was around 2009 / 10. In the river of blood scene I'd noticed an object that flops out of the elevator with the blood and looks as if it might be a dead body. To my knowledge, I was the first to notice and publish about this. This was covered by BUZZFEED and BUSTLE An update video I made on the subject can be watched here.
13) SHADOWLESS LIGHT Identified in 2025 and initially posted in short video form (the video is now paid Members Only on my main youtube channel). I'll be expanding on this subject in my upcoming longform video Strange Illuminations.
14) SUBLIMINAL MIRRORS The use of symmetrically aligned shots to create impression of the screen itself being mirrored left and right. I first published this in Jan 2009. First published in my article Jan 2009 (archived)
15) TONY THE ANIMAL First published in my article in Jan 2010 (archived). This is the concept that Danny's imaginary friend, Tony, appears in animal form at various points in the story.
16) STORE ROOM ESCAPE THEORIES The multiple ways Jack could have escaped from the Store Room without being let out by the "ghost" Delbert Grady. Outlined in my 2020 video.
17) GOLD STORY / U.S. ECONOMIC HISTORY SUBTEXT First written of in my article Jan 2009 (archived). Kubrick included a Gold Room set in the Overlook that wasn't in the source novel and had various photos of historical politicians and movie stars placed around the Overlook sets. The final photo of Jack in a 1921 photo of mysterious party guests contains a lot of faces who are very similar to key figures involved with changes in how the U.S economy was run. In a later visit to the Kubrick Archives I discovered that many of the other black and white photos in the film are most definitely photos of these historical figures. This aspect of my studies on the film was covered in articles by BUZZFEED, cc2konline, LetsTalkBitcoin, Manchester Media Group, Coinweek (interview) and curbed.com
18) OPTICAL ANXIETY / ILLUSIONS First published in my Youtube video on the subject in 2022, and later expanded in a long video March 2022 (paywall video). This has been a very late edition to my studies. It covers Kubrick's intentional use of bizarre geometrical patterns and clashing colours throughout the film to create a feeling of anxiety in the viewer. 19) POV HORROR First published in 2022, this video explores how Kubrick has ghosts look directly into the camera as a subliminal threat to the viewer.
20) TIMELINE DISORIENTATION I'd previously published about the film's confusing timeline in my articles and videos. In response, I was contacted in 2013 by a follower of my work, a fellow named Will Hunter, who stated his belief that the mismatching time cards in the film had been used by Kubrick to confuse the viewer on the exact timeline of the story, thus creating a further sense of subliminal anxiety. I expanded on this by identifying how Kubrick used other mismatching time devices in the story (such as times displayed on clocks and watches, and mismatching exterior day night lighting) to add to the effect. I first published my full study of this aspect of the film in my PDF article THE MEMORY MAZE in Jan 2014 and later in a video version of that chapter. Will Hunter was cited for his excellent contribution in both versions.
21) THE SHINING: A STAGED DOCUMENTARY
INTERPRETATIONS NOT ATTRIBUTABLE TO ROB AGER 1) NATIVE AMERICAN GENOCIDE While the Native American Genocide theme of THE SHINING has been covered extensively in my work as early as Jan 2009, I later discovered I wasn't the only one to have explored it. 2) JACK TORRANCE BAPHOMET POSE This has been included in a number of studies of the film. It's the notion that in the final photo of Jack Torrance in a black and white ballroom photo, Jack is posed to appear like the Occult figure Baphomet. I've never found this interpretation convincing, nor I have published about it. 3) FORWARD / BACKWARD THEORY This was featured in the 2012 documentary Room 237. The idea is that playing the film backwards over itself causes certain images from different parts of the film to overlap in meaningful ways. I've never found it convincing because the film has been released with different run times, plus I've seen no evidence that Kubrick was suggesticng we need to view the film in this manner. 4) FAKE MOON LANDING THEORY This is Jay Wedner's theory and was being mistakely attributed to me quite often. I released a debunk of the theory to make sure fans of the film knew it wasn't my theory. 5) WENDY THEORY This video posits the theory that Jack's wife, Wendy, was the villain of the story. It was posted anomymously on Youtube using what appears to be an AI-generated voice. The video was getting attributed to me, even though I disagree strongly with its premise and arguments. I did some research and, to my knowledge, the video was posted by a fellow named Richard Staschy. I posted my debunk here. 6) JACK LOOKING INTO THE CAMERA This short video did the round on social media in the past few years. It points to multiple instances of Jack Nicholson apparently looking into the camera during acting takes. My own studies of the film had only identified a single instance of this.
INCREASINGLY FREQUENT PLAGIARISM Studies of THE SHINING have become virtually a media industry of their own over the years. Many of them (especially on Youtube) have copied, plagiarized or "borrowed" from my work, sometimes with citation (usually buried in the video description, but not stated clearly in the narration), though often with no citation at all. These plagiarizing examples of people trying to pass off my takes on the film as their own include the following Youtube channels ... (currently known as THE TAKE, video taken down after my plagiarism complaint)
(Erik Voss, users have commented on his video about him taking his ideas mostly from my work)
(AI-voiced video that blatantly steals all its ideas from others, and especially from my work).
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