James Bowman wrote a remarkable essay about Memory and the Movies.
Metaphilm interprets The Shining in terms of a writer’s economic alienation.
Forced to make a living in a culture whose economy has liberated women to work, Jack discovers that his old-fashioned desire to be the sole breadwinner for the family is actually the thing that will turn him into a murderer. He can no longer make ends meet without sending his spouse out into the workforce, nor can he abandon the economic idealism of his grandfather?s generation. It is this tension that splits his head open and causes him to lose his mind. As this transformation slowly takes place, we discover that Jack?s rage is fueled more irrationally and vehemently by his wife than any other person or aspect of the Overlook Hotel.
Guess what? I’m going to be crossposting at blogcritics.org
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