Case Study Task

Case Study

The case study i'm choosing to analyse in representation is the main character of The Shining, a classic horror. Jack Nicholson plays Jack Torrance, who signs a contract, a normal writer and former teacher agrees to take care of a hotel which has a long, violent past that puts everyone in the hotel in a nervous situation.

Firstly, I would like to say I view this film as typical representation of horror, and how the key areas of age, gender, regional identity and social class are explored. However I would say that the way in which insanity is portrayed is an extremely selective representation, the director is trying to give a specific message in this movie, even if the message is an enigma of why Jack has gone insane, he wants you to have your own interpretation.

In the beginning, Jack is presented as very family oriented and happily married, the sterotypical white writer that has hit writer's block and see's this oppurtunity to be away from the city (regional identity). Probably due to his old age and regional identity he sees being alone with his family in a massive hotel a chance for more writing however as the loneliness of the manor starts to creep into his life, Jack slowly starts to become insane, eventually attacking his own wife and son. A completely unexpected turn of events, when the countertype is announced there is genuienly a feel of worry for both Jack and his family. The only comfort being that his child has acquired a power called 'The Shining', this allows him to communicate through telepathy, which is a positive countertype but also meaning the amount of effort needed from a child will demand an extreme willpower to evade his crazy father AND get them off of a deserted hotel. Gender is stereotypical within this film as Jack clearly has the power throughout most of the film, his wife is constantly running away from him and the bath scene is an accurate reaction of what a man would do if there was a woman like that subtely flirting. This stereotype of the man having the power in the relationship is challenged when Wendy takes Danny away from the hotel, well tries to, representing her instinctive nature to protect her son, this is often the role of the male. However the combination of his own insanity and muddled perception causes the woman to break down and decompose, he reacts accordingly, but at this point it doesn't make him see the error of his ways but instead he goes more insane and tries to kill his family.

Supernatural occurences and children are a common representation within horror films, the belief here being that vunerability and innocence is exploited through means of another realm, a horror story for any parent and also making it relatable to just about anybody who can imagine themselves in that situation. For example in the film Mama, two girls are kidnapped by their father who takes them to a cabin, but what he doesn't know is that there is a supernatural force inhabiting the area. 'Mama' kills the father and takes care of the two girls, it's this idea of an unknown entity within physical grasp and creating emotional connections whether they be positive or negative that horror normally represents in a terrifyingly real perspective that makes it really suspensful for the audience. As tense as it would be if your own child or sibling started seeing close to insane and impossible things and telling you to believe it, out of mere shock I think the way horror uses age to play with the audiences emotions is very accuareately represented, even in elderly people. Elderly people especially as this usually creates room for a countertype, you wouldn't expect a frail old woman to hurt anybody until her eyes roll to the back of her head, she's laughing uncontrollably, speaking in some ancient demon Latin tongue and climbing the ceiling with a crab walk.

This film is an excellent example of determining how real the media world is in terms of movies, because in this film it is all about challenging the sterotypes, but also reinforcing some of them. It presents our capabilities as humans, without judgement and the innermost battles with insecurities, urges and desires on our human condition.