One of the most famous examples of the uncanny \u2013 as explained by Freud \u2013 can be found in Stanley Kubrick\u2019s The Shining (1980). It continually questions the viewer\u2019s perception of reality and makes them unsure of what would otherwise be everyday occurrences and objects. An interesting example of this is when Jack Torrance\u2019s son, Danny, takes a ride on his tricycle through the hotel. This is a relatively normal occurrence for a child of this time staying in a remote hotel. The shot is sinister from the off (shot from the child\u2019s, and eventually the viewer\u2019s, perspective) and displays a prime instance of Freud\u2019s theory that the mundane can sometimes belie something much more ominous. Danny sees two young twins who, in a later flashing vision are seen to have been murdered \u2013 their white dresses covered in blood \u2013 and this is symbolized by the two red doors that he finds at the elevator. Later, Danny\u2019s mother Wendy comes upon them spewing a thick, blood-like liquid. Red elevator doors would otherwise not be anything to take notice of, but in the context of the murdered sisters, they take on a much more disturbing presence. In many ways, this unremarkable feature of the hotel is used to foreshadow the horrific events to come at \u201cThe Overlook\u201d hotel. In one short, well-shot sequence early on in The Shining Kubrick manages to forewarn the viewer of what is ahead. The sisters, the innocence of childhood and the horrors that can be found in the ordinary all reference Freud\u2019s theory of the uncanny and sum it up vividly.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
One of the most famous examples of the uncanny \u2013 as explained by Freud \u2013 can be found in Stanley Kubrick\u2019s The Shining (1980). It continually questions the viewer\u2019s perception of reality and makes them unsure of what would otherwise … Continue reading