Some documentaries - called "essays" - contradict the assumption that the world can be known in a definitive way. The "essay" film shifts the focus from the end product of the investigative effort to the process by which knowledge is created. To speak metaphorically, it is the movement, not the destination, that matters the most.
Consider this as you watch Rodney Ascher's fascinating 2012 film Room 237 on Netflix Instant. What specifically about the story - poetically or otherwise - resonated with you? Is the film dramatic? Is it poetic? One thing's for sure: Ascher's film draws attention not only to the various theories and hidden meanings in Stanley Kubrick's The Shining but goes further to reveal the subjectivity of the documentary maker and the subjective nature of knowledge and understanding itself.
I look forward to reading your answers to those questions, along with the rest of your comments, here (and on Moodle) by Wednesday morning at 9 am.
This documentary was extremely poetic and unlike most documentaries that I've seen. The most striking parts for me were the slowed down images with commentary and music playing all at once. The fact that we never get to see the face of anyone interviewed or the filmmaker was a strong choice-- the film wasn't about them. It was about their ideas. I have always been interested in this sort of thing, and like the interviewee who said 2001: A Space Odyssey was his first religious experience, these sort of hidden meanings and genius filmmakers like Kubrick are what made me want to make films myself. Obviously I didn't believe everything all of the interviewees claimed. But once in a while, I began to question something that if introduced to me outside of this documentary I wouldn't have even considered. I believe the evidence is strong enough and Kubrick was smart enough that genocide and child molestation were themes in the film. I have trouble believing, however, that Kubrick was involved in a fake moon landing.
ReplyDeleteOne specific scene I applaud this film for is where someone is explaining why Kubrick changed the room from 217 to 237 and the footage from The Shining of the little boy looking at it is shown. The footage was manipulated to show 217 and then changes to show the actual footage of it showing 237. The footage was manipulated so perfectly that 217 looked real. It just sort of reminded me that I was watching the manipulation of a manipulation of a manipulation of reality, and I was just accepting it.
That last sentence: I felt the same way
DeleteI found this documentary to be rather interesting in a number of ways. From a technical standpoint, the devices that the director chose to communicate his narrative was rather unique in that the primary source employed was that of the actual footage taken from Kubrick's The Shining and voice of five speakers with their theoretical analyzation of the film.
ReplyDeleteThe fact that we never saw a talking head but rather visual notes taken not only from The Shining but many of Kubrick's films including those that weren't directed by Kubrick made for an interesting way to frame a narrative. I will admit though that it reminded me a bit of when you have fiilmmakers speaking about their process of the making of a picture on the bonus DVD of a film.
I wouldn't necessarily call this film a poetic picture but rather a cinematic essay. You had men and women speaking on personal ideas and theories of the way the came to understand the symbols and mythologies expressed in the film. None of it was final but an expression of a deeper understanding and to be honest it made me think a bit and aroused real desire to know more.
The section on the actual Room No 237 being the "moon room" led me to do even further research into if the Apollo Moon landing. Was the moon landing faked? Did Kubrick partake in the filming of it? and if the moon landing was faked why and who was complicit? These questions are the markings of a great story, it leads you to new challenging discoveries.
The speakers examined a lot of the allegorical components of The Shining by tying them to the killing of the Native Americans, The Jews in the Holocaust and the deliberate manipulation that is used against people in this society. I found their arguments to be fascinating but whether I believe them is for an entirely different conversation.
Stanley Kubrick was truly at the frontier of cinematic inventiveness. A master of the medium, but I can never know if the choices he made in The Shining were purposely done or part of his subconscious. One thing if for sure though, his legend grows and the mystery lives on...
I was so excited to screen this film because The Shining is one of my favorites. Although I am not a film major, I have written many pieces about the film and what it means to me. Although this was my first time watching the film, the theories and speculations presented during it were nothing new. However, I particularly liked how the film used cuts from other Kubrick works to bring attention to its own points. I am a firm believer that filmmakers often build upon their previous works to create a universe in which their characters can thrive. It was interesting to see the narrators draw connections between The Shining and Kubrick’s other films while the documentary pieced the clips together. I watched the film with my roommates, and they often argued that the narrators’ points were too far-fetched. While I agreed with them on some points, I was a bit taken back by their lack for an open mind. It was interesting to see the narrators’ all draw from their own personal experiences which I believe is crucial in a film such as the Shining. What’s really interesting to me is that The Shining is based upon Freudian themes, while Room 237 is based upon Jungian themes – free association. Freud was a strong believer in the idea that each human relates to a common basis for analysis while Jung believed that it was the dreamer’s task to define his own. It was fun to screen a film that made a marriage of the two concepts and presented them in a way that was still appealing and interesting to the viewer.
ReplyDeleteFor one this film was extremely dramatic and poetic in many ways. It forces the audience to question some of their own theories and beliefs after listening to the interviews during the film. I personally enjoy things like this. I didn’t agree with everything that was said with each different person but some things I did question and came up with some reasoning behind their theories. I believe the director wanted to push the buttons of his audience and it works. Certain choices he made as never letting the audience see the face of the people being interviewed. This decision makes the audience really listen to what it is their saying rather then what they look like and prejudging them visually. It has a strong cinematic feel that I’ve rarely seen done successfully in a documentary. The director uses footage from the shinning in such a way that it some what tricks the audience. I can’t say that I agree with all of the content of the film. It was some areas that personally rubbed me the wrong way such as the themes of child molestation and the holocaust but as a artist I can totally agree that he successfully used the medium to express his idea at another lever of film making.
ReplyDeleteI think the film is very dramatic. It incorporates different parts of Kubrick’s other films and brings in all these different opinions and factors detailing what the movie is really about. Also, the people being interviewed get so excited and believe so strongly in what they are saying.
ReplyDeleteThe way this film was set up is amazing. The filmmaker sets up the movie clips perfectly with the descriptions people give about what it means to them. It’s amazing how much conspiracy can go into one movie. And now I definitely need to watch “The Shining” again. I really liked the part when the guy put the film going backwards on top of the original film. I also think there is something there with Hitler and Germany and the number 42. The stuff about the moon landing is interesting too, although I’m not sure how much I believe it.
The order things were produced and the way the filmmaker interweaved the interviews with sound from the movie makes this documentary poetic. It goes beyond just simply telling a story or opinion.
This documentary was interesting to say the least. I did notice the poetic nature of it. While watching, I was reminded of The Shining itself and how that movie is viewed and constructed. This is one of those docs that you just have to sit back, watch and accept it for what it is. ha, and that is something I totally had to do with this film. I didn't question. That's what I love about poetry in general - no matter the form. Poetry is something you take in and observe. It's not something you have to agree with, but the way its presented itself, to me, it's something untouchable. Something that couldn't be argued because there is no right answer. That's the majority of what I felt as I watched this doc.
ReplyDeleteOne thing I especially loved about this doc is how it was constructed completely from film clips and commentary. Normally a doc like this would bore me, but the characters being shown in the movie clips would be feeling or doing actions that the commentators talked about. That made me laugh. The comedy of it helped to shape the overall atmosphere of the content. Some ideas and theories were so farfetched, how could I not laugh? Plus with all this deep analysis and crazy information, there needed to be some comedy to lighten the mood. With that being said, I feel like the doc was 30 or 40 minutes too long. A lot of information was repeated, and after awhile, it just became too much. I grew anxious and tired of the subject.
I had to watch this one twice. Not only because of all the information there is to process, but because the visuals of this doc were stunning. The use of slowed down clips from The Shining and inserts of other Kubrick films, along with the historical video content and the fact that there are no talking heads. The use of the interviews as a voice over, and the different views on the film was a very cool concept I don't remember seeing before.
ReplyDeleteI would say this film was very poetic, and essay-like. Instead of focusing on trying to make a point the film uses 5 points of view on the same film to open you up and get you exploring your relationship with the shining. It is the most poetic doc I remember seeing simply by the fact of not force feeding you anything, but letting you come to your own conclusions. Also explaining the little details of the film, and actually showing them by slowing down the footage and using arrows to show what they want you to see.
I have seen the shining at least twice before, and never once did I think of the film like any of the people in the film had. I never once realized the underlying tone of the “white movement” for lack of a better word. I would say Room 237 was dramatic, but not overly done. By that I mean it makes a dramatic point(s) but not by giving the story dramatically. Hopefully that makes sense. I really enjoyed how the director kind of stayed out of the story and let it develop on its own. Also letting the interview just go (like when Cocks excuses himself to calm his son down) and just letting the interviewees tell their points without the directors involvement. (I realize it has been edited so we dont know if parts of the story have been taken out, but the film never gives a feeling of misleading us.)
From the impossible window, to the skier poster being a minotaur, the Nazi Germany connections, the Indian connections, the disappearing Dopey, to the thought of Kubrick maybe just “half-assing” the film, to the whole moon landing cover up, this doc had me intrigued from the moment it started to when it ended. Watching it the whole time I found myself asking “How did I miss that??”
This documentary was amazing to watch. It seems so neutral to whether Rodney Ascher agrees with the people analyzing Kubrick’s work. I say “Kubrick’s work” and not just “The Shining” because they speak about connections between The Shining and other Kubrick films like A Clockwork Orange. I have to admit, some of the “clues” were a little too farfetched for me. Jack Nicholson’s hairline was compared to Hitler’s mustache. The words “Room No.” were supposed to automatically click as “Moon Room” to the audience? Some points seemed to be right on the money though! One in particular that amazed me was when Danny is playing with his toy trucks on the carpet and a ball rolls into him. In the first shot, the pattern forms almost a pathway open to him. In the following shot, the pattern is in opposition, completely closing off his space. Continuity error? I don’t think so. One thing Ascher did that made the film work so well, was use clips from other films to enact what the analysts were describing. He had such a unique approach on how to tell the story. The documentary itself was almost scary. One of the analysts mentioned that he became so obsessed with the film that he planned to move to a remote area with his wife and son. Ascher brought an emotion to that particular scene by taking still images from the remote setting of The Shining and adding an eerie music to go along with it. I read a little more about Ascher’s actual views of what subliminal message was in the movie. It was actually much less specific than the Holocaust, Apollo 11, or the Genocide of Native Americans. It really did seem that Kubrick threw in all sorts of jokes and messages in the film. Having a red buggy crushed by a semi be shown in the film can really get a message across that it is his movie, and not Stephen King’s. The sexual innuendo was one of my personal favorites. The magazine shown is the same image as a playgirl magazine that was out at that time. It literally was the same image!
ReplyDeleteThis is the second time I have watched Room 237, and it gives me goosebumps still. The Shining is my favorite film of all time, and I feel that even a blind viewer has a sense that something supernatural takes place during this film. The documentary speaks about the hidden messages Kubrick hid inside his masterpiece. The voice of the documentary demonstrates Kubrick’s intelligence, and shows that the auteur truly may have felt confined by the direction films were going (base plot, and common symbols). Room 237 is dramatic at parts calling attention to shocking details hidden throughout the scenes. The three things that really resonate with me are: the native american theme, NASA space program theme, and the ability to play the film backwards, and match up stories. I haven’t put that last item up to the test, but would be very interested to see if all the scenes indeed link up. The documentary is poetic as well purely because it shows how beautifully orchestrated the Shining was every step of the way. Everything in the frame at any single point in time has such tremendous meaning. The best thing about the documentary is that is leaves us with a sense of wonder, and curiosity. There are still so many symbols, and motifs to be found in the Shining, and during every viewing there is a different subplot to follow.
ReplyDeleteFor starters let me say that I have not seen The Shining. I liked this film because it went into detail about what to look for in the actual movie. I wish I had seen The Shining before I saw this because now I probably won't see the movie the same way. I enjoyed hearing about all the theories and thoughts that were investigated in the film. However I didn't always understand or see all the subliminal images that were talked about. This film was dramatic in the fact that it pointed out things I might not have noticed while I was viewing the film for the first time. It was an interesting film however I didn't really care for it. I'm not saying it was poorly made or that I don't like the style but it was difficult for me to relate the information given because I am not familiar with the film or book The Shining and I haven't really seen many Kubrick films. If this had been about another movie I had seen I might have connected better and enjoyed it more.
ReplyDeleteThe first thing this film made me think was “does this happen with a lot of movies?” I think if you looked hard enough you could find certain things in films to make whatever theories you want to. Regardless I liked this film. It was really suspenseful for me even though it never really gets anywhere. That being said I could see someone calling this an essay film. You could pretty much start it anywhere and know what was going on. A part of me wishes they would run with these theories and try to prove them right or wrong. On the other hand I’m glad there’s no answers. It is purely just to make you realize things sometimes seem differently then they appear. “Contradict the assumption that the world can be know in a definitive way.”
ReplyDeleteThen again there are things in this film that feel poetic. The slow rhythm of “The Shining” shots along with the narration made me reconsider and dwell on things just as the interviewees were doing. Sometimes the shots took a double glace for me. Let me explain. During the theory about the German typewriter I remember it being a really long shot while the theorist explained the reasoning for the typewriter. Then a few shots later when it was mentioned again it then appeared on the screen once more. This sounds really simple but it made me feel something I wouldn’t have felt otherwise if they didn’t cut this way.
The part that resonated with me or drew me in the most was the sci-fi like music. It really felt like we were discovering a secret not really meant to be discovered. Almost like government conspiracy theory shows do. Right in the beginning the interviewee talks about the calumet baking powder can and says “Oh my goodness! … That movie was about the genocide of the American Indians.” The music made me feel that “oh my goodness!” along with the narrator.
This film was simple yet entertaining. I enjoyed the simplicity of it, which is something I don’t often say.
This documentary was hard to watch at times. I found it difficult to accept that I wasn't going to see the interviewees and all I was gonna see was the footage of the shining and other Kubrick films. Although I must say that the editing of the clips were well crafted together to convey emotion and push the documentary forward. Although I didn't particularly like the documentary, I did think that it was very dramatic both with the footage and the music to overwhelm you with feeling. The feelings that the interviewees got when they saw the little details in the Shining. I say I didn't like the film because I thought that SOME of the people talking about The Shining were being too over dramatic with their analyses. For example, I rolled my eyes when the one person said that when the dissolve effect happens the janitor looked like he was mopping the land as a giant. And when the other man said that Kubrick is drawn in the sky. But, at the same time, I did have moments where I was shocked to see some things add up with their assumptions. And that combined with the music scared me just as much as the shining itself. From all of this, yes the film is very dramatic and it showed me that Kubrick was indeed a genius.
ReplyDeleteThe film Room 327 was a very interesting film that took me to a place I did not expect to be. The film is based of conspiracy and the notion that Kubrick is in fact beyond brilliant. Who knew we would be taken on path were we talk about the moon landings. The whole movie was very dramatic in nature, due to it's nature of being based on conspiracy theories. The fact that it is based on conspiracy theories you have to make it dramatic or the viewer is going to to turn the film off within minutes. The fact that film is looking into one the most eerie films of all time help adds to the dramatic emphasis of the film. It is also presented heavily through music and thee way the film was cut together. This film is very odd and suggest that this movie is wrapped around hidden message, one being predominate, genocide. The movie was not bad, it was definitely different in a good way.
ReplyDeleteWow. I've watched this film about 3 times over by now. Rodney is my new hero.
ReplyDeleteI am amazed. I've never seen a documentary like this. The film is SO dramatic- it had me on the tips of my toes every time. Not a cheesy drama. Even that creepy music playing in the background didn't cheapen it. It's a learning drama or excitement. I feel that it's also poetic because it's so unique, but essentially is an essay doc.
While the director is pointing out these controversies and manipulations within the meaning of the Shining, I realize that the doc is doing just that by superimposing images & chopping and replaying footage. I wondered if there was any underlying information or subliminal messaging Rodney did to sort of tribute Kubrick.
I need to watch The Shining again. I have, like some of the commentators seen the film multiple times over the years and wondered why I have a fascination with it. It's SO weird & now I know why! I also want to see the film to verify some of these ideas. I definitely see the Native American theme is so present. Then the connections to Colorado & how the boss says it was built on an Indian burial ground. Those details stuck out with me. Then how the tourists fade into luggage or the other way around, those two things the native Americans and then the Jews…I started seeing it is about genocide. How Jack becomes 'the wolf' in the Three Little Pigs story & then they show Disney using the wolf as a 'jew' which is of course anti-Semitic. Wow..I am floored.
Unless I'm crazy just believing it..& it's totally untrue.. i dont know!
DeleteThis Doc Really Blew my mind away. For a long time i always felt Kubricks films were usually always a subconcious form of subliminal messages. Although this was pretty cool to hear all these wild theories i couldn't help but being tore with the idea that some of these people were reaching a little to far into the movie. The Shinning was about the guy losing his mind into the hotel and in a sense i feel these people got sucked into thay and are going mad thinking of how this films message was that of their theory. At a point i found myself doing in and out look backs at the shinning while i was listening to them explain what they thought it was because i felt i was really coming on to what they were talking about, it was insane. I'll be honest though the Doc is pretty long so at first watching it i found myself skeptical that it wasn't going to be as interesting as it was and it took a bit to get me hooked but when it did i couldnt stop watching. My favorite and the one that trips me out the most was when they talk about how one of the many Shinning followers mentions the film wasnt meant to be seen from being to end or vice versa but at the same time and they show scenes from the screening they did of the film playing from beginning to end and end to beginning. when i saw that i was sold on being a fellow conspirator and now find myself having watched it again and trying to figure out the queston about what they whole movie meant. i think thats the greatest achivmeant as a filmmaker. making something so powerful and profound even like a horror film but later on having fans watch it and draw so many conclusions of why you did this and that the way you did and what it really meant.
ReplyDeleteTo be honest, this film was not at all what I expected. In a way I guess it is a direct product of The Shining and felt very influenced by techniques that Kubrick used during it's creative development process. Overall I liked it though. Many theories to me were mind blowing (such as the native american theme), but other ideas were just as far fetched. I believe that if you look at anything you could find a meaning behind it, even if that's not what was intended. I've watched The Shining a few times, but I wish I had watched it once more immediately prior to screening Room 237; I know The Shining won't be the same next time I watch it (but i guess it never is the same anyways). The film was edited in a poetic manner by the way all of the various types of footage were intertwined and manipulated. What I found dramatic was that it allowed me to form my own opinion instead of drawing a conclusion to every theory for me- sometimes the mind is better suited left to its own imagination. Lastly, what really resonated with me was somewhat of a similar feeling that I get after watching The Shining; Kubrick is a genius and whether or not he really intended for all of those theories to be absorbed from the film, he is work is always incredibly thought provoking. I wonder what thoughts ran through HIS head while he viewed this film. All in all, I enjoyed the film as it certainly left me much more open minded about The Shining.
ReplyDelete