Stanley Kubrick's horror classic, The Shining, has such a cult following that even over 30 years after the film was released, the film's details are still being discussed.
But even amateur scholars of the movie might not have noticed this small detail that adds another twist of the screw to this already mind-bending movie.
In case you haven't seen The Shining, we'll explain: based on a Stephen King novel by the same name, viewers follow the Torrance family — Jack, Wendy, and their son, Danny — who has agreed to spend a winter taking care of The Overlook Hotel. With how bad the winters are and how secluded the hotel is, the Torrance family will be alone in the hotel and stranded until spring.
Kubrick's Love Affair With Recurring Numerology
From the beginning of the movie, though, the isolated setting isn't the only unsettling detail. In the opening scene of the movie, Kubrick used the real-life Timberline Lodge in Oregon, where keen-eyed viewers counted 42 cars in the parking lot. In another scene, Wendy and Danny are watching The Summer of 42 on television. $42 million also comes up in a later scene.
If that isn't enough, Kubrick altered the room number where the main characters stay from 217 to 237. Multiply those numbers together as (2x3x7), and you'll get, you guessed it: 42.
But why the number shows up so often in the movie is as much a mystery as what the number means. Some theorize Kubrick had been borrowing from Freud's idea that recurring numbers can be quite disturbing. Others believe it has a more sinister connection to the year 1942 and the dark themes surrounding World War II and Nazism.
42 Has Different Meanings
But if you look at numerology, 42 is actually positive. The number is related to themes of family and community, which we're supposed to believe Jack was motivated to find at the beginning of the film.
In numerology 42, the number primarily focused on individuals, family, and community, will play perfectly into who Jack Torrance is, at least in the beginning. This number will ring true in The Shining as the Torrance's settle into the Overlook Hotel. As Jack becomes increasingly disillusioned by the hotel's ghostly intentions, that family-centered individual started to target his family, and the numerological anthems behind the number 42 will disintegrate.
Kubrick's Genius
While Kubrick won only one Oscar for Best Director, and it wasn't for The Shining, he created some notable movies of his time. The Clockwork Orange, 2001: A Space Odyssey, and Dr. Strangelove owe are all other amazing Kubrick films that inspire conspiracy, controversy, and discussion.
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This article is produced and syndicated by Wealth of Geeks.