List of Cultural References in The Shining in Chronological Order

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I started to keep a chronological master list of all the art and books and brands, etc. to scan for possible patterns (the only major one seems incidental: the brands lean to the older end of the spectrum, thanks to all the booze). That’s how I came to realize that there’s one such reference for every two shots in the movie (330-odd references against 666 shots–and that’s not counting the photographs). Can you even think of another film you could say that about? One that doesn’t take place in a library, book store, or art museum?

So, included on this list are 1) paintings, 2) books, 3) screen media, 4) songs, 5) games, 6) popular characters mentioned or seen, 7) artists whose works appear in abundance, and 8) real events/people/places/things referenced. (I recently moved the brands to their own list) I didn’t count any of the indirect references, like the embedded Beatles album covers, or the history behind the naming of any of the natural locales throughout the film. I wanted to keep it strictly to what’s iconically beyond incidental, since, once you start reading into things, there is, in a way, no end to it. Like, the Sgt. Pepper album cover alone has a hundred other things to reference. How deep into the subtext must we go?

Also, FYI–and also because I keep having to count them to check–around 20 of the things on this list are not art pieces. So there’s really only 250ish art objects in the film (not counting all the anonymous rugs and all the hard-to-see objects inside the glass display cases, and things like that).

Click here to see a version of this list in alphabetical order

  1. Bog oak art piece (Untold thousands of years old)
  2. Timbuktu (5th Century BC) – mentioned by Jack to Lloyd
  3. Julius Caesar (Jul. 12-13, 100 BC – Mar. 15, 44 BC)
  4. Snakes and Ladders (2nd century AD)
  5. Dies Irae, Thomas of Celano, redone by Wendy Carlos (13th Century, possibly older)
  6. Gingerbread Men (16th Century (c. 1558) – Later, May 1875)
  7. The Tower of Babel (Pieter Bruegel the Elder, 1563)
  8. Theatrum Orbis Terrarum (Theatre of the World) (Abraham Ortelius, 1570s)
  9. The Works of William Shakespeare (1589-1614) (Julius Caesar – 1599, possibly also The Tempest – 1610-1611)
  10. Portland, Maine (1632) – mentioned by Jack to Lloyd
  11. All Work and No Play Makes Jack a Dull Boy (Appeared in James Howell’s Proverbs in English, Italian, French and Spanish, 1659; Maria Edgeworth’s Harry and Lucy Concluded, 1825; Karl Marx’s Das Kapital, 1867; James Joyce’s Araby, 1914; the Laurel and Hardy film Sons of the Desert, 1933; and the 1957 film Bridge on the River Kwai; Jack Kerouac’s Big Sur, 1962)
  12. The Eruption of Vesuvius in 1774 (Jacob Philipp Hackert, 1774(?))
  13. A Man of Van Diemen’s Land (John Webber, 1777)
  14. A Woman of Prince William Sound (John Webber, 1778)
  15. A Man of Nootka Sound (John Webber, 1784)
  16. A Woman of Oonalashka (John Webber, 1784)
  17. Charles Dickens (Feb. 7, 1812)
  18. Hansel and Gretel (Dec. 20, 1812)
  19. Snow White (Dec. 20, 1812)
  20. Turdus Pilaris (John Gould and Henry Constantine Richter, 1837)
  21. Pyrrhula Vulgaris (John Gould and Henry Constantie Richter, 1837)
  22. The Battle of Sisters Creek/Longue Pointe/The Battle of the Barn (Louise-Amélie Panet-Bercy, 1839)
  23. Montreal from the Mountain (William Henry Bartlett, 1839-1842)
  24. The Masque of the Red Death (Edgar Allen Poe, May 1842)
  25. Portland, Oregon (1845) – mentioned by Jack to Lloyd
  26. Makah Returning in Their War Canoes (Paul Kane, 1845-1859)
  27. The Donner Party (May 1846 – February 1847) – mentioned first by Wendy to Jack and Danny
  28. Paysage d’hiver, Laval (Winter Landscape, Laval) (Cornelius Krieghoff, 1849)
  29. Log Hut on the St. Maurice (Cornelius Krieghoff, 1862)
  30. Blackbird (John Gould, Henry Constantine Richter, 1862-1873(?))
  31. Alcedo Ispida (John Gould, William Matthew Hart, 1862-1873)
  32. Crime and Punishment (Fyodor Dostoevsky, 1866)
  33. Tatânga Mânî (Walking Buffalo, AKA George McLean) (Mar. 20, 1871-Dec. 26 1967)
  34. Adolf Hitler (Apr. 20, 1889 – Apr. 30, 1945) – referenced subtextually, but innumerably
  35. Unidentified Vesuvius painting (Unknown Artist, 1890s)
  36. After the Bath (Paul Peel, 1890)
  37. Three Little Pigs (June 19, 1890 – first print version was in the 1840s, fairy tale itself thought to go back further)
  38. Dwight D. Eisenhower (Oct. 14, 1890 – Mar. 28, 1969) – the Hal and Charley show mentions an Eisenhower tunnel being closed
  39. The Denver Post (1892)
  40. The White Man’s Burden (Rudyard Kipling, Feb. 4, 1899)
  41. Kaisergebirge, Tirol (Kaiser Mountains, Tyrol)? (Alois Arnegger?, 1900s-1910s?)
  42. The Cowboy (Frederic Remington, 1902)
  43. Peter Pan (JM Barrie, 1902) – referenced subtextually
  44. US Forest Service (Feb. 1, 1905)
  45. Valentine’s Postcard of Niagara Falls (1907-1915)
  46. Red Maple (A. Y. Jackson, 1914)
  47. Northern River (Tom Thompson, 1914-15)
  48. Cram’s Superior Map of Colorado (George F. Cram, 1915)
  49. Jeeves (1915)
  50. Still Life of Flowers in a Jug (“after” Nadia Benois, 1920s-1950s)
  51. The Group of Seven (1920-1933) – group of Canadian painters whose work figures largely
  52. Alex Colville (Aug. 24, 1920)
  53. Beaver Swamp – originally Evening, Algoma (Lawren Harris, 1920-1923)
  54. The Solemn Land (JEH MacDonald, 1921)
  55. Stormy Weather, Georgian Bay (F. H. Varley, 1921)
  56. Bombo (Al Jolson, et al. Oct. 6, 1921)
  57. Mist Fantasy, Sand River, Algoma (JEH MacDonald, 1920)
  58. Dorothy Oxborough (1922)
  59. Maligne Lake, Jasper Park (Lawren Harris, 1924)
  60. Winnie-the-Pooh (February, 1924)
  61. Jimmy Carter (Oct. 1, 1924)
  62. The Gold Rush (Jun. 26, 1925 – possibly a stretch)
  63. Johnny Carson (Oct. 23, 1925) – referenced by Jack
  64. The Ahwahnee Hotel (1927, Gilbert Stanley Underwood, Yosemite Valley, California) – interiors used as basis for the Overlook
  65. Great Lounge, stained glass windows (Jeanette Dryer Spencer, 1927)
  66. Mickey and Minnie Mouse (Nov. 18, 1928) – stickers on Danny’s door, and Mickey appears again on a sweater
  67. Businessweek (September 1929 — uncertain volume)
  68. Touch of Autumn (Gerard Curtis Delano, c. 1930)
  69. The Door (Mary Roberts Reinhart, 1930)
  70. The Wish Child (Ina Seidel, 1930)
  71. Mill on the Cliff/Cliffside Mill (Nicholas Hornyansky, 1930s-1950s)
  72. Trapper’s Camp (AKA Le campment du trappeur) (Clarence Gagnon, 1931)
  73. Chief Bear Paw (Nicholas de Grandmaison, 1931-1978)
  74. Starlight: Indian Papoose (Nicholas de Grandmaison, 1931-1978)
  75. Arpeggio (Frederick Horsman Varley, 1932-1937)
  76. The Johnson House, Hanover (Carl Schaefer, 1932-42)
  77. Goofy (May 25, 1932) – doll/puppet seen in Danny’s Boulder bedroom
  78. Home (Henry Hall and the Gleneagles, 1932+)
  79. Masquerade (Jack Hylton and His Orchestra, Sept. 23 1932)
  80. Krzysztof Penderecki (Nov. 23, 1933)
  81. It’s All Forgotten Now, (Al Bowlly, Ray Noble and his Orchestra, Sept. 26, 1934)
  82. Midnight, the Stars and You (Al Bowlly, Ray Noble and his Orchestra, 1934)
  83. Alcoholics Anonymous (1935, possibly incorrect–there’s a shape seen twice around the Torrance living room that looks like their logo)
  84. Timberline Lodge (1936, Mount Hood, Oregon)
  85. Music for Strings, Percussion and Celesta (Béla Bartók, Sept. 7, 1936)
  86. Dopey – Snow White and the Seven Dwarves (December 21, 1937)
  87. Glamour (Magazine) (Apr. 1939)
  88. Bugs Bunny (April 30, 1938) – seen on Danny’s shirt, and stuffed toy seen in lobby — character referenced by multiple characters
  89. Carl Yastrzemski (Aug. 22, 1939) – associated with Louisville slugger
  90. Crying Boy (Dorothy Marie Oxborough, 194?+)
  91. Native American Girl Child (Dorothy Marie Oxborough, 194?+)
  92. Native Child (Dorothy Marie Oxborough, 194?+)
  93. Native Girl with Pigtails (Dorothy Marie Oxborough, 194?+)
  94. Native Pastel (Dorothy Marie Oxborough, 194?+)
  95. Antique Navajo Weaving Design: Yei Pictorial (Unknown, 1940s-’50s)
  96. English Springer Spaniel (Edwin Megargee, 1940s-50s) – uncertain but extremely likely variant on confirmed original
  97. Tom & Jerry (Feb. 10, 1940 – Sept. 8, 1967)
  98. Loving (Henry Green, 1945)
  99. China Flight (Pearl S. Buck, April 1945) – Possibly Wrong
  100. Oskar Political Cartoon Posters (Hans Bierbrauer (AKA Oskar), sometime between 1948-1980; seen in Susie’s office, radio room, snowcat garage)
  101. Candy Land (1949)
  102. Wile E. Coyote and Road Runner (Sept. 17, 1949)
  103. The Killing Frost (Max Catto, 1950 – possibly a stretch)
  104. Julius Erving (Feb. 22, 1950) – seen on poster in Overlook radio room
  105. Snoopy (October 4, 1950)
  106. The Catcher in the Rye (JD Salinger, July 16, 1951 – serial ‘45-‘46)
  107. Tony the Tiger (1952) – food mascot
  108. Carson City (June 13, 1952)
  109. Horse and Train (Alex Colville, 1954)
  110. Stop! Look! And Hasten! (August 14, 1954)
  111. Tiger of the Snows (Tenzing Norgay and John Ramsey Ullman, 1955)
  112. Trapeze (May 30, 1956 – Possibly a stretch)
  113. Mandarin Ducks (Basil Ede, 1958-1979)
  114. The Deadly Streets, Harlan Ellison (1958 – possibly inaccurate)
  115. Dog, Boy, and St. John River (Alex Colville, 1958)
  116. Hound in Field (Alex Colville, 1958)
  117. To Itch His Own (1958)
  118. The Beach Girls, John D. Macdonald (1959)
  119. Maid of the Mist Under the Horseshoe Falls Postcard (1959)
  120. Naked Lunch, William S. Burroughs (1959 — possibly inaccurate)
  121. Anonymous Hood River Valley Postcard (1960s)
  122. Fox Resting (Ralph Thompson, 1960s)
  123. Mt. Hood postcard (Francis Kies, 1960s)
  124. Portrait of a Fox: Alert (Ralph Thompson, 1960s)
  125. Spring photo of Mt. Hood (Francis Kies, 1960s)
  126. Summer photo of Mt. Hood (Franklin Lee Silkey, 1960s?)
  127. Winter photo of Mt. Hood (Mike Roberts, c. 1960s)
  128. Flock of Loons (or Untitled) (Norval Morrisseau, 196?+)
  129. Catch-22 (Joseph Heller, Nov. 10, 1961)
  130. Polymorphia (Krzysztof Penderecki, April 16, 1962)
  131. Kanon (Krzysztof Penderecki, Sept. 21, 1962)
  132. The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson (Oct. 1, 1962)
  133. Jumbo Tiddledy Winks (1963 – copyright goes back to the 20s for standard)
  134. Moon and Cow (Alex Colville, 1963)
  135. Woman and Terrier (Alex Colville, 1963)
  136. The New York Review of Books (February 1, 1963)
  137. KHOW (Hal and Charlie, 1964) – radio station, heard by Hallorann
  138. Squaresville: The Teen’s Guide to Adult Behaviour, Jan and Stan Berenstain (1965)
  139. The Death Dealers (Mickey Spillane, 1966)
  140. Dr. Nyet (Ted Mark, 1966)
  141. De Natura Sonoris No. 1, Krzysztof Penderecki (April 7, 1966)
  142. Autumn photo of Mt. Hood (Glenn E. Walthall, 1967?)
  143. Lontano (György Ligeti, 1967)
  144. The Manipulator (Diane Cilento,1967)
  145. Orange Wednesday, Leslie Thomas (1967)
  146. Woodstock (April 4, 1967)
  147. The Fourth Ghost Book, James Turner (ed) (1968)
  148. MASH (Richard Hooker, 1968 – fairly certain)
  149. Ultimate (1968)
  150. Caesar: A Biography (Christian Meier, 1969)
  151. December Afternoon (Hugh Monahan, 1969)
  152. SKI BROaDMOOR (Herbert Bayer, 1969)
  153. In This House of Brede (Rumer Godden, Jan. 1, 1969)
  154. True Grit (Jun. 11, 1969 – possibly a stretch)
  155. Easy Rider (Jul. 14, 1969)
  156. National Western Stock Show & Rodeo – Denver Post Ad (197?)
  157. Muskox Illustration (Elizabeth McClelland, 1970s?)
  158. Baby Leopard on a Rock (Ralph Thompson, 1970s)
  159. Napolitano Postcard with Augustus Caesar Statue (????, 1970s?-1st century BCE)
  160. Postcard of Ana Cross/Ralph Cross (????, 1970s?-Medieval times)
  161. The Boo (Pat Conroy, 1970)
  162. Utrenja, Ewangelia and Kanon Paschy (Krzysztof Penderecki, 1970 and 1971)
  163. Angell, Pearl and Little God (Winston Graham (Jan. 1, 1970)
  164. King Oil (Max Catto, Jan. 1, 1970)
  165. Instant Karma (Plastic Ono Band, Feb. 1970) – album that inspired the film/novel’s name
  166. The Harlem Globetrotters (Sept. 12, 1970)
  167. Brewster McCloud (Dec. 5, 1970)
  168. Keep America Beautiful Ad (1971) – referenced (maybe) by signs on the garbage cans outside the Overlook
  169. Summer of ’42 (April 18, 1971)
  170. De Natura Sonoris No. 2 (Krzysztof Penderecki, December 3, 1971)
  171. Emergency! (1972-1979)
  172. Dalli! Dalli! (Lobby, unknown episode, 1972-1979)
  173. My Name Is Asher Lev (Chaim Potok, Mar. 12, 1972)
  174. Glaucous-Winged Gull (James Fenwick Lansdowne, 1973)
  175. Hotel & Motel Red Book (American Hotel & Motel Association, 1973?)
  176. Steamboat Ski Poster (Jerry Brimacomb, 1973)
  177. Supernatural Dream (The Old School Inc., 1973)
  178. Teeny Weeny Adventures (1973 – possibly earlier as well)
  179. The Tower (Richard Martin Stern, 1973)
  180. Holding On (Mervyn Jones, Jan. 1, 1973)
  181. Thriller (Apr. 10, 1973)
  182. Cooper’s Hawk (James Fenwick Lansdowne, 1974)
  183. One By One (Stomu Yamash’ta’s East Wind, 1974)
  184. Come Out, Come Out, Wherever You Are (Jun. 29, 1974)
  185. The Dream/Awakening of Jacob (Krzysztof Penderecki, August 14, 1974)
  186. Irene Reid Promotional Picture (1975?)
  187. Commoners Crown, Steeleye Span (1975)
  188. Discipline and Punish: The Birth of a Prison (Michel Foucault, 1975)
  189. One By One (Claude du Boc, Jan. 1975)
  190. Tolstoy Remembered (Tatyana Tolstoy, 1975)
  191. Denver Olympics Poster (Gene Hoffman – 1976 — uncertain, but very likely)
  192. The Great Earth Mother (Norval Morrisseau, 1976)
  193. The United Front: The TUC and the Russians 1923-1928 (Daniel F. Calhoun, Jul. 8, 1976)
  194. Travel Holiday (1977 – uncertain volume)
  195. Ada, Countess of Lovelace (Doris Langley Moore, 1977)
  196. A Time of Gifts (Patrick Leigh Fermor, 1977)
  197. True Confessions (John Gregory Dunne, 1977)
  198. Black Odyssey (Nathan Irvin Huggins, Jan. 1, 1977)
  199. China, Oil, and Asia, Conflict Ahead? (Selig S. Harrison, Jan 1, 1977)
  200. Close Encounters of the Third Kind (Steven Spielberg, Leslie Waller, Jan. 1, 1977)
  201. The Courts of Europe: Politics, Patronage, and Royalty 1400-1800 (AG Dickens, Jan. 1, 1977)
  202. The Shining (Stephen King, Jan. 28, 1977) 
  203. Young Jethro (Roy Clews, Jan. 28, 1977)
  204. Eleanor Marx (Yvonne Kapp, Jun. 1977)
  205. China and America: The Search for a New Relationship (William J. Barnds (ed), Aug. 1, 1977)
  206. Close Encounters of the Third Kind (Nov. 16, 1977)
  207. The Hynek UFO Report (Dec. 1977)
  208. Bomber Pilot: A Memoir of World War II (Philip Ardery, 1978)
  209. A Captive of Time (Olga Ivanskaya, 1978)
  210. The Death of Woman Wang (Jonathan Spence, 1978)
  211. Four Rossettis: A Victorian Biography (Stanley Weintraub, 1978)
  212. Illness as Metaphor (Susan Sontag, 1978)
  213. Irish Setter (Dr. Avery Vaughan, 1978?)
  214. Leon Battista Alberti (Franco Borsi, 1978)
  215. New York Jew (Alfred Kazin, 1978)
  216. Outdoor Life (Early 1978)
  217. Russia in Original Photographs 1860-1920 (Marvin Lyons, 1978)
  218. Transatlantic Blues (Wilfrid Sheed, 1978)
  219. Field and Stream (Jan. 1978)
  220. Dasher: The Roots and the Rising of Jimmy Carter (Jan. 1st, James Wooten)
  221. Playgirl (Jan. 1, 1978)
  222. The Great Spectacular (Graham Greene, Jan. 26, 1978)
  223. The Long Work of Liberty (George Konrad, Jan. 26, 1978)
  224. The Mythical Life of D. H. Lawrence (Stephen Spender, Jan. 26, 1978)
  225. Scientific American (Mar. 1978)
  226. Car and Driver (Mar. 1978)
  227. Burda Moden (Apr. 1978) (founded in 1949)
  228. Glamour (May, 1978)
  229. James at an Awkward Age (Veronica Geng, May 18, 1978)
  230. The Professors: A Survey of a Survey (Serge Lang, May 18, 1978)
  231. The State of the Union (Sheldon S. Wolin, May 18, 1978)
  232. Why Israel Should Settle Now (Guido Goldman, May 18, 1978)
  233. Will I Be On Television? (Ladislav Hejdanek, May 18, 1978)
  234. Switzerland: The Awful Truth (Jean Zeigler, 1979 – likely inaccurate)
  235. The Vela Incident, news article (Sept. 23, 1979)
  236. Newswatch 10 (Glenn Rinker, Ann Bishop and Walter Cronice, 1979-80) – news program watched by Hallorann
  237. Boy and Girl Knitting (Unknown artist, unknown date of origin)
  238. Colorado Landscape on a Wood Section (Franklyn Popham Cattermole)
  239. Colorado Tourism Posters (Unknown artist, unknown date of origin)
  240. Di-Acro Flier (Unknown date)
  241. Jacob’s Ladder lookalike art (William Blake, 1805?)
  242. B&W Face Collage (Unknown artist, unknown date of origin)
  243. Phonebooks (Probably 1978-79, but not clear)
  244. Sirens and Lights (Unknown author, date of origin)
  245. Travel (Ullman’s desk – uncertain origin)
  246. Navajo/Apache Wall Rugs (5) (Unknown craftsperson, date of origin)
  247. Mystery 237 artworks (2) (Unknown artists, dates of origin)
  248. Mystery Banner (Torrance apartment)
  249. Mystery BJ Well Art (4) (Unknown artists, dates of origin)
  250. Mystery Boiler Room Nudes (8) (Boiler Room)
  251. Mystery Boulder Books (4) (Boulder Apartment)
  252. Mystery Denver Flood Poster (Games Room, 1912?)
  253. Mystery Europe Book (Boulder Apartment, Miami Apartment)
  254. Mystery Golf Like the Greats Towel/Paper (Boulder Kitchen)
  255. Mystery Group of Seven Trio (Games Room)
  256. Mystery Kitchen Art (Kitchen)
  257. Mystery Lang Shining banner (Torrance apartment)
  258. Mystery Lansdowne painting (Susie’s office)
  259. Mystery Megargee-style Hare (near 237)
  260. Mystery Monahan (Lobby, 2nd Entrance–might also be by Sir Peter Scott)
  261. Mystery Shadow Monster (Lobby Foyer–possibly by Salvador Dali)
  262. Mystery Suite 3 art (4) (Unknown Artist, dates of origin)
  263. Mystery Tatânga Mânî Portrait (Lounge, possibly by Dorothy Oxborough)
  264. Mystery Tunnicliffe painting (Susie’s office, outside 237)
  265. Similar: Baie St. Paul (AY Jackson)
  266. Similar: Bay of Islands (Franklin Carmichael)
  267. Similar: Brittany Spaniel (Robert Abbett)
  268. Similar: Broughton Island (Doris McCarthy)
  269. Similar: Dachshund sketch (Charles Tunnicliffe)
  270. Similar: Dancing Bears (William Holbrook Beard)
  271. Similar: Derwentwater (Roland Stead)
  272. Similar: Kildeer Plovers (JF Lansdowne)
  273. Similar: Mont St. Michel (Emmanuel Lansyer)
  274. Similar: Study of a Girl’s Head (Thomas Eakins)
  275. Game: American Wheels
  276. Game: Bull Riders?
  277. Game: Candyland
  278. Game: Darts and Billiards
  279. Game: Fuzzy Felt Farm
  280. Game: Sewing Cards
  281. Game: Snakes and Ladders
  282. Game: Tiddlywinks
  283. Game: Ultimate

MAIN PAGE ⎔ SECTION PAGE ⎔ SITE MAP ⎔ GLOSSARY

OTHER MAIN PAGES FOR SHINING ANALYSIS

THE MIRRORFORM ⎔ THE BEATLES ⎔ THE RUM AND THE RED
BACKGROUND ART ⎔ OVERLOOK PHOTOGRAPHS ⎔ GOLDEN SPIRALS
PHI GRIDS ⎔ PATTERNS ⎔ VIOLENCE AND INDIGENA ⎔ ABSURDITIES
THE STORY ROOM ⎔ ANIMAL SYMBOLS ⎔ THE ANNOTATED SHINING

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