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REDRUM ROAD – ROUND TWO – SKIP TO A PAGE
COME TOGETHER ⎔ SOMETHING ⎔ MAXWELL’S SILVER HAMMER ⎔ OH! DARLING ⎔ OCTOPUS’S GARDEN ⎔ I WANT YOU ⎔ HERE COMES THE SUN ⎔ BECAUSE ⎔ YOU NEVER GIVE ME YOUR MONEY ⎔ SUN KING ⎔ MEAN MR. MUSTARD ⎔ POLYTHENE PAM ⎔ SHE CAME IN THROUGH THE BATHROOM WINDOW ⎔ GOLDEN SLUMBERS ⎔ CARRY THAT WEIGHT ⎔ THE END
ROUND ONE START ⎔ ROUND THREE START ⎔ SPECIAL: STORY ROOM
- First off, when Mustard becomes Pam, Jack and Grady are entering the bathroom, which means that the movie soundtrack is transitioning in this same moment between Midnight, the Stars, and You and It’s All Forgotten Now, two songs by Al Bowlly. As for that second song: Polythene Pam was definitely not forgotten, and like much of what’s in the final medley, she’s an obscure bit of personal history that shouldn’t mean much to anyone who isn’t a Beatle, and yet she’s here on one of the most celebrated albums of all time.
- Pam is referenced here and on Mean Mr. Mustard. On that track she was Mustard’s sister, known for being a go-getter and an active member of society. On Polythene Pam her name has slightly altered, as if this is her proper name, or as if there actually are two Pams somehow (as massive a coincidence as that would be, it’s not impossible–sort of like how the two “Here Comes the Sun” tracks on the album are not credited as inspiring each other). Jack is reacting to hearing “Delbert Grady” which is slightly different from the “Charles Grady” Ullman told him about. Maybe Charles was his middle name…?
- “Get a dose of her in Jackboots and kilts” – The colours of the Gold Room bathroom (plus Grady) are Nazi colours. And again you’ve got Jack and backward Danny wearing tartan (overlaying in this shot, as it happens).
- This song bears minimal thematic connections to these scenes, but it’s worth pointing out that the last round was Danny and Wendy on the maze walk, while backward Wendy discovered and reacted to the All Work papers. So while the last one had two Wendys and a Danny going on, here it’s two Jacks and a Danny.
- When whoever shouts “Great!” on the song does so, Jack goes from inspecting Grady to grinning fakely as if everything’s okay.
- Also, with regard to the last version (round 1), the instrumental back-half of this track plays over Jack wandering through the lobby, throwing the ball and studying the model labyrinth. That’s the last time we see a Jack unaffected by the hotel’s dark energies. And the mirrorverse at that moment is Wendy approaching the All Work papers (not having seen them yet). Here we’re getting backward Danny’s last conversation with zombie Jack, and Jack’s last conversation before turning into murderer Jack. I point all this out because, again, while there’s strong evidence that Jack was always doomed, his descent is truly incremental. He doesn’t show up as an axe-murderer. Kubrick only attested that Jack showed up at the Overlook prepared to be so molded. Almost every scene features the man at a new low, with the exception of his post-nightmare self (whose enlightenment is quickly thwarted). I think that’s an important lesson about how we regard violent offenders (not including psychopaths). As someone with PTSD, I know I never want to be in the same room as my abusers ever again, but I also don’t want them to go off abusing others. And that’s why society needs a reformation process, whatever the crime.
Click here to continue on to She Came In Through the Bathroom Window – Round 2
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
EYE SCREAM 