by Eugene Kolkey, Edward Kern, and Martin Provensen
MAIN PAGE ⎔ SECTION PAGE ⎔ SITE MAP ⎔ GLOSSARY
RANDOM ART FROM THE FILM
ARPEGGIO ⎔ BOMBO ⎔ COMMONERS CROWN ⎔ IRENE REID ⎔ MYSTERIES OF THE BOILER ROOM ⎔ MYSTERIES OF THE OVERLOOK ⎔ MYSTERY KITCHEN ART ⎔ SUPERNATURAL DREAM ⎔ TWO NIAGARA FALLS POSTCARDS ⎔ TONY THE TIGER
APPEARANCE
First at 27:36-27:39, then 28:00-28:05, as Hallorann tours the storeroom. It reappears outside the storeroom at 28:09 until Wendy blocks it with her form at 28:16. It appears again when Wendy moves at 28:41 and remains until the shot fades out at 28:56. Thanks to the mirrorform, it appears again behind backwards Wendy at 29:11-29:34. After a 26-second shot of Jack being tricky, it reappears behind the crouching Wendy at 30:00-30:03 and 30:13-30:23 (the proper time codes for these moments are 111:07-111:17 and 111:27-111:30 and 111:56-112:19).
SYMBOLIC SIGNIFICANCE
That means Tony the Tiger appears across 2:47 of mirrorform time. Or we could look at as a 1:20 section (Dick’s Tour) and a 1:11 section (Locking up Jack). That would make 2:31, and room 231 is the room I believe the hotel absorbs Jack into after death. So maybe this is a subtle nod at the role Tony plays in getting Jack’s soul locked up for good. That would seem to track with the general significance of the storeroom. Also, tigers are generally associated to Danny’s helpers.
I’ve long interpreted the front-half Tony the Tiger was meant to signal Hallorann’s ability to get into Danny’s head, since it appears to either side of Dick’s big shine. But also, we don’t see any Tony the Tiger in the pantry with Jack after Wendy locks him up, or during his whole chat with Grady. That seems to speak to Jack’s shinelessness.
As for the creators of Tony, I don’t have a sense yet that any of them factored in Kubrick’s weave. But the character was voiced by Thurl Ravenscroft who did voice work for Looney Tunes and Peanuts.
MIRRORFORM SIGNIFICANCE
The first appearance mirrors over Wendy discovering the dead snowcat, which is a scene that features the Oskar cartoon where the angry wife is asking the drunken husband why he isn’t “shining”. But since they call it a “snowcat”, it’s interesting that it would pair with the appearance of this “big cat”.
The moment it mirrors over as the Abbey Road Tour enters its final phase, is pantry Jack telling Wendy she’s got a “big surprise coming to [her]”. And, actually, Dick is asking Danny in the forwards scene “what kind of ice cream/eye scream you like, doc?” and Danny says, “Chocolate.” Then Dick says, “Chocolate it shall be. Come on, son.” So if we think about the “eye scream” Danny makes in tandem with Hallorann’s death, and if we think of Tony the Tiger relating to Danny’s Tony, perhaps this suggests the “surprise” that everyone gets from Jack killing Hallorann. Even Stephen King could’ve had a shock.
As it appears again behind backwards Wendy, she’s just said, “Kinda like a ghost ship, huh?” to Ullman’s final amusement, and as the shot begins to fade into Hallorann’s giant head.
Everything Dick says while Tony’s behind Wendy is something Danny doesn’t respond to. The last thing he says before it vanishes again is “Why don’t you wanna talk about it?” And Danny will answer (a few seconds after “Tony” vanishes), speaking to Dick privately for the first time, “I’m not a-supposed to.” To which Dick inquires, “Who says you ain’t supposed to?” And Danny answers, “Tony.”
So maybe the back-half Tony the Tiger was suppressing front-half Danny’s answers the same as the Danny on that side of the movie (off-screen) has been totally hijacked by Tony.
Next art reference: Cooper’s Hawk
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 