MovieChat Forums > Room 237 (2012) Discussion > What utter utter twaddle, don't waste yo...

What utter utter twaddle, don't waste your time.

posted 12 years ago by aidanjbanks
40 replies | jump to latest

I don't think I have ever seen anything as ridiculous as this 'documentary'. It is essentially a string of the thinnest most ridiculous theories I have ever heard. So ridiculous that I belive you could take this approach to any film. I did not see a single credible theory in the whole thing. I believe this is just an attempt by some to put themselves ont he same itellectual level as Kubrick by 'spotting' things only they and Kubrick would pick up on. Sometimes a spade is just a spade. To link the use of a german type writer to the holocaust or a poster of a skier to the Minotaur in the labrynth is just so fricking stupid its depressing. Talking of depressing, the delivery of each of the talking heads is so drole and slow and boring you would think they each had some kind of brain damage.I am amazed that anyone actually stumped up the finances to get this thing released. Utter crap best avoided.

[–] zee-la 11 years ago

loved it! a must watch!

[–] zwolf 11 years ago

I don't think you really understand what this documentary was about.

It's not really about The Shining. The Shining just happens to be the object the people are focusing on. You're not supposed to get any "credible film theories" out of this.

What the film is about is the way people think. It shows that people can get an idea or theory, become obsessed with it, and then find all kinds of things that will "justify" their theory... even though their theory is complete bulls**t to begin with. Nobody in this documentary has a credible theory about the film, yet every one of them has managed to dig up "evidence" that supports the lunacy they've decided is true.

The Shining just happens to be the thing they focused on. The movie could just as easily be about people who find all kinds of hidden meaning in a Led Zeppelin song, or in an episode of "Taxi," or in The Book of Revelations, or... you name it. You're not really supposed to be learning much about The Shining from this documentary -- you're supposed to be learning about the crazy things people can convince themselves are true, and the extremes they'll go to to "support" their ridiculous theories. The fact that The Shining is at the core of it all is incidental.

[–] wisledink 11 years ago

Exactly.

If we as an audience were supposed to take stock in the theories the theorists would have been presented as experts, they would have been given credentials, or even faces for that matter.

The most telling thing is the less than smooth delivery of the theories, they sound like your crazy friend talking. If you want someone to sound very smart you give the most intelligent bits, you don't include the stammering, the repetitions the dabble that makes people sound like people.

This is a gorgeous film about obsession.

Not to mention about the way we consume films, what we bring to them based on our own backgrounds. These interpretations are so personal, so linked to each personal background. Really beautifully done.

[–] ccheng21-1 11 years ago

I agree.

Most of the "film" if you can call it that is just an extended version of those wacko conspiracy believers who put WAY too much into a piece of art than there should be. Ya Stanley Kubrick was known for his attention to detail but theories like "Look! Its a PENIS over the hotel manager's desk" just made me want to turn off the program right there.

[–] sushiK999 11 years ago

I last about 5 minutes into Netflix showing of this. yuck.

I just don't even get the premise. There is a soup can with an indian and the movie has a secret meaning? Seems they could just make anything up from anything they found in the movie.
WTF?

[–] T-eschberger 11 years ago

I hated this docu and had to force myself to watch it all. Most of the theories never even form any sort of semi-coherent substance. It's all just "This tiny little moment happens in the film....so ya..." Nobody explains the WHY or HOW of their nonsense...just the basic barebones idiotic ideas that pop into their noggin. "THIS IS ABOUT THE HOLOCAUST! JACK IS USING A GERMAN TYPE WRITER!!!" Ok, so how does that link to the Holocaust? Nope, guy never says how.

In the first block of the film this one guy just rambles on about the scene when Jack and the family first enter the Overlook. He goes on and on about the shots, freezing the frame to highlight inane details that he never EXPLAINS. He just points them out. And the worst part is he can't even talk. His segments are filled with long pauses and "uummms" and "ugghhs". It was painful.

[–] MrBook_ 11 years ago

I think a lot of the problem here is that you people are too fcking dumb to even finish a movie. Though, honestly, if you got a full five minutes into this movie and still thought it was a propaganda piece trying to convince you of the existence of hidden messages in The Shining, there's probably no hope for you.

Do you feel like Darth Vader?. .

[–] mgs316 11 years ago

I agree, not that people can't come up with theories but these people inject their pre-established perceptions onto the movie. I'm a nazi and holocaust expect...guess what this movie is about...the holocaust!!! The other guy saying that Kubrick has an IQ of 200 and guess what...I'm the only one to figure this out thus implying he's intelligent.

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[–] jivetalkinhonkey 11 years ago

No, I think that's the point. The documentary isn't so much about the Shining as it is about a culture of obsessiveness.

[–] MrBook_ 11 years ago

It was utter twaddle but it was entertaining and amusing enough twaddle to sit through. It turned out to be an unintentional (maybe intentional?) exploration into mental illness.

Why ON EARTH would you assume even momentarily that it was anything but intentional on the part of the directors? Do you think they somehow didn't notice that these people's theories were irrational and in many cases had very little to do with the movie?

Do you feel like Darth Vader?. .

[–] MrBook_ 11 years ago

The problem here is that you think the movie's aim was to show credible theories. It was obviously not if you're paying any attention at all. It's amazing how prevalent such an obviously dumb reaction is. I'm guessing it's because people have become trained to expect anything calling itself a "documentary" to be a propaganda/editorial film pushing a viewpoint...? It's still dumb, but that's some kind of explanation at least.

Anyway, if you'd like to give it another go with the idea of having a non-dumb reaction in mind, I can tell you that the movie is about how people impose their own interpretations on things and see patterns where they don't necessarily exist. The Shining is a perfect showcase for that kind of thing, because it was directed by Stanley Kubrick, who famously really did bring an obsessive attention to detail and a very cerebral approach to all his movies, but is also on the surface quite devoid of much thematic content, so people are free to see all kinds of weird stuff in it whether it's really there or not. Some of it is intriguing and possibly even meaningful, particularly the backwards-forwards story structure observation and the impossible layout of the hotel, and other stuff is obvious delusional bullsh!t, but the point of the movie is to show the ways people can see all this stuff in this movie, not to advocate the idea of it actually being in there. Watch it again as a document of the kind of weird stuff people believe, instead of as some kind of missive that you choose to tear down and reject, and you might find an interesting movie there, if you can move past the knee-jerk hostility.

Do you feel like Darth Vader?. .

[–] chakobsa 11 years ago

Some people simply have to much time on their hands.

'It's the harbour towns that the grey metal ships call home'.