I don’t buy into conspiracy theories, especially not conspiracy theories as utterly ridiculous as this one: Stanley Kubrick faked the moon landing and then left clues admitting what he’d done in The Shining. That’s the premise being put forward by a crackpot named Jay Weidner, based largely on the fact that Kubrick shot 2001: A Space Odyssey around the same time man was prepping to walk on the moon. Crazy? Sure. Wrong? Definitely. But let’s have a little fun with it.
Most of Weidner’s evidence is pretty flimsy. For instance he goes off on a jag about how the movie uses the letter “A” a lot, either in the script or in triangle shapes throughout the film, and so he assumes these are all references to Apollo 11. Pretty lame as a theory. But some of his ideas are a little more fun. Here’s a quick breakdown of some the less insane coincidences he spotted in The Shining:
The Overlook Hotel Is America: The Manager of the Overlook Hotel is wearing red, white and blue. Jack's wife Wendy (played by Shelly Duval) and his son Danny also wear red, white and blue for almost the entire first hour of the film. In this symbolic interpretation the Overlook Hotel is AMERICA. It was built, just like the Manager says, on the graves of Indians. Even when walking on the floor of the Overlook Hotel, one finds oneself trampling over various Native American symbols. The Manager of the Overlook, while interviewing Jack, has an American Eagle right behind his head. It is as if "The Eagle" is the power behind the Manager. To the Manager's right on the desk is an American flag.Rocket Painting: In the scene where Jack throws a tennis ball at the wall, on the wall is a Native American artistic motif that looks suspiciously like a group of rockets about to be launched.Bears: Jack, his family, and the Overlook Hotel, are trapped in the Cold, just as America was trapped in the Cold War with Russia. The stuffed bears, seen through out the film, are the Soviet Empire's symbol. Symbolically the Bears seen through the film are also the representation of the pressure that the Russians put on the USA to get to the Moon.Rocket Sweater: In a scene where Danny sits on the floor playing with his trucks, he wears a sweater with a picture of Apollo 11 on the front, and Danny rises from the floor as if he’s launching the rocket.Room 237: In the book it’s room 217, but in the film the number was changed to 237. Weidner claims it was changed because 237,000 miles is the average distance from the Earth to the moon. Except it’s not. It’s actually around 238,000 miles. Close. And unfortunately critical to his premise since he believes that room 237 is a symbol for the faking of the moon landing itself. Jack is a stand-in for Kubrick and when he lies to his wife about going in 237, it’s Kubrick lying about the moon landing.
Click over to Weidner’s site to see his full conspiracy theory unfold.
