Critics have often noted that The Shining is in some ways Kubrick's live action version of a Roadrunner cartoon, and Kubrick certainly hints at that, using three separate instances of the cartoon in the movie. The shot leading up to Danny in the bathroom in the apartment in the beginning of the movie shows a number of cartoon character stickers on the wall. The bright colors in the movie are certainly cartoon-like. The pervasive use of Steadicam shots creates a sense of Wile E. Coyote chasing the Roadrunner. I will explore these cartoon elements in greater detail in later posts, but this post is exclusively about color.
During Jack's interview, Kubrick edits in a parallel scene of Wendy in her own interview with a doctor. Stuart Ullman, the manager of the hotel, wears a dark blue suit and a crimson red tie as he shares with Jack the grisly past of the Overlook. (Note, too, the bright American flag positioned next to Ullman -- many Kubrick enthusiasts seek a message about the USA in this film, and perhaps there are enough visual cues to imply that subtext. This will be explored in the future.)
Films often use colors to establish a tone or theme, and that certainly happens in this film. Wendy and Danny, seen in their bright clothing, are innocent victims. The interpretation I am most interested in is how Jack's descent into madness can be attributed to his jealousy of that innocence, particularly his jealousy of his son -- Jack tries to regress into childhood ("All work and no play makes Jack a dull boy") and the baggage of adulthood impedes him. This theory is displayed visually when the family takes their tour of the hotel. A man is seen pulling a cart that bears shades of red and blue similar to those worn by Wendy and Danny:
Jack wears red and blue clothing, too, but always darker shades. There is a playfulness in the bright red and blue worn by Wendy and Danny, but Jack's clothes always play a darker tune:
On Jack's warpath, he even passes by a red jacket worn by Wendy in an earlier scene. It's only visible in the frame for a brief second (and even then, only partially), but to the observant viewer (and to the subconscious), it brings the contrast to life:
The hotel, too, has a red and blue motif throughout. The hotel is able to make use of bright reds and blues to create a sinister environment, effectively undermining the innocence of the bright cartoon colors through the effect given to these colors by the lighting and the context of the action:
