[ROOM 237 screens Tuesday July 9th at 6:45 pm at the Capitol Theatre presented by the Cleveland Cinematheque.]
Review
by Bob Ignizio
You and I may be sitting in the same
theater watching the same movie, but it is highly unlikely that we
will have the same experience. Whenever we watch a film (or read a
book or listen to a piece of music), we don't just passively receive
the information that the work's creator intended for us. It all gets
filtered through our own particular set of perceptions. These signals
are then further processed in our minds through the filter of our own
past experiences, knowledge, beliefs, and prejudices. We may agree on
the basic details of plot, but what it all means and how it affects
us can be drastically different.
The documentary ROOM 237
illustrates this concept beautifully using Stanley Kubrick's THE
SHINING, adapted from the novel
by Steven King. To this end it brings together five individuals who
each have unique ideas about the film's subtext ranging from the
plausible (it's a metaphor for how America tries to cover up and forget its
past atrocities, like the genocide of the American Indians) to far
out conspiracy theory territory (it's Kubrick's way of telling the
world that he shot the fake footage of the Apollo 11 moon landing).
Even the most outlandish interpretations, once they're brought to
your attention, seem to have evidence supporting them, providing a
perfect illustration of “confirmation bias”.
In
case you haven't figured it out yet, if you were hoping for a or
tribute/reminiscence of THE SHINING
along the lines of what HIS NAME WAS JASON
did for FRIDAY THE 13TH,
this isn't the movie for you.
So
can all of these people be right? There are certainly those who would
say that any interpretation of a work of art is equally valid, even
if it differs wildly from what the artist's actual intent was.
Others, like the late Mr. Kubrick's assistant Leon Vitali, who
considers much of the film to be “pure gibberish”, would beg to
differ. Of course Mr. Vitali may just be in on the conspiracy and
collecting hush money from NASA. And so we see just how easily the
mind can find ways to hold on to an idea once it latches on to it.
I
don't think ROOM 237
is trying to persuade us that any or all of the theories its subjects
present are “right”. Whether one agrees with the theories
presented in the film or not, the people who hold them them
nonetheless offer some interesting observations about the film. More
importantly, by showing the amount of effort these individuals have
put into interpreting THE SHINING,
we see how a truly great and complex film can continue to affect
those who watch it, calling them back for repeat viewings and
stimulating thought and conversation for many years to come. Although
only time will tell, it's possible ROOM 237
will have that same kind of effect itself. 3 1/2 out of 4 stars.
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