Page 174 - Lunacy and the Age of Deception

A telling detail is that there was no actual Apollo 11 rocket that Danny was playing with. All we see
is an image of the Apollo 11 on Danny’s sweater. This is a covert means of stating that the Apollo
11 mission was not real. It was merely an image - an illusion. After standing to his feet Danny walks
down the hall to Room 237 and finds the door open and he enters. This again is symbolic of Kubrick
carrying the mission from the launch pad to the Moon.

Toward the end of the movie we see a clearly deranged Jack trying to kill his wife. His wife manages
to lock Jack into a storeroom. Once again we see the cleverly placed props that Kubrick included in
the scene to make the association to the Apollo Space Program. Next to the wall are boxes of
“Golden Rey” food items. Apollo was the Sun god of Rome, and was depicted with golden rays
shining forth from the crown of his head. Also, on the top shelf behind Jack we see Tang breakfast
drink. This was the drink famously advertised as having been developed for the astronauts who took
Tang to the Moon.

Many more details from the movie could be cited, demonstrating the manner in which Stanley
Kubrick used The Shining to convey a hidden message about his involvement in the Apollo Program,
and the toll it took on his life. I will conclude with one last image. This is from the last scene of the
movie where we see an old photo of Jack among the invisible elite that he was only able to see once
he accepted the job at The Overlook Hotel. In Jack’s right hand is a folded up note as if he is seeking
to disclose a secret to the photographer. Behind Jack is a man reaching for his arm to keep him from
showing others what is in his hand.

Stanley Kubrick is the man who attempted to show people through photographic and movie images
what was truly going on. Yet, in 1999, thirty years after the Apollo 11 mission, and 19 years after
he revealed his secrets through The Shining, society continued to have their “Eyes Wide Shut.”