A STRANGE AND TERRIBLE GLIMPSE INTO THE DEEP STATE

[John Bailey]

Yeah, I laughed out loud when the forwards/backwards synchronicity theory
came up. If you did the same with any film - or any text - and didn't find
the same handful of interesting resonances it would be more surprising. It
would take at least a few dozen really startling overlaps for me to even
begin to think there was some intention behind it.

What I love about this stuff, though, and what makes it particularly
Pynchonian, is how you walk the line between doubt and a creeping
suspicion, and how that plays into the
everything-is-connected/everything-is-random polarities of P's novels.
Kubrick was just about smart and obsessive enough to lend some of the
theories some credence, and then the theories tip over into full-blown
obsessive zaniness themselves.


On Tue, Jul 29, 2014 at 7:40 AM, Mark Thibodeau <jerkyleboeuf at gmail.com>
wrote:

> Thank you for this valuable insight. I mostly agree with it, although
> I WAS pretty fascinated by the amazing (if entirely accidental)
> juxtapositions created by the Shining Backwards and Forwards
> experiment. I'm sure similar amazing juxtapositions would pop up if
> you did the same with any film - but maybe most especially any Kubrick
> film, as he was obsessed with symmetrical compositions.
>
> yer old pal Jerky
>
> On Mon, Jul 28, 2014 at 4:52 PM,  <kelber at mindspring.com> wrote:
> > I'm pretty skeptical of the whole notion that Kubrick has deeply encoded
> references in his work. Sometimes a container of Calumet baking powder is
> just a container of Calumet baking powder. I also can't see any feasible
> reason why, if Kubrick wanted to imply that there was some connection
> between the twin girls and the crone(s), he wouldn't have just shown us two
> crones standing side by side. At any rate, it doesn't make much sense for
> two murdered little girls, who already have a perfectly ghostly incarnation
> in their own form, to reappear as ghosts in the form of two crones, given
> that they never lived to become old crones.
> >
> > And that whole running the film forwards and backwards simultaneously,
> and synchronizing the images, seems like something almost impossible for a
> director to plan - given the complexity of the editing process, and the
> knowledge that virtually no one watching the film would even think of doing
> this, or know how to do it.
> >
> > What's most surprising to me is that anyone feels they have to toss in
> this contrived "evidence" to justify what seems to be a very reasonable
> interpretation: that there'a s connection between the bad dads - Grady and
> Jack, or the abused kids  - the twins and Danny.
> >
> > I think a similar interpretation could be made of Eyes Wide Shut. There
> are three father-daughter relationships presented: The man who dies, whose
> death seems to release the sexuality of his repressed daughter; the father
> who's prostituting his daughter; and the protagonist, who barely interacts
> with his daughter until the final scene - implying maybe that he's been
> frightened into being a good father? Or some other scenario, entirely
> unrelated to Project Monarch.
> >
> > Laura
> >
> >
> > -----Original Message-----
> >>From: Mark Thibodeau <jerkyleboeuf at gmail.com>
> >>Sent: Jul 27, 2014 7:47 PM
> >>To: John Bailey <sundayjb at gmail.com>
> >>Cc: pynchon -l <pynchon-l at waste.org>
> >>Subject: Re: A STRANGE AND TERRIBLE GLIMPSE INTO THE DEEP STATE
> >>
> >>Again, from my recently kicked-off blog KubrickU.blogspot.com (forgive
> >>the plug, you needn't go there, I'm reprinting everything relevant in
> >>this email):
> >>
> >>In the coming weeks and months, I'll probably have more to say about
> >>the surprise hit documentary film Room 237 - things about it that I
> >>like and agree with, and things about it that I most definitely do NOT
> >>like or agree with. Having said that, I'm always up for "deep
> >>readings" of my favorite artworks, even if and when said deep readings
> >>veer off into goofier territory. Roughly half of Room 237 is spent in
> >>that goofy zone. Those of you who've seen it will know what I mean.
> >>
> >>Now we have a new interpretation of The Shining, by Darren Foley of
> >>Must See Films Vimeo channel. The whole thing lasts less than 10
> >>minutes, but it has more interesting things to say than the entirety
> >>of Room 237's 90-plus minute run time. I am particularly intrigued by
> >>the point he raises about connecting the ghostly twin girls with the
> >>bathroom crone... or is that crones? Watch the video and decide for
> >>yourself!
> >>
> >>http://vimeo.com/101113745
> >>
> >>Cheers,
> >>YOPJ
> >>
> >>PS - That video is REALLY worth your time, trust me!
> >
> > -
> > Pynchon-l / http://www.waste.org/mail/?list=pynchon-l
> -
> Pynchon-l / http://www.waste.org/mail/?listpynchon-l
>
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