65th

Jacks sabotages the ham radio located in Ullman’s Office, completely blocking the hotel from the outside world.

While he’s prizing off the top, his head grazes a portion of the Colorado map on the wall. At first I thought there was an *extra county* Kubrick fabricated for the map that Jack’s head indicated, the 65th of the state beyond the actual real and present 64. But, if so, it doesn’t appear on the blu-ray version (Did I say here we purchased a blu-ray player for the first time? And I have The Shining on blu-ray!), so I’m just going to assume it’s a trick of the eyes. But this doesn’t discount that Jack’s head rests *right above* a plateau in northern Hinsdale County called *Canibal or Cannibal*. There’s a reason for this, I quickly found out, and it has to do with a man named Alferd Packer, famous in Colorado parts, and one of the most noted of all cannibals. Never mind that I hadn’t heard of him, and you probably haven’t either. His story from wikipedia…

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alferd_Packer

Old Hinsdale County map where I first came across “Canibal Plateau”, above the county seat of Lake City.

Detail of the plateau. I was also curious to note the presence of both a Devil’s Creek and a Fourth of July Creek flowing near its northern side here. The final photo of The Shining supposedly comes from a 1921 Fourth of July celebration, where Jack is obviously posed as the tarot’s Baphomet, better known as *The Devil*. There’s also a Devil’s Lake, Devil’s Canyon and Inferno Creek nearby to reinforce the association. Again: quite bizarre seeming.

http://www.mytopo.com/products/quad.cfm?code=o38107a2

Strongest evidence that Kubrick wanted to highlight Alferd Packer’s story here? It just so happens that Jack and his family discuss another famous cannibal story as they wind their way through the mountains toward the hotel on closing day. I’ll just insert the related dialog below. It concerns the Donner Party.

Here’s a thought: did Kubrick slyly indicate in all this that Jack not only wished to kill his family at the end but to *consume them*? I believe this is a strong possibility, given the evidence at hand.

So let’s return to shot 98 once more — touched upon in a blog post just before this one for something totally unrelated seeming — and pick up right after Wendy yawns…

DANNY: Dad.

JACK: Yes?

DANNY: I’m hungry.

JACK (irritated): Well, you should have eaten your breakfast.

But isn’t this a scene played out in countless cars on countless trips in countless families, so there’s no reason for the audience to count this against Jack. Still, another question mark as to his character is tabulated.

WENDY: We’ll get you something as soon as we get to the hotel.

DANNY: Okay, mom.

Speaking of getting something to eat…

WENDY: Hey, wasn’t it around here where the Donner party got snowbound?

And we remember Jack telling Ullman of her interest in horror stories.

JACK: I think that was farther west in the Sierras.

DANNY: What was the Donner Party?

JACK: They were a party of settlers in covered wagon times. They got snow bound one winter in the mountains and they had to resort to cannibalism in order to stay alive.

DANNY: You mean they ate each other up?

JACK: They had to in order to survive.

Wendy interrupts, reproving.

WENDY: Jack…

And of course we see it as an ill foreboding.

DANNY: Don’t worry, mom. I know all about cannibalism, I saw it on TV.

Raising his eyebrows, Jack contemptuously mocks.

JACK: See, it’s okay, he saw it on the television.

Video of this scene:

http://www.metacafe.com/watch/an-y0UTtmJnhbbbJ/the_shining_1980_driving/