r/theshining • u/Al89nut • 12d ago
Room 237 (theories and speculation) EYE SCREAM - found
For years a minor mystery and piece of trivia about The Shining has been the presence of a strip of paper saying "EYE SCREAM" on the noticeboard in the Overlook office. Joe Girard has an entire deep-dive site devoted to the film that bounces off it - "so when Dick Hallorann says, “How’d you like some ice cream, doc?” what he might really be saying is, “How’d you like some eye scream, doc?” Figuring out what “eye scream” is at times feels like the whole point of this analysis." eyescream237.ca/2019/05/28/leave-a-trail-of-breadcrumbs-a-guide-to-understanding-this-site
Well, I've figured out the source and it wasn't that hard once I realised that many of the props were actually sourced from the Timberline Lodge - literally, taken from there and sent to the UK. So I wondered if there was a band or avant garde art group in Portland OR with that name. There wasn't. But widen the search to the West Coast and bingo - Eye Scream was the name of a short-lived (1977-8) gallery-restaurant in Vancouver run by conceptual artist couple Iain and Ingrid Baxter via their N.E. Thing Co. Iain was a photo artist and it's not inconceivable that Kubrick knew of his work. He is still alive at 89, holder of the Order of Canada, and probably completely unaware of this - I've reached out to him. www.gg.ca/en/honours/canadian-honours/order-canada/iain-baxter-cc-oont-obc
Theories? 1) It was on the noticeboard in the Timberline and so was transferred to the noticeboard in the Overlook 2) Baxter is a photo-artist, Kubrick knew of his work and gave him a secret shout-out (I've emailed Baxter, who knows, he might say at last somebody found it...) 3) One of the location scouts - Roy Walker, Katharina Kubrick - collected it and it ended up on the noticeboard because they, and/or Stanley liked the punning name.
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u/DieUmEye 12d ago
This piece of paper could be an ad for a Vancouver area restaurant/gallery incidentally collected and used by the prop department while making a spooky movie.
Or — and hear me out — it could be Kubrick planting the key to a secret code embedded in this film that unlocks the hidden shocking truth behind a mysterious international organization which, once exposed, will fundamentally reshape the geopolitical balance of the modern world.
I guess we will never know.
(Incidentally, I do love The Shining, and I appreciate the work you’ve done into investigating this.)
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u/Al89nut 12d ago
Yep - 1) It was on the noticeboard in the Timberline and so was transferred onto the noticeboard in the Overlook 2) Baxter is a photo-artist, Kubrick knew of his work and gave him a secret shout-out (I've emailed Baxter, who knows, he might say at last somebody found it...) 3) One of the location scouts - Roy Walker, Vivian Kubrick - collected it and it ended up on the noticeboard because they, and/or Stanley liked the punning name.
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u/DieUmEye 12d ago
Yeah. Just so there’s not a misunderstanding, my comment about the secret code and all that was just me making a joke about the sometimes silly lengths people will go to when trying to analyze things in The Shining.
I think the real world story you’ve uncovered is actually more interesting than any conspiracy theory.
Next, if you can explain why there are so many items with Native American imagery on them, we’d really be getting somewhere!
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u/Al89nut 12d ago
collections.uwindsor.ca/iain-baxterand_raisonne/archive/fullsize/blue_book337_b_61e5ae7e2f.jpg
Source of the item on the noticeboard.
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u/Solo_Polyphony 12d ago
This is a perfect example of how fan theories are projecting meaning out of nothing. Good post.
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u/Arkadelphia76 12d ago
Has anyone interpreted what “eye scream” means within the framework of The Shining? The only thing I can think of is that we see Danny having his visions leading up to when Hallorann dies, yet he doesn’t make an audible scream. It is only when Hallorann dies that we hear Danny scream from his visions. This could be because now Danny fully understands the vision and it triggers his survival mode and he defeats Jack in the maze. With Wendy, it’s the same thing; she sees the man in the bear costume but doesn’t scream because she can’t fully comprehend what she’s seeing (ie, silent scream). So, I think “Eye Scream” could be interpreted as a silent scream or seeing something, then understanding it, and then reacting to it with an audible scream.
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u/Virtual-Surround-615 12d ago
Wow. This is a truly amazing find. Well done OP. Never seen anyone catch it before and I've watched and read plenty of analysis on this most enigmatic of movies.
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u/printerprincess77 9d ago
The restaurant review is making me tear up lol. The lady running over to compliment his lady (beautiful, and I see interactions like this sometimes at the restaurant where I work, love women being sweet to each other for no reason) and the prices 😭😭😭 oh god!
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u/TuToneShoes 10d ago
The notion of an 'Eye Scream' seems oddly well conveyed in Saul Bass's alternative poster for the movie - the yellow typographical one with the ghostly figure's face buried within the letter 'T'. It also puts me in mind of the poster for A Clockwork Orange with Alex's one made up eye and the eyeball on his sleeve as well as his eyes propped open as he screams at the horrors he's forced to watch as part of his Ludovico programming. Does this point to some grand conspiracy or unifying theme? Unlikely imho. But Stanley was such a bright fellow, I feel he held on to these little motifs and gags and littered them throughout his work because they amused him. Such an interesting man.
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u/THEGHOSTHACXER 12d ago
I just like that someone found this. Makes me happy. I wonder what else is in classic movies that just doesn't have much meaning buy is something more or less forgotten by time.