Analyzing and dissecting The Shining is one of the film-nerd rites of passage. Tens of thousands of words have been written over the decades since its release and there comes a point when we’ve all had our One Big Discussion that leaves us satisfied and our more pressing questions answered, but even so something new will come long every once in awhile that gets us talking again. Sometimes that something is wonderfully insightful (this dissection of the Overlook’s architecture being a prime example), but sometimes…well, it’s wonderfully ridiculous. Such is the case with the theory that The Shining is Kubrick’s admission that he faked the Apollo 11 Moon Landings. Apparently the film is full of clues and parallels, both clever and blatant, and they’re all laid out in the video clip below. The 30-minute TRT might seem a little tedious but it’s a quick half-hour and our narrator is so invested in the truths he’s uncovering that as ridiculous as it is it’s still kind of endearing. Give it a look…
…soooo yeah. I’ll give the guy credit – he keeps it interesting. And honestly, as meticulous and obsessive as Kubrick was over even the tiniest detail, I don’t think it’s at all a stretch to assume that some of this stuff probably crossed his mind (I really hope our guy is right about the Red Volkswagon bit because haaaaa), but really now. My favorite part is when little Danny stands in for the actual rocket and flies the 237,000 miles to the “Moon Room.” Bravo. A cursory Google Search reveals that this theory has been floating around the internet for some time now, but I’d honestly never heard it until tonight (and quite by accident at that) so hopefully some of you will be just as caught off guard and stricken with the “lolwut”s as I was.