After speaking with Olivia Koski, we got the impression that if there were violent dustups in space they would probably not be documented or spoken about! Ghosts, alcoholism, and other demons are explored in The Shining, but none as fascinating or iconic as the film’s conveyance of extreme isolation. It doesn’t take place in Antarctica or space, rather in a place normally busy and full of life. Perhaps that is why the Overlook Hotel, empty except for its dark past, is the true villain of The Shining.
CHAPTER TWENTY-ONE
THE RING
Year of Release: 2002
Director: Gore Verbinski
Writer: Ehren Kruger
Starring: Naomi Watts, Martin Henderson
Budget: $48 million
Box Office: $249.3 million
In 1991 the Japanese novel Ringu was published and became a phenomenon that inspired numerous films, video games, and a television series. The story focuses on Sadako, a girl who has been missing for decades, and a mysterious videotape that kills anyone who watches it. The 2002 adaptation changes the character name to Samara but the plot is very similar.
Ringu was based on the story of Okiku,1 who died in a well outside of a castle in Japan. She was the servant to a samurai named Tessan Aoyama, and Aoyama took a particular liking to her. He fell in love with her but his feelings weren’t reciprocated. In one version of the story, Okiku ended her own life by throwing herself down the castle’s well, believing she had no other way out. In another version, Aoyama threw her down the well after she refused to be with him. In the wake of Okiku’s death, she was said to crawl out of the well and appear to Aoyama on a nightly basis. Aoyama was driven insane by the vengeful ghost’s screams in the night. Drawings of Okiku depict her as looking very similar to Sadako/Samara, with flowing black hair and a long white dress. This is the general depiction of a person who has died under unnatural circumstances in Japan: these ghosts are referred to as Yūrei, translating to either “faint soul” or “dim spirit.” These tragic women are buried in white dresses, with their hair let down.
It is revealed in The Ring that you could survive in a well with only water for seven days, hence the phone call revealing when you will die after watching the cursed videotape. Is this scientifically accurate? According to an article in Scientific American an otherwise healthy individual has been known to live up to forty days without food.2 There are cases though of overhydrated people dying within ten days.
Another aspect of The Ring is subliminal messages. When Rachel Keller (Naomi Watts) watches the deadly video, she is exposed to sudden, nearly imperceptible imagery. Could hidden messages cause us to act in a certain way? Subliminal influence can be traced back to the fifth century BCE. In ancient Greece, persuasive techniques were used in speeches to try to influence others.3 The methods of logos, pathos, and ethos are still taught today in public speaking courses around the world. Aristotle believed that using these three “artistic proofs” could convince listeners to change their behavior, their thinking, or their actions. Logos is the appeal to logic. Speakers or advertisers use logos to state facts and give statistics. Pathos is the appeal to emotions. Imagery or stories that make us feel something use pathos. Ethos is the appeal to our ethics. Speakers will show their credibility and believability through ethos.
In 1943, the US government began embedding subliminal messages into mainstream advertising. “Buy Bonds” was one such message that the public was unknowingly inundated with to try to get them to help with the war effort. In 1957, a marketing expert faked a study that said popcorn and soda sales increased after he flashed the words “Eat Popcorn” and “Drink Coca-Cola” on the screen during movies. Although he admitted to doctoring the data, there do seem to be some studies that show that subliminal messages can make an impact on people’s brains.4 When subjects are viewing subliminal messages, there is a change in activity levels in various parts of the brain including the amygdala; where emotions are processed, the insula; the part of the brain that controls conscious awareness, the hippocampus; where memories are processed, and the visual cortex. Studies in the 1990s and 2000s showed that subliminal messages can have an effect on people’s perception and can even affect academic performance. Several movies and TV shows explore the effects of subliminal messages and their possible negative effects. A Clockwork Orange (1971) shows a future in which aversion therapy is used to rehabilitate criminals. The famous, uncomfortable scene shows a man with his eyes held open being forced to watch violent imagery. In the 1988 movie They Live, subliminal messages are used to keep the general public subdued. People are being controlled by skull-faced aliens who only want humanity to “obey.” Our favorite TV show, The X-Files, focuses on subliminal messages in the episode entitled “Blood.” Townspeople are influenced by messages appearing on electronic devices that drive them to murder.
Subliminal messages have been prevalent in marketing for generations.
How are subliminal messages related to propaganda or brainwashing? Propaganda came more into the mainstream during World War II in the United States but has also been used for religious, political, and advertising purposes. The main goal of propagandists is to convince their audience to seek out information or begin to question certain beliefs. They use arguments that, while sometimes convincing, are not necessarily valid. Brainwashing takes this a step further and reduces the subject’s ability to think critically for themselves. These techniques have been shown in classic books such as George Orwell’s 1984 (1949) and J. R. R. Tolkien’s The Lord of the Rings (1954). If we watch a mysterious videotape or video clip embedded with creepy, subliminal images will Samara crawl out of our screens and kill us? Hopefully not. But, becoming aware of subliminal messages and persuasive techniques can help us spot those who may want to do us harm.