Room 237: Cinephilia, History and Adaptation

Abstract

This chapter focuses on Room 237 (Rodney Ascher, 2012), a documentary which purports to explore fan readings of The Shining (Stanley Kubrick, 1980), suggesting that it can instead be understood as an exercise in repurposing existing media to create new meaning. The film is constructed using clips and images from a number of films, adverts, photographs and stills, newsreels and archival footage, poster art, re-enactment, and graphics, extracting material from its original context and reappropriating it to provide visual accompaniments to the narrators' discussions. In doing so, Room 237 creates and connects nostalgic recollections of cinema going, cultural memory and moments in American history. At the same time, the construction of new meaning allows ironic reflection on the subjective and potentially tenuous nature of film analysis.