ABSTRACT
One curious and confounding legacy of Kubrick’s films, and his mutable public persona, is the perpetuation of spurious claims surrounding his life and artistic praxis. This essay explores some of the more extreme readings of Kubrick’s The Shining (1980), as presented in Rodney Ascher’s documentary Room 237 (2012) and other ‘conspiracy’ theories circulating in popular culture, such as YouTube videos of Kubrick’s alleged ‘confession’ to filming the moon landing, and in-depth explanations of such. The essay argues that these dubious representations and evaluations of screen art in popular culture affect readings, not only of Kubrick’s films, but the wider perception of his legacy in social and cultural contexts.
