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I am not a big fan of the horror movie genre. Nowadays, too many movies try cheap scares, instead of making you psychologically cower. “The Shining”, by Stanley Kubrick, is one of those films. The film is not comprised of cheap scares. Instead, it takes you on a journey into the darkness of human nature. It shows you how a man is slowly devoured by his loneliness, and eventually, resorts to murder and insanity. It is one of the best horror movies of all time, and it will be viewed by many generations to come. Despite all of the darkness in the movie, is there any positive message associated with “The Shining”? Yes, indeed, there is. For one, love is one of the main subjects in the movie. Is your love for your family strong enough, that you could retain your sanity in complete isolation with them? Or will you fall apart, like Jack Torrance in the film? “The Shining” demonstrates our need for companionship. Not just from our families, but from everyone we interact with. Our peers, the people that we chit-chat with in supermarket lines, and anyone who we interact with.

In one of the Twilight Zone episodes, a man is put in complete isolation for a NASA program. Eventually, he goes crazy, and starts to see an illusion of an empty, desolate town. Eventually, he breaks down into insanity. It is only when the program is brought back to his attention, that he regains his composure. It is a slow process to recover from isolation. Fortunately for our Twilight Zone character, he does recover. Unfortunately for Jack Torrance of “The Shining”, he does not.

Both “The Shining” and this Twilight Zone episode, demonstrate a key component of human nature. Our need for constant companionship. Without it, we cannot survive. It doesn’t matter how strong and resilient you are. A strong person will take a longer time to break, but we cannot survive without other people. Imagine a world with no one to talk to, no one to share your ideas with, and no one to laugh with. A world where you are the only being in existence. Imagine having no one to love, no one to care for, and no one to help. Life loses its meaning. Now snap yourself out of this state, before you get depressed. Our lives are wonderful, and filled with human companionship! We have family and/or friends. Today, we can share our ideas with anyone, both online and offline. There really is no excuse for not having many friends/peers.

But what about limited human companionship? What if we are stuck with 2-3 people, and absolutely no other human contact? Eventually, we learn how these other people think. How they act, talk, and respond to you. They will become predictable. Imagine being put into this isolation for years! It’s not quite like being alone, but you can be easily driven insane. In “The Shining”, Jack Torrance feels he is well-handled emotionally, and that he will have no problem dealing with long-term isolation. However, in his isolation, he learns a lot about himself.

Companionship is like food. If you are reading this article, you probably eat at least 2 meals a day. You probably don’t know what starvation feels like. This is the same with companionship. When Jack Torrance said that he and his family would be fine in isolation, that is similar to eating a piece of bread every day. Eventually, you will become skinny and sick. It takes different amounts of time, for different people. Without companionship, our emotions starve. When emotions starve, bad things happen.

Take a look at “The Shining”, and let it serve as a road map for human contact. Develop gratitude for everyone in your life. Your family, friends, and even your enemies. All of these people may drive you crazy, but if they were not around, you would be worse off. Much worse off.

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