Stanley Kubrick: Horror, futurism and meaning of the design

2001: A Space Odyssey (1968) | Source: lawcreative.co.uk

Stanley Kubrick. Undoubtedly one of the most important directors of all time. Having made over 16 films, Kubrick laid the groundwork for revolutionising the cinematic way of thinking and the way of perceiving the world that is generated on the big screen. His artistic perspective not only influenced the creation of a cinematic world but constituted a tipping point for the creation of a complex esotericism, which is also reflected in the cinematic setting. And the question that arises is this: how does the design of the scenography both affect and is affected by the plot?

We think it would be better if we tried to answer this based on the three best-known films of the great director.

From cinematic future to the present of design

The American director in his films did not restrict himself to a sterile enactment of the plot. By creating entire worlds, he aimed to render a utopian realistic reality, which often had the future as a reference point.

For example, in the film 2001: A Space Odyssey, Kubrick's prophetic word comes to life since what the public considered science fiction in the distant 1968, becomes reality in the 21st century. Of course, the verisimilitude behind the strange script and costumes is due to the unique rendering of the interiors and objects that are developed through the futuristic set design.

Kubrick, with the help of cinematographer Geoffrey Unsworth and art director John Hoesli, managed to create a very real space setting, which included technological achievements that are now part of our daily life, such as laptops, mobile phones, etc., as mentioned by P. Bizony: "The executive briefcase with its phone handset and dial? Look closely, and all the elements of the laptop or smartphone are there, half a century ahead of time".

However, the director's innovative approach to the structure of the design did not stop there since he turned to astronomical artists and aeronautical and design production specialists to render these spaces as convincingly as possible, aiming for the best possible visual result.

2001: A Space Odyssey (1968) | Source: i.pinimg.com

The way the furniture is designed in the movie is also interesting. The characteristic bright red Djinn chairs or "Low fireside chair" (year of construction: 1964) - the work of the French industrial designer Olivier Mourgue - not only managed to integrate perfectly into the setting of the film but also added the symbolism they already carried. And the reason was that they themselves refer to an oriental mysticism - very popular at that time - which has its roots in Islam. Furthermore, the name Djinn*, derived from the word Jiin, reduces the object itself to an ever-changing product. This is perceived by the same unique shape of the chair and its low profile, while in general, its construction tries to imitate the informal lifestyle of the mid-60s.

*The word is of Arabic origin. The meaning of the word "Jinn" can be identified with the verbs "to hide" or "to adapt", while the term Jinn (or Genie) is used for the demonic creatures referred to in Arabic pre-Islamic religion. This adaptability of the Genies was the reason for the construction of the Djinn chairs since their design gives the final result a sense of fluidity.

Djinn chairs from the movie 2001: A Space Odyssey | Image source: image.invaluable.com

However, this particular film was not the only one in which the furniture had a special meaning. Could it be that design was handled very skillfully and very differently by Kubrick, depending on the type of cinematic endeavour?

Anger, violence and criticism of modern British culture

A Clockwork Orange (1971) is perhaps Kubrick's most shocking film and at the same time the one that caused the greatest stir and influence in the otherwise modern society of the 70s. Although the 1970s were the birthplace and starting point of a modern, more liberated artistic, social and sexual expression, it was marred by the resurgence of major wars, rapid lifestyle change and social violence. Robert Christgau, in his book Christgau's Record Guide (1981), gives us an excellent description, saying: «The decade is of course an arbitrary schema itself—time doesn't just execute a neat turn toward the future every ten years. But like a lot of artificial concepts—money, say—the category does take on a reality of its own once people figure out how to put it to work. 'The '60s are over,' a slogan one only began to hear in 1972 or so, mobilized all those eager to believe that idealism had become passe, and once they were mobilized, it had. In popular music, embracing the '70s meant both an elitist withdrawal from the messy concert and counterculture scene and a profiteering pursuit of the lowest common denominator in FM radio and album rock.».

Therefore, Kubrick could not exclude the changing world from his artistic creation. Ignoring the social taboos of British society, A Clockwork Orange comes to answer the question about the best way to suppress violence and the correlation it can have with individual freedom and the effects of the centrally organized elimination of violence on man. Thus, setting the plot in the future - not, however, this time in a futuristic space -, this surrealistically rendered film projects the life of restless youth, who are perhaps looking to find an identity or establish their place, as opposed to the previous generation.

A Clockwork Orange (1971) | Image source: artdependence.com

Subsequently, design followed and imitated this surrealism, exacerbating the violence but in scenes where it is not visible. The film's stage design was set up by production designer John Barry to convey this parallel narrative, reducing objects to symbols. Starting with the home/apartment building of the protagonist, Alex (Malcolm McDowell), the eerie, rigid element of the exterior design reflects his inner world. In fact, if the complex of houses is viewed by itself, it appears completely empty, and uninhabited, giving the viewer the impression that it may have been built before the development of human civilization, perhaps alluding to unbridled or socially impersonal violence.

Image source: pbs.twimg.com

Nevertheless, going inside, the spaces change, they acquire colour and a modern decoration, which, although it remains within the colour palette of the gang's clothes (predominance of white), does not lose its playful mood. An example of the verisimilitude of the interior design of the houses is that of Mr and Mrs Alexander's House, which is considered a copy of the 1965-1966 design by Team 4. Kubrick's choice is not accidental this time either since it is precisely this realistic element of the house that makes the film more shocking as it seems that it takes place in the social present, without being cut off from it at all.

Skybreak House, in Radlett, Hertfordshire (Team 4, 1965-1966) | Source: i.pinimg.com

The culmination of the connection of the set design with the plot and the deeper meaning of the film is the extremely kitsch interior of the Korova Milk Bar. Here, the stark colour contrasts of black and white, the provocative furniture that emulates sculpture, and the almost still forms of the characters, create a sense of the existence of a future subculture, identifying the protagonists with "statues" placed within this parallel given subculture.

Image source: medium.com

However, as in 2001: A Space Odyssey, in this particular film, the strange furniture has been inspired by pre-existing objects. In the case of the Korova Milk Bar, the nude female figures remind us of the work of Allen Jones, specifically the sexist -by modern standards- furniture series of 1969. With the best-known object of the series, the Allen Jones Chair, the connection between film - and especially its violent scenes with female victims - and Jones' sculptural furniture is evident. Furthermore, the objectification of people, in the cinematic world of Alex and the gang he leads, is a clear hint of how the protagonist himself views women, scorning them, and stepping on them, both literally and figuratively.

A “Shining” carpet?

Moving from sci-fi to gangster-surreal present-future, The Shining (1980) is perhaps an amalgamation of Stanley Kubrick's earlier films. Almost ten years after the dystopian plot of A Clockwork Orange, The Shining walks a fine line between thriller and supernatural, making the film a benchmark for these genres. Although initially, it did not receive the best of reviews since it was also nominated for the Golden Raspberry Award, however, with the passage of time and with a more detailed critical look, Kubrick's thriller is extremely exciting and complex, i.e. just like his previous film work.

This time with a haunted hotel in Colorado as the main protagonist, the film's plot unfolds somewhat claustrophobically since the characters are almost trapped inside. In this way, the design of the interior setting had to be curated in detail, to carry out the mission of the symbolic use of the objects and the imprinting of the psyche of the protagonists in the space. In what way? Primarily by using one or more carpets and tapestries with repeating patterns, which cover all floor and wall surfaces.

Image source: pbs.twimg.com

The feeling of confinement is intensified by the continuous patterns - possible imitation of the work of David Hicks - that leave no visual margin for the viewer, leading his gaze deeper and deeper into the hotel, which seems to have swallowed any form of life. In addition, Kubrick, through the use of intense - oftentimes contrasting - colours, somehow manages to impose an illusion of the uncertainty and instability of the space, which can move on the border between reality and fantasy. This is also confirmed by the labyrinth, which is looked at by Jack Torrance (Jack Nicholson) who imitates the various and strange patterns of the decoration. Finally, the famous hexagonal carpet - an original design by Hicks - on which little Danny (Danny Lloyd) moves, perhaps assigning different meanings to the scenes of the film, such as the continuum of space since the patterns never end but expand to the hotel corridors. However, the feeling of horror, due to the exaggerated colours and the "suffocating" design, is omnipresent since, for many, the very shape of the hexagonal rhombuses can refer to the metaphysical evil that dominates the space.

"The Shining" (Bartosz Kosowski) | Image Source: bartoszkosowski.com

Finally, the scene with the child sitting right in the middle of the frame, on one of the hexagons, is perhaps the most important of the film, leading to the interpretation of the carpet as a continuous chessboard, whose pawns are the trapped individuals in it. Thus, by making a move, each character moves away from or approaches the unknown.

However, the same pattern is not followed in the choice of furniture, since they change designs and colours in each room of the Overlook Hotel, perhaps relating the uncertainty of the furniture with that of the plot. Therefore, no two rooms are the same visually and scripturally, as each may "hide" the sudden terror.

Image source: slow.pics

More than furniture

Considering the importance of furniture in the film set, we can understand the different meanings that decorative objects and furniture have in our daily lives. After all, cinematic realism which will somehow always be achieved also becomes the means of rendering meaning and image to many elements of life, which would otherwise be ignored. Thus, a pattern, a certain piece of furniture or a building, is able to evoke memories and feelings in us, which would otherwise, in the absence of the image, not be perceived. After all, it is no coincidence that Stanley Kubrick himself visualized novels through his films, making the image of a place or object a symbol of multiple emotions.

Sources/ Further reading

J. Jones, Stanley Kubrick and me: designing the poster for A Clockwork Orange (2016). From: https://www.theguardian.com/artanddesign/2016/jul/07/stanley-kubrick-and-me-designing-clockwork-orange-poster.

M. Rhodes, The Amazingly Accurate Futurism of 2001: A Space Odysse (2015). From: https://www.wired.com/2015/08/amazingly-accurate-futurism-2001-space-odyssey/.

A Clockwork Orange (1971). From: https://www.intjournal.com/0614/a-clockwork-orange.

Z. Williams, Is Allen Jones’s sculpture the most sexist art ever? (2014). From: https://www.theguardian.com/artanddesign/2014/nov/10/allen-jones-sexist-art-royal-academy-review.

Kappelhoff, Hermann. The Politics and Poetics of Cinematic Realism. Columbia University Press, 2015. University Press Scholarship Online, 2016. doi: 10.7312/columbia/9780231170727.001.0001.

Collative Learning. Optical illusion sets in THE SHINING (film analysis). ΑFrom: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1QVto3EZ1Fc&ab_channel=CollativeLearning