I think it is just a fancy visual signature for "Kubrick" which has 7 letters, and the first and last are "K", which he separates from the other characters.

Your analyses are some of the most engrossing content I have found on film, you have been a huge influence on elevating my appreciation of the art. Thank you!

One of the greatest things about Kubrick was how multilayered his films were. He used heavy uses of symbolism and left it up to the viewer to decipher. He also left a lot of it open to interpretation, as he mentioned that 2001 in general would mean different things to different people: an allegory of evolution, a movie about rebirth(possibly spiritual), etc.

Numbers have a striking symbolism attached to each of them, something that I've noticed fairly prevalently in Tarot cards. 7 in itself is often associated with "having many options to choose from", or early work now ready to harvest, and having an abundance. It can also refer to splitting paths; once you make a choice, you move down a path associated with that choice. The split between 5 and 2 is also interesting, for a couple of reasons. 5 is both a symbol of conflict- a peak of passion breaking out over what was previously stable- but also a number associated with humanity; 5 limbs, counting the head, 5 fingers, 5 toes, 5 senses, etc. The number 2 is (probably obviously) connected with duality, a balance between polarized extremes- emphasis on *balance*. Light and Dark, Good and Evil, Creation and Destruction, and so forth. Strung together as often as it is in Kubrick's movies, I could see this interpretation: A recurring theme in his films is the conflict between extremes, born from humanity's nature, that eventually leads to a choice that the characters make. Sometimes, this choice leads to restoring balance and ending the conflict, sometimes this choice picks an extreme that throws everything off balance. The characters are driven down the path that is chosen in the heat of conflict, at the pinnacle of their human nature pushed to extremes. Diamonds are also interesting, because depending, they can be either 8-sided, or 4-sided. 4 is a number associated with solid foundation, balanced (it IS 2 x 2, after all) and becoming something that can be built upon. 8 is similarly that, but with much more energy surging beneath the surface, a current under a placid-seeming water surface, an undertow that you underestimate how strong it is until you're pulled along with it. Diamonds themselves are symbols of wealth, of glitter, and of power- resilient as they are. Diamonds (the gemstone) are also highly compressed carbon- the element most essential for all life on Earth. With the number 5 being so prevalent, it could be a statement on humanity, under pressure, being brought to some new state of being- forged in the conflict between two opposed forces. It's all a guess, obviously. :D I'm just sharing possible options to consider when it comes to interpreting the presence of these diamonds.

you missed a very important confirmation that the number 7 was by design: the paintings that flank the seven diamond hanging rug in the shining are by a famous group of Canadian artists called "The group of seven"

I believe the diamonds refer to CG Jung’s description of the human soul, as covered in his AION. It describes the alchemical transformation of man from state to state, whilst the Universe describes a battle between Christ and AntiChrist. This battle is similar to the descriptions of Rudolph Steiner. Jung said the human soul was a diamond shape joined upon its base and doubled, and made of pure crystal. My guess is Kubrick understood the importance Jung placed upon this imago universalis.

I note that in each place where the diamonds can only be intentional (2001 "wormhole" sequence, FMJ battle scene, Shining pillows in Room 237), these are moments of great transition or revelation, where the characters are permanently changed or damaged by what they're experiencing.

1:54:15 in Eyes Wide Shut. Slow shot of the camera showing the doctor's office and on the walls there are Christmas cards twisted into the shape of diamonds. In the same shot, the table has a hanging Christmas decoration that looks like diamond halves. This shot is topped with a large Christmas painting, probably depicting Jerusalem, and in the very center there is a large number 7

Thank you for bringing us joy of reviewing Kubrick's masterpieces yet again sir.

The 7 of Diamonds in Tarot (or pentacles) means a commitment to one's life work. Which would make sense for Kubrick to include in all of his movies, given his commitment to cinematics

For the Doctor Strangelove pattern, in the scene where the British Officer is hovering over Ripper's scribblings, there are two diamonds in the form of pictures on the wall turned on their sides to make 2 diamond patterns prominent in the shot. I think those are the 2 missing diamonds. You can see them at 1:54 in the video.

I just noticed that at 8:07 with Jack in front of the diamond tapestry, that if you look at the art work on either side of the tapestry they appears to be done by The Group Of Seven. A popular Canadian artist movement. Has anyone else noticed this ?

Whatever they represent, Kubrick made me more intelligent with his style of film directing. Thank you Rob for all of your work, and the film enthusiast community as well.

I think you missed or forgot to include 2 things I noticed. 1. that note paper written and drawn by Jack D Ripper has the number twenty-five next to the 5 diamonds. Twenty-five or Two and Five. The other is at the end you bring back the diamond cushions. These are wonderful because you can't see them and the 2001 diamonds and claim there's nothing deeper or no intention in Kubrick's work. Anyway you point out that they are bookended by lamps. What you didn't see is what the lamps are sitting on. Two end tables. Now notice if you look close you can tell these tables are not squares they have a rectangular shape so that throws them out of the game right? Wrong because although you can't get diamonds from rectangles by rotating them alone like you can with squares you can get them by rotating AND tilting them at an angle. And wouldn't you know it in this shot the tables are rotated at the perfect degree and because of the relative heights of their tops and the camera they become diamonds. Now is there something further to take from this? I think there might be. You pointed out the lamps. What is the purpose of lamps? To illuminate, to help us see in the dark. What are the cushions sitting on? A bed, bed means to rest, to lay, to cease movement. If you combine illumination and rest you get discovery by inner reflection. Maybe this shot is Kubrick saying yes there is something out there (or just inside his movies) that we don't know, but we'll never discover it if we are actively out there looking. He's suggesting much of what we want to understand about existence can only be found through meditation. Meditation divided by two equals illumination and rest. Sucks for me because I hate meditation.

I like how Rob asks his audience for answers, incorporates the ones he likes without attributing the actual person, then goes on to get patron $$ for his "theories," not making money off of other folks's ideas at all!

In Quabbalah symbology and playing card Cartomancy, the seven of diamonds if picked first in a deck shuffle or the only card played means profit, money attainment and success. Kubrick was weaving a good luck charm for his movies to be financially as well as artistically successful.

I still maintain that some part of this mystery lies in the rainbow, or more simply light itself. The very thing that allows Kubrick to make films in the first place. Although, it is by no means a whole theory. Maybe I'll give his last . . . seven movies a watch again.

I read somewhere that the 7 diamonds was a part of the 4th wall theme. They were representative of the 7 Dolby sound speakers in the cinema. Part of Dave Bowman’s journey into the symbolic film camera a la the stargate and realising he’s in a movie.

A lot of Kubrick's focus on geometric shapes and/or patterns is based on thematic symmetry. The seven diamonds in 2001 create a distinct focal point, suggesting order and balance. The diamond shapes we see in Full Metal Jacket are presented from angles, presenting disorder. The Shining mixes the two perspectives, mirroring Jack's - as well as our - fractured perspective of events. In the card playing/courtship scene in Barry Lyndon showing the seven of hearts, we notice Barry's also holding the two of hearts. As the arrangement on the seven 'points' towards Barry, this indicates the power dynamic between the two characters.

Kubrick used a lot of arcane symbolic concepts in his images. My thought of 5 plus 2 is the old astrological concept of the seven wanderers. The seven wanderers are the original five visible planets (that could be seen with the naked eye), and the sun and moon. Also a pyramid reflected was traditionally used to represent the material world (above and solid) and the underworld (in the reflection). Also in the occult, the rainbow is often called the seven rays. These are just my thoughts, not conclusions.

I like to think there is a pretty significant theme of “rulers / watchers” (whether they are physical or spiritual) in his movies, whether you want to call them guardian angels, malevolent demons, demigods, ghosts, aliens, etc… and they really don’t like it when you enter or challenge their space and try to break through that invisible wall at the edge of the Matrix. If you view his movies through the lens of “the elites/rulers don’t want you in their club” and/or “you better do what we say, or else”, it becomes pretty obvious Kubrick believes in a higher power/intelligence that is steering society, regardless of what he says publicly. He was allegedly a freemason which at the higher degrees is revealed to be Satanism. Grain of salt with all that though... ------- Spartacus : Pretty much the quintessential example of a lowly slave rebelling against the system and rulers at the time. He eventually gets put in his place… Fails. Dr Strangelove : Ripper starts to become awake to how much humanity is being controlled and wants to burn it all down. Success (?) 2001 : fairly obvious that Dave broke through their veil, had his mind blown, and literally transcended his past self. “They” being both AI and God/Aliens or whatever you believe left the Monoliths. Success. A Clockwork Orange : An intelligent delinquent perpetually pushes the limits of the system put in place, eventually gets caught in a trap, they attempt to brainwash him, it fails (if you believe that he’s lying the whole time), in the end his body is broken but he beats the system (pretty similar to 2001 actually…). Success. Barry Lyndon : an “average” guy tries his best to break into this absurd club of elites (gods/rulers) and breathe that rarified air. He’s actually fairly successful at climbing their ladder, but his own human arrogance, cockiness, and brutishness prove that he’s not good enough to hang. They put him back in his place, take everything away from him and tell him to go away forever. Fails. The Shining : Pretty literally a ghost story with them whispering into Jack’s ears and controlling his actions. Also quite a lot of references to the Illuminati / Elites (whatever you wanna call it). Jack gets completely controlled / possessed and eventually dies. Fail. Danny outwits them and he and Wendy escape. Success. Full Metal Jacket : Pyle initially pushes back by not complying and not becoming the animal they want him to be. He eventually rebels and uses their own training against them, kills the Ruler, becomes the animal the system wanted him to be, eventually kills that animal too. Success. The diamonds littered all around the film could be souls of the dead (I think Jung said something about the soul being diamond-shaped and I feel like I’ve heard that from others as well…) or they could be the spirits of the watchers watching their war. Eyes Wide Shut : Very much like Barry Lyndon in that you have an “average” dude who finds himself rubbing elbows with these elites / rulers. He presses his face up against the edge of the Matrix and sees things he shouldn’t. He sees the watchers, but they are still masked (you can’t look upon the face of God, afterall). He never quite gets exactly the information he wants, but now he sees the world differently because he’s actually aware he had previously been wearing blinders his whole life. Fails (?). You don’t see a lot of these diamonds because they aren’t hiding anymore in this movie. They’re right there in front of you, in human form. The veil is gone. ------- As far as the “7” or “5+2=7”, no idea, but 7 has a lot of significance all over the place. I think on a lower level of evaluation, there are 7 notes per octave, if you go above that (octahedron) you transcend into the next density / dimension / octave. I dunno, just a thought...

If you look up the "Palace of Peace and Reconciliation", it's a big pyramid building in Astana, Kazakhstan and there are seven diamond symbols above the entrance. Might mean nothing but I just thought I'd mention that if anyone's interested. Apparently there are other Freemason inspired structures in the city too (the city was renamed Nur-Sultan a few years ago).

Has no-one in today's world read 2001? Clark's book was almost entirely focused on the evolutionary history of an extremely ancient life form. Corporeal at first, but after billions of years they... and I quote, " transferred their consciousness onto crystal latices of light." A more perfect interpretation of the seven diamonds I cannot imagine.

This is incredible. I (re-)watched 2001 last month, and the seven diamonds really stood out to me. I went straight to the internet, but, as you point out, there isn't a lot of information out there. The fact that you published this video right after I started my hunt for more information is a spooky coincidence.

In Pythagorean Numerology, DIAMOND = 33, a number that has great significance in Freemasonry. The pyramid is a Masonic symbol, as is the pyramid with its reflection (symbolizing the "as above so below" concept. Just saying.

As a professional astronomer, the 7 floating tetrahedra in 2001 suggest the 7 moving celestial bodies known to ancient people, which happen to fall in to groups of 5 and 2. The Sun & Moon are most luminous, and both move steadily through the sky while the 5 planets appear dimmer and move irregularly, engaging in backward or retrograde motion that was considered ominous to ancient astrologers. Johannes Kepler, the first person to propose an accurate theory for the motion of the planets, associated the 5 planets with the 5 known Perfect Solids of Pythagoras, one of which is the Octahedron. (This early model of Kepler's was wrong, but it began his quest to find what became his 3 Laws of Planetary Motion) The 5 planets were each thought to be gods and thus carry the names of different gods/goddesses. The days of the week are named for these 7 "moving stars"/gods, as you can see easily in Spanish or French (Viernes=Venus, Miercoles=Mercury, etc). By the way, statues of two Greek gods appear in the lighted room scene at the end of 2001. Kubrick said that the "God Concept" is present in 2001, but that he didn't subscribe to any of the world's MONOtheistic religions. He also said (IIRC) that since ET life would be so far advanced from us, it meeting it would be like encountering god. Therefore the 7 tetrahedra in 2001 could easily symbolize 7 planets which humans made into gods. (We might also note here that at the end of 2001 Bowman becomes a god-like star child which is depicted almost like a planet unto itself) I think is quite a plausible to interpret the tetrahedra in 2001 as god-like celestial beings, even perhaps his guides, showing him the rest of the universe. But it would be a stretch to apply it to any of the other movies.

Hey love your work man. I think Kubrick uses the seven diamonds as a symbolism aspect of emphasizing crossing the line as “ a point of no return “ element given that in all of his films every character crosses a path or boundary of some form of fashion. Again I’m just theorizing it by the fact it’s only connection I can think of correlating his films.

These are amazing observations, hard to believe even after all this time you’re still finding new things in Kubrick movies.

At 22:05, you interpret the astronauts and lights as being diamonds, but didn't seem to notice the row of seven lights going up the staircase, oriented to look the diamonds later in the film.

Diamonds are forever 💎

Stanley Kubrick is contributing to the Great Work... Like Leonardo DaVinci and countless others who have contributed it, these are esoteric references that the sum of which, at their essence, seek to teach man about the true nature of consciousness. Happy to share more, this is not something I talk to others very often about.

Great analysis!

I'll repeat what I said in your video Mystery of the Monolith. I think the seven diamonds may represent the seven lower sephirah in the sephiroth in the kabbalah, with the monolith representing "daath," the "hidden sephirah," or knowledge. Daath, which is knowledge, or the abyss, seperates the seven lower sephirah from the three higher sephirah, binah, chokmah, and keter, which make up God's three fold nature The theme Also Sprach Zarathustra is featured prominently in the 2001 as an obvious reference to the book of the same name by Friedrich Nietzsche. In it, Zarathustra, the Overman, relates the theme of "man being a rope over an abyss between man and overman." And there are symbolic parallels between Zarathustra's journey and Kabbalistic esotericism. Whether this was done intentionally by Nietzsche, I don't know. But he was familiar with apocryphal literature, like The Book of Enoch, and wrote Zarathustra to be similar in style to scripture, so I always believed it was possible. I believe Kubrick was trying to use Nietzschean themes with Kabbalistic themes as a narrative framing device for enlightenment

Much of Kubrick's films, as you have pointed out Rob, reveal his view toward power structures, often using triangles or pyramids. There are seven continents, with two of them standing out by themselves, Australia and Antarctica. So the 5+2 diamonds (with diamonds or prisms refracting light--rainbows in EWS) are shinning light on oligarchic plans of world domination.

Simply brilliant sir! You never cease to amaze me with you context, always exceptional and very intriguing. Thank you for your work!

This is so cool! I feel like, with so many possibilities, it may be just a visual theme that Kubrick liked and decided to include in many of his films

I think the diamonds represent the archangels of the Jewish tradition. In the book of Enoch the archangels are listed as 7: Michael, Raphael, Gabriel, Uriel, Saraqael, Raguel, and Remiel. In the life of Adam there are five archangels listed Michael, Gabriel, Uriel, Raphael and Joel. With Adam and Eve this makes 5 + 2. (Also there are 7 fallen angels, as above so below). There are 7 luminaries: Sun, Moon, Mars, Mercury, Jupiter, Venus, and Saturn. Five of which are planets and two of which are not. 5+2. 2 of them are more prominent in size in our perception, the sun and the moon. This is like the two larger diamonds in the star gate sequence versus the smaller five diamonds representing the classical planets. The seven luminaries are represented by seven archangels in a 1 to 1 fashion. The hermetic seal of the archangels seems to be the very likely source for the mystery. The hermetic seal of the archangels contains 7 triangles that are mirrored into diamond shapes. Cheers! :)

Its sacred symbology, used by the freemasons and many others. It pre-dates freemasonry however and there are many interpretations and meanings. That is a hell of a rabbit hole if you want to jump in. Good luck.

I had a dream once of 5 circles next to each other and then 2 diamonds either side of the middle circle. I believed it represented the 4 functions, as discussed by Jung, with the Ego at the centre. The 2 diamonds would then be the Anima and Animus, the Masculine and Feminine. The dream showed me instances of this pattern in different historical periods.

I'm always impressed and entertained by your astute observations and theories! Keep it up!

As above, so below. Red shift blue shift. The visual universe is contained within these two colours. From infra red to ultra violet. Might explain the rainbows in eyes wide shut too...

Best Kubrick analyses on the web!

Have you ever wondered if there are things in Kubrick's movies that he put in there that we have yet to discover? There are seven chakras and Jung touched on this just a bit. There are the 7 layers of the consciousness. Gosh, we could go on and on. Great analysis. I enjoy the expansion of my mind. :)

those diamonds are angels, rob. kubrick must've been a fan of evangelion.

Something I just realized. It's probably a stretch. But in 2001, when they are getting photographed in front of the monolith in the pit on the moon, it just jumped out at me. It's the scene you show at ~22:00 . You suggest that it's 5 explorers plus 2 lights. Most of the shots in that scene are from a stationary camera. The men are filmed walking towards the pit, down the ramp, walking around the monolith; all from different viewpoints but from a stationary point. Until they get their picture taken as a group. There are 6 men. 5 of them stand in front of the monolith, while the 6th takes a picture. In that shot, the camera is right next to the photographer in the scene, and appears to be a handheld camera. Almost as if there is a 7th person holding another camera. That 7th person could be the audience watching the movie. And when the monolith makes that jarring noise, the "7th person" reacts to it the same way the other 6 men do, staggering around. I believe you're spoken about Kubrick using particular imagery to, because I don't know how to put it better, break the 4th wall. So, it's not diamonds. But there is a group of 5 explorers in front of the monolith, and 2 in front of them with cameras (the photographer and the audience). 5+2 = 7.

I always wondered if the scene where Dick Hallorann was watching TV was a reference to A Clockwork Orange, due to a few elements: the long zoombacks; the idea of him being programmed by the TV, then Danny sending him a transmission; and above him a photo of a nude reminiscent to the nude statues in ACO. Also, in The Shining novel, Hallorann was transporting oranges in his car when Danny’s shine hits him, intensifying their smell.

People today: “what does it mean?!” Stanley: “I just think they’re neat”

Thank you for this Rob. I think I asked you about the 7 Diamonds awhile back. I've long wondered what the meaning is and seeing the repeated pattern only reinforces my intuition that they have an important meaning. They are the one form of order/symmetry and intelligence in the LSD time travel sequence. Having read someone's comment about "as above so below" certainly is compelling, if not a secondary meaning. It also brings to mind the "order out of chaos", which is another Freemasonic term. In the Street scene in FMJ we see two 33's prominently displayed in the background.

Dig this, Rob: the letter i that's prominent in 2001 in the landscape shot almost looks like the Morse code letter A, the closest letter of the alphabet representing a pyramid shape. Furthermore, the number 7 in Morse code is made up of 2 dashes followed by 3 dots. So five symbols make up the number 7, and in the center of those five symbols (like jack's head, Halloran's entrance, orange lady) is a dash followed by a dot. This is a mirror image of the dot followed by the dash that makes up the letter A. Morse code diamond. Now, if the letter N were significant, it may have popped up, as it is the mirrored equivalent of the A (the same symbols at the center of the 7), but that wouldn't give Kubrick the fun of watching from beyond the crypt as folks like us notice the number patterns. Also of note: the Morse A and the 7 combined are also made up of 7 symbols (2 for the A, 5 for the seven). Perhaps most noteworthy, in my opinion, the number 3 and the number 7 are mirror images of one another (dot dot dot, dash dash for 3 and dash dash, dot dot dot for 7). 2 numbers, 3 and 7, are mirrored. 237. Sounds familiar.

I believe Kubrick did everything on purpose. Everything calculated.

Your content is always well thought out , profound and quiet brilliant . I fuckin love it.

Great video! Fascinating!!!

This is great stuff Rob. I’ve seen these films dozens of times and never realized the diamonds appeared outside of 2001. Even for you this is incredible! Has anyone noticed this theme before?

There are seven days in the week, subdivided into five working days plus two days of rest. That's the only Five plus two pattern that I could think of existing in the real world.

Fascinating, and something I did not catch. Kubrick had his own symbolic vocabulary that nevertheless evokes some enigmatic sense for us too, as in a remembered dream that doesn't quite "make sense" once we are awake.

Oh man. I love this kind of stuff. I grew up reading Joseph Campbell and his breakdowns of mythological symbols and interpretations of all that. Let me take a crack at the meaning of these diamonds: Let's start with 2. Two represents duality, the movement from a state of unity to a state of "mirrored self" in a sense. It's about opposites, heaven and hell, etc., but really it's about the dual nature of humans, in all the ways we exhibit duality (mostly body-mind or body-spirit). It's about desire, and also kind of about strength of a pair over the strength of one. It also represents the feminine, as the image of an egg divided into two, the image of procreative life itself evokes this one-into-two-ness. Five, then, is the number that represents humans. The human form is sort of a five-spoked wheel, when we are laid stretched out. We have 5 senses, 5 digits, and so on. Five represents the human experience of life. It also represents the Godhead in a sense, the combining of the four points of the Earth plus the one center point. It can also represent the union of male (3, odd) and female (2, even). So, then, the number seven comes from 3 plus 4 (using the smallest numbers possible to make the larger is the standard), so quickly, 3 represents Heaven, and 4 represents Earth. 7 is about the union, then, of the divine and the earthly, which really means "the universe." It represents the virginity of the Great Mother, and a whole lot more. Now, what all this means to me, is I think Kubrick is using the 7 diamonds as a way of also pointing at the number 8, which represents sort of the goal of the initiate, passing from 7 to 8 into the infinity of being. Or, in another way of saying it, 7 sort of represents the "completeness" of one's work in life, and 8 can then represent death, or the passing of your work into its "infinite," its legacy. In each instance Kubrick makes the deliberate point of 7 being brought up around scenes having to do with legacy, death, and endings. Perhaps that's why the scene in the Vietnamese city with only 2 real diamonds only had 2 really good diamonds, it's more here about duality, and about the feminine aspect of things.

Sevens and diamonds can both be associated with large wins at a casino. I'll show myself out.

The letter K is like 2 number 7s (KubricK) A 7 and a Mirror Image of 7 form a Triangle. A K and a Mirror Image of a K form an Asterisk Star * The Film Screen is a Mind Mirror or Reverse-Mind Mirror, Scrying Mirror Screen, Black Screen, Black Mirror, Black Cube... The 2 Ks or Four 7s can make 2 Triangles which form a Diamond divided into 2 or the Star of David. If you were to Equalize the 2 halves of the Divided Diamond shape by raising the lower half and lowering the top half it is like the Star of David which often is depicted with a Cube within it (Cube-Brick). Diamonds are often cut with many Angles revealing shapes such as Tetrahedron, Metatron, Hexagram, and similar to the Kaballah Tree of Life. They Shine when light is reflected at the different angles. Kubrick was very precise with his Angles while filming his very precise sets or settings. As if each frame of film were to be a perfected cube or brick arranged to make a wall to project on. Diamonds glistening as light pours through the negatives projected onto the screen then leaving a film (or memory) on the viewers mind.

Love your work sir

Always impressive content. Saw this long ago & revisiting it

With regards to the card games, playing cards are basically a simplified version of tarot cards. The suite of Diamonds in the tarot are the suite of pentacles (typically associated with money.) In fortune-telling the seven of pentacles represents one’s long-term vision, perseverance, growth, etc.

In Rhianna's 2012 Song "Diamonds" 🎶🎵 Her final chorus consisted of the phrase "Shine bright like a Diamond" repeated 7 times. 🤔😲😳🤯 💎💎💎💎💎💎💎

It may be that this is simply an example of the human tendency to see patterns where they don't exist-an example of apophenia that arises to provide an unnecessary explanation for a particular artists use of motifs that the artist found interesting, or that conveyed some sense of visual continuity. Or, perhaps frequency illusion comes into play here. Noticing diamonds, viewers start to see diamonds everywhere in the films. Would the same thing happen with ovals or boxes or certain colors? Either seems about as likely as some sort of hidden messages, but who knows? It's an interesting idea and video regardless.

Another excellent video.

Seems to be more questions than answers where kubricks concerned lol..but the seven of diamonds playing card itself has the five/two split on it🤔(not sure if you mentioned this) .....interesting vid and analysis as always Rob👌🏻

For more info on the Septenary (5 plus the hidden 2) Mystery (A, E, I, O, U, and sometimes Y and W) check out Helena Blavatsky’s ‘Secret Doctrine’, Albert Pike’s ‘Morals and Dogma’, and Manly P. Hall’s ‘Secret Teachings of All Ages’ 😉

Amazing attention to detail!

interesting as always thank you

I'm pretty sure Stanley was one of our alien overlords. 🛸

I'd like to interweave a prior observation of yours into this current analysis. So, a brief preface: After watching your video on A Clockwork Orange and the use of pyramids, you had emphasized that shots form pyramids when set walls, floors, and ceilings are right with the ratio of the screen. It is important to note that the perspective lines converge at a point on the horizon line. This illusion of depth on a two-dimensional surface is recognized in the arts as "one-point perspective." With this in mind, I am prepared to interpret the screen not a flat, two-dimensional rectangle but rather the base of square-based pyramid, or more accurately half of an octahedron. "So what's the point of all this?" I hear you ask. Well, there are literally six points, or vertices, of an octohedron. As mentioned above, four points as the corners of the screen, one point as the convergence beyond the screen, and the last point being the observer. What strikes me most about this interpretation is that when dealing with octahedron, the square base, which we now recognize as the movie screen, vanishes. The square is a hypothetical plane where two points meet. It is my premise that the pure geometry that make up the fundamentals of visual story telling were of deep interest to Kubrick.

I just discovered this video. What a fascinating presentation and comments section. In music, the seven notes within a one octave scale include two half-steps. Where the half-steps are placed defines the scale as major or minor. Kubrick may well have known that fundamental music theory.

Rob, I fricking love your work. I wish I could be a Patreon member but simply cannot afford it in current times. I always look forward to your next releases and always share your content with other like-minded folks. much love from New Zealand :)

Seems like there's a link between the 2+5=7 diamonds and 237. For example, all the scenes noted at 15:02 have 2 diamonds intersecting over a third center diamond, which altogether creates 7 diamonds. Even with the pillows in Room 237, we're first presented 5 pillows (2 purple, 3 green).. but then the final 2 are revealed to give us a sum of 7. No clue how this would fit with 2001, but anyways Happy Halloween (from the US)!

I feel like someone should know this answer who worked with him on the production, in the graphics dept, etc. To me, as a designer, diamond shapes naturally forces the eye to move around without stopping at any one vertex. So to put a character in front of a diamond pattern magnetically holds our focus on the character in front of the pattern. The diamond pattern is a visual overload so we just defer our view to the character. It's rich detail, without distraction. A dynamic shape without being too distinct. Maybe it's overused as a visual crutch. 7 may just be the magic number of diamonds that are seen with visually balanced patterns

your channel is a diamond

Unless I've misunderstood how it works, the slitscan method was made to produce random patterns as light artefacts of the original shapes, so personally I don't think the "i" in the star gate sequence was put there intentionally. But wow, the pillow arrangement on the room 237 bed is identical to the arrangement of the middle five diamonds! Once again, nothing escapes your eye! Great job!

When I saw this video in my subs, I knew you had another breakthrough without even watching, I trust your judgment on film more than anyone else on this platform. Hope more videos are coming on Kubrick films. So much left to be discovered in eyes wide shut in my opinion. Edit. Saw the video you always know what you're talking about Rob.

ok i have to say this: "most of you won't be familiar with dr. strangelove" huh? one of the greatest and most famous comedies ever made and an essential top 3 movie for any Kubrick fan? we won't be familiar with it? lol

The 2 dimensional diamond patterns in my opinion holds a separate meaning to the 3 dimensional octahedrons. The 7 octahedral Diamonds in 2001 a space odyssey I think represents the story of the Goddess Ariadne and the Minotaur, giving Theseus a ball of golden thread so he could find his way back from the centre of the Labyrinth after facing the Minotaur. The story is an allegory based on the journey of self discovery, enlightenment and rebirth, the minotaur is the inverse of the toroidal field (donut shape) emitted by the Heart, which is the Hyperboloid, (hourglass, grail, goblet shape). Theseus returned thanks to Ariadne's idea, so he made her a Crown of Gold, around the band he placed 7 Large Diamonds (Octahedrons are diamonds most naturally occurring form), when Ariadne died Theseus placed her crown in the Heavens, and the Diamonds became the 7 Stars, creating the the constellation of assentation, Corona Borealis.

I absolutely love your insights and breakdowns into Kubricks films. Kubrick definitely included some interesting ideas in his movies and the little visual Easter eggs he put throughout his films are fascinating. I always love getting more background on these things. I've heard Kubrick was very influenced by Carl Jung and, while I don't know too much about Jung as I haven't had the chance to read his books yet, it wouldn't surprise me if these were in some way connected to Jungian ideas. I had never heard of Jung until I heard the lead singer of Tool reference him.(I also discovered Bill Hicks through Tool) Now I'm intrigued

thanks for another interesting video! Something I thought of was the 7 traditional planets of astrology, which are broken into a group of 2 (the Sun and Moon) and a group of 5 (Mercury, Venus, Mars, Jupiter, Saturn). Mercury was the first NASA human spaceflight program, Jupiter and Saturn V (5!) were rockets used by NASA. In addition, in the excavation scene, the two objects flanking the 5 astronauts are literally lights (astrologers refer to the Sun and the Moon as 'the lights") More than that, each light fixture is made of 12 lights, and 12 is important in astrology (12 signs, 12 houses) and in many other places. To riff a little further, 12-7=5, which seems to fit with 5+2. And of course, astrology analyzes the symbolism of the heavens. Fascinating stuff!

Ah yes getting ready for a big glass of film the Theory !!!

I think Kubrick clearly managed to connect, or was otherwise, born with, the ability to be with a part of the collective unconscious very few people are themselves aware of. I think that part surrounds the axis mundi, and Kubrick felt compelled to explore it.

The octahedron, the form most common to the diamond, is a double pyramid, combining two crosses reflective of the tetrahedral atomic structure and symbolic of the joining of heaven and earth or God and man. It is this geometric form which, more than any other in nature, precisely describes the ancient teaching "AS ABOVE - SO BELOW." The double pyramid provides the perfect reflection of the divine process wherein idea becomes is deeply significant that the basis of all organic - carbon - should be the element involved in this structure. The fact that the atomic ordering of this element produces the double pyramid is suggestive of the geometric alignment necessary to realize the divine in the mundane. The hardness of the diamond suggests the immutability of this archetypal pattern in nature. It can literally make its mark upon all other formations in life, retaining its own structure long after other material has been transformed. Just as the hardness of the diamond is so great that it can only be faceted by itself, so nature comes to realize itself through itself, and man, seeking the pure light of spirit, must perfect himself by the power of his inmost being.

Hi, Rob. Love the videos I think Stanley would have been familiar with the theoretical behavior of 4th dimension beings playing around in our dimension. We cannot view their full form as they can only show us a single cross-section of themselves. Our reality is like a sheet of paper to them. From you previous videos on the meaning of 2001 being about how we are those 4 dimensional beings making films. This makes me think Kubrick is either making a nod to himself being the God of all his films, thus he is the hidden demon guiding all of what happens. The Diamonds are his calling card because he literally put them there. He is the only true being capable of manipulating these worlds. Or All the movies are in the same Universe as 2001, and these diamonds are a metaphorical sign that there are 4D beings and they are the ones affecting the story. To put a monolith in front of proto humans is to put a man in a bear suit and put him in a hotel room in front of a boy on his tricycle. Something also just occured to me, octohedrons passing through a 2 dimensional world would appear as diamonds to the 2 dimensional beings.

Hey, Rob love, love, love all of your channels. The work you’re doing is truly amazing. I just watched one of your videos about “the Shining” and was thinking that maybe the room no. 237 tag on the door is the same symbol as these floating diamonds. Looks like there are 2 smaller diamonds and 3 slightly larger ones making the original 5 diamonds then two more join to make a total of 7. Plus i was thinking maybe the plain of colors the camera follows splitting the screen in half or into 2 is the viewer inside a giant diamond. As if traveling along the square plain sandwiched between two mirrored pyramids. This could be why the 237 room is the only one with two doors and as you pointed out there’s all the mirroring imagery through out the film. I’ve been exploring the Fibonacci sequence lately (0,1,1,2,3,5,7…) and it starts with 1,1 like the two doors. They are the same thing but are perceived as two things making the first possibly false duality. Like how hot and cold seem to be opposites but are really just varying degrees of temperature. Or how it looks like two doors but is really just one doorway. When each characters in The Shining steps through that one doorway they are split into two in a way. changed or evolved into another state of being. Like a child stepping into adulthood or a question turning into an answer. I’m more of an artist/musician than a mathyologist but it’s definitely fun stuff to think about =)

Great video Rob, come here from Bill's podcast. You really remind me of the actor Robert Ginty who started as John Eastland in the classic The Exterminator. Great content mate

You’re just the BEST!

The "I" (dot and dash in morse code) is "A" - "A" for Arquitect, "I" for Eye (btw in Lars Von Trier the house that Jack built, Jack is an arquitect... also Jacob's ladder appears in the film)

Thanks for the free content, Rob. Been watching for several years, always enjoy your takes and analysis.

Rob, I attribute the number 7 used in Kubricks work as referring to the 7 steps of alchemy, putting emphasis on the first and last step as being the most transformative.

In metasymbology the seven of diamond means: The conflict between spirit and matter. It also has various meanings in Tarot.

7:41 Also, the tosses tennis ball seems to disappear, and (another Shining topic) it reappears to Danny before he enters room 237 FMJ poster - on the helmet, 7 bullets, 2 tinged in red.

Kubrick died (rather coincidentally) before Eyes Wide Shut's release and therefore didn't have control over the final edit that he would have done if he was still alive. I suspect the seven diamonds were in what would have been his real cut of the movie.

This is crazy. (and I'm not a casual viewer). Neat stuff. I subscribed.

It could be a personal reference that we'll never uncover, something that was meaningful to Kubrick. The only thing I can think of is that diamonds represent things that last forever, and a film is something that lasts forever. People will still be analyzing and talking about Stanley Kubrick's movies 100 years from now. BTW It might be worth rewatching Spielberg's A.I. Artificial Intelligence looking for diamonds since Kubrick developed so much of that movie.

Rob, have you watched Bergman's 'Through A Glass Darkly' (1961)? I recall seeing diamond shaped windows in some of the doors of the house which immediately struck me as looking just like the twin diamonds on the Overlook's elevator design. Furthermore, Bergman employs precisely symmetrical camerawork which simply must have been an influence on Kubrick. Add to this the films' unsettling themes of family psycho-sexual breakdown (including incest), madness, alienation and spiritual desolation and you have a strong influence on The Shining in general. Some of these same themes reappear in Bergman's The Silence from a couple of years later. Again, we have a young boy alone in a spooky hotel who witnesses a sexual encounter through a hotel door from the corridor (sound familiar, anyone?). The framing is strictly symmetrical once again and the film explores dysfunctional families and sexual alienation with a young boy at the centre encountering the full madness of the adult world. It's been a while since I watched them, but for viewers who know their Kubrick well these films (made nearly twenty years before) contain some astonishing parallels with The Shining.

Not sure you saw these, Rob: Seven bullets in the Army helmet of Full Metal Jacket; Look at 5.51 in your film: the guy is rolling a red snooker ball across the table...almost 30 years BEFORE Sidney Pollack did in 'Eyes Wide Shut'...

I wanted to point out there are 7 bullets on the Full Metal Jacket poster as well.

Funny, the diamond is often just a square turned at an angle, sometimes it is depicted as a parallelogram once tilted (as in playing cards). Or is the Diamond just two triangles (as are squares)? You played with the "Swastika" idea. This ancient auspicious good luck symbol of India (or Finland) became a menacing threat when tilted onto its point (Nazi symbol). It loses its stable square restful shape when tilted sideways to balance precariously on its point. One can sit comfortably on a square box, but you get pierced if you sit on a diamond shape (there is no comfortable resting place on a diamond). When someone uses diamond patterns, instead of square patterns, for decorating, its effect on the "emotional energy" of the space is energetic. It creates "edge" instead of "stodginess". I am reminded by all the diamond-shaped mirrors people hung on their walls during the 80s and the Hellraiser's Cubicle "Lament Configuration" puzzle box transforming into a diamond shape as it opened the doors for the Cenobites to enter. There is thematic usefulness of diamond shapes that you are drawing our attention to. Maybe it's only on an intuitive level that Kubric insisted on dressing the sets with diamond patterns. I'm just not sure of the whole "5 to 7" amount of diamonds used, beyond its universal commonality in presentation. Whenever you want to indicate a "full amount", 3 or 4 just won't do where 5 and 7 will do (without going overboard). There may have been some "cherry-picking" with the examples shown here. I just don't know for sure.