Pan's Labyrinth: Genre And Themes - The Film Bug

Directed by Guillermo Del Toro, Pan’s Labyrinth (2006) is situated in the early years of Francoist Spain and follows a young girl, Ofelia, who becomes immersed in another world where she is believed to be a princess. The film combines various genres, such as war and period drama, but predominantly belongs to the fantasy genre. This is due to such conventions as the series of trials undertaken by Ofelia; the fulfillment of the archetypal fairy-tale roles (e.g. princess, villain) as outlined by Vladimir Propp; and the macabre creatures (the Pale Man) and mystical settings (the forest, the labyrinth) that are iconographic of the genre. There are a multitude of themes explored in the film, the most prominent of which include the theme of choice, coming-of-age, and disobedience / resistance. This essay will discuss how the fantasy genre shapes these themes.

The themes of coming-of-age and disobedience can be seen as going hand-in-hand in Pan’s Labyrinth. While the escapism offered to Ofelia by the fantasy world allows her to resist the war and her sadistic stepfather, it not only leads her towards adolescence, but also readies her to deal with these two factors. It is for this reason that Ofelia’s trials become progressively darker. Her first trial leads her into the forest, an example of typical fantasy iconography, which is representative of her first steps towards puberty. Lury (2010, p. 126) asserts that ‘the forest offers the child somewhere to hide, but it is also where the child gets lost.’ The fantasy genre therefore influences the film’s portrayal of coming-of-age as a stage in life which, although resisted by the child, is inevitable. Ofelia must grow up and, due to her grim circumstances, will do so quicker than most children her age. This is highlighted by the juxtaposition of her first trial with Captain Vidal’s scouting party, both events occurring in the forest. Ofelia’s quest, a fantasy genre convention which, in Pan’s Labyrinth, is comprised of three trials, exerts a great influence on the depiction of the coming-of-age theme as a process of self-discovery. Through eluding and/or defeating monsters, interacting with diverse creatures, and successfully completing tasks, the film suggests that a child, by engaging with their imagination, finds themselves and the strength to cope with adult circumstances. Lindsay (2012, p. 8) refers to the faun as being ‘the mythological figure with whom Ofelia must spar in order to achieve spiritual and physical maturity.’ This supports the idea that although children utilise fairy-tales as a hiding place from reality, they are also, paradoxically, the place where children discover the adult within themselves and come to terms with reality. Ofelia, for example, crawls into the uterine-like opening of the tree, symbolic of her attempt to crawl back towards infancy and thus resist adulthood. However, through defeating the giant frog inside the tree, she distinguishes right from wrong, and grows as a person.

Ofelia’s encounter with the Pale Man, who is both her adversary in the second trial and the fantasy world parallel to Captain Vidal, represents the encroachment of adulthood and the way in which the dangers of the real world invade Ofelia’s imagination. The Pale Man is a murderer of children, as is Vidal by the film’s resolution, and Ofelia flees from him, just as she later flees her stepfather. Miller (2008, n.p.) observes that although ‘a fantastical being himself, the Pale Man is also somehow a destroyer of fantasy.’ As such, fantasy genre conventions influence the film’s portrayal of such themes as coming-of-age as a fragile process in which the child must resist external forces that threaten to bring about their premature demise. From this bleak perspective, Ofelia’s murder can be symbolically interpreted as the death of childhood. War is also a threat to the heroine, as is evident from the mise-en-scene in this sequence; indeed, Ebert (2007) likens the mountain of small shoes belonging to the Pale Man’s victims to the Holocaust. By placing a child protagonist in the lead role, a fairy-tale convention, Pan’s Labyrinth utilises fantasy as a mode, which Furby and Hines (2012, p. 28) describe as being ‘ahistorical because it exists throughout history’, in its exploration of childhood innocence set against the backdrop of war. The incorporation of Holocaust-esque imagery suggests that the child, too, is ahistorical because they represent the eternal victim of war. As such, taking into account Ofelia’s attempts to resist war and disobey her evil stepfather, the film’s use of fantasy also portrays disobedience / resistance as a natural and even vital part of being a child and growing up.

The central theme in Pan’s Labyrinth is arguably that of choice, especially between good and bad, shaped by the fantasy genre convention of the three tasks, which require Ofelia to make independent choices. The faun tells her, ‘We have to make sure that your essence is intact’, which may be read as referring to Ofelia’s purity and innocence, therefore the fantasy genre portrays choice as a moral test. When Ofelia is en route to her first trial, for example, her costume is both black and white; these colours are typically connotative of evil and good, respectively, which represents Ofelia as morally untested. This theme intertwines with the coming-of-age theme in that Ofelia is reaching an age where she must make decisions, and where those decisions matter. The mantis insect, which appears as a fairy to Ofelia, acts as an on-screen action code, leading her towards the labyrinth during the film’s equilibrium; it is this other world which provides the foundation and refuge for Ofelia to find herself and explore the moral aspect of choices. Wright (2013, p. 120) supports this idea, citing Haase (2000, p. 361) in her assertion that fairy-tales are perhaps utilised by Ofelia to ‘comprehend and take emotional control over the war torn landscape of childhood.’ Indeed, through undertaking the trials set by the faun, Ofelia comes to acquire a moral conscience, which influences the important decisions that she makes in the real world. Miles (2011, p. 201) references Rose (1997, p. 17) who states that ‘the child who is able to explore the border will feel safe in experiencing violent, inner emotional conflict, and will acquire compassion for other people.’ This is true of Ofelia. She does not betray Mercedes; she tends to her ill mother by resting the mandrake root beneath her bed; and she sacrifices herself to protect her baby brother from Vidal. These are all acts of compassion.

However, Ofelia does not always choose to do the right thing. Despite being warned against it, she chooses to eat from the Pale Man’s table. In doing so, she symbolically eats from the table of fascism. This act of disobedience, although wrong, enables Ofelia to understand that certain choices can bear consequences – in this instance, the death of two fairies. She also understands that Vidal and fascism, too,+ are associated with death. What is important is not that Ofelia makes the wrong choice, but that she learns from it, thus growing as a person. Lopez-Quinones (2012, p. 51) comments that ‘only if the child does not act like a miniature adult and […] only if the child is essentially dissimilar – is it possible to assign him or her qualities that, later, are perceived as lacks or losses (such as innocence, integrity or bounty).’ Although Ofelia eats from the table, she rejects both the Pale Man and Vidal, fleeing from both. She distances herself from fascism, and so, retains her innocence and integrity. The fantasy genre, therefore, not only depicts the power of the childhood imagination as a repellent against the corruption of innocence and as the essential dissimilarity between adults and children, but portrays the theme of choice in Pan’s Labyrinth as a learning process. As Ebert (2007, n.p.) observes, what the faun ‘actually offers is not good or evil, but the choice between them.’ Furthermore, Ofelia must complete the three trials before the full moon, which, as noted by Miller (2008, n.p.), is ‘assorted with the menstrual process of women.’ The film appears to suggest, through this, that childhood is the stage in life in which, due to the innocence and purity of the child, a moral conscience can be formed free of the complications of adulthood. As such, the utilisation of the fantasy genre additionally influences the portrayal of choice as being very much a race against time.

To conclude, Pan’s Labyrinth explores such themes as coming-of-age and the onset of puberty; choice; and disobedience / resistance. The film uses multiple fantasy genre conventions to influence the way in which these themes are presented, including settings such as the forest and the labyrinth, as well as monsters like the Pale Man. Ofelia encapsulates these particular themes in that she is a child yet to come of age, untainted by the external, real dangers of war, fascism and her stepfather due to resisting them via her imagination. The fantasy world serves as a moral proving ground for Ofelia, enabling her to grow so that she may make the choices which, ultimately, help the guerrillas secure victory in the resolution.

References

EBERT, R., 2007. Pan’s Labyrinth. [Online] Available from: http://www.rogerebert.com/reviews/great-movie-pans-labyrinth-2006. [Accessed: 28/11/14].

FURBY, J. and HINES, C., 2012. Fantasy. Oxon: Routledge.

LINDSAY, R., 2012. Menstruation as Heroine’s Journey in Pan’s Labyrinth. Journal of Religion & Film. [Online] 16 (1), pp. 1-27. Available from: http://digitalcommons.unomaha.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1015&context=jrf [Accessed: 26/11/14].

LOPEZ-QUINONES, A. G., 2012. Fairies, Maquis, and Children without Schools: Romantic Childhood and Civil War in Pan’s Labyrinth. In: C. Rocha and G. Seminet, eds. Representing History, Class and Gender in Spain and Latin America: Children and Adolescents in Film. Basingstoke: Palgrave Macmillan, pp. 49-62.

LURY, K., 2010. The Child in Film: Tears, Fears and Fairy Tales. London: I.B. Tauris.

MILES, R. J., 2011. Reclaiming revelation: Pan’s Labyrinth and The Spirit of the Beehive. Quarterly Review of Film and Video. [Online] 28 (3), pp. 195-203. Available from: https://succeed.stir.ac.uk/bbcswebdav/library/eReserves/EUCU9AA_201415_Autumn_A/EUCU9AAMilesReclaiming.pdf [Accessed: 26/11/14].

MILLER, T. S., 2008. Escaping into the Real: The Fantasy of Pan’s Labyrinth. The Internet Review of Science Fiction. [Online] Available from: http://www.irosf.com/q/zine/article/10488 [Accessed: 27/11/14].

Pan’s Labyrinth, 2006. [Film] Directed by Guillermo Del Toro. UK: Optimum.

WRIGHT, S., 2013. The Child in Spanish Cinema. Manchester: Manchester University Press.

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