Introduction



“Cinema is a perceptual luxury. (Bergson)” (Virilio, 1989, Pg 9). A combination of image and sound stimulates the senses for an escapist experience. The engaged indulge in a sequence of images, and within each of the frames contain signs and symbols, which allow us to interpret the story. This is successful through a process of semiotics where each sign holds some representation with connotations vital for the cinema experience. Sometimes film represents reality, sometimes hyper-reality or alternate existences, and we relate to these experiences through the de-coding of signs, conventions, and the sequence they are presented to us in. During this essay I am going to explore how representation is used in two of Guillermo del Toro’s films to communicate the character’s positioning, conflict, and resolve within the narratives: ‘The Devil’s Backbone’, and ‘Pan’s Labyrinth’. I am using Freud to examine the obvious symbols, Jung to reason the journeys undertaken by the protagonists, and in particular looking at Feminism and how the female characters and female qualities in each film are the most important in reaching the conclusions of each story.

The Devil’s Backbone (Guillermo del Toro, 2001)



‘The Devil’s Backbone’ is set in 1939 during the last year of the Spanish Civil War. There are no soldiers or war within this film, but young protagonist Carlos has arrived at the orphanage after his father is killed in the war, and finds he has a fight of his own to face. Carlos’ tutor leaves him at the orphanage much to the boy’s despair. The violence, depression, and claustrophobia within the film are relevant representations of wartime. All the characters appear to look very sad from the outset, and living seems to be something approached gloomily one day at a time. It is not just the characters that are haunted; a ghost baring a tortured soul unable to rest also haunts the grounds of the orphanage.



Carmen is the disabled headmistress of the orphanage. She and Dr. Casares run the place together through their unspoken and frustrated love. Doctor Casares is a hero and a good moral man much like Doctor Ferriero in ‘Pan’s Labyrinth’. When treating a wound on Carlos, Casares shows him how he makes money for the orphanage. He sells rum used for preserving aborted and stillborn fetuses. Including impotence, Casares claims the rum can treat many problems and he is seen drinking the special alcoholic brew.  His assumed impotence is a possible reason he and Carmen have never expressed their affection.

Jacinto, previously an orphan in the building himself, is a handy man of sorts, and is involved romantically with Carmen. The other young boys living there are a mix of characters typical of a school playground. Heroes and villains exist within the group of children just as they exist amongst the adults. Carlos has to defeat the young bully Jaime, before taking on Jacinto- the most dangerous villain in the film. The young bully Jaime dares Carlos to sneak a jug of water from the kitchen. In the cold dark night, the young boy hears a ghostly whisper, “Many of you will die.” Frightened Carlos runs away but is caught out by Jacinto. It is unknown at this time that Jacinto is the real threat. The ghostly presence chills Carlos to the bone, and also unsettling is a large bomb, detonated but said to still be ticking, sitting crashed into the ground of the courtyard. In this ghost tale, the haunting was once a boy named Santi. He vanished the night the bomb crashed. Santi warned of danger and he was referring to his murderer, Jacinto. Santi had witnessed Jacinto previously trying to access the stash of gold so Jacinto had shoved him against a wall to shut him up. The guilty murderer lowered Santi into a deep well where his dying body sank to the bottom.



The villain Jacinto has a girlfriend named Conchita. She could be compared to the hard working and courageous character Mercedes in ‘Pan’s Labyrinth,’ and they also look roughly the same age. Conchita is a good lady who cares for the boys unlike violent Jacinto who resents everyone and has more interest in a stash of gold locked in the safe of which only Carmen has the keys. Due to the dangers of the war, Dr. Casares alerts everyone to an immediate evacuation to safety. With only a care for himself Jacinto confronts Carmen and tries to get his hands on the gold before they all leave. Casares points his gun threatening Jacinto and he is driven out for the time being. Later he pours gas inside the orphanage and Conchita catches him. When she threatens him with a gun before he burns the place down, Jacinto calls her bluff and receives a bullet to the arm before throwing his lit cigarette into the gasoline. Just as Santi had warned, many people die in the fire. Doctor Casares protects the boys like a true hero and much like a father would. Waiting for Jacinto’s return he sits courageously, injured and armed at the window. Tragically, the great Doctor Casares dies of his injuries before Jacinto comes back. Brave Conchita had gone for help but ran into her boyfriend Jacinto when he stabs her to death. The young boys attack Jacinto when he arrives back at the orphanage and push him into the water where he drowned Santi. When he struggles in the water, ironically it is the weight of the gold in his pockets, it is his own greed and evil, that aids his demise, and he drowns an evil man doomed to hell The ghost of Santi seeks vengeance and justice, and he drags Jacinto deeper down to ensure his deadly fate. Justice prevails, but tragedy still ticks in their heartbeats as they grieve for the people they have lost.

Pan’s Labyrinth (Guillermo del Toro, 2006)



‘Pan’s Labyrinth’ is set in 1944, Spain, where the Civil War is over and there is resistance against the new Fascist regime. Armed men hide in the woods, and there is a military post setup to exterminate this resistance against Franco‘s army.

Both films feature births and deaths, ghosts or spiritual existences, war and violence, vengeance and justice, and a series of threats and challenges for adolescent protagonists. The conflict in both films requires the defeat of evil and so much courage that certain characters defy their conventional stereotypes. Set amongst the depression of war, both films are representative of a time when restrictions were placed upon all with the hierarchy of class, gender, age, and politics. “War can never break free from the magical spectacle because its very purpose is to produce that spectacle: to fell the enemy is not so much to capture as to ‘captivate’ him, to instill the fear of death before he actually dies. From Machiavelli to Vauban, from von Moltke to Churchill, at every decisive episode in the history of war, military theorists have underlined this truth: ‘The force of arms is not brute force but spiritual force.’ (Verso)” (Virilio, 1989, Pg 5) This emphasises the power later found in the unsuspecting characters who are not physically strong, but possess a greater spiritual strength which is much more powerful.



Ofelia arrives at the isolated location of Captain Vidal’s Military base, accompanied by her pregnant Mother, Carmen, who is carrying Vidal’s baby. Much like Carlos has comics in ‘The Devil’s Backbone,’ Ofelia has on her person many books to feed her imagination, rather than toys to fool around with or more clothes to look pretty. “The tomboy is a cultural stereotype which describes girls who have what are conventionally thought of as boyish traits: such as the ability to climb trees… they may be notably intelligent and bookish… The tomboy stereotype has provided countless girl cinemagoers with virtually the only strong and active heroine with whom they could identify, yet this heroine is invariably compromised and undermined by the film’s resolution.” (Kuhn, 1990, Pg 401) This is true in Ofelia’s case when she dies from a fatal wound to the head.



Ofelia’s young age is a vital code for her innocence. She speaks softly and cautiously to everyone showing her fragile age and awareness of how small and inferior she is in her adult and male dominated environment. She finds her place and sense of recognition through her fantasy perception as the amnesic Princess Moanna. The telling of Princess Moanna is introduced through narration at the beginning of the film, but it is at the resolve of the feature that you piece together the relevance and symbolism in this. Her mother is also gentle and cautious in manner, in fact from the beginning of their arrival it is obvious the domineering threat and control Vidal can already inflict. He is cold and rude, and much like Carlos, Ofelia does not want to be in this new and scary place, but she knows she is here to stay. The young girl meets a Faun named Pan, who at first appears dangerous to her, but turns out to be a spiritual guide. He coaches her through a series of tasks and unfortunate events. If she does all that Pan says, then perhaps her Mother and unborn brother will be safe and live free of the imposing dangers, of war, and the evil stepfather, Captain Vidal. Ofelia is a true heroine facing monsters of extraordinary kinds, completing tasks; she even sacrifices her own life for her baby brother’s. The working lady Mercedes is also heroic in assistance. Of the men, there is a brave group of anti fascist guerillas hiding in the woods (Mercedes brother being one of them) however it is Doctor Ferriero in ‘Pan’s Labyrinth’ who is the male hero of the story.

‘Pan’s Labyrinth’ is said to be the sister movie to ‘The Devil’s Backbone’. With the protagonist gender in the first made film male (Carlos), and the second being female (Ofelia). Both films offer similar displays of adolescent struggle amplified by a symbolic adventure. Both main characters go through a set of challenges where we observe their rites of passage in personal development through dangerous and often mystical situations. Some of the events that take place hold metaphorical messages of good and evil, and themes of courage and justice. The resolve in both films however, holds a harsh realism within associated tragedies, which are a result of the masculine violence before some equilibrium is found, against all the odds, but not without consequence. It is the violence in both films that keeps the stories cruel realism, and it grounds the audience amongst the fantasy, first fearing the unknown and then finding some apparent comfort in its magical presence. This is broad across a lot of Guillermo del Toro’s work, ‘Hellboy’ (2004) and ‘The Orphanage’ (2007) spring to mind. The reality of man corrupt is the real horror, not the ghosts and ghouls or fauns or fools.

Carl Jung- Spirit Guides and Personal Development



When focusing on the details of gender representation in the imagery, such semiotic symbols can be supported using the work of Freud. Later some Freudian symbols will be referenced when analysing mise en scene and gender representation. Jung can also later support the Feminist messages within ‘Pan’s Labyrinth’, and can support character analysis, especially for Ofelia. Pan is an obvious reference to roman mythology, and is a welcoming area to reaffirm some of the findings that relate to Jung and his thoughts on dreams, symbolism, spiritual growth, and mythopoeic imagination. Jung writes of Philemon, “Philemon flew to Jung in a dream, an old man with bull’s horns, holding a bunch of 4 keys, one ready to open a lock. He had kingfishers wings.” (Hyde, McGuinness, 1992, Pg 53) Pan could be compared to this figure of imagination. “Mythopoeic Imagination: Who or what is Philemon? From a psychiatric point of view, Jung was talking to himself and Philemon is fantasy, a psychotic symptom, similar to the delusions and voices suffered by the schizophrenic. Within the framework of Jung’s later work in analytical psychology, Philemon can be labeled an “archetypal image of the spirit” from the fund of unconscious images, which can fatally confuse the mental patient. But it is also the matrix of “mythopoeic imagination” which has vanished from our rational age. Though such imagination is present everywhere, it is both tabooed and dreaded.” (Hyde, McGuinness, 1992, Pg 55) The presence of Pan could be a figment of Ofelia’s imagination. The point is, imagination or symbolic representation or not, the importance of the psyche alone and a fantasy spawn from a growing soul, holds great purpose in the individual’s personal development. The messenger, or spirit guide; perhaps even a child’s ‘imaginary friend’ is an example of this. The ghost of Santi is the spirit guide in ‘The Devil’s Backbone.’ “The patient struggling to make sense of a disturbing symbol, an obscure dream or fantasy image, releases the unconscious meaning of the archetypes. Jung calls this the transcendent function, the archetypal process which brings into the consciousness a previously unconscious content and restores the psyche to healthy balance.” (Hyde, McGuinness, 1992, Pg 63) Ofelia’s character transcends from the dying young girl who has completed all necessary tasks, to transform and elevate to this royal existence, safe with the King and Queen, as Princess Moanna.

Ofelia vs. Princess Moanna



“Another model of the psyche emerged out of Jung’s confrontation with the unconscious- a model that was influenced by Jung’s relationships of conflict. This I would call a “conflict model.” Conflict/resolution and dualism/non-dualism live side by side in the two models of the psyche, in unresolved tension with one another... Jung cites much other opposition besides the ones we have noted: for example, a division between “inner” and “outer” experience, and the fact that every archetypal image consists of two poles - a “negative” and a “positive.” Tension between the oppositions in the psyche is central to its functioning. As Jung said: “Submission to the fundamental contrariety of human nature amounts to an acceptance of the fact that the psyche is at cross purposes with itself.” The tension between the opposites takes many forms. One is the opposition the shadow presents to the conscious personality. Without this opposition, Jung argued, “the necessary tension would be lacking.” Jung goes on to discuss the need for synthesis that the opposition implies, and the fact that the psyche finally produces symbols that unify… Jung believed that the cessation of tension in the psyche would end in death. Tension is life energy itself.” (Wehr, 1987, Pg 43)

Carl Jung and Feminism



Feminism, and Jungian theology and psychology, are normally considered opposing narratives, but in fact there are qualities from each which can form a supportive dialogue when analysing ‘Pan’s Labyrinth’. It is easy to become consumed by a particular way of thinking to the absolute point of disregarding the considerations of others, and this is almost like a vehicle of religion. It is important to recognise that nothing is absolute and different ideas can compliment each other when searching for truth and meaning. Through generalisation one could be offended by some of Jung’s points appearing sexist and some believe Jung should be condemned for stating the feminine as merely less than the masculine, with no soul, and that he furthers the fight of Feminism. This view is useful when observing the attitude and portrayal of women in both society and film over the ages, however he has a range of ideas. Receptivity is something he exclusively applies to the feminine and this intuition I recognize as a feminine quality I not only feel that I possess, but that I notice especially in mother’s and their instinctual and almost psychic connection to their children, and is supportive of my ‘day-dreaming’ and fantastical nature, as well as the fantasy world and identity of Princess Moanna parallel to the realist existence of Ofelia amongst the Fascist regime. The oppression and victim mentality of women that Jung speaks of can be seen in the first half of ‘Pan’s Labyrinth’. The strength and revolution of the Feminist breaks through this old fashioned but seemingly true state in the second half of the film. Without the truth found of Jung’s observations, Feminism would still exist, and it is the points that he raises, which are the cause for Feminist movement, but Jung himself is not to be blamed for widespread gender positioning in society. Furthermore, the stereotyping of masculinity, which often includes ‘the warrior’ and traits of physical strength and aggression, is this not also a form of sexism? It is useful to read the simplification of symbols and their connotations from Freud theory, but also Jung and his ideas of the feminine and the masculine, balanced with his theories on inner personalities of opposing gender within all of our subconscious’s helps to define the different characters and their gender representation. So called gender traits or qualities can be misused and misinterpreted and displayed in ways that are sexist to both genders, depending on the context. One could also argue that religion is predominantly sexist in that the religious teachers and divine god, is of the majority referenced as male, God, Jesus, Allah etc. Feminists should calm themselves in their defensive attitude towards Jung. It does not appear to say that one sex is better than the other, he just emphasises difference and offers explanation other than the obvious biological differences, and furthermore suggests elements of male characteristics in a female and vice-versa. “Animus is the archetype of reason and spirit in women. This is the male aspect of the female psyche, as the anima is the female aspect of male psyche.” (www.carl-jung.net/animus.html, accessed 27/01/13) Pan could be a representation of Ofelia’s inner male personality or ‘animus.’



“The ramifications of this opposition Jung finds in multiple guises, ranging from matter/spirit (matter = feminine principle; spirit = masculine principle) to Sol/Luna (Sol = the Sun, masculine consciousness; Luna = the Moon, the feminine consciousness), to Rex and Regina in alchemy (the King and Queen), to the conscious male ego opposed by the unconscious anima (the image of the feminine in the male psyche) and the conscious female ego opposed by the unconscious animus (the image of the masculine in the female psyche).” (Wehr, 1987, Pg 47) “Ann Ulanov, a Jungian analyst, likewise finds weaknesses in the position of many feminists, deploring the absence of introspection and self-criticism inherent in blaming others (i.e., patriarchy or men) for one’s problems. She points out that such blaming robs women of their own authority, giving it once again to men.” (Wehr, 1988, Pg 2) In ‘The Devil’s Backbone’ Carmen is a strong female role model from the start who displays an essence of true Feminism. She is independent despite her losing a limb and being disabled, and she is the head of the orphanage. Carmen is a likeable character- no bitterness or chip on her shoulder, just a service to care for the boys and get through each day as best she can.

It is only the men in ‘Pan’s Labyrinth ‘who have succumbed to the negative traits of the masculine who are the enemy, and they are the sheep following of the violent and evil Captain Vidal. They possess a negative attitude, not just to all who oppose the regime, but even the women they allegedly have ‘on-side’ working on the farms, in the kitchens, and bearing their children. Corrupt, obscene, and devilish, Vidal and his men are nothing like Mercedes’ brother, the Doctor, or Jung. Most of the women in ‘Pan’s Labyrinth’ do indeed adopt a victim mentality and are oppressed in the first half. In Spain during the Civil War and living in the military base surrounded by men and their weapons, it is hardly surprising. Helplessly, Ofelia’s mother is a good example a woman being consumed by this oppression and it actually resulting in her demise. Specifically, ‘Pan’s Labyrinth’ is a very pro- feminist film. The main villain, Vidal, a corrupt and devilish masculine authority impregnates Ofelia’s mother, and the male baby kills her during childbirth. Ofelia’s mother offers a representation of women’s position in a sexist society, whilst Ofelia, of a new generation, embraces her feminine (faith, intuition, instinct to nurture) and this liberating acceptance of female self and the adventures and challenges she faces, brings about a revolutionary change for all the women in the film and also for the future. Ofelia is a heroine: without masculine physical strength, without masculine weapons, she conquers.



The only hero amidst the men is the Doctor, who happens to be the only male not armed with masculine and phallic weaponry or chauvinistic views or behaviour. The two dominating women in the story, Ofelia and Mercedes, adopt the conventionally masculine trait of courage. Ofelia deals not with the masculine weapons and such. Mercedes does however, she is armed with a blade, a domestic tool she uses when working in the kitchen, which she then disguises by wrapping in her apron, part of her feminine costume, to later use in masculine confrontation. This is symbolic of her unsuspecting feminine nature, projected as the weaker gender and the introvert, when really what lies beneath the surface is a woman ready for revolution, ready for vengeance. Ofelia is oppressed in a male dominated environment surrounded by masculine symbols and, “difficult is the task in which women are engaged, showing the depth at which symbols of the ‘feminine’ and the ‘masculine’ operate. To see beyond the false claims of andocentric religion and, at the same time, not to lose sight of the central importance of religion in human life, as well as to find spiritual paths that nourish women, is one of our most challenging tasks today.” (Wehr, 1988, Pg 24) Ofelia embraces both her feminine qualities and equally important her inner masculine personality or ‘anima’ (Jung). She retreats to a feminine world created by feminine symbols and shapes (a labyrinth) while she seeks spiritual guidance and begins her quest to save her brother, symbolically, the feminine is saving mankind.

Mise en scene and Gender



In ‘Pan’s Labyrinth’, colour is used overtly to signify meaning. In a male dominated world, women and men are divided with colour-coded costumes. The women wear raggedy dresses- dark green, grey, black, and often thick and comfortable knits suitable for domesticity. The military men wear a blue suit uniform. Blue is the stereotypical boy’s colour, and also a ‘boys and their toys’ situation refers to their main prop of guns. The soldiers also have a lot of gold in their costume: buttons, buckles, and a part of the emblem on their hats and collars. This uniform and use of gold represents their wealth and status in comparison to all the other characters, and the guns signify their aggressive power. There is often a very blue look to the film and this could be connected to the men wearing blue dominating the environment; even the green woodland looks blue when the military search for the resistance. A filter in post-production has been used to achieve this. The men of the resistance hiding in the woods wear brown and black and there is a very brown projection of colour increasing as we learn more about them plotting to resist the men in blue and save those who are held captive.



Geographically both films are set in isolated locations. This, paired with the claustrophobia of the villain’s masculine control, makes for tense viewing. In ‘Pan’s Labyrinth’ the military base they inhabit is solitary in the depths of countryside beside some woodland, and ‘The Devil’s Backbone’ is set in an orphanage surrounded by empty desert and dirt tracks. These isolated environments both controlled by a high authority gives a feeling of captivity and vulnerability as so far detached from the rest of the world, and from help when it is needed. Jordan and Morgan-Tamosunas say about ‘Pan’s Labyrinth’, “The isolation and mystique of the rural setting contribute to the elevation of these figures to the level of myth.” (Hessel and Huppert, 2009, Pg 48) Mise en Scene shows Pan leading Ofelia out of the darkness we first meet him in, and towards a stronger status as our heroine of the film, and saviour to her friends and baby brother. Symbolic of femininity, the design holds feminine curved angles and attractive round shapes for the interior labyrinthine world the little girl immerses herself in, whilst sharp angles and regimented lines in the rural building, military costume, and the phallic guns Vidal and his men are armed with create a masculine territory. Similar to ‘Pan’s Labyrinth’ displaying this high contrast of gender representation in its architecture, with key icons of a round and curvaceous nature, accompanied by phallic tunnels and feminine doors, with the masculine territory of the military base, ‘The Devil’s Backbone’ boasts a phallic bomb crashed into the ground some time ago which could go off at any moment, contrasted with a feminine spiral staircase leading to the truth about Santi, as well as tunnels, caves, and doors, also all leading to mysterious places, and holding many secrets along their journeys to hold the key to beating the masculine threat. “Correcting these stereotypes will open up a new world of film themes. And new images of women and men in film will provide more constructive models for film viewers.” (Thornham, 1999, Pg 19) Guillermo Del Toro uses the first half of the narrative to depict women in a way truthful to the male perspective of the time in which the film is set; weak, dismissed, objectified, and sexualized, before the feminine occupancy of the film becomes stronger and more powerful as the film unravels. It is then true to the time in which it is made, reflecting women appropriately as it concludes with a clear message of the beauty of feminine power and values more keeping with the revolutionary views of feminine acceptance within society. Ofelia and Mercedes are very important characters displaying this transition. Our heroine, Ofelia, against all odds and stereotypes of gender and age, conquers all and even sacrifices her own life, like a real fighter would.



Mercedes appears to fit the bill for female stereotype. Wearing a dark green shawl, she cooks and cleans appearing passive for the Captain and his men. Her costume does change to a brown top later in the film, signifying her alliance with the men in the woods. In the kitchen, Mercedes’ useful prop is the knife she cuts vegetables with. Cunningly this knife is wrapped in her apron ready for defending her self and others. This makes Mercedes the only armed woman, though her knife should not be a match for the many guns the male soldiers have, nonetheless she is prepared to put up a fight. When Mercedes takes on the role of mother figure to Ofelia, she is asked to sing her a lullaby, and it really is a beautiful melancholy moment of bonding. There is more to Mercedes than meets the eye; she is not merely the maid. Secretly she works with the Doctor to sneak food and supplies into the woods where her brother is one of the hunted. She risks her life for the well being of her brother. This is a connection between the two heroines, as the film develops it is clear Mercedes and Ofelia must protect their brothers. Ideology in gender would say it should be the men looking after the women. The women prove themselves to be as strong, clever and courageous as men; this is a positive representation for female gender.



A negative representation of male gender in ‘Pan’s Labyrinth’ is Captain Vidal. He shaves with a sharpened blade, this connotes an extreme macho, he is even grooming with his weapon! “There is no war, then, without representation, no sophisticated weaponry without psychological mystification. Weapons are tools not just of destruction but also of perception.” (Virilio, 1989, Pg 6)  We see a close up of Vidal, and also Jacinto in ‘The Devil’s Backbone’, through their reflections in mirrors- and in both scenes blades are present in the mirror’s image within the frame. This could be a narrative code of the comeuppance and deserving demise of the villains. Both villains are like evil stepfathers to our young protagonists. This can be likened to a gender reversal of the Grimm’s fairytales, which often have wicked stepmothers. “Captain Vidal, the wicked stepfather of Pan’s Labyrinth, serves both as the real-world, real-life villain within the film’s ontology of Franco’s Spain, and also the cipher by which the monstrosities of faerie can be understood. The two monsters of Pan’s Labyrinth, the Monstrous Toad and the Pale Man, can be read as expressions of Vidal’s monstrosity, viewed through the child sight lens of Faerie.” (Perschon, www.tor.com/blogs/2011/05/the-darkness-of-pans-labyrinth, accessed 16/11/12)



There is graphic violence in both films. In ‘Pan’s Labyrinth’ Captain Vidal assumes two men are from the resistance, and without hesitation batters the son in the face with a phallic bottle until he dies. He then shoots the Father in the neck. They had claimed not to be the enemy and just hungry hunting for rabbits. Vidal finds a dead rabbit on them, which proves so, but with no remorse takes the animal back for himself. He has a huge ego that takes pleasure in violence and he is a hunter. The Captain also tortures the stuttering man, and challenges him to count to three without stutter. This is emphasised with cinematography and sound. There is a chance to really loathe Vidal for his evil, with a lingered close-up to reveal the flow of blood from the stuttering man’s mouth, and the height of volume for every breath, number and stutter we receive in anticipation. Laura Hubner explains how this scene “reveals the illusory façade of the Francoist rural idyll by exposing an uncomfortably “real” cruelty and violence at its core.” (Hessel and Huppert, 2009, Pg 47) Vidal is a male chauvinist, and all he cares about is having a son to take his place and carry his name. Female’s fear of death, childbirth and male bloodlines are themes often rooted in gothic horror and fairytales. His naivety towards women is amusing when he catches Mercedes out. Finding letters and tobacco on her person, he then asks his comrade to leave the two of them alone. The man asks if he is sure and Vidal replies, “For God’s sake, she’s just a woman” underestimating what she is capable of- Mercedes takes advantage of his confidence and stabs him from behind with her vegetable knife. “Motherfucker… Don’t you dare touch the girl! You won’t be the first pig I’ve gutted!” Mercedes slices the knife from his mouth through his cheek- a little defense, but mostly revenge. A female character normally subdued rises up and fights for what she believes is right, placing herself in greater danger.



The tragedy of Santi in ‘The Devil’s Backbone’ is due to cruel and unnecessary violence from the egotistic and aggressive Jacinto. A blow to the head as he is shoved against a wall, which is emphasised very high in the mix of the sound for maximum impact, has Santi fall to the floor and die. Jacinto is later violent towards the boys in the orphanage, as well as betraying the man who is head of the house by sleeping with his adored lady Carmen. Jacinto later sets fire to the building when he is unable to sustain control over the people there.



‘The Devil’s Backbone’ also has a character named Carmen. She is the woman of the house running the orphanage Carlos has just moved into. She is in love with a Doctor who is kind and good and reminiscent of Doctor Ferreiro in this way. Unfortunately she is having a romance with the villain of the film, Jacinto, since she does not acknowledge her true love and the Doctor’s impotence leaves him passive and withdrawn from their connection. Jacinto also grew up in the orphanage he appears to resent. Carmen was like a mother figure to him growing up, and now they are lovers. After the war, Carmen was left a cripple with only one leg, and now a wooden prosthetic keeps her on her feet. There is a strange and sensual moment after they have made love, where Jacinto helps to fit her wooden leg back on to the remaining stump. Fitting, and tightening the leg is another display of his thirst for control. He seduces her once more keeping her off her feet, and through which time, Dr. Casares hears their cries of lust through the wall from the next room.



A positive representation of male gender is Doctor Casares (‘The Devil’s Backbone’) and Doctor Ferreiro (‘Pan’s Labyrinth’). Ferreiro is the only man unarmed in ‘Pan’s Labyrinth’. In alliance with the resistance, the Doctor’s costume is also brown and grey. A large brown briefcase filled with medicines and apparatus help to signify his role. Fitting with his professionalism, he has no intentions of hurting anyone nor does he feel the need to force his presence as man or Doctor in an aggressive way. In fact, my ideology has me read the Doctor as the only real man in this story. The euthanasia scene puts him in a situation where the Captain will discover his betrayal. Vidal asks, “Why did you not obey me?” Ferreiro replies, “To obey- just like that- for the sake of obeying, without questioning…that’s something only people like you can do, Captain.” Ferreiro’s morals are more important to him than succumbing to the evil of Vidal. Sadly, the legendary Ferreiro is then shot, but he dies a great hero. When the bullet hits him, he pauses for a moment facing the camera, he then continues to stand proud and walk on until his life is taken from us and he falls to the floor.



Neither gender nor age stereotypes are any object to the protagonists. ‘The Devil’s Backbone’ we have a courageous young boy, Carlos, supported by strong women, and our heroine in ‘Pan’s Labyrinth’, the courageous and triumphant Ofelia. Her age being pre-pubescent is a vital code for her innocence. She speaks softly and cautiously to everyone showing her fragile age and awareness of how small and inferior she is in her adult male dominated environment. She finds her place and sense of recognition through her potentially fantastical perception as the amnesic Princess Moanna. Her costume is a plain dark green dress wrapped in a grey coat- part of the powerfully depressing Mise en Scene gender colour code. Her dress and black beret have her appear smart and well mannered (‘Children should be seen and not heard’), as do the white ankle socks with smart black shoes which are reminiscent of primary school for me, and indeed that is the age signified. Apart from a small satchel, books seem to be the bulk of her luggage- not toys or clothes, which instantly signifies Ofelia as being an intelligent and thoughtful young girl with a great imagination. The mystical creatures she meets reflect the content of her fairytale books.

Fantasy and Fairytale



One of the creatures Ofelia meets is a ‘faun’ named Pan. “In Roman Mythology fauns are place-spirits (genii) of untamed woodland.” Walt Disney has often used woodland as a symbolic representation warning children not to stray from the footpath. An idea on female gender and feminism is the desire to stray. Pan gives Ofelia the ‘Book of Crossroads.’ She has three tasks she must complete, during which there is a representation of a female gender identity which progresses. There is a toad she must feed magic beans so it turns inside out to reveal a key, and these tasks are dangerous, but she consistently faces her fear and is brave. By the second task Ofelia’s costume has lightened from dark green to a pistachio green. She has hope and courage. For the next task she must not sample the feast before her. The desire to stray and the attraction of risk is present. Unable to resist, Ofelia eats some grapes and disturbs an evil child-eating monster, which then chases her. The grapes could be compared to the apple in the Garden of Eden, and Eve giving into temptation supporting the idea of female‘s attraction to fear. Both non-age and non-gender descript, the toad and pale-man monster, are likely analogies to how the young girl feels towards the evil happening around her. Originally, Pan in Roman mythology, has a huge penis, and although he is non-gender descript in the film, it is the aggression of masculinity that threatens and intimidates her. Feeling foolish, Ofelia redeems herself through a precious act of instinct, the sacrifice of her life for her brother’s. That was the greatest task of them all, defining her strength, and elevating her to a greater state of being as Princess Moanna.



There is an important book in ‘The Devil’s Backbone’ too. Protagonist Carlos saves another orphan named Jaime from drowning which results in Jacinto cutting his face. After proving his brotherhood and courage he earns Jaime’s respect so he stops bullying him. Jaime offers him a drawing and some cake in return for a stolen comic book but Carlos does not trust him and is tired and very unhappy in his surroundings so declines feeling deflated and lonely. Another young orphan boy tells Carlos the story of Santi and how he disappeared the night the bomb was dropped. Although Jaime says he does not believe in the ghost, Carlos looks in Jaime's sketchbook and finds a picture of Santi bleeding. Carlos asks the mysterious and undetonated bomb to show him where Santi is. A paper streamer miraculously gets caught on the bomb and then leads him to the truth. Carlos is so scared he runs away, but later he faces his fear. Books have a lot to teach us all and should not be neglected in this technology driven post-modern world. Fairytales are also timeless in their teachings of moral code and conduct. Carlos and Ofelia are very brave, Ofelia tricks Captain Vidal into drinking her mother’s medication. Cleverly she laces his liquor glass and leaves him almost unconscious.

The relationship between Ofelia and her Mother Carmen shows the line between childhood fantasy and adult reality, “I saw a fairy!” Carmen replies, “Just look at your shoes!”. The child is very fond of her Mother, typical of a girl that age. When she meets Mercedes and asks whether she has met her Mother she insists, “Isn’t she beautiful?”. When Carmen dies in childbirth, Ofelia’s relationship to Mercedes becomes more important. The young girl naturally needs a mother figure. When referring to the woodland and labyrinth, Mercedes warns like a Mother would, “Better not go in there. You may get lost,” hinting at the traditional ingredient of woodland in fairytale formula where dangers often lurk. The morals in both films take conventions from fairytale formula, the resolve must be that good conquers evil, and the villains die. “If the Big Bad Wolf must die to make the horror a fairy tale, so too must Captain Vidal. (…) (…) These monsters are clearly Vidal’s avatars in Faerie. All of the monsters in Pan’s Labyrinth are blatantly evil, without remorse for their actions. All act from unrestrained appetite: the frog devouring the tree, the Pale Man dining upon the blood of innocents (his skin hangs in flaps, implying that he had once been much larger), and Vidal sucking the vitality out of the people around him. The first two are monstrous in their physical aspect; the Pale Man is especially frightening as he pursues Ofelia down his subterranean corridors, hand stretched in longing, pierced with ocular stigmata, “the better to see you with.” (…) An attentive viewer will also note further foreshadowing in the similarity of the Pale Man’s staggering gait and outstretched hand, and Vidal’s drugged pursuit of Ofelia with arm outstretched to aim his pistol.” (Perschon, www.tor.com/blogs/2011/05/the-darkness-of-pans-labyrinth, accessed 16/11/12)



The evil stepfather like models in both films (Vidal and Jacinto) are like a gender role reversal of the evil stepmother in a Grimm’s fairytale such as ‘Cinderella’ (Jacob and Wilhelm Grimm, 1812), where just as she must embark on a struggle against her authoritative evil stepmother to become a real woman, and that of royal life, Ofelia has a similar struggle where she is helped by fairies and a faun, as Cinderella is helped by mice and a fairy godmother. It is not clear whether this is a merging of parallel universes, or a dream-like alternate reality that we see Ofelia living her life through. There are dream sequence fairytales like this in other films you could compare to ‘Pan’s Labyrinth’ which are- Disney’s ‘Alice In Wonderland’ (Geronimi, Jackson, Luske, 1951)- a fairytale novel written by Lewis Carroll in 1865, and ‘The Wizard Of Oz’ (Fleming, 1939)- a fairytale originally written in 1900 by L. Frank Baum. “… Fantasy is a distinct narrative form. One of the most influential works in this area to influence film theorists has been Tzvetan Todorov’s The Fantastic: A Structural Approach to a Literary Genre. Extending Todorov’s approach, some theorists argue that fantasy should also be seen as an expression of unconscious drives. This view emphasizes the importance of recurring themes and motifs such as the doppelganger, mirror images, and bodily transformations.” (Radstone, 1990, Pg 143) The most obvious movie comparison is ‘Labyrinth’ (Henson, 1986) and also ‘Mirror Mask’ (McKean, 2005). Like these, there is a montage of dream vs. reality- a significant trait of childhood and themes for creating the narrative trajectory and rites of passage story. Simone de Beauvoir says, “One is not a woman, one is not born a woman, one becomes a woman.” (Evans, 1998, Pg 87) Ofelia certainly grows to strength and maturity way beyond her elders. Unlike some well-known contemporary heroines such as ‘Buffy the Vampire Slayer’ and ‘Scully’ in ‘The X-Files,’ Ofelia cannot use her sexuality to any advantage due to her age of innocence. Nonetheless she is the real hero and idol, and this goes against the stereotypes formed of both children and women.

Feminism and Freud



‘Pan’s Labyrinth’ and ‘The Devil’s Backbone ‘both hold positive and negative sexual representation according to gender. The female sexuality of mother Carmen is not erotic but natural, and respected as a symbol of fertility within the narrative.  Unfortunately childbirth kills her and this is a display of fear of childbirth, a key convention in many horror films, especially when the Father of the conception is a monster, supernatural, or like Vidal. Figs can be interpreted as sexual symbols. “Sacred to the Greeks and Romans, the fig was said to be a gift to the people from the Greek god of wine and agriculture, Dionysus, the fig was included along with the phallus as a fertility symbol. This association is the origin of its sexual symbolism.” (DeVries, http://medicinalherbinfo.org/herbs/FigTree.html, accessed 27/01/13) “Ofelia’s entrance into the colossal fig tree inhabited by the Monstrous Toad presents a subtle sexual imagery. The entrance to the tree is shaped like a vaginal opening with its curved branches resembling fallopian tubes, a resemblance which Del Toro himself points out in the DVD commentary. The tree’s sickened state mirrors her pregnant mother’s fragile condition, further manifested by a vision of blood-red tendrils creeping across the page of Ofelia’s magic book. This vision occurs immediately prior to Ofelia’s mother’s collapse due to a complication in the pregnancy, as copious amounts of blood run from between her legs.” (Perschon, www.tor.com/blogs/2011/05/the-darkness-of-pans-labyrinth, accessed 16/11/12). Negative female sexualisation in ‘Pan’s Labyrinth’ is purposely and persuasively done for the audience to not enjoy, since they empathise with Carmen, as before her demise she is humiliated at the dinner table whilst Vidal flirts with the provocative female company. This supports the feminist ideology of the narrative.

“Freud and Femininity: For Freud, femininity is complicated by the fact that it emerges out of a crucial period of parallel development between the sexes; a period he sees as masculine, or phallic, for both boys and girls. The terms he uses to conceive of femininity are the same as those he has mapped out for the male, causing certain problems of language and boundaries to expression. These problems reflect, very accurately, the actual position of women in patriarchal society (suppressed, for instance, under the generalized male third person singular). One term gives rise to a second as its complimentary opposite, the male to the female, in that order.” (Penley, 1988, Pg 70)



It is true that the classic feminine values of receptiveness and soft sensitive and thoughtful nature are positive traits which make the women the beautiful characters they are, but it is also how they go against the grain of stereotype and possess the masculine qualities such as courage which are recognised by Freud in the feminine, and are confrontational and friction causing recognized by Jung in the ‘archetypes’ of our being. The women win the battle between good and evil and stand stronger than the men. Other than the acceptance that a female can contain both feminine and masculine qualities, and the obvious symbology in mise en scene that can be explained using Freud, that is where his academia leaves us. The reason for this is his ever referencing to sexuality desire, libido etc, for these films are not consistently in-keeping with the conventions of female sexualisation, nor does it typically sexualise women like most Hollywood films. Instead, these films are about- strong women, love (as in ‘thy neighbour’), good and evil, the experience of youth to adulthood, justice, and transcendence. Through this, stereotypes are broken down, and the negative female representation at the beginning of the films is eradicated.



“Long has a dialogue between feminism and psychoanalysis existed. Central to scholarly thinking involving psychoanalysis is the attempt to deconstruct female visual pleasures and identify appropriate models that can adequately account for female subjectivity and desire beyond restrictive binary structures defined by masculine spectatorial pleasures- pre-eminently scopophilia and fetishism.” (McCabe, 2004, Pg 88)

Camera and Representation



In Laura Mulvey’s text ‘Visual Pleasure and Narrative Cinema’ (Erens, 1990, Pgs 28-39) the male ‘gaze’ through which films are constructed and projected is fully explained. Even as a woman you become engrossed in a male perspective of looking, this can be casually or sexually voyeuristic, and this seduction is often before a female character reveals transition into a femme fatale, a convention popular in Film Noir. A Femme Fatale was classically evil but in more modern Neo Noir films such as ‘Taxi Driver’ (Scorsese, 1978) things are not so black and white. In the films discussed in this essay, the ‘femmes’ are positive since the ‘fatale’ refers to the masculine villains: To the stepfathers of both films, Captain Vidal and Jacinto, the women are a threat, a femme fatale to their plans, however these males are the evil villains within the film, and the femmes are indeed the heroines.



The camerawork in both films is at times voyeuristic with many long and establishing shots to show this. There are many close-ups and extreme close-ups to show the unfolding emotion within the challenges for each character. There are a few high angles from the villain’s point of views to show inferiority below and low angles for the opposite, all in conjunction with the women, the young, and the resistance, however this is not over used for a good reason- deliberate because the young and the female characters have growing potency and recognition whilst the enemy men are shown negatively, and are stupid and naïve with their assuming power. The point is that women are stronger than the society and culture of that time say they should be. This is shown often by giving the audience Ofelia’s or Carlo’s point of view through the lens of the camera, providing not only relations to their characters as we see through their eyes, but also to remind us that their opinion and perspective is bigger and wiser than what first appears. Captain Vidal’s comment, “For God’s sake, she’s just a woman,” is a great narrative code challenging gender, and hinting at what is ironically to come, Vidal is unaware that his ideal is an antithesis.  A hint at the importance and power of Ofelia in ‘Pan’s Labyrinth’ can be seen at the beginning of the film as she stares directly into our eyes, and the camera lens through which we are about to watch her story.



In ‘The Devil’s Backbone’, the POV (point of view) of the camera, switches from the protagonist Carlos’ perspective, to seeing through the eyes of the ghost of Santi. It is voyeuristic as he spies on the boy. At the end of the film the survivors begin the long and dusty walk into town and there is a wide shot looking through the door from inside the burnt orphanage. Doctor Casares’ ghost watches over them from the charred building he will also now haunt.



The first and last shot of Ofelia (‘Pan’s Labyrinth’) where we see her laying on the ground with a fatal wound to the head is almost identical to the first shot of Santi (‘The Devil’s Backbone’) where he also lays on the ground with a fatal wound to his head. Santi is the main character from a previous tale, which unfolds as the victim and later ghost, makes himself visible to the protagonist, Carlos, with messages about the past and present danger. ‘Pan’s Labyrinth’ also has a messenger who comes in the form of a creature from Roman mythology known as a faun, and this character is named Pan. Both films are perceptually and mystically suggestive, providing a supernatural that only we the audience and the protagonists can see and understand. The ghost of Santi is his new alternate existence since death, and Princess Moanna is Ofelia’s alternate existence post death. Ideas of this magical and royal world are left open in ‘Pan’s Labyrinth’. Princess Moanna could be a pure state of being that Ofelia resides in amongst a parallel universe, or more deeply it could be her soul before birth and after death, or perhaps Princess Moanna is a dream of who Ofelia aspires to be in her imagination. None of the answers above would lessen the importance; the emotion of all possible ideas is both powerful and thought provoking.

Sound



Interestingly Ofelia’s story is accompanied by male narration, but the most poignant and evoking component of sound is of course Mercede’s lullaby which plays during the opening sequence also. It is a male dominated environment, but femininity envelops like a warm breeze and transforms the characters. In both films the all-important fatal head injuries to Ofelia and Santi are emphasised during the sound production: as they are louder in the mix for maximum impact.  During the scene in ‘Pan’s Labyrinth’ where the stuttering man has been captured by Captain Vidal, he has been told that if he can speak without stutter, that he will be let free. As we hear each stutter, the desperate rhythm, my lungs only allow a tiny breath of air in and out to flow, as if my chest is as panicked and my life as threatened as his. The stutter is a result of his fear and vulnerability, and the sound of this during the scene seems to be as loud and personal as if I was stuttering, as if I was about to be killed, and there is nothing he or I can do about it.



Conclusion


You could say ‘Pan’s Labyrinth’ is a woman’s film in many ways, and that the male Doctor is a token of positive male representation for the male audience to identify with. I almost feel if it was not for the Doctor that this film would be Feminist even reminiscent of the Feminist films made exclusively by women only in the 1970s, perhaps a little gender prejudiced and basically defying the whole point and concept of duality, harmony, gender being non biological, and how the feminine and masculine species can revolutionise society by borrowing qualities from each other on the quest for transcendence and peace.
There is an art of persuasion in all filmmaking, and this persuasion achieved through moving image and sound is experienced by the viewer and read in different ways depending on the individual. The reading will contain a number of signs and representations given through mise en scene, script and music. I can apply myself as both an active and passive reader to ‘Pan’s Labyrinth’; the fantasy offers me some escapism rendering me quite vulnerable in my state of being as I quite literally offer my whole self and imagination to being lost in the narrative with my emotions being played like puppet strings; on the other hand the politics, the horror, and the positive female representation appears to awaken me, and I am actively excited recognizing and relating to the female characters and watching them grow as I hope I have through my life as I have become a woman. I find myself placing Ofelia and Mercedes on pedestals and I quite idolise them for their moral values and courage. I see a beautiful woman sexualised negatively or positively in a film and as a female audience member I will either feel she has been demoralised, or I will envy and appreciate her beauty, it depends on the content and context. With the latter it would be fair to say that I have been persuaded and seduced by the filmmaker and the female actor by other beauties such as courage and intelligence, and that they are far more desirable than any kind of sex appeal “seducing women into femininity.” (Thornham, 1999, Pg.85) The art here is how convincingly I feel seduced not by the ‘femininity’ but by the ‘feminist’ female both in the film and within. A strong relation is formed and admittedly I am routing for this protagonist more than I would if Ofelia was male. You could say ‘The Devil’s Backbone’ is a film more focused for a male viewer, and like Ferriero is a positive token for the male audience to relate to, Conchita and Carmen are tokens of strong women and feminism for the female audience. Even today there are very few women Spanish filmmakers. The positioning of women and attitude towards them culturally and economically in Spain is still less so than what has been achieved in countries such as England and America in the present day. During the time of the Spanish Civil War, when women were working but still not respected as equals, a female filmmaker, Rosario Pi, directed ‘El gato montes/The Wildcat’ (1935) and ‘Molinos de viento’ (1937). “… in the midst of the Civil War. Like many others she was forced into exile, and she died in 1968 without ever directing again.” (Radstone, 1990, Pg 381) To learn this has sent a shiver down my spine. I am moved knowing that the next time I watch ‘Pan’s Labyrinth’, especially as a female viewer, my experience will also apply this history to the adventure and the fight fought by Ofelia, almost as if it is dedicated to Rosario. In the early days codes and conventions were used to gloss over taboo subjects in Film. Violence was over looked and the death of male Fascists was glorified making them heroes who sacrificed for Spain and for God. ‘Pan’s Labyrinth’ and ‘The Devil’s Backbone’ however, reinstate the truth behind the brutal horror of the regime and the traumas caused by Fascism and male brutality, and promote positive representations of female gender, while innocent youth represents a possibility of revolution for the future, through love and the correct moral code. Masculine violence and hunger for power can result in demise, yet sensitivity and emotional intelligence, qualities found in femininity potentially residing in both genders, are what appear to be the foundations for social progression.