Pans Labyrinth

“Being a woman entails having within one’s body a secret labyrinth of power and mystery”

Chosen question – Pan’s Labyrinth represents women in a negative stereotypical way

Throughout the film women are represented in a stereotypical way, they are seen as weak and incapable of a man’s role this is mainly to add a sense of realism to the film as the way women are treated in the film is suitable to the time period in which the film is set. The first indication of the negative representation is in the opening, a girl is lying on the ground dying; this portrays a sense of defeat and shows women as being unable to overcome an enemy or dangerous situation. A close up of shot is used to emphasise this as it shows the pain in which the character is in resulting the audience assuming she has failed in what she intended to do.

The fact a character is shown to be pregnant adds to the stereotypical role of women which is to take care of the children. Throughout this pregnancy the Mother falls ill; this illness represents women having a lack of vitality as it shows they don’t have the strength to fight of something as minuet as an illness. The fact the Mother dies during child birth has a dramatic effect on the audience as it creates the impression she was over powered by the baby who happens to be male which creates subliminal sexism as it shows that men have more importance and to live.

Women also appear to be cowardly, this is clearly shown through the dialogue for example Ofelia reveals to her mother she is afraid. This creates a negative impression of women as it portrays women don’t have the courage to do heroic deeds thus representing them as the weaker sex.

The film represents women to be lower class than men, this is seen through both the costumes they wear and how they act throughout the film. The costumes contrast drastically with what the men in the film wear. The colours of the women’s costumes mainly consist of browns and off white tones which give their appearance a peasant look as they seem to all be wearing rags. Whereas the men are smartly dressed in uniforms complete with blues and black tones which connote masculinity and power.  The way the women are spoken to by men is very blunt and disrespectful and is often commands as the women follow the orders of men and appear to be servants. The captain asks Mercedes to fetch the luggage, this represents women as being flimsy as she doesn’t question or refuse to answer to his authority which shows the immense amount of respect the women have for men. The fact the insect in the film is female also creates an impression of women being a lower ranking than humans in the film as insects are seen to have no importance. It also however adds to the stereotype of women guiding the children as the insect is what leads Ofelia to where she is supposed to be.

It is stereotypical for women to work in the kitchen and this is the case in this film, most of the time when the women are being displayed they are either cooking or cleaning. The effect of this is that women are almost talentless as these tasks are basic factors of living and especially considering the men are fighting which creates contrast between the roles of men and women. This adds to a negative representation of women as it not only shows them as having less capability than men but also shows them as being slightly less academic as the tasks they undertake require very little skill and knowledge.

The weather is another key indicator of a negative representation of women. The fact it rains on Ofelia when she is undergoing a task portrays her as being helpless and creates a sense of misery as it appears women are stuck following orders, as even though she is doing something which is seen to be empowering she is still following orders from the male gender. It also suggests to the audience that women are lonely which a common representation. Rain is often associated with loneliness or depression thus the weather can be used to foreshadow the death of Ofelia’s mother as it results in women being represented as emotional, which is seen to be a weakness and this is yet another stereotypical aspect of women.  

The men in the film see women as being non-threatening  this is clear to see due to the captain’s dialogue ‘She’s just a woman’ this comes across insulting as it makes women appear completely powerless and have no capability.

Women are also represented as naïve and irresponsible, this is shown through Ofelia eating the fruit which she was told not to eat. This is a reference to the story of Adam and Eve which like the film represents women in the same foolish manor.

Websites used

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pan's_Labyrinth (For time period)

http://www.localhistories.org/womensrights.html (To see women’s role during time era)