Through the Labyrinth: a 3-Step Quest for Spiritual and Ideological Freedom

Follow the faun into the depths of the labyrinth for this close analysis of Guillermo de Toro’s dark fantasy film Pan’s Labyrinth (2006). Find out how it uses historical references to explore and investigate national and transnational concerns.

Guillermo de Toro’s dark fantasy film Pan’s Labyrinth (2006), uses historical references to explore and investigate national and transnational concerns. Through alluding to Spanish history, Pagan mythology and occultism, and in correlation with the responder’s own context, the film can be interpreted in two opposing ways. Set in 1944 fascist Spain and focusing on tension between the soldiers and rebels in this conflict, the audience are prepared to read the film as a representation of history. Through this interpretation, de Toro bids the Spanish nation to recall and reflect on the wrongs of the past. Furthermore, through this interpretation, pagan references are used allegorically to portray aspects of Fascism. However, by considering these symbols in their own merit, Pan’s Labyrinth comes to reveal the primal and innate aspects of human nature. The importance of naturalism in relation to the Earth, therefore, is amplified through the modern ideological perception of de Toro. Through this interpretation, the film transcends national audience barriers and becomes relevant on an international level.

Pan’s Labyrinth opens by situating narrative in Spain 1944 using a text frame. This was a period of notorious Fascism lead by Francesco Franco after the Spanish civil war. The second text frame provides some context in regards to the fight between the rebels and the officers. In this respect, the audience are ready to interpret the film as a representation of history. During this however, a melodic lullaby plays and the sound of a girl struggling for breath lingers. The camera then cuts to a young girl on the ground and zooms in using a spiral movement. The blood from her injury is going back into her nose. This shot is mirrored near the end of the film but with the blood coming out. This suggests the cyclical nature of the world and contrasts from the linear progression of history that is seemingly the film’s focus. Spiralling is an “Ancient symbol of the goddess, the womb, fertility, feminine serpent force, continual change, and the evolution of the universe.”(Crossroad, (2014)) and is an evident motif throughout the film. The labyrinth’s winding staircase and the design on the Faun’s forehead are spirals. This emphasises the presence of the occult in this film and highlights its connection with the ancient origin of the Earth and of man.

In the film, the line between reality and fiction are blurred. If the film were viewed as a depiction of history, it could be categorised under the genre of ‘magical realism’ in which the director or artists “interweave a sharply etched realism in representing ordinary events and descriptive details…derived from myths and fairytales” (Stuart, J. (2009)). In this respect, the fantasy elements and symbolism in Pan’s Labyrinth can be seen as filmic devices used to communicate historical details. Ofelia’s adventures in this way function as “…her playroom and her refuge, the way she magically transforms a brutal remote military outpost in 1944 into a place of space and freedom.” (Levine, D. (2008)). The dark and sinister appearance of the fantasy creatures can be understood as a sign of the mentally corrupting power of the Francoist ideology; the innocent imaginings of a child have been perverted into a nightmare. This has historical significance and accuracy as “the Spanish children, who [lived in]…poverty from the moment they were born…[were said to have lost]…play, laughter, gaiety, in one word, real childhood”. (Spanish National Commission in Defence of Children, (1952)). In contrast, rather than understanding Ofelia as using delusion to hide from her cruel reality, her experience can be seen as a return to natural world and away from the false and fabricated reality of man. The creatures, rather than being seen as merely frightening have a naturalistic appearance. Near the beginning of the film, Ofelia shows the stick bug a picture of a fairy in her book and it transforms itself to match the image. This scene can be read as evidence that the fantasy world is a product of Ofelia’s imagination. The fairy’s new appearance however, is significant. It takes the form of a miniature naked girl with earth toned skin and leaf wings. Although it has adapted to fit fantasy tropes, there is nothing artificial or man-made about the fairy; for example, it isn’t sparkly or dressed in a princess’s gown. The wings are a symbol of the interconnectedness between man and nature, a fact that mankind through civilisation has tried to reject. This notion may have been inspired by the religious idea “that represents human beings as a special creation- in his “image and likeness”- of God who is certainly not part of nature and is supposed to have set man over nature as kind of ruler” (Olafson, F. (2001)). The three qwests that are bringing Ofelia away from Fascist Spain are helping her rediscover a quasi-ancient Pagan bond with nature and her true place in the world that has been thwarted by social constructions and values.

Ofelia’s first task can be allegorically representative of the effect of Fascism on Spain. She had to retrieve a key from the belly of a frog that was killing the ancient tree by eating all of the bugs that lived there. “The 1940s are often referred to as the "years of hunger" in Spain; food, like freedom of action and thought, is hidden, locked away, enjoyed only by the elite.” (Arroyo, J. (2006)). In this respect, the frog represents Vidal and the officers who have deprived the Spanish people of adequate food rations. The tree, often associated with life symbolizes the life force of the citizens. However, the tree is not only ‘life’ but though photosynthesis and its dispersal of oxygen is a giver of life. This is evident in the fact that it is shaped like an ovary, a motif symbol throughout the film. This shape is present in the Faun’s horns, the opening of the Labyrinth, the bedhead where Ofelia and her mother sleep and explicitly through Ofelia’s mother’s pregnancy. This ravaged feminine image in regards to Fascism represents the domination of women in the highly patriarchal Francoist society. During the Franco regime, the “birth-promoting policy was...intended to force women to leave their jobs on marrying and it was forbidden by law that women could have certain qualified jobs.”(Estelacantabra, (2014). This instance is specifically materialised in Ofelia’s mother’s marriage to Vidal, where she leaves her job as a tailor to become the mother of his child. From an occult perspective of the film, the task connotes a “‘returning to the womb’ and the rekindling the oppressed feminine”(VC. (2010)). By ridding the tree of the hideous toad; a representation of the innate brutality within the male psyche, she has saved a female soul. The fact that Ofelia approaches the tree dressed in a dark green version of the Alice in Wonderland dress symbolises how she initially sees her magical encounters as a form of escapism from the oppressive adult world into the fantastical. Her coming out of the tree covered in mud and slime symbolizes her rebirth and renewed strength and sense of purpose. The dress, which is left outside, also becomes muddy and subject to rain, symbolising the death of her initial childish intention.

In Ofelia’s second task, her encounter with the Pale Man can be seen in a historical sense as a manifestation of Vidal and fascist ideology. The image of the monster seated at the head of a long table covered with an extravagant feast is representative of the hoarded rations retained by the Francoist officers. Ofelia, despite being told not to eat anything from the table decides to eat some grapes, a symbol of her defiance of “…the gigantic bureaucracy that gorged itself on the Franco spoils system” (Payne, S. (1961). This action equates Ofelia with the resistance, who too defy orders and rules in order to freely express their condemnation of the State. The key she finds in the toad's stomach also does this as it parallels the rebel’s successful acquirement of Vidal’s key to the storeroom that holds the rations and supplies. The fact that the Pale Man only eats children and chooses to starve in front of a vast banquet highlights how the rations are sitting idle; not even being used while citizens continue to die of hunger. It also conveys the bloodthirsty nature of Vidal and the Francoist regime; they are only truly satisfied after ending innocent lives. The scene also conveys periodically relevant religious connotations. The fact the pale man is in a trance like sleep symbolises the ‘blind devotion’ of Vidal and his comrades to the State. In this shot, the Pale Man’s eyes are lying in front of him on a platter. This is a religious allusion to St Lucy, the patron saint of blindness who “…suffered numerous tortures including having her eyes gouged out.  Another version of the story has Lucy taking out her own eyes because her would-be husband admired them.” (Durant, M, (2011))This is one of the instances where religious faith is criticised.

Religion, like political ideology requires a person to believe in a set of ideas completely, without question or needing evidence. In this respect, they have the power to program people to think in a particular way. If the eyes were read as a symbol of knowledge, the eyes set on a plate symbolise this restrictive control. The eyes, if read literally can be related with the physically destructive influence of thought systems. In order to remain true to her cause, St Lucy went against her natural survival instincts. Similarly, Vidal sacrifices his life by offering himself up as a vassal of Fascism; ignoring any other aspirations he may have. This concept is also expressed in the Pale Man’s voluntary starvation in front of a plentiful feast. This is similar to religious ascetics who would go without food, and other luxuries; “exercises performed for the purpose of acquiring the habits of virtue.”(Knight, K. (2012)). This negative depiction of religion correlates with the views of the repressed Spanish citizens. Catholic indoctrination was a key factor of the Fascist regime in order to maintain control and it pervaded the Spanish school system. The students were “…frightened by the fear of hell if they sinned…they would carry with them the imprint of education…that left them marked forever” (Mitchell, T, (1998)). The church during the time, despite being very wealthy, (they controlled an immense amount of property and funds), remained separate and uninvolved with the ordinary people. This lead to resentment and ultimately anti-clericalism that was “…well epitomised in a common Spanish saying: ‘One half of Spain runs after the Church carrying a candle, and the other runs after it carrying a stick’” (de Blaye, (1976). Ofelia’s eating the grapes is reminiscent of the forbidden fruit consumed by Adam and Eve in the Bible. Pan’s order telling her not to eat the fruit as her life depended on it mirrors God’s command “You must not eat fruit from the tree that is in the middle of the garden, and you must not touch it, or you will die.”(Genesis 3:3). By ignoring this, Ofelia rejects the limiting power of the expectations of others and chooses instead to follow her innate natural desires.

The meaning that can be made involving Ofelia’s third and final task is ambiguous and can be interpreted in multiple ways. The task was to bring her baby brother into the labyrinth and prick him with the sacred knife in order to obtain the “blood of an innocent”. This action would open the portal and grant her immortality. The process of the task can be seen as mirroring the actions of the Fascist officers, who spilt innocent blood in order to create and also to dominate over a newly cleansed Spain. Ofelia rejects the faun’s orders, despite the fact that following them would be in her best interest. The Faun asks her: “You would give up your rights for this brat you barely know?” and also: “You would give up your throne for him? He who has caused you such misery, such humiliation?” Ofelia each time responds with: “Yes, I would.” In the first instance, the baby is highlighted as a stranger to her. This parallels the fact that the people killed by the Fascist officers were unknown to them personally. Her defiance emphasises her capacity for empathy, a quality completely absent from the Francoist regime. In the second question, contrastingly, the baby is defined as being someone who hurt her directly. As Ofelia’s mother died giving birth to the child, she sees him as responsible for her death. This is made clear earlier in the film when Ofelia whispers to her mother’s stomach: “please don’t hurt her”. In regards to the Fascists, this ‘offensive’ baby image symbolises the rebels. Due to their direct disobedience to their policy, the officers would kill them instantly if they had the chance. The fact that Ofelia refrains from injuring her brother highlights her respect for all life as interconnected and important. It also conveys her connection to naturalism; murder and inflicting pain in this way is not a natural. By rejecting this opportunity, she leaves his fate in the hands of Mother Nature and stays true to her role as part of the environment. This decision rejects the notion of humans being separate and dominant over nature, an idea that could cause an individual to prescribe to “inferences and practices that human beings simply cannot hope to emulate”(Knowles, J. (2003)). Her refusal to hurt the baby can also be seen as a display of her innate maternal instincts In this respect, her choice to protect her brother is a sign of her awakened feminine self; a fate that was suppressed and denied by the patriarchal Franco regime.

Religious criticism continues to be apparent in the final task, whereby Pan’s command for Ofelia to sacrifice her baby brother echoes God’s command for Abraham to sacrifice his only son, Ismael. When Abraham was about to kill his son, an angel stopped him saying: "Do not do anything to him. Now I know that you fear God, because you have not withheld from me your son, your only son" (Genesis 22:1-12). Here, like in the case of the Pale Man as the self-sacrificing figure of St. Lucy, Abraham was made to abandon his natural instincts; in this case, it is his innate paternal protectiveness. In contrast, Ofelia rejects the Faun and allows herself to be governed by her natural maternal desire. Abraham’s murderous intention can be read as paralleling that of the fascists, who would sacrifice innocents to serve their purpose. Here, Abraham is blinded by strict religious faith and acts to secure his salvation. By rejecting the orders of others and doing exactly what she wants, Ofelia achieves real freedom. Her metamorphosis into an immortal ruler with the Faun as her servant symbolises her triumph over God and over the society that sought to suppress and limit her.

Therefore, Guillermo de Toro in his film Pan’s Labyrinth uses historical references to explore and investigate national and transnational issues. His allusions to Spanish history, Pagan mythology, religion and occultism provide layers of meaning and facilitate multiple ways of interpreting the meaning. Being set in 1944 fascist Spain and focuses on tension between the soldiers and rebels and the impact of the regime on the Spanish people prepares the audience to read the film as a representation of history. Utilising the perspective, de Toro bids the Spanish nation to recall and reflect on the wrongs of the past, especially the corruption and destruction of innocence for the sake of gaining control. Furthermore, through this interpretation, pagan and Christian references are used allegorically to portray aspects of Fascism in relation with the human psyche. By considering these symbols in their own merit, Pan’s Labyrinth comes to reveal the primal and innate aspects of human nature. The importance of naturalism in relation to the Earth, therefore, is amplified through the modern ideological perception of de Toro. Ofelia in her fall rediscovers what it truly is to be human and frees herself completely from the oppressive forces within her society. Through this understanding, the film becomes relevant on an international level and transcends national audience barriers.

References

Books:

Aguero, F. (1995), Soldiers, Civilians and Democracy: Post-Franco Spain in Comparative Perspective, Baltimore & London: The John Hopkins University Press

Anderson, G. (2000), Fairytale in the Ancient World, London: Routledge

Arroyo, J. (2006), Pan’s Labyrinth, London: British Film Institute

de Blaye, (1976), Franco and the Politics of Spain, Middlesex, England: Penguin Books Ltd.

Earles, S. (2009), The Golden Labyrinth: The Unique Films of Guillermo del Toro, London: Noir Publishing

Espinosa-Maestre, F. (2013), Shoot the Messenger? Spanish Democracy and the Crimes of Francoism: From the Pact of Silence to the Trial of Baltasar Garzon, Oregon: Sussex Academic Press

Foard, D. (1989), The Revolt of the Aesthetes, New York: Peter Lang Publishing, Inc.

Freud, S. (1962), The Ego and the Id, London: The Hogarth Press & The Institute of Psycho-analysis

Hermet, G. (1971), The Communists in Spain, England: Saxon House, D.C. Heath Ltd.

Horowitz, M. (1974), Manpower and Education in Franco Spain, Connecticut: The Shoe String Press, Inc.

Knowles, J. (2003), Norms, Naturalism and Epistemology, New York: Palgrave Macmillan

Lamilton, T. (1943), Appeasement’s Child: The Franco Regime in Spain, London: Victor Gollangz Ltd.

Levine, D. (2008), International Journal of Psychoanalytic Self Psychology, 3:118-124

Loewenberg, P. (1995), Fantasy and Reality in History, New York & Oxford: Oxford University Press

Marks, M. (1997), The Formation of the European Policy in Post-Franco Spain, Vermont: Ashgate Publishing Company

Mitchell, T, (1998), Betrayal of the Innocents: Desire, Power, and the Catholic Church in Spain, Philadelphia: University of Pennsylvania Press

Morey, K. (2014), Bringing History to Life Through Film: The Art of Cinematic Storytelling, Maryland: Rowman & Littlefield

Olafson, F. (2001), Naturalism and the Human Condition, London & New York: Routledge

Payne, S. (1961), Falange: A History of Spanish Fascism, California: Stanford University Press

Rosenstone, R. (1995), Revisioning History: Film and the Construction of a New Past, New Jersey: Princeton University Press

Smith, J. & Sullivan, P. (2011), Transcendental Philosophy and Naturalism, New York: Oxford University Press

Storr, A. (1989), Freud: A Very Short Introduction, New York: Oxford University Press

Stuart, J. (2009), Pan's labyrinth. English in Aotearoa, (69), 87-88.

Spanish National Commission in Defence of Children. (1952), Children in Franco Spain, Sydney: Tyrrells Pty. Ltd.

Preston, P. (1976), Spain in Crisis: The Evolution and Decline of the Franco Regime, Sussex: The Harvester Press Limited

Zipes, J. (2011), The Enchanted Screen: The Unknown History of Fairy-tale Films, New York: Routledge

Online:

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Crossroad. (2013), ‘Symbols and their Meaning’, http://www.crossroad.to/Books/symbols1.html, accessed on (27/5/15)

Durant, M. (2011), ‘Saint Lucy’, http://saint-lucy.com/about/, accessed on (27/5/15)

Estelacantabra. (2014), ‘Spanish women within the Franco Dictatorship 1939-1975 The long after-war period: Women’s conditions in the forties and early fifties’, http://www.estelacantabra.com/comenius/SPANISHCENTURY.pdf, accessed on (28/5/15)

Knight, K. (2012), ‘Asceticism’, http://www.newadvent.org/cathen/01767c.htm, accessed on (29/5/15)

Miller, G. (2013), ‘Why Did God Tell Abraham to Sacrifice Isaac?’, http://www.rationalchristianity.net/abe_isaac.html, accessed on 27/5/15

Steward, D. (2014), ‘The Mysterious All Seeing Eye’ http://www.jesus-is-savior.com/False%20Religions/Illuminati/nwo_eye.htm, accessed on (28/5/15)

VC. (2010), ‘The Esoteric Interpretation of “Pan’s Labyrinth”’, http://vigilantcitizen.com/moviesandtv/the-esoteric-interpretation-of-pans-labyrinth/, accessed on 27/5/15

A Sucker Punch in the Face; A Wake Up Call to Reality

Intentionally or not, we step away from reality when we enter the dark hall of the

cinema. We may need a hard slap in the face to wake up, so we can step back into the real world.

Action films are portals into new worlds. These worlds appear similar to ours, but

have had the everyday moments taken out. Regardless of whether the narrative

timeline comprises of a single day or many years, we experience it within a fast-

paced, eventful race to the finish, with no sign of slowing down. When it is all over,

we are left with a profound sense of triumph produced from the hero’s efforts. Our

hearts are pumping pure adrenaline through our bodies that have barely moved an

inch in the last two hours. We sit for a moment during the credits to reflect on the

satisfaction we felt when the bad guys were killed, even when there is an infinitely

small chance of anyone similar appearing in your life. We live vibrantly and

vicariously through another; live their life and feel as if we were the one who wielded

the knife or pulled the trigger. When the screen goes dark, we shut our laptops down,

turn our televisions off; leave the theatre. We get into bed that night, ready to wake up

in the morning and return to the office, back to our reality.

Expect the Unexpected

This is what people want when they go to see an action film. For a short period, we

can feel like we are breaking all of the laws without having to lift a finger. The

profoundly mystical element of this is that after we experience our cathartic purge of

violent desires, we can leave at the end as bodily innocent. There is no blood on our

hands. We have done nothing wrong. We have gotten away with murder. Having evil

thoughts is not punishable unless we act upon them.

Have you ever seen an action film that has affected your life in the real world? Have

you ever been prompted to reflect on the structures of control within society or to

consider the characters as emblematic of people who are very much alive and real?

That definitely is not what you would expect. It is not what we want. Despite our

wishes, Zachary Snyder’s Sucker Punch (2011) went there. It hits you hard when you

are not prepared. Ironically, despite the force of the blow, it has the opposite effect.

Genre has a significant power over how we approach our viewing and if the film

doesn’t hit the right buttons or if the film hits awkward and uncomfortable buttons,

it will be dismissed. This post will examine the deeper themes evident in the film when you allow yourself to look closer, by abandoning your genre expectations.

Unescapable Female Objectification

When we consider the physical transformation of Babydoll (Emily Browning) and her

friends from defenceless to almost inhumanly strong, Sucker Punch initially appears

to be a film of female empowerment. What we need to contemplate however is

whether Babydoll’s appearance is appealing to the female or male imagination. In

each of the worlds, the female images adhere to different male fantasies within the

media. In the first world or the so-called reality of 1950’s America, the women are

vulnerable mental patients hidden away from society. In the second world of the club,

they are sex slaves who are still locked up, but put on display. They are dolled up in a

burlesque style for the monetary benefit of their male captors. In these two realities,

the women are trapped and are physically subservient to the men. Women are also

shown cooking and cleaning laboriously, whilst their male supervisor sits idly. These

scenes act as visual metaphors for the ‘domestic goddess’ housewife and

problematises it by emphasising their similarly slave like treatment by their husbands.

In the third imagined world created by Babydoll, the women appear as superhero-like

warriors with special skills, capable of defeating their male enemies. Just like an

avatar in a video game, Babydoll never displays cuts or bruises when an enemy

strikes her. She remains a perfectly preserved and stylised figure. Her costume design

in this world is emblematic of the Japanese female hero as featured in manga and

anime. Her short skirted sailor uniform and pigtails fit in with Japan’s media

obsession with the high school girl. As they are neither children nor adults, they are a

figure in society with the potential to change the world. They hold this power

realistically as the grown-ups of tomorrow and, in popular media have great potential

as underdog heroes. While the women feel strong, they are however unaware of the

fact that their power is imaginary. Babydoll is not free but contained within a video

game-like world, which is a male dominated form of media. As she fights, her actions

have no real effect on reality. She is there for the entertainment of the unseen

audience. This invisibility allows us a voyeuristic pleasure.

As well as being a physically attractive figure to the male gaze, the audience is able to

experience violence without consequence. Video games do this perhaps even more

effectively, as the enemies are lifeless Non-Player-Characters (NPCs), there to

function as moving obstacles. In the WWII battle scene, the Wise Man (Scott Glenn)

tells the girls not to feel bad about killing the soldiers because “they are already

dead”. This proclamation mirrors what one of the girls, Rocket (Jena Malone) had

told the group: “We are already dead.” Here, the Wise man is additionally letting the

audience know that the girls are like NPCs and if they die, we should not care.

You may ask: Why is it necessary for the females to have an imagined power? For

example, if you reimagined the main characters as a group of young men, they would

fight their way out, as male action heroes are equipped with these abilities. The fact

that Babydoll is not strong outside of her mind confirms the natural weakness of the

female sex.

Escapism & Trauma

Just as Babydoll is unaware that she is powerless, even in her strongest form, she is

also oblivious to what is happening in the real world, during her time in the third

dimension. To enter this world, Babydoll simply needs to shut her eyes. When she

returns from her visions, she is met with thunderous applause in response to her

provocative dances, which we are shown none of. In the film, there is an entire layer

of activity that is off screen and occurring simultaneously to the adventure scenes.

While Babydoll brushes off this praise and feels that she has outwitted her captors,

thinking about this closely, you may ask: What was happening to her when her mind

was elsewhere? Later in the film, when a task fails and the cook goes to stab her

friend Rocket, Babydoll quickly shuts her eyes in order to re-enter the third

dimension. Here, it is made evident that she uses her fantasies as a ritual of escapism.

The exciting action scenes are what you get in place of the traumatic truth. The urge to escape reality reflects the audience’s desire, as they experience action films in order to get away from the real world for a short time. The film problematises this desire and asks the audience to reflect on what is happening in their lives while they are immersed in the simulated worlds of Hollywood cinema. Babydoll is an extreme example of the dangers that can arise from refusing to face issues in society by retreating into ideal narrative universes.

Religious References

The combination of Japanese and Western tropes within the film is also exemplified

in the religious references to both Shintoism and Christianity. After Babydoll

transitions into the second world, the wicked Stepfather (Gerald Plunkett) appears as a

Christian priest who has brought her to Blue’s club from ‘the orphanage’. While he

smiles and appears to be kind, telling Babydoll: “Goodbye, my dear,” he is fully

aware and in on Blue Jones’ (Oscar Isaac) plan of selling her virginity to ‘The High

Roller’, which in the real world represents the financial deal regarding her lobotomy.

When she spits on him in disgust, he reveals his true colours by yelling after her

angrily that she will get what she deserves. Contrastingly, when she first enters the

third world, she finds herself in Feudal Japan. She walks through a traditional ‘Torri’,

which is the gateway into Shinto temples. This arch structure symbolises the

transition from the regular world into a sacred space. In the temple, she finds the

Wiseman, who acts as her father figure guide in her journey towards freedom. Despite

being an American man, he is dressed as a Shinto priest and provides her with

weapons in a ritualistic way.

On the outset, the Wiseman appears to represent the West abandoning their spiritual ways in favour of Eastern tradition, for the purpose of achieving enlightenment and purpose. However, what becomes problematic to this idea is the discovery that Babydoll’s life is the fifth item needed to be free. In the second world, this means she must distract the dangerous men in front of the gate so her friend Sweet Pea (Abbie Cornish) can escape. In reality, the sacrifice is her submission to the lobotomy process. In this sense, religion functions as a masking of the patriarchy and as it is the driving force behind all of these religious manifestations. While the Wise Man said it “will be a deep sacrifice and a perfect victory”, Babydoll ultimately loses her battle physically as she is reduced to a vegetative state.

A Janus Faced Conclusion

On the other hand, there are two distinct ways to read the ending and Babydoll’s fate.

After being lobotomised, the head orderly in the asylum has her taken into a room so

he can rape her, a violent metaphor for his triumph over her strong spirit. When he

kisses her, he begins crying and says, “That’s not right”. He becomes angry, demands

for her to come back to him and grasps her throat. At that moment, the police burst

through the door and arrest him. As he is dragged away, he also professes that they

need to punish the Stepfather, not him. At this point, it seems that Babydoll has won.

Blue never is able to “have her” and the Stepfather will be punished for his crime. We

then see a beautiful scene of Sweet Pea escaping on a bus with the aid of the Wiseman

as the bus driver. As the bus drives away into the distance, we hear Sweet Pea

finishing her monologue that began the film. She says that we, the individual viewers

are capable of winning all of our battles. In a strong and imperative voice, she tells us

“You have all the weapons you need, now fight!” This proclamation is followed by

the credits that are accompanied with an alternative version of a rock song from the

film.

The final scene is framed as a conventional happy ending. This sense of satisfaction

however, is quickly inverted when you acknowledge that the happy escape scene is a

third world vision produced in Babydoll’s mind. We know this because the transition

to this moment is Babydoll closing her eyes, the motif which opens the door to the

alternate reality. The fact that the bus driver and also the boy getting on the bus in

front of her are characters that were purely imagined by Babydoll and have no

existence in reality also proves this. Even though the psychiatrist informs us after the

lobotomy that Babydoll did indeed help another patient to escape, we never find out

what really happens to her. The expectations of the audience are the factors that compound the tragedy. It is important for the viewer to look deeper and realise that the ending is a façade; otherwise Babydoll’s death is justified rather than problematised.

Why Did You Punch Me?

At this point you must be wondering: Why on Earth was this film made in the first

place? Clearly, it addresses a great deal of important issues but, due to its form as an

action film, it is targeting an audience that is not interested in thinking about them.

They want nothing more than a few hours of continuous, sensationalised movement.

However, in order to understand this film at all, we need to open ourselves to the

sucker punch. We must feel the full sting of the jab, for it marks the birth of wisdom.

This film may not be what you expected or wanted but, like real life hardships, they

arrive out of the blue and are completely unwarranted. While they are far from

pleasant, they will make us stronger and prepare us for challenges in the future. We

don’t always learn important things with full consent, but we must. Sometimes we

need a hard slap in the face to wake up to the truth that lies right in front of us.

Donnie Darko; A Nightmarish Adolescence

As an infamous cult classic, and arguably one of the greatest teen films, Donnie Darko depicts a dark underbelly of a familiar world, through the gaze of an unlikely liberator.

Donnie Darko (2001) directed by Richard Kelly provides a dark and morose representation of life as a teenager in the 1980s. The film combines various generic crossovers but in essence contains the fundamental archetypes and trepidations characteristic of the teen film genre. Kelly uses these conventions as a framework for the purpose of achieving satire. He employs“…recognisable signals that viewers would relate to but…existed on a different level to point where we could poke fun at these plot contrivances.” Through these devices, Kelly makes the world of the film every teenager’s nightmare; revealing the hidden, unspeakable struggles of the adolescent in their journey towards self-discovery and their transition to adulthood. The cultural history of generation X underpinning the main thematic concerns make the film an important contributor to the history of teen film.

Love or Fear?

The world of Donnie Darko is an alternate universe set in an idealistically appearing American town in 1988. A central concern faced by the teenagers in the film is finding a place in a society which is strictly dominated by an extensive set conventions and beliefs. This nostalgic focus is evident in the iconic 1980s music comprising the motion picture soundtrack. The selection of these “newly installed set of ‘classics’” (Driscoll (2011) p.107) mirrors the manner in which the adult’s in the film are set in their old ways, and relying on the past to inform their lives. This leaves no room for original thought that lies beyond these boundaries. The town appears to be perfect and harmonious. This however is an external façade, masking its pre-apocalyptic, oppressive and unstable structure. This stereotypical “white-bread America” image is evident in the appearance of the Darko family. Donnie’s father externally appears to have achieved the American Dream, with “the impressive home, a white picket fence with double garage, a doting wife, and three children” (Lee (2010) p. 128). The falsity of this however quickly becomes apparent in the dinner table scene where Donnie’s mental illness and the parent’s lack of authority over their argumentative teenagers is uncovered.

In teen film, the adults are often estranged from the adolescents due to a generational gap. As a result, they are unable to understand and communicate with each other effectively. A way this issue is confronted in Donnie Darko is through intense adult intervention into the teenager’s lives. The adults see the thoughts and motivations of the adolescents as possibly threatening as they are unable to comprehend them. In order to eliminate this possible “threat”, they try to make them act and think like they do. This is evident in the school’s mental health program run by Jim Cunningham. By dividing all acts into two distinct categories: love and fear, the “other things that need to be taken into account… (being)…the whole spectrum of human emotion…” are excluded. By reducing the complexity of emotion in an age group prone to various extreme emotional responses, the adults attempt to brainwash them to feel either one way the other. This would eliminate the unpredictability of adolescent emotional response.

This binary decision between good or bad and right or wrong presented through “love and fear” is carefully constructed in order for it to be accepted by the teens. “Love” has extreme positive connotations. Loving others, yourself and your lifestyle is a repeatedly emphasised method towards happiness throughout history. It can be seen in religious sources: “love your neighbor as you love yourself” (Christian Bible) and societal laws of conduct for example, in Ancient India, one must accept your rank and position in community in order to be happy and ultimately gain a happier next life. By equating this firmly entrenched goal of life (achieving happiness through love) with the town’s acceptable behaviour, their ideals are sensationalised and are more likely to be followed by impressionable youth. “Fear” however has strong negative conations. It implies personal misery as a result of being constantly afraid and also connotes cowardliness in the face of dangers. When Donnie speaks out against this ideology, Jim says: “You are a fear prisoner. Yes, you are a product of fear.” These metaphors highlight that Donnie is being controlled, like “a product” and is also confined as a “prisoner”. Ironically, Donnie is the only one that is free to think and act independently while the rest of the town is enslaved to strict social convention.

To Be Frank...

The mental illness which Donnie presumably has is liberating rather than restraining. Donnie’s repeated visions allow him to become detached from the oppressive world of the town thus free him from social standards and expectations. Donnie’s visions allow him to critic the society he lives him like an outsider looking in. They also, in the form of Frank provide him with the means to act against the wrongs he sees. Donnie must follow Frank the bunny’s orders which he must do because “…he saved my (Donnie’s) life.” Frank does not however dominate Donnie in their relationship. He simply amplifies his own suppressed desires. He gives him the power to speak and act in a manner that is “‘Frank’ (which also means honest)” (Driscoll (2011) p.105) and to continue his journey towards growing up according to his own moral compass. In the film, the adults emphasise the physical symptoms of Donnie’s said “illness” but deliberately do not consider the cause which is the superficial and corrupt town. Thus, “the blame... (shifts)… from a dysfunctional society in denial onto the individual.” (Lee (2010) p.129). It is made clear later on in the film that Donnie is not actually sick when it is revealed he was taking placebo pills. His actions and motivations, disregarding his extreme supernatural circumstances are typical of a headstrong and curiously cynical teenager. Thus, the illness, as well as functioning to sidetrack from the flawed nature of the social structure also allows the adults to further condemn Donnie’s teenage nature as unacceptable. Not only are his actions “…a product of fear…” they occur because he is mentally diseased. The expulsion of Donnie acts as a final attempt to ‘quarantine’ him from the other students he may ‘infect’.

Lack of Male Role Models

An issue that arises in the film is that the vigorously strict society in a way outlaws proper masculine development. The male characters in the film, besides Donnie almost completely lack male authority to govern their own actions. Donnie’s father, although appearing to have all of which comes with being a successful man i.e. the perfect wife, kids and house has no real personal power. At the dinner table when Donnie’s little sister asks what a “f***ass” is and also during the parent-principal meeting after Donnie confronted his teacher about the love/fear lesson, he laughs. Both times, he is silenced by his wife for taking the situations, both involving socially condemned use of vulgar language lightly. Donnie’s father, when alone with his son does give him rather controversial advice: “Be honest. Tell the truth. Even if they look at you funny. They will. They’ll call you a fool… Because those bull****ers know that your smarter than them”. It is made clear Donnie’s father doesn’t agree with the social conventions but he himself is powerless to do anything about it. His character symbolises what the teens will grow up to be like if they continue to blindly follow the rules of society without ever challenging the aspects that are flawed.

Donnie’s physics teacher Kenneth is the only other adult that believes and understands his visions to do with time travel. He gives him controversial advice out of class about a topic abstract from the curriculum. As the conversation shifts to questions of religion however, when Donnie suggests that if “…you travel within God's channel” you can defy your destiny, Kenneth ends the discussion, fearing he “…could lose… (his)…job”. Thus, “politics, conservatism, and persuasiveness of spin doctoring have taken precedence over the pursuit of knowledge.” (Lee (2010) p.130) There is a complete lack of admirable male characters for Donnie to look up to. Jim Cunningham’s external appearance connotes success. He has good looks and a financially prosperous career and appears virtuous (he seemingly helps troubled youth for a living). His character contributes to the façade of the American Dream embodied in society. The moment of his implication as a child pornography producer stands as a moment where the rotting core of the town is revealed to the other characters. Rose’s state of denial symbolizes the need for similar social cohesion even though it is imaginary. In teen film, a lack of positive role models often results in anarchic behaviour in the teen. Similarly, in Rebel Without a Cause, Jim’s father plays a feminine role in the family even doing chores in his mother’s apron. Thus, the adolescent must find out on their own what it is to be a man, often outside acceptable means.

Destroy to Rebuild

Donnie’s acts of violence although appearing as acts of public nuisance are necessary in order to fix the doomed paranormal universe of the town and restore balance. This idea of creation through destruction is made evident early in the film, the idea is hinted at. An intertextual reference is made to The Destructors by Graham Greene in Miss Pomeroy’s English class. Donnie says in response to the short story that “…destruction is a form of creation. So the fact that they burn the money is ironic. They just want to see what happens when they tear the world apart. They want to change things.” Frank provides Donnie with the superhuman powers needed to carry out his tasks for example, “…He uses fire to burn Jim Cunningham's house down. He floods the school and constructs a time portal from water. He uses telekinesis to rip the jet engine off the plane to send it through the time portal” (Smith (2014)). The idea of destroying in order to create is an extended metaphor emphasising that in order to change the world for the better; all wicked and unjust attitudes must first be obliterated. It is only then that new ideals have the hope for survival. In a teen context, it highlights that adolescents are the future adults of the world thus, have the power to reform the social structure. The obligation to continue existing ideals is only a myth enforced by elders as a means of control.

Donnie the Superhero

Through Donnie’s destructive behaviour, he is actually acting as the world’s heroic savior. The character of Frank being Donnie’s metaphoric “…displaced and distorted superhero costume” (Driscoll (2011) p.105) is alluded to when Gretchen sees the name "Donnie Darko” to be “…like some sort of superhero or something”. This is idea is solidified by Donnie’s quasi-martyr like sacrifice. After Donnie dies, the world is restored, starting again from before the plane crash. Although the characters do not remember exactly what happened in the parallel universe, they have nostalgic dream-like epiphanies that prompt them to significantly rethink their lives. For example, in the film’s conclusion, Jim Cunningham is shown crying uncontrollably. This represents his newly established regret for his sexually abusive behaviour as in his mind, he distantly knows what it will feel like to be caught and lose everything. The backing track accompanying this scene, is the iconic 80s song ‘Mad World’ by Tears for Fears remastered into a solemn ballad by Michael Andrews and Gary Jules. This continues the nostalgic focus of the 1980s set film however, the song being a cover is significant. It stands as an auditory metaphor mirroring the state of the ‘restored’ world. It remains set in convention but to a lesser extent; much like how the song is recognizably 80s but has been changed to reflect new attitudes and emotions. The selection of the song highlights how the society still is a “mad world” and that they must confront the issues that still exist. Donnie however managed to open their eyes to the decaying state of the town and created the possibility for change. His significant legacy signifies the immense personal power of the individual adolescent to unravel the fabric of society in order to instigate positive redevelopment.

Donnie Darko (2001) directed by Richard Kelly provides a dark and morose representation of life as a teenager in the 1980s. The film does contain generic crossovers but in essence has the fundamental archetypes and trepidations characteristic of the teen film. Kelly uses these conventions as a framework for the purpose satirizing the nightmarishly oppressive social structure enforced upon Generation X Americans. Hidden, unspeakable struggles of the adolescent in their journey towards self-discovery and their transition to adulthood are externalized. This includes the need for teenage independence in order to become an empowered adult. Also, there is a need to fight against tyrannically strict social conventions idealized by hypocritical elders. It is only through this active destruction of injustice that a world where people free to think and act according to their own moral compass can be achieved. The cultural history of generation X underpinning the main thematic concerns make the film an important contributor to the history of teen film.

References

Books:

Driscoll, C. (2011), Teen Film: A Critical Introduction. Oxford, New York: Berg

Kaveney, R. (2006), Teen Dreams: Reading Teen Film and television from Heathers to Veronica Mars. London and New York: I.B. Tauris

Lee, C. (2010), Screening Generation X: The Politics and Popular Memory of Youth in Contemporary Cinema. Surrey, England: Ashgate Publishing Limited

Shary, T. (2005), Teen Movies: American Youth on Screen. London and New York: Wallflower

Tropiano, S. (2006), Rebels & Chicks: A History of Hollywood Teen Movie. Broadway, New York: Back Stage Books

Websites:

Everything2 Media (2002), Donnie Darko. Retrieved May 18, 2014, from http://www.everything2.com/title/Donnie+Darko

IMDb.com (2014), Donnie Darko (2001): Quotes. Retrieved May 18, 2014, from http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0246578/quotes

Smith, D. (2014), Donnie Darko: The Tangent Universe. Retrieved May 16, 2014, from http://www.donniedarko.org.uk/explanation/