https://padlet.com/holliesymmons1/v8mc0opju225 Analysis of Del Toros, pans labryinth en-us 2017-10-25 12:09:47 UTC 2025-12-01 05:13:49 UTC hello@padlet.com holliesymmons1 https://padlet.com/holliesymmons1/v8mc0opju225/wish/200359516 He's represents one of the key themes in the film, power. His hunger for power will consume all else in his path to consume it. Vidal in pans labyrinth represents fascism, which is symbolized by the blue he is wearing. He is a viscous captain in the Franco's civil guard placed at a rural military post ordered to eliminate the guerrillas resisting in the mountains. Captain Vidal is a character who is on a inequitable quest for power that results in the worst possible consequences for him. Through his quest for power he has created a psychopathic and sadistic personality for himself and this is shown through the various cruel acts that he commits in the film to sustain his power and the cruel acts that his mirror characters carry out in the fantasy world]]> 2017-10-25 12:27:14 UTC https://padlet.com/holliesymmons1/v8mc0opju225/wish/200359516 holliesymmons1 https://padlet.com/holliesymmons1/v8mc0opju225/wish/200362236 Vidal's power over Carmen in the real world
In the real world, the first instance that the audience sees of Vidal showing dominance over Carmen is in the first scene when Carmen and Ofelia arrive at Vidal’s camp. Vidal confines her to a wheelchair so that symbolically she is below him, shown through a low angle shot. The director’s purpose for using this symbolism and the use of the low angle shot is used to show Vidal towering over her to show his dominance. The wheelchair also symbolises Vidal’s control over Carman and also her being weak and disabled from doing anything, she is also constantly sedated in last few weeks of her pregnancy and is confined to her bedroom.]]> 2017-10-25 12:33:21 UTC https://padlet.com/holliesymmons1/v8mc0opju225/wish/200362236 holliesymmons1 https://padlet.com/holliesymmons1/v8mc0opju225/wish/200382403 The theme of power is also symbolized by the prop of Vidal's watch. Vidal has an obsession with time and fears that one day his time will run out and he will die. Vidal is so obsessed with time that even when you look closely at this room in the background you can see cogs which reference a clock. He lives within time constraints. His entire existence and the power that he is on an inevitable quest for is all based about him being about to live up to his father’s legacy, who was a great war hero and when he died he left behind a broken watch.]]> 2017-10-25 13:13:38 UTC https://padlet.com/holliesymmons1/v8mc0opju225/wish/200382403 holliesymmons1 https://padlet.com/holliesymmons1/v8mc0opju225/wish/200385449 She is the reincarnation of Moanna, the princess of the underground realm. Her imagination is still rooted in her reality. It's apparent that both Ofelia and Moanna's journeys are bound by a common thread: curiosity. - Moanna's curiosity to see the blue sky and soft breeze above and Ofelia's to trust in the faun . Her story isn't a journey towards an acceptance of the hardships of life (coming of age)—instead, it's a journey away from them, into a Neverland of sorts where she can eternally be a princess without having to ever be a queen. It's a journey of maintaining innocence, even at the cost of leaving the world altogether. She not only protects her innocence but protects innocent others (her baby brother)]]> 2017-10-25 13:19:02 UTC https://padlet.com/holliesymmons1/v8mc0opju225/wish/200385449 holliesymmons1 https://padlet.com/holliesymmons1/v8mc0opju225/wish/200408800 Mercedes acts as Ofelia's protector ; sings her lullabies, comforts her, and tries to help Ofelia run away. Shes a strong, nurturing and clever character with many dimensions to her. Vidal says "shes just a women" which Mercedes responds back saying that's how she was able to be so successful because she was "invisible" to him. And even after she warns him of the dangers of not paying attention to the unstoppable force that is Mercedes, Vidal, delusional dirt bag that he is, doesn't listen. He turns his back on her for a little too long…and ends up getting stabbed in the back again (except this time it's literal).]]> 2017-10-25 13:58:44 UTC https://padlet.com/holliesymmons1/v8mc0opju225/wish/200408800 holliesymmons1 https://padlet.com/holliesymmons1/v8mc0opju225/wish/200745286 From the very beginning we see that she has no belief in the supernatural world; she thinks that fairy tales are nonsense, and that Ofelia is polluting her mind with too much reading. Carmen shows the pollution of the adult world and how the political state of the country has damaged her so much that she has lost all hope and any ounce of child like innocence. She represents how the torment of the dictatorship has completely ruined her. Her weakness is shown physically as well to emphasize it, she is constricted to her wheelchair  because of how ill her pregnancy has made her. Carmen is trapped by Vidal and is only trying to do what is best for herself, the baby and Ofelia. Although she's beautiful and lovely and Ofelia adores her, she can no longer access the world that only Ofelia has the privilege of visiting.]]> 2017-10-26 11:03:46 UTC https://padlet.com/holliesymmons1/v8mc0opju225/wish/200745286 holliesymmons1 https://padlet.com/holliesymmons1/v8mc0opju225/wish/200750747 The Faun's a servant of Ofelia's father and mother, who was tasked with watching over this particular portal in case Princess Moanna ever made her return. The faun is a flamboyant and slightly sinister character who attempts to deceive Ofelia as part of her test. Throughout the film the audience is never really sure whether to trust him or not as he seems mischievous and isn't always the nicest to Ofelia. But by the end of the film it becomes apparent that he was good all along. He acts as the helper in this narrative.]]> 2017-10-26 11:29:43 UTC https://padlet.com/holliesymmons1/v8mc0opju225/wish/200750747 holliesymmons1 https://padlet.com/holliesymmons1/v8mc0opju225/wish/200754355 Ferreiro is defiant to the fascist regime, however he is clever about it and acts with caution as he knows Vidal is brutal and could uncover him rather easily. Ferreiro shows that there are many ways to oppose an institution. He doesn't need to be staging rebellion: he simply helps the sick, the wounded…and the pregnant. He lets Vidal have it for making his wife travel in such a late stage of pregnancy, he questions how Vidal knows his child is a boy, and he goes to the rebel camp in the woods even though getting caught would (and eventually does) cost him his life. And doctor's final words are some of the most thematically important to the film. ]]> 2017-10-26 11:44:13 UTC https://padlet.com/holliesymmons1/v8mc0opju225/wish/200754355 holliesymmons1 https://padlet.com/holliesymmons1/v8mc0opju225/wish/200756684 To Pedro, this fight isn't necessarily about winning or losing (although winning sure would be nice). It's about taking a stance and fighting for what you believe in. While Vidal's portrayed as a ruthless man who has chosen his position and his actions, the rebels are portrayed as having been swept up in the tides of war. They're fighting because there's nothing to do but fight. The rebels are like the fairies of the real world which Vidal (The pale man) ruthlessly destroys.]]> 2017-10-26 11:52:10 UTC https://padlet.com/holliesymmons1/v8mc0opju225/wish/200756684 holliesymmons1 https://padlet.com/holliesymmons1/v8mc0opju225/wish/200774677 Del Toro says "The Pale Man represents all institutional evil feeding on the helpless. It's not accidental that he is a) Pale b) a Man. The pale man represents the greed, selfishness and brutality of the fascist regime. The pale man is set at the top of the table with a feast in front of him, as soon as Ofelia takes a few grapes he eats the fairies. It represents how Vidal holds a feast for him and a few of his others whilst the rest of the community is starved by his rations.]]> 2017-10-26 12:41:26 UTC https://padlet.com/holliesymmons1/v8mc0opju225/wish/200774677 holliesymmons1 https://padlet.com/holliesymmons1/v8mc0opju225/wish/200791159 While the human world is full of the order imposed by a authoritarian regime, the supernatural world of Pan's Labyrinth also has its own set of laws. But Ofelia doesn't care much for either—and this is a good thing.
The fairies and the Faun aren't necessarily trying to help Ofelia; they're trying to test her. And how she passes these tests is by listening to her own intuition or conscience instead of giving in to their authority.

]]> 2017-10-26 13:14:45 UTC https://padlet.com/holliesymmons1/v8mc0opju225/wish/200791159 holliesymmons1 https://padlet.com/holliesymmons1/v8mc0opju225/wish/200792651 Only the innocent characters like Ofelia can attain immortality, while characters like Vidal trying to etch their legacy in the fabric of time are doomed to be forgotten. And then there's also the immortality of film. In a way, all characters achieve a kind of narrative immortality in the minds of viewers]]> 2017-10-26 13:17:07 UTC https://padlet.com/holliesymmons1/v8mc0opju225/wish/200792651 holliesymmons1 https://padlet.com/holliesymmons1/v8mc0opju225/wish/200793737 Pan's Labyrinth is awash with female sexual imagery and symbolism that suggests Ofelia's tale is a journey through—or maybe away from—puberty, menstruation and eventually childbirth. And it's also a tale that makes a direct correlation between a patriarchal stepfather and authoritarianism: by disobeying Vidal, Ofelia's rejecting both an overbearing male presence and a nasty political ethos]]> 2017-10-26 13:18:51 UTC https://padlet.com/holliesymmons1/v8mc0opju225/wish/200793737