Pan's Labyrinth Research Paper

Short Essay #3: Pan’s Labyrinth Pan’s Labyrinth, a dark fantasy film directed and written by Guillermo del Toro, depicts a mountain community 5 years after Franco has taken over Spain, in 1944. Despite the Spanish Civil War being over, a sadistic fascist, Captain Vidal, is running a small military in the mountains to undermine the guerilla resistance in that region. Unlike many of the films and texts we’ve discussed thus far, characters in Pan’s Labyrinth are more clearly pure good or pure evil. As a horror fantasy film, I personally found it to be entertaining and occasionally humorous and empowering, despite the brutal depictions of violence and disturbing conflict. My perception of the socio-political situation of the Spanish Civil War was not strongly impacted, because I lack context for this time period, but the shift in social dynamics was

For example, the situation with Ofelia/Princess Moanna in the banquet room reminded me of the temptation of the lotus flowers in Odysseus, and in a more modern interpretation, the Lotus Casino in the Percy Jackson novels. Essentially, the children entering the domain of the lotus eaters are warned not to consume them despite how appetizing they may be. Those who succumbed the temptation lost the desire to ever return home and were trapped in a virtual prison. Although not the same situation as the room in Pan’s Labyrinth, I appreciated the presentation of temptation and the consequences of disobedience, for when Ofelia eats two grapes, the monster awakes, kills two of her fairy companions, and Ofelia only narrowly escapes his domain. I additionally appreciated Ofelia’s love of books and general curiosity, and her sacrifice and the conclusion of the movie further elevated her as a benevolent