Month: September 2021

Narrative Analysis of Pan’s Labyrinth

Post author By aimeej
Post date 30th September 2021
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Narrative Analysis of Pan’s Labyrinth

This narrative analysis of Pan’s Labyrinth explains the narrative structure, characters and overall themes that are present in Del Toro’s ‘Pan’s Labyrinth’.

The most predominant theme throughout the film was disobedience. This is consistently explored through the character of Ofelia , as well as certain conflicts within the film such as the rebels who are fighting Captain Vidal.

How narrative study is useful in understanding this film

– Disobedience is a predominant theme throughout Pan’s Labyrinth. This is shown through the protagonist Ofelia, who disobeys many of the instructions she is given throughout the film, including when she eats the grape in the pale man’s lair. However this rebelliousness was articulated from the start when she refused her mothers instructions to call captain Vidal her ‘father’.

– Pan’s Labyrinth has a split narrative between the real world and the fantasy world.

– The film is mostly set in a forest or ‘underworld’ communicates that this film is fantasy genre. Pan’s Labyrinth also has implications of actual fairy tales and in some cases biblical references.

– The mystical creatures that help Ofelia on her journey such as the faun are considered the donor in Vladimir Propp’s character theory. This is because he gives her the equipment and guidance that she needs in order to complete her quest.

– Captain Vidal is perceived as the monster in the real world but it is suggested that he is represented as the Pale Man in the fantasy world. Without narrative study it would be near impossible to find the link between them.

– Ofelias journey begins when the faun is introduced.This meeting is what starts the two major plots in the film.

Contexts

Pan’s Labyrinth Context Research.

Post author By aimeej
Post date 30th September 2021
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Narrative Analysis of Pan’s Labyrinth

Context is:

The environment in which the film is set
The environment in which the film was produced
The environment in which the film is seen

The context may be social, political, historical, philosophical or a combination of more than one of these. These contexts are extremely important in order to fully understand a film, since they give the viewers background knowledge on what is happening or going to happen in the film based on what they already know historically.

Context in Pan’s Labyrinth:

Philosophical Context: In the Pale man scene there are links to biblical tales.This is apparent when Ofelia must retrieve a dagger from the lair of the Pale man, a child-eating monster who sits at the head of a large feast. In order to accomplish this task Ofelia must obtain the dagger and not eat anything. However, she ignores the fan’s instructions and gives into temptation when she eats some grapes. As a result the pale man hunts her and attempts to kill her.This is a reference to when Adam and Eve also didn’t follow orders and gave into temptations when they ate an apple. This caused them to be cast out of the Garden Of Eden.

Historical Context: Pan’s labyrinth is set in Spain in 1944, five years after the end of the Spanish Civil War. In the real world side of this movie, the post war effects on Spain are shown in depth through the fight between the fascists and the rebbels.

Representation

Representing Ophelia

The moment in my narrative was the representation when Ofelia meets the faun.

Feedback: Use more examples of how the Mise En Scene and lighting.

Narrative

Narrative Analysis

Structure of Acts

A large majority of films follow a chronological narrative. These films follow the five act structure which includes:

The Exposition – This is the information that is presented right away to the audience about the world and characters that they need to know in order to understand the plot and upcoming events.

The Disruption – This is an event that takes place that causes a problem that the protagonist must solve.

The Climax – This is where the protagonist will confront either the antagonist or the force that is obstructing them from achieving their ultimate goal.

The Resolution or epiphany – The protagonist reaches their ultimate goal and learns a significant truth about themselves or the world they live in.

The Denouement – The protagonist returns to their home, but with a new outlook and a new ‘norm’.

An example of this five act structure, included in the narrative mountain, is Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone.

Non Linear Narrative

Eternal sunshine of the spotless mind

A story should have a beginning, a middle and an end, but not necessarily in that order. – Jean Luc Godard

Eternal sunshine of the spotless mind is an example of non linear narrative. The film is structured as a memory narrative, which means a lot of the story is told through the use of flashbacks.

Quentin Tarantino utilizes non-linear narrative in Pulp Fiction primarily as a tool to introduce the characters multiple times, through different character’s perspectives, in all three timelines.

In summary , there are various different reasons that using non linear narratives are effective. Some films use non linear narratives in order to tell a wider version of the story at hand. Some use it to withhold information from the audience.

Genre

Genre Analysis of Pan’s Labyrinth

Post author By aimeej
Post date 20th September 2021
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Pan’s Labyrinth is considered a hybrid or sub genre since it consists of themes of war, drama and dark fantasy. However it is predominantly categorised as a fantasy film since it follows numerous elements that are often related to that genre.

Similarities to the fantasy genre

The narrative itself is intertwined with magic and the idea of mythical creatures who send Ofelia on a quest to prove that she is worthy.

At the end, after Ofelia has died and successfully completed her quest through her selfless act, she is transported to a prosperous realm. The idea of a realm is an extremely common theme which is used repeatedly in the fantasy genre.

The idea of a hero or heroine being sent on a quest/journey is very conventional in the fantasy genre. The protagonist is often burdened by a responsibility or set of objectives that they must complete in order to resolve the main conflict of the narrative which ultimately fulfills their purpose.

The hero is often destined for greatness. For example, in Pan’s Labyrinth, Ofelia is destined to rule over the magical realm where her father welcomes her at the end of the movie.

Differences to the fantasy genre

Pan’s Labyrinth follows a much darker and gruesome narrative than most films in the fantasy genre, such as The Chronicles Of Narnia and The Wizard Of Oz. Both of these films follow a reasonable and upbeat narrative in which the hero/heroine defeats the antagonist and has a happy ending. For example, the ideas of facisim, war and death are explored in Pan’s labyrinth which is unusual in the fantasy genre.

Pan’s labyrinth is set in the real world during a real period in time. This is unusual since most fantasy films are set in fictitious locations. For example Peter Pan was set in Neverland which is an imaginary setting.

Contexts Genre Narrative

Genre Poster

According to Altman’s theory on genre; ‘Genre is similarity and difference’.

The repertoire of elements are key elements of a film that are consistently repeated throughout a genre. Each genre has its own repertoire of elements which communicates to an audience what genre of film they are watching.

These include:

Iconography ( Masks, blood, silhouettes, shadows, ect)

Props ( Guns, daggers, blood, candles, cloaks, ect)

Style ( Dark, shadowy, low key lighting, eerie music, ect)

Narrative ( Being trapped, being chased, supernatural, ect)

Settings ( Haunted house, castle, forest, anywhere dark, ect)

Characters ( Killers, monsters, demons, devils, ect)

Themes ( Death, fear, gore, traps, isolation, ect)

Most of these features are present in my poster which communicates that my poster belongs to the horror genre.

Textual analysis

Mise-en-scene in The Captain’s Feast

Post author By aimeej
Post date 16th September 2021
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The Captain’s feast is an important scene when it comes to understanding the facist and power hungry views that society held in rural Spain during the 1940’s. The feast is attended by a wide variety of people who all have one thing in common. Wealth. All of the guests prove to be patronising and greedy for power and money. In this scene, Del Toro uses mise en scene to communicate meaning. During this task, I focused on the representation of the priest and the two sisters.

Costume

The priest’s ornate cross connotes that he is an important and powerful character. It also suggests that he is wealthy and has a gluttonous attitude. This is confirmed during the feast scene when he rudely states that he doesn’t believe that there will be enough food for everyone.

The two sisters are wearing expensive jewelry, including pearls. This articulates that they have wealth which gives them power and status above most less wealthy people.

Lighting and Colour

The limited lighting in this scene suggests that the film was set in a time before electricity was invented or widely used. However, the light that is provided is from ornate candles which once again fortifies the idea of wealth and importance of the people around the table.

Actions

The priest represents the idea that he is gluttonous when he states that he does not think there is enough food for everyone at the table. This is especially shocking since the film is set in 1944 during the war, when rationing is seriously affecting how much food people- especially the poor, can get.

Props

Del Toro uses juxtaposition to articulate to the audience that the war did not have a huge impact on the wealthy. The priest and the sisters both hold ration cards in one hand and silver cutlery in the other. This reminds the audience that the mov9e is set during the world war when rationing was cemented in place and yet these wealthy people are having a feast. This could come across as sardonic humor.

Setting

The banquet is set in a large, spacious dining room. This implies that the captain is used to hosting parties or feasts like the one we see in the movie. This idea is supported since there is a large fireplace, since this implies that the room needs to be often heated since the Captain is used to having company.

Director Genre Narrative