Blog Assignment #7

Gordon Gray, in his article Cinema: A Visual Anthropology, understands feminist theory as being directly related to the politics of representation, concerning itself with developing understandings of how different groups of people are represented in cinema, how people make sense of these representations, and how this intersects with the viewing pleasure of the audience within the context of viewing films for entertainment purposes (Gray). While representations of women can help us understand their perception within the culture of media, they also further our understandings of the cinema and its mechanical implements (Gray). Representations of women can be characterized by the power relationship apparent in gender relations; through depictions of women as being either passive or active, in the amount of screen time given, and their portrayal in film in relation to their broader historical context (Gray). I hope to use my recent viewing of Pan’s Labyrinth as an example that reveals content subject to feminist theory. This is not to say that such elements lessen the quality of this film. I mention this because its visual presentation of material subject to feminist theoretical analysis is not overtly emphasized in the film and is not a focus, but an accompanying reproduction of content that serves to deepen the significance of the film. To varying degrees, it presents ideas and characterizations that viewers find ways to connect with, and Pan’s Labyrinth most-effectively characterizes the power relationships between males and females.

The main character in Pan’s Labyrinth is Ofelia, a 12-year old girl who travels with her pregnant mother to the country headquarters of her new stepfather, a captain of an army that is seeking to uncover and destroy a group of guerilla fighters that are hiding in the hills surrounding the headquarters. Much like the orders he gives to his army, the ones he has given to Ofelia and her mother to come to live with him set the stage for the entire film. The move isn’t easy for Ofelia and her pregnant mother, and their willingness to move to the army headquarters is indicative of their subservience to men holding official power despite reluctance and struggle in accepting their reasoning. Ofelia immediately refuses to call the captain her father. While this annoys her mother and indicates a mother-daughter struggle, it is also an indicator of a larger struggle that characterizes the female as unwilling to be disciplined and obedient towards the male. It indicates the active woman as opposed to the passive woman that Gray discusses in his article, and this is also somewhat tied to the broader historical context that Pan’s Labyrinth characterizes. It allows for the empowering of women while simultaneously alluding to the unfair realities of historical situations. It does this fluidly and without interruption. This balance is achieved through the proposed symbolic characterization of women as nurturing, motherly, and morally superior to the men they are subservient to. This different manifestation of power is reflected in the screen time given to Ofelia and her mother, as well as the ending that portrays their victory over the captain and his army. Redemption, however, comes at a price.

Gray, Gordon. Cinema: A Visual Anthropology. 2010.

Pan’s Labyrinth. Dir. Guillermo del Toro. Picturehouse. 2006.