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Violence In Pan's Labyrinth

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El Laberinto Del Pan
El Laberinto Del Pan, or Pan’s Labyrinth, is based on the turbulence that occurred after the Civil War. It is set in post-Civil War Spain, in 1944, after the victory of the fascist Nationalists led by General Franco. Though the war had ended, many republican rebels were still striking back against the new oppressive government. Other citizens were exiled, or attempted to flee the country. A large portion of those that did rebel hid in more remote areas of Spain, such as the region of Navarra in Northern Spain, where Pan’s Labyrinth takes place.
During the Spanish civil war, both Nationalists and Republicans killed, tortured, and attacked citizens. Anyone either side disagreed with was likely to be harmed (school teachers, …show more content…

Unlike most fairy tales that are stripped of their darkest and most frightening elements, Pan’s Labyrinth is unafraid to show violence of all sorts- physical, emotional, domestic, and otherwise. This violence is, interestingly enough, echoed in the fairytale world as well. Ophelia turned to the faun, and was ready and willing to believe his story about the underworld to escape all the violence in her life. Instead, this violence continued in the fantasy world, albeit in a different manner. In this way, violence provided parallels between the worlds, as well as questions about reality and fantasy. Who was really the monster? The Captain or the Pale Man? Who was actually looking out for and guiding Ophelia? Her mother or the fawn? These reflections across the world's, particularly those driven by violence, pushed the plot for the majority of the …show more content…

My feelings about Pan’s Labyrinth are rather split, as I appreciate the storyline but disliked the actual movie. When I first watched the film, I was shocked and horrified (I honestly thought it was horrible). At the time, I was too hung up on the creepiness and violence of the movie to value anything about it. After a few days of thinking about it, however, I was able to appreciate the subtlety behind the story, as well as the uniqueness of the plot. Pan’s Labyrinth is similar to a twisted fairy tale, and has an interesting storyline, incredible effects, and good characterization. For those reasons, I feel as if I should recommend this movie to others. Pan’s Labyrinth is essentially a classic, and is probably the kind of movie everyone should see once. Despite this, I cannot imagine possibly watching the movie a second time. It is for this reason that I wouldn’t recommend the movie to others, as I did not enjoy it as I watched it. As I viewed the film, I was shocked and horrified by the violence, annoyed with Ophelia’s character, and slightly confused about the storyline. It was only afterwards, during reflection upon it, that I could appreciate its good qualities. On one hand, I am interested by Pan’s Labyrinth, on the other hand, I hated it. Therefore, I do not actually know if I would recommend this film to someone else or not. I think it would depend on the person and their own

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