Representation Flashcards
1
Q
How is Captain Vidal represented?
A
- violent and aggressive
- determined for his son to be born near him; refuses to accept the fact that his child might not be a boy
- his only concern when Carmen dies is his son; continues patriarchy
- scolds Carmen for discussing romance in public
- his actions suggest excessive display of masculinity and desire for control (eg shaving, polishing boots)
- sees himself as top of the chain: “Above me, there’s no one”
- lack attraction to Carmen; only with her to reproduce and continue the patriarchy
- seems the most aroused when he is torturing others (unbuttons his shirt)
- his father died on the battlefield (a typically masculine act)
- his attempt to recreate his fathers death shows his desire to return to the past: he’s only concerned that his legacy as a man is passed on
2
Q
How is Doctor Ferreiro represented?
A
- mentally assertive through his ability to disobey Vidal and support the Rebels
- caring and compassionate: shows empathy when he has to cut off the Rebel’s leg
- selfless: euthanises the stuttering Rebel even when he knows the consequences
- disobedient; stands up to Vidal
3
Q
How is Mercedes represented?
A
- caring and compassionate
- resourceful and strong willed
- resists Vidal / fascists
- smuggles supplies to the Rebels
- start of the film; timid and lurking in the background, ordered around by men
- end of the film; empowered
- supports the Rebels because she felt ‘invisible’ to Vidal (link to exclusion of women)
- when she is interrogated by Vidal; ropes symbolise female oppression and she saves herself
- uses traditional female clothing (apron) to conceal her knife; signifies how she is hiding masculine aspect of herself within disguise)
- her act of slashing Vidal’s mouth feminises him (yonic imagery) : brings the patriarchy to its knees with a high angle shot of Vidal making him look vulnerable
4
Q
How is Carmen represented?
A
- embodies stereotypical woman
- visibly weak and sick: off screen death shows how even in death women cannot occupy the narrative
- passive, subject to Vidal’s will
- allows herself to be controlled; confined to wheelchair at Vidal’s request so literally and metaphorically pushed around by men
- silenced at the banquet when discussing her and Vidal’s romance: reminds her of her place in society
- her death is unmourned by Vidal, which represents how women are repressed in a patriarchal society: he only looks at his son
5
Q
How is Ofelia represented?
A
- disobedient (link to Pale Man scene, eating the fruit)
- positive representation: strong willed, brave, independent in thought, stands up for what she believes jn
- resists fascism/Vidal through her love of literature
- ruining her dress demonstrates her rejection of patriarchal values and conformity
- becomes the hero of the film
- curious and adventurous like most children
6
Q
How is the Faun represented?
A
- ambiguous: not inherently good or evil
- humanoid
- reverses in age throughout the film
7
Q
How is the Pale Man represented?
A
- represents white patriarchy
- his lair reveals aspects of patriarchal society’s power dynamics
- a metaphor for the “Church eating the children when they have a perversely abundant banquet in front of them” - Del Toro
8
Q
How is the Mill represented?
A
- the place where Vidal has control and power: controls the food and rations it
- exerts his power of the peasants and people of Spain
- Vidal’s Francoist military headquarters
9
Q
How is the Labyrinth represented?
A
- represents life: full of confusing decisions
- Ofelia’s way of escaping the repression around her
- symbolises Ofelia’s desire to escape her reality and find some kind of redemption from the hardships of life
- symbolises a complex and treacherous journey
- a physical manifestation of the difficulties and complications that Ofelia is facing as an adolescent
- Mercedes: “It’s a Labyrinth. Just a pile of old stones […] Don’t go near it. You could get lost.”
10
Q
How are the woods represented?
A
- most common fairytale setting
- a place beyond safety and comfort of the town/village
- represents the unknown where anything can happen
- outside of normal experience and is both a magical realm and place of danger
- where Ofelia finds the statue with the missing eyes
- where we see the first fairy
- Pedro and Militia hide in woods for protection from the fascists
- where the 1st task is held
11
Q
How is the Catholic Church represented?
A
- Del Toro views Catholicism negatively
- Pale Man represents Catholic Church, reference to St Lucy
- Religious references: fireplace = gates of hell. Adam and Eve forbidden fruit
12
Q
What does the tree represent?
A
- Carmen’s pregnancy: the toad is the baby and the tree is Carmen’s womb. Ofelia sees the baby as an illness (“She is sick with baby.” and wants to remove it to remove her mothers pain
- symbolises femininity: tree as the uterus (symbolising Carmen and the women of 1940s Spain). toad as the fascists having control over women’s bodies (abortion was opposed at the time)
13
Q
How are the Fascists represented?
A
- greedy, selfish, hypocritical and corrupt
- associated with cool tones; suggest they bring misery
- self serving; causes suffering of millions of innocent civilians
- AO3: Catholic Church in the same league, Franco was closely allied with them
14
Q
How are the Rebels represented?
A
- positive representation of men
- care about each other; caring and compassionate
- heroic
- associated with golden earthy tones:
