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Women portrayal in movies
Film and gender roles
Film and gender roles
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Throughout history, Greek civilians have created a variety of myths recounting the feats of gods and goddesses that serve as a rationale for the existence of natural phenomena within the human world. Greek mythology has, thus, had a significant impact on the culture of many civilizations. From the past to the present, writers, and artists often have found inspiration as well as contemporary pertinence within mythological themes present in Greek tales. As a result, many have altered the core of a myth to develop a distinct variant of the tale. For example, acclaimed Mexican filmmaker Guillermo del Toro drew inspiration from a wide range of Greek myths to create the world within his 2006 film ‘Pan's Labyrinth’.‘Pan's Labyrinth’ depicts the aftermath …show more content…
Del Toro, however, inverts this theme within ‘Pan’s Labyrinth’ by modifying the step taken by Ofelia toward puberty and altering the way in which it changes the course of her life. In ‘Homeric Hymn to Demeter’, Persephone is offered a pomegranate by Hades and is ordered to consume it. Persephone reluctantly obeys, symbolically maturing. There is, however, a danger associated with eating in the Underworld, for those who do so become eternally tied within Hades’s realm. It is this course of action that ultimately transforms Persephone's life. Persephone symbolically reverts to an adolescent state of mind when she is with her mother, Demeter. As a result, Persephone fails to fully mature. Del Toro parallels this occurrence in ‘Pan's Labyrinth’, however, in a way which exemplifies Ofelia’s maturity without reversion. During one of her quests, Ofelia is nearly captured by the Pale Man when the lure of an elaborate feast causes her to fall into temptation. Despite being warned against eating from the Pale Man's table, Ofelia does so, anyway. This act of defiance allows Ofelia to realize that her actions can have negative repercussions – including death. Upon learning from her mistake, Ofelia is able to begin maturing into a young woman. With each quest, Ofelia continues to mature ultimately leading to the ultimate symbol of her maturity in the film. Del Toro inverts the theme of female maturity and growth within …show more content…
Del Toro, however, inverts this theme within Pan's Labyrinth by having the protagonist reject the patriarchal values impressed upon her. In the myth of Persephone, Persephone lives within a patriarchal society. Upon her abduction, Persephone is forced to marry, succumbing to the ultimate patriarchal standard established within her world. Persephone must accept her fate and remain obedient to Hades, unendingly honoring his commands. Del Toro, however, has Ofelia deny the patriarchal value of beauty and motherhood throughout the film. For example, Ofelia dirties various articles of clothing, including a new dress, when completing the tasks presented to her. In doing so, Ofelia rejects a patriarchal standard of beauty. To continue, following her mother's death during childbirth, Ofelia decides that she will never have a child. This rejection of motherhood opposes what patriarchal societies demands of women. Through the examples of defiance, Del Toro continues to produce a strong female
Pan’s Labyrinth (2006) written and directed by Guillermo del Toro is a dark fantasy film that uses fantasy and inspired true events of the after effects of the Spanish Civil War to create a symbolic parable that was influenced by fairy tales and myths. Even though this film is explicitly about the times during Franco it is also a film that can speak for any time period, past, present, and future. Through the use of phantasmagorical elements in the fantasy sequences del Toro uses doubling to reinforce the horrific events that have and can happen again in reality. The film takes place five years after the Spanish Civil War during Francisco Franco’s reign of terror. The story focuses on Ofelia (Ivana Baquero) as well as Ofelia’s evil stepfather, Captain Vidal (Sergi Lopez). Both characters represent something bigger than they actually are; Ofelia is seen to represent Spain and the antifascists whereas Captain Vidal represents Franco and fascism. Ofelia has to complete three daunting tasks given to her by the Faun (Doug Jones) that is said to reunite her with her family, the King and Queen of the Underworld. Del Toro uses doubling of the mythical realm with the ‘real world’ throughout the film that emphasizes the underlying meaning of the film. The film also follows the story of the anti-fascists rebels that are hidden amongst the trees and mountains. The character Mercedes (Maribel Verdu) is able to fool Captain Vidal for most of the film and help the rebels. It is not until the near end of the film where Captain Vidal realizes that Mercedes has been helping the rebels the entire time and it is due partly because of his misogyny that he is unable to see her as a threat to his cause.
Hannah Simon Escape into the Heavens Right before a storm, there’s always that feeling of calmness and serenity, almost so soothing you want to stay outside just to feel the breeze blow your hair across your face. The air becomes still and off in the distance you can hear the rustling of the leaves. But within minutes, the sky becomes ominous with clouds rolling in and then the realization hits you. It might be a smart idea to take shelter. As you shut the doors behind you, you can’t help but to peer out the window at the impending wrath of Mother Nature you left behind.
In two amazing poems, both poets make allusions to the myth of Persephone. The myth of Persephone tells of her kidnap by Hades, the God of the Underworld. She is then fated to spend one-third of the year in the underworld as Hades’ bride because she consumed pomegranate seeds. This myth appears frequently as a metaphor not only in “The Pomegranate” and “The Bistro Styx,” but in many others as well. In both poems, the myth of Persephone is used to symbolize the mother-daughter relationships.
Hades fell in love with Demeter’s daughter, Persephone. Persephone loved to live about in the fields that her mother made. Hades wanted Persephone as his bride. Zeus, the father of Persephone, did not deny but warned that Demeter would be furious. He captured her and forced her to stay in the underworld. To capture her, he arose from the depth with a chariot of horses. He stole her from the flowery field and took her to a dungeon of darkness. Persephone gained the name “core”. This was symbolizing her loss of girlhood. Demeter went looking for her daughter. She could not find her, and she almost came to the extent of barring the whole earth of the vegetation. Zeus could not let this happen, so he sent for Persephone to be received. Persephone would not eat, but Hades would not let her leave until she ate at least one thing. Hades gave her a forbidden fruit. Any fruit that was to be eaten in the underworld, the eater of that fruit must stay in the underworld. Her eating the fruit meant she had to stay in the underworld forever. A compromise was made between Demeter and Hades. Four months of the year Persephone had to stay with Hades and be the queen of the underworld. During this time the Greeks entered a cold and barren time called winter. The other eight months, Persephone spent her year with Demeter. During this time crops and vegetation would be abundant (Peterson and Dunworth 143). These were the times of spring and summer. When it was time for Persephone to rule the underworld, she was in charge of watching the special prisoners. The prisoners were the defeated titans (Calame, 266).
“Fear me,love me,do as I say,I’ll be your slave” says Jareth The Goblin King from the Labyrinth. By using irony, the author of a story can create a surprising events. Authors use multiple kinds of irony to make stories more surprising.
"Pan 's Labyrinth" is directed by Guillermo del Toro, is a magical realism drama. The screen shows the magical world of bizarre situations, a fictional out of Pluto 's daughter "Ophelia" to roam the world. To 1944 as the background, the fascist murder of guerrilla fighters as a real-world story. The whole film myth and reality are intertwined, is a complete metaphor and reflection on the Spanish civil war. One side is the little girl innocent fairy tale, while the Nazis are inhuman torture and slaughter. Two living scenes intertwined in a film, brings out a moral and human conflict. This is the child to see everything in the eyes, and what we see, it seems that the other world.
Hades, the God of the Underworld and Death, also the God of the Riches. Most of Hades and his four siblings life was spent in the stomachs of Cronus his father. Cronus was the Titan God of time and the ages. He was afraid if he had not eaten his children he would be overthrown by one of his sons. If not for Zeus later on Forcing the Cronus to disgorge them Hades would not have had a life at all. Together Zeus and Hades Drove the Titan Gods from the heaven down to a pit and locked them away. Hades gaining control of the Underworld realized he was missing something. A wife, he demanded for his brother Zeus to give away one of his daughters to him. Zeus chose Persephone now the Goddess and queen of the Underworld. Although this did not happen so easily, Zeus knowing his daughter would not accept to marry such a man like Hades he quickly had his own daughter abducted just to please the God of the underworld, but her mother Demeter the Goddess of Agriculture, grain and bread was not happy about this and demanded her daughter back. When she was not given her daughter she put a great dearth upon the earth until she was handed back her child. Hades did send her back from the Underworld only because she had tasted the pomegranate seed and had to return to him a portion of each year. People thought of Hades to be a regal god who was dark haired and held an bird-tipped sceptre ("HADES : Greek King of the Underworld, God of the Dead ; mythology ; pictures : HADES, PLUTO”).
The film Pan’s Labyrinth, has several common concepts with Joseph Campbell’s theory on heroes in Hero with a Thousand Faces. His theory emphasizes on tests that show their moral and basic instincts for the rite of passage to their threshold, in this case, the underworld. Campbell’s theory is a concept that surrounds an individual’s journey to heroism. This concept pertains to Ophelia due to her circumstances as a child who ventures out on thresholds, tests, and so forth. Campbell’s depiction relates to Ophelia as he describes the levels in which one must attain and accept as a female heroine. Furthermore, his theory exaggerates on the making of a hero to the resurrection in terms of physical and spiritual transformation. Ophelia’s character depicts a hero who has been resurrected as a human. Thus, she begins her journey to cross the threshold, “pass from the everyday world in the world of adventure,” (Campbell). There are many stages in the film that depicts Ophelia’s introduction to the stages of being a hero. More so, it focuses on tasks, which Ophelia must pass or fail in order to determine her role in the film; Princess of the Underworld or just a human soul. This is lead by the faun who simply reassures a place of ‘paradise’ for Ophelia only with her cooperation to listen and follow her morals.
In the Hymn to Demeter, the rape of Persephone starts with her picking flowers and she comes across the hundred headed narcissus which "Gaia made grow as a trick for the blushing maiden" (HHDem. 8-9). This trick is set into motion by Zeus, but since Gaia plays the role of protecting the youngest generation, this is a foreshadowing that Persephone's ordeal will be for a good cause. Hades moves in to take Persephone when the grounds gapes open and she begins to cry aloud. Demeter hears her daughters screams but she is powerless against Hades, hence the separation of distance between them. The grief stricken Demeter goes through an experience which plays out the role of a symbolic death. this is because the relationship between the mother and daughter ends at a wedding.
Demeter cares about her daughter. When she notices that Persephone is missing, she panics and immediately looks for her daughter everywhere on the earth. “For nine days, then, over the earth queenly Deo, roamed about, holding blazing torches in her hands, and she never tasted ambrosia or the sweet drink,nectar, as she grieved, nor did she wash her skin with water” (Hymn to Demeter, 47-50). Demeter is so grieved that she even forgets to eat and drink. The only thing she engages in is to find her daughter. Demeter’s tireless searching reflects a mother’s love and worry for her child. We can also find similar evidence that shows Penelope’s love to her husband in The Odyssey. At Odysseus’s house, when the people are listening a song about Troy War (Odyssey 1,379-362), Penelope cries out, “ Break off this
Hades became very lonely in the underworld, and went above and kidnapped Demeter’s daughter, Persephone, for his wife. Persephone, nonetheless, was not Hades’ only significant other. Hades had a mistress called Minthe whom Persephone later transformed into a plant. Hades is also known as the god of wealth due to the precious metals mined from the earth. He has been said to possess a helmet that was given to him by the Cyclops.
Numerous lively heroes ventured into Persephone’s clutches with the hopes of beating death, yet she explains that despite their god-like strength they too will die. Two such heroes were Theseus and Pirithous. When Theseus and Pirithous attempted to kidnap the Queen of the Underworld she enticed them to sit in the chair of forgetfulness where their flesh fused to the cushions and refused to relinquish them (Taylor 268). Persephone appears many times to offer food, drink, or rest to weary heroes in the underworld in order to trap them there forever in the same manner that Hades tricked her (Taylor, 268). Because of Persephone and Hades’ antics many people hated them as gods, but Persephone’s cruelty serves as a reminder that while death is necessary it is not always kind. In the same manner that Persephone accepted her fate, mortals must also accept their own imminent
In a society in which social position was vital for having a successful family, the Greek and Roman families internally struggled with one another. This constant conflict stems from the father’s desire for control and the society’s high placement of power. In the Greek myth Demeter and Persephone, Zeus’s interest for his selfish gains prompts him to “ ( give ) Persephone to the Lord of Dead to become his queen “ ( Rosenberg Demeter 96). Zeus does not ask Persephone nor Demeter, his beloved wife, presenting that he does not show any opinions on their feelings. Although Zeus in reality just wanted to have a powerful family with the addition of Hades, his love for power overrode his love for his family and created a tension between the other members and him. In another Greek myth, Jason and the Golden Fleece, shows man’s love for supremacy through ...
In Ovid Metamorphoses, the Roman literature described the ruthless act of Pluto of rape, to seize and carry away Proserpine without the consent of Ceres and in parallel in the Homeric Hymns of Demeter; Persephone was seized and carried away by Hades without the consent of Demeter. The invariant theme that was identified in both the Greek and Roman literature was the loss of innocence of Persephone/Proserpine. Despite the various differences the story was presented, it reinforced the innocence that was stolen from the god of the underworld, Hades or also known as Pluto. Throughout this paper, it will discuss the similar characteristics of the two myths such as the motive that led and encouraged the god of the underworld to kidnap Persephone/Proserpine, and the aftermath caused by the grief of the mother of the abducted Persephone/Proserpine. The paper will also discuss the differences between the two literatures, such as the involvement of other gods and goddesses.
Her time spent with Hades proves that his oppressive nature only adds more to her powerlessness; therefore, she yearns to return to how things used to be. To satisfy both parties, Hades and Persephone, Hades agrees to a compromise set by Zeus because of the failure of crops caused by Persephone's mother’s distress. Persephone can see her mother and return to her world for two seasons, Summer and Spring, for the year, however, when the time of either Winter or Fall, Persephone must return to her captivity in the underworld. While Isabella is not given an alternative option in avoiding Heathcliff’s abuse, she begins to express her discontent with the status of the marriage. Like Persephone, initially, Isabella did not voice her qualms associated with being in a marriage with Heathcliff, however, as time went on, she gained the ability to be more rebellious.