I’ll paint you mornings of gold… Reassessing Labyrinth #reviews

 

Like The Dark Crystal, there are few people my age who didn’t watch Labyrinth while growing up.  Labyrinth was my introduction to David Bowie’s music and — almost by default — becomes the measure by which I evaluate Bowie’s albums.

The film follows a teenager, Sarah, a whiny brat who fantasises about being a lady.  She plays dress up in the local park, reciting dramatic lines in a costume dress and neglecting her duties at home to babysit her younger brother.  After an emotional outburst, she accidentally summons Jareth, the Goblin King (Bowie), to abduct her brother.  Thus begins her quest to navigate Jareth’s labyrinth to reclaim her brother from him.

As Sarah progresses through the labyrinth, she meets a variety of strange characters, three of whom become friends: a selfish and cowardly dwarf called Hoggle; a frightening but gentle monster called Ludo; and a pretentious but well-meaning knight called Sir Didymus.  Initially, Sarah is frustrated that things in the labyrinth don’t go her way or meet her expectations, but she learns not to take things for granted and to understand the reality of situations.  Spoiler: she saves her brother.

What is perhaps overlooked in the film is how rich it is for interpretations.  Sady Doyle points out that the film can be read as Sarah trying to find the strength and knowledge to deal with an emotionally abusive lover.  Jareth has dominated the relationship between them, yet continually claims that he is only doing what she wants.  The term for this kind of abuse is ‘gaslighting‘.  The only way for Sarah to resolve the problem is to recognise Jareth’s behaviour and assert her independence.

The film has a natural mirror in the myth of Theseus and the Minotaur.  The Minotaur was an abomination who was kept in the middle of a labyrinth on Crete.  Theseus needed to discover a way to navigate the maze in order to combat the Minotaur and escape.  In Labyrinth, the Minotaur is replaced with the Goblin King who, in a way, is a kind of abomination.  Where the other goblins are deformed and twisted, Jareth is sexy.

While gender and Greek myth are wonderful grounds for interpretation and exploration, I want to focus on the three friends: Hoggle, Ludo, and Didymus.

Maybe we’re looking for the same thing… Reassessing The Dark Crystal #reviews

The Dark Crystal (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

It’s rare to find somebody my age who didn’t see The Dark Crystal as a child.  Produced by the Jim Henson Company, the film is markedly different from the majority of childhood films at the time — films which actively protected children from ever experiencing fear or distress.

The story is set on a fantasy planet called Thra which is home to several races of creatures.  The planet is dominated by a group of raptor-like creatures called Skeksis.  The Skeksis live in a castle, drape themselves in fine clothes, and are served extravagant feasts by a host of enslaved creatures.  They control an artefact of power — the Dark Crystal — which they use in various rituals.

In a valley far away from the castle live the Mystics (‘urRu’).  Where the Skeksis are reptilian, the Mystics are distinctively mammalian: big round noses, horse-like hair, gentle hands.  Although their culture is seeped in ritual, it’s the non-linguistic magic of song — similar to the concept of song in Tolkien’s Simarillion.

Between the urRu and the Skeksis live two races of minor sentient races.  The Podlings — a race of bubble-headed, Croatian-speaking imps — and the Gelflings — an all but extinct race of elves.  Although the Skeksis are depicted as cruel, they had the foresight to understand that the only good elf is a dead elf.  The Gelflings, formerly a highly structured, advanced society, have been all but wiped out.  The urRu adopt a young Gelfling, Jen, and protect him from the Skeksis’ attack.  According to a prophecy, Jen must complete a quest to prevent the Skeksis from ruling Thra forever.

The traditional interpretation of the film is that the Skeksis are evil and that the Mystics are good.  Jen represents the hero who has to walk a dangerous path between these two forces in order to bring harmony to the world.  A closer reading demonstrates that this reading is perhaps naif.

As the story progresses, we discover that Jen is not the only surviving Gelfling.  A female, Kira, has been raised by the Podlings and lives in hiding.  The Podlings have taught her how to talk to animals.  She is a skilled hunter (can take down bats with her bolas).  As a female Gelfling, she has wings and is capable of limited flight.  At one point in the film, Kira is captured by the Skeksis.  Using only her knowledge, self determination, and willpower, she frees herself.

Jen — the Gelfling chosen by the prophecy to save the world — plays a mean flute.  That’s about it.

Indeed, Jen is so incompetent that he dropped the all-important Crystal Shard moments before the big moment.  Kira has to fly down into a room full of Skeksis (where she is stabbed) in order to salvage it.  This wasn’t the first time Kira sacrificed her interests for Jen’s.  Earlier, Kira and Jen were captured by the disgraced chamberlain Skeksis.  Kira attacked the Chamberlain and was taken off to be tortured so that Jen could escape.  Even earlier, Kira abandons the Podlings to a Skeksis attack so she could smuggle Jen to safety.