New ways of thought have historically swept across continents, sparking revolutions and changes in lifestyle. Social movements can have impacts reaching past the borders of just one country. The widespread nature of some ideas is due to the impact of globalization, while in other places it is due to independent developments within a region. As a part of their impact on culture and society, such ideas also have an indelible impact on films. While each has a distinct style and is impacted by different local influences and histories, Italy’s Il Postino and Spain’s Pan’s Labyrinth each show signs of similar ideologies and universal themes that are the product of both globalization and independent local development of ideas.
Pan’s Labyrinth, set in Spain in 1944 during post-civil war unrest, is the tale of Ofelia, a girl who is confronted by fantastic creatures that send her on a quest to prove herself to be the exiled princess of their underworld realm. Her fairytale adventures, though often perilous, are starkly contrasted by the real-world conflicts, as her misogynistic stepfather, a violent and self-righteous general Vidal, is battling against the Spanish guerrilla resistance in the mountains.
Il Postino, on the other hand, is set in Italy in the 1950’s and follows Mario Ruoppolo, a man whose sole job is to deliver mail to the venerable Pablo Neruda, an exiled Chilean poet. While Mario is initially interested in following Neruda’s footsteps to use poetry to win over his love, he is also influenced by Neruda’s Marxist leanings. After Neruda returns to his home in Chile, Mario is invited to read one of his own poems dedicated to Neruda at a communist rally. As Neruda learns upon returning to the Italian island for a visit, Mario is killed in a subsequent riot days before his first son is born.
While each film has circumstances that are unique to its respective setting, both films are clearly influenced by global ideologies. Marxism, which is largely influenced by the idea of a classless society for the benefit of the community, is a key ideology in Il Postino. Modern communism began developing in the late nineteenth century and spread like wildfire throughout the world. The concept of it reaching an isolated Italian island is clearly a sign of globalization, which is the passing of ideas and goods across the world with increasing speed and efficiency, within the scope of the film. Fascism is another ideology that became widespread in many countries throughout the twentieth century. The regime that was in control of Spain following the Spanish Civil War was largely fascist. Ofelia’s stepfather, Captain Vidal, is a general of this regime. The spread of fascist principles, which involve strictly-enforced nationalism and self-righteous pride in one’s country, marked the history of many countries following World War I. Although each specific instance of fascism focuses the attention on a national level, fascism has been seen in a plethora of countries; its incorporation into Pan’s Labyrinth is a sure sign of globalization.
In addition to Marxism, feminism is a movement that is sweeping the globe. More feminist-conscious films portray women not as weak and submissive objects of desire, but as people with their own strengths, weaknesses, and trials. In Il Postino, women are, at first glance, treated only in the context of their appeal to men. Mario himself is only preoccupied with learning the art of poetry in order to woo Beatrice, a beautiful woman in the village. The way women are shown to flock almost mindlessly toward Pablo Neruda, on the premise that they are solely interested in his love poetry and not at all in his more intellectual ideas, also adds to this unfair portrayal of women. On a deeper level, however, Il Postino is on par with other feminist films of the present day. The film’s two most prominent female characters, Beatrice and her aunt, are clearly independent women. As seen in the image, the aunt successfully runs her own café without the help of any man.
When Beatrice first meets Mario and beats him in foosball, she conquers the stereotype of a submissive female. While the idea of women being subordinate to men may be a dominant cultural thought, the real women of the film are smart and self-sufficient.
In Pan’s Labyrinth, the women are also stuck in a society that places them in subordinate roles. Ofelia’s mother, Carmen, “has become nothing but a show piece and vessel for Vidal's unborn baby” (Zipes 2). This is particularly manifested when she is made to sit in a wheelchair while she is pregnant, a symbolic gesture showing that the society places women in subordinate conditions. Mercedes, another prominent female character, is stuck in the role of a servant to the general. Finally, Ofelia herself, the main character, is expected to simply sit quietly and look nice. While their society may treat them as inferiors, the film brings out the strength in each of the women, focusing on their courage. The film focuses on the mother’s conscious decision to marry the general, which she does purely because she thinks he will provide for the survival of her family. While she may have less power in the social constructs of the time, she shows her courage and strength through her plight as she chooses to make sacrifices for her family to be safe and well. Mercedes also breaks her stereotypical submissive servant role; “Mercedes, dismissed as ‘just a woman,’ is in league with the guerrillas and will conspire against her tyrannical master under his very nose” (Smith 3). Her courageous actions show that she is not a mere object of the general’s possession; she is her own person and has the power to undermine his authority. Ofelia also goes against societal constructs concerning the expectation that she be seen and not heard. One particular scene, which can be seen in the shot, in which she does this is when she dirties her beautiful new dress while on one of her many quests.
The film also gives her power in that she is a princess, which is traditionally a position of power. The portrayal of women in both Il Postino and Pan’s Labyrinth as independent, strong characters marks these films as influenced by feminist ideology, which could be considered either a product of globalization, as the feminist movement has been a global trend, or locally-developed feminism.
Another ideological trend that pervades each film is that of Christianity. First of all, the main character of each film can be viewed as a Christ figure. In Il Postino, Mario takes on communist ideals that are portrayed to be to the benefit of the entire community, and, like Christ, Mario is sacrificed for trying to bring good to the people. Ofelia, on the other hand, refuses to complete her final task, which would entail handing her newborn brother over so his blood could be used to open the portal to the underworld; she proves she is truly the underworld princess, is subsequently shot by her stepfather, and joins her true family in the underworld. She shows such a strong belief in protecting her sinless infant brother that she is similarly martyred to save him and born again, as Christ was. Both characters die for their cause in an attempt to benefit others, marking them as Christ figures. Christianity is also present in Il Postino as the film follows a celebration honoring Mary, which involves setting a likeness of Mary, surrounded by candles, out to sea in a raft. Another biblical reference in Pan’s Labyrinth can be found when Ofelia succumbs to the temptation to eat a grape in the dungeon of the Pale Man. Ofelia has been warned by the faun that the feast in the dungeon is forbidden fruit and eats it anyway, bringing death and destruction in the wake of her action. The image to the left shows Ofelia as she is about to eat the grape, ignoring the fairies warning her not to.
This scene is reminiscent of Adam and Eve eating of the forbidden fruit in the Garden of Eden, which results in a loss of innocence. In Pan’s Labyrinth, the faun turns away from Ofelia and tells her that she is no longer welcome in the underworld because of her mistake. In a similar way, God expels Adam and Eve from paradise for their actions. In another scene, Ofelia is being pursued through the labyrinth by her violent stepfather. When she appears to be cornered, the walls of the labyrinth simply open up to make a pathway for Ofelia, leaving the general behind. This scene is reminiscent of the story of the parting of the Red Sea in the Bible, as both the Jewish people and Ofelia are running for their lives and a path appears for them out of nowhere, apparently as a result of some divine power. Because Christianity is a widespread ideology and both films have strong Christian influences, the films show evidence of globalization simply by having Christian themes.
Different ideas often spread quickly throughout the globe, as evidenced by the spread of Christianity, Marxism, and feminism. Some ideas, however, seem to be ingrained in the human psyche. The ideas come in the form of universal themes, timeless messages about life and humanity that can be found throughout literature, the arts, and, in present times, movies. Both films, for example, make use of the tendency of humans to associate the great heights of mountains with enlightenment and clarity of thought. In Il Postino, for example, Pablo Neruda’s house (seen in the image) is located on a mountain; “Mario must bicycle to see Neruda at the remote hilltop outpost,” working hard in order to earn Neruda’s enlightening thoughts on poetry and the meaning of life (Maslin 1).
In Pan’s Labyrinth, the rebels, portrayed as valiant heroes, are in hiding on top of the mountains, shown in the image, while the general’s forces are relatively low geographically; the rebels’ values are set to a high standard, while the general is portrayed as unenlightened and relatively savage.
The idea that the mountains are a place of enlightenment is common throughout many cultures and is evidence of common themes in both films.
The two films are marked by very different features. One has a fast-paced plot, the other a slow-paced plot. One is full of fairy tale creatures, the other is highly realistic. One has shorter takes with a lot of panning of the camera, while the other has longer takes. However, both films show the presence of widespread ideologies, displaying the universalism of human ideas and the globalization that has influenced them both.
ust the same. For comparison, City of God is a Portuguese film, released in 2002, and directed by Fernando Meirelles and Katia Lund. This film is adapted from a book published in 1997 that tells of the true to life events that took place on the streets of the City of God. Gang rivalries dominate the local culture, and constant wars make life rough and unpredictable. In my argument, I sustain that the representation of black males as disadvantaged Americans experiencing a unique set of cultural circumstances in Boyz N the Hood is refuted by the similar representation of black males living in Latin America in City of God.
