Part A–

The ideologies surrounding gender in Pan’s Labyrinth is so Cleary critical about patriarchal society. The female characters like Ophelia and Mercedes are expected to be subservient, stereotypical by their male counterparts, but instead turn out to be courageous and smart, the archetype of traditionally patriarchal views on women.

Part B-

Del Toro uses aesthetics in Pan’s Labyrinth to firstly take on the perspective of Ophelia, and her imaginative, magic – realism personality. The magical look of the movie as a whole reflects how in order to shield herself from the violent environment, Ophelia fabricates a world of her own, a fantasy world where suffering doesn’t exist and she’s the princess.

How is gender represented in Pan’s Labyrinth 

• Use of gold colour pallet – used in fantasy scenes and scenes with Ophelia. 
• Shadowy blue colours – used in scenes with the faun 

Analysis of frog tree scene –  

The use of intertextual references takes place in Ophelia’s dress that she takes off, the dress reminds the audience of Alice in Wonderland, and the fantasy world that both Alice and Ophelia explore. The way the dress is sullied contrasts with the expectation of women being put together and ‘polite’, whereas Captain Vidal is presented to be more put together, therefore inverting the roles of men and woman, and commenting on the absurdity of gender politics and roles. 

The use of ‘wipe transitions’ creates a parallel between Ophelia and Captain Vidal, both being binary Oppositions of each over. 

The use setting illustrates how Ophelia is ‘trapped’ in the world she is, she is living in a much smaller world, boxed in by expectations of society and gender stereotypes. Whereas Vidal is out in the open, exclaiming out to the woods, as if he owns it. 

The colour pallet also reflects Ophelia’s fantasy world, whereas Vidal is lit realistically, showing how he does not posess the same childish, imaginative mindset as Ophelia.