Pan's Labyrinth

Pan’s Labyrinth is a mythical tale based around the Spanish Civil War. The key point that made this film enjoyable and entertaining to watch was the fact that there is a constant struggle between reality and fantasy. The fantasy world allows the main character, Ofelia, to escape from her nightmarish reality; there needs to be a sense of realism or else the story would seem too unreal and out of the question. The slight attachment to realism makes the film’s storyline seem possible in the real world. Writer/Director, Guillermo del Toro, successfully implemented the themes of obedience/disobedience, such as obeying stepparents in the classic tale of Cinderella as well as Stepmom, and sacrifice for the greater good, as implemented in The Terminator and Titanic. 

Ofelia is a young girl who grew up by her mother’s side after the death of her father. She cares for her mother greatly and is obedient towards her, never arguing but she has a tendency to run off and disappear for hours at a time which worries her mother. Despite her negative feelings toward her new father, Capitan Vidal, Ofelia respects him to please her mother, who only wishes to provide for her daughter and soon-to-be son. Capitan Vidal does not stand for disobedience and is a very controlling fascist leader who wants everything done his way and seems to care about nothing but the birth of his son. As far as sacrifice goes, Ofelia’s mother sacrifices her life for her son, and in the end Ofelia sacrifices her own life for her little brother, thus completing the final task necessary to claim her throne. Although Ofelia dies in our world, her spirit lives on in her father’s kingdom, her fairy-tale land where she is truly happy.

RoboCop

RoboCop failed to exhibit any characteristics of a realistically violent film. All of the scenes that conveyed violence, which were a majority of the film’s content, were blown way out of proportion and a bit too graphic and unrealistic. That is not to say that all of the violence in the film was unnecessary, it was merely inflated to comply with the action/adventure demanding patrons of the time period. It just depends on the extent of the violence displayed as to whether or not it is meaningful enough to drive the story forward, or merely incorporated to excite the audience.

The film exhibits characteristics of “fun” violence that are created merely for the purpose of entertaining the audience and providing excitement. The kill scenes were extreme at times where you want to look away and just stop the movie but you are anxious to know what is going to happen next so you keep on watching. The violence is a crucial element to be implemented in the film; without it the movie would not be as enticing. Some aspects of the violence portrayed in RoboCop were realistic, such as the convenience store holdup, but at the same time a bit extreme, such as the slaughter of the business man at the failed robotic policeman presentation. The beginning of the film is a bit uneasy to watch when Officer Murphy was shot more than any person should ever have to suffer through, but as the film picked up the violence is accepted and embraced because it pushes the story forward. 

RoboCop, the new and improved Alex Murphy, is a hardcore piece of machinery that would stop at nothing to serve justice. With a film of this genre and caliber, it is expected that some extent of violence should be implemented. All in all, the violence exhibited throughout the film was created more for entertainment purposes to entice the viewing public rather than as an artistic composition.