Thursday 12 October 2017

Archetypes in Labyrinth


There are some archetypes that are found in many films, these are Hero, Shadow, Herald, Threshold Guardian, Trickster, Mentor, Allies, Mother, Father, Child, Maiden and Shape-shifter. These are roles that can be found in the film Labyrinth (1986).

The Hero in Labyrinth is Sarah as she is the character that we follow on her journey to save her brother. She is a hero as her goal is to save her baby brother from the Goblin King after she wished the baby away. Throughout the film she encounters other characters that help and hinder her.

The Shadow, or Villian, of the film is Jareth, the Gobling King, as it is he who takes Sarah's baby brother Toby. He is placed in opposition to Sarah as the one she has to defeat to get her brother back and thus places obstacles in her path to prevent her reaching her goal.

The Herald in the story is not a character. In this case, the Herald is an event. This is when Sarah's stepmother tells Sarah to look after the baby and then leaves. This is the Herald as it is leaving Sarah with the baby that led to her wishing him away and starting the journey.

Sir Didymus is the character that acts as the Threshold Guardian as he is the one to block Sarah from continuing her path as he must guard the bridge and allow none to cross without permission. To pass him Sarah has to think as she cannot just move freely past him and must figure out how to get him to let her pass. One she gets past him, Didymus is no longer required as the Threshold Guardian as there is no longer a threshold to gaurd thus he joins her as an Ally.

The role of Shape-shifter is filled by Hoggle as he toes the line between helping Sarah and doing what Jareth wants. He begins by giving Sarah advince on getting into the Labyrinth, but then advises her not to go in at all. Then when Sarah is stuck Jareth sends Hoggle to take her back to the start, which Hoggle intends to do until Sarah bribes him to take her as far forward as he can. He then goes back on that when Jareth shows up, claiming he was taking her back to the start the whole time. Hoggle is also the one that Sarah trusts as he saves her life, only for him to give her a peach from Jareth that hinders her journey. Ultimately he chooses to help Sarah, and thus becomes an Ally.

Sarah gains Allies as the film progresses, by the end she has three main allies. These are Hoggle, whom she befriends, Sir Didymus, who wishes to join her on her journey, and Ludo who she saved from the Goblins. These three accompany her as she travels to the castle, offering their help when they can.

Throughout the film Sarah receives advice from many places but the advice that ends up recurring the most comes from a Worm she meets near the start of the Labyrinth. Thus the worm is the Mentor as he is the one to give her the advice she needed to get through the maze and defeat the Goblin King.

The character of the Child is both Sarah's younger brother Toby, who she wishes away, as he is a baby and the symbol of the childhood Sarah is leaving behind as well as her childish need to have all of her parents attention. The other example is Ludo, who uses simple and childish logic to progress through things. He is the Child as he is innocent and childlike.

The role of the Mother is filled both by Sarah's absent birth mother and by her Step-mother. The former as she is who Sarah aspires to be like, even though she isn't part of Sarah's life. The latter is because she is trying to be a mother-figure to Sarah.

No comments:

Post a Comment