Enter Pan's Labyrinth Sparknotes

The Story Behind Pan’s Labyrinth For the country of Spain, much of its history has shown to have a profound impact on how things are currently perceived from within. For instance, events like the Spanish Civil War as well as Franco’s dictatorship, which lasted for 36 years, have very much shaped the country’s history in a way that may lead many to have negative accounts or memories of the country. With that being the case, it makes understanding what actually happened in the past all the more important. However, what makes the memorializing of Spain challenging is the fact that much of the history has been covered up or altered to maintain the collective support of the population until recent. This was seen in acts like the Amnesty Law of 1977, which pardoned and silenced all those who participated in the Civil war, on both
Historic memorialization in the country was finally becoming a thing of importance to the people of Spain. This did not solve all of their issues in terms of the historic memorialization of the country, as there was still an ongoing tension between the two dominant political parties of the country that interpreted and portrayed different versions of historic incidents. Examples of these differences can be seen in textbooks, news reports, and even movies that look to portray descriptive visualizations of the past. Enter Pan’s Labyrinth. This movie, directed by Guillermo del Toro, at the time, was viewed by many to be an accurate portrayal of the trials and tribulations of Spain during the beginning years of the Franco dictatorship. Moreover, Del Toro uses a plethora of motifs and symbols to establish and relate specific ideas to the early years of Franco’s rule for those viewing the movie. This is seen primarily in his development of certain characters. This includes Ofelia, the story’s protagonist, Captain Vidal, Ofelia’s stepfather, and the Pale man; all of whom can be related back to the conflicting