T w e n t y S i d e d

Time to close out my argument (such as it is) and the movie. As the dance sequence ends the story transitions back to a more straight-forward growing up/coming of age aspect. Sarah has to make her final choice then prove that she has mastered the lesson. Jareth now will appear in black (see the screenshot in the previous post), representing his ultimate role as villain and adversary. And of course, having proved she is the master (drink), Sarah will be “rewarded” through ultimate understanding.

Continue reading ⟩⟩ “Dance Magic: Final Thoughts on Jim Henson’s Labyrinth”

Paige Francis He/him

We left Labyrinth at what I described as a transition point in the movie. Sarah is now stuck at the bottom of an oubliette (one of many in the labyrinth, Hoggle will inform us shortly), although Jareth will continue to refer to “the” oubliette and “it” as if there is only one. Was it a script inconsistency, or an intentional reference to the fact that Hoggle is a product of the story while Jareth is the storyteller? Much like many insane Kubrickian hypothesis, I don’t think it matters. As far as the story goes, she *is* in *the* oubliette, and that’s all we need to know. The labyrinth is “full of them,” according to Hoggle, and considering Sarah is dealing with more significant matters than the pedantry of the Goblin Kingdom…it is, after all, only the setting…they may as well all be the same oubliette. And as we have seen, they *could* all be the same oubliette, all leading to same possible outcomes.

Continue reading ⟩⟩ “More of Jim Henson’s Labyrinth; on the significance of Jennifer Connelly (Part Two)”

Paige Francis He/him

I originally thought a post on Labyrinth would be pretty large; epic even. The more I worked it over in my mind,the concepts got simpler and simpler (famous last words). My original premise was based on the observation that most people remember Labyrinth for, well; David Bowie’s balls. And the skintight pants prominently displaying his equipment. We must be honest, as well; David Bowie is a pretty sexy fella and the entire presentation of Jareth the Goblin King does nothing but accentuate this idea. Sooo…that means Labyrinth is about growing into sexual maturity, right?

No, it’s not. That wasn’t the original idea, it’s not in the script, and it’s not explicitly in the movie. It’s just that everything related to the Goblin King, especially *in the second half of the movie* carries sexual overtones.

Continue reading ⟩⟩ “An Analysis of Jim Henson’s Labyrinth, or Why is Bowie so friggin’ sexy? (Part One)”

Paige Francis He/him