what the f0k is Labyrinth about? (a deep dive)
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- Опубликовано: 6 сен 2024
- Join me for a deep dive into Jim Hensons incredible 80s classic Labyrinth.
Content warnings for grooming and assault.
Thanks for being here xo
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Apparently, Jareth was meant to kiss Sarah in the original script, but Bowie refused to kiss Connelly because she was a minor.
Interestinggg, I didn't know that 👀
Damn, he really was a class act.
Yet, he slept with them
But sleeping with them was okay for him? What a hypocrite.
He wouldn’t kiss her because she is female.
Jareth's predatory nature was always intentional. Brian Henson actually talks about this in one of the special features on the DVD. He talks about how his father wanted to create a cautionary fairy tale. Jareth is portrayed as something of a romantic figure because that's how Sarah has been imagining him. If you watch closely, at the beginning, when they are panning all the objects in Sarah's room that we'll later see brought to life in the labyrinth, there is a scrapbook of clippings about Sarah's actress mother - including a picture of her mother with David Bowie! Whether he is her mother's boyfriend or just her co-star, we don't see, but since Sarah seems to idealize her mother, dressing up in costumes and acting out her favorite books, it makes sense that she would romantisize her mother's leading man as well. The whole point of the movie is that he's trying to get Sarah to submit to the fantasy, but she recognizes the danger and says no.
You have a photo of the clipping?
I like this interpretation thanks for sharing it!
oooooo I love this idea that Sarah gets the image of Jareth by thinking about the literal David Bowie that exists in her world LOL
I think I remember reading somewhere that there was an implication that Jareth was essentially the man her mother ran away with. Sarah is dealing with a lot of shit, she's a teen, her mom who she idolizes abandoned her, her dad has a new wife and there's a baby... I feel like the implication is that this whole thing is an escapism constructed from pieces of her real life, kind of like dreaming about the things you were worrying about that day but warped by dream logic. That why I'm actually not a huge fan of her take on the movie, because the whole thing to me read more like a self constructed childish way of coping, where problems aren't complicated emotional family stuff but just a bad guy that can be beaten with some arbitrary words, simple and uncomplicated, much easier to deal with than divorce and abandonment and puberty. Its constructed by Sarah, and therefore she's actually in control, the labyrinth is full of dangers but its all pretend and she's therefore actually safe. Children's stories fairly commonly feature antagonists where after everything is done everyone is just cool. Yeah they were trying to kill you but once you beat them, its all resolved and they come over for dinner, because the danger is essentially all pretend and a way to take control. Its a very common way of children dealing with issues like this. Eventually she has to face reality though, which is why I think the ending with all the childhood characters showing up anyway was a bit of a cop out, should just have ended at "should you need us".
If it is Sarah's fantasy, well teens are edgy and in that lens, a teen might actually fantasize about an older man, trying to emulate her mom in taste too. Fantasies of being taken away are common too, yes in reality its problematic, potentially mostly BECAUSE its something teens fantasize about without understanding the gravity of it.
I actually kind of wonder if Bowie might have been chosen specifically because his rep was clean despite being a Rockstar. That's complete conjecture though, Hollywood definitely didn't give a damn about child safety basically always, they were pro child grooming. I like to think Henson was better than that though.
I think she reads a bit too much into it. Its Sarah telling the story (literally), were really seeing everything that's happening through her lens. Analyzing it through the outside looking in kind of skews the intent very heavily. Can the peach be seen as a metaphor for date rape? Yes, but it could also be seen as a snow white or sleeping beauty allegory, and considering the storytelling and theater framing I think that makes a lot more sense. It sounds problematic, and yeah it actually kind of is, but I don't think that was the point or intent. Also most fairytales in their original forms would basically provoke the exact same reaction of "WTF did I just read?" which is kind of amusing.
Absolute nonsense
Brian froud is the artist and inspired the movie. Toby froud( the baby in the labyrinth is now a puppeteer) after living and breathing Henson. People will just twist and turn whatever they feel but for anyone that is interested, truly, Brian froud faeries and goblins books. They were all very good friends.
Although I like your take on Labyrinth, I kind of have a different approach on this film. To me, in a lot of fantasy movies that involve a girl going into a fantasy world (ex: Alice in Wonderland, Spirited Away, Pan's Labyrinth, Jim Henson's Labyrinth, etc.), it's mostly because it's an analogy of how when we're kids entering teenage years and later transcending into adulthood, it's an uncomfortable experience for us because nobody escapes the inevitable power of change. So we use fantasy as a coping mechanism to how life and change seems so difficult to deal with. In the case of Sarah, the reason why she wants to escape into fantasy because she feels like she wants to avoid the responsibilities of adulthood. When Jareth comes into the picture, he not only serves as a representation of Sarah's fears and uncertainties of adulthood, he also serves as a mentor. In the deleted scene of the final confrontation after Sarah rejects Jareth, he gives a smirk because he knows she passed the test of choosing between using fantasy as an escape or accepting change and live in the real world. Plus her imagining the friends she's made in the Labyrinth in her room represents how even though we may have "grown up", we still have nostalgic thoughts to look back on.
I don’t disagree with this at all! The interpretation that I explain in the video is definitely one thats motivated by emotion- but if I’m being more realistic about the films meaning (as it was intended by Henson) I think this is probably much closer!
Honestly love this interpretation as well as this video's. Cool!
Yeah! That was my interpretation too!
I think that your interpretation is the closest in this comments column to the right one. While many people see Jareth as a foreign, independent character in the story to me it looks more like a projection of forces acting inside Sarah's soul and body because of the natural process she is going through. It is the same with boys of that age, as they come of age they fantasize about a relation with an older woman, like in The Graduate, perhaps because the mere idea of being able to achieve such a thing gives them assurances that they will be OK in the adult world. It is all part of the same process.
@@rubenoteiza9261 Wow that is actually another really good interpretation too. It’s fascinating that we get to interpret what certain stories actually mean. This is why I love films because they give us the audience an opportunity to figure things out.
Very interesting take, I had a similar one upon first watching the movie, although mine was a little more... positive?
I'd say that the main difference, for me, was that Sarah never experienced any sa in the real world and so, rather than being a reflection of real-life trauma, this is just her engaging with various tropes and situations she might have read about in her books or heard about in real life and exploring them in a safe space, aka her imagination.
The reason why the ending scene features villanous characters as well as heroic ones is that they, too, are a part of Sarah's inner world, and she embraces this darker part of her imagination as it teaches her what she should avoid.
Really lovely video btw, it deserves more attention!
Yeah, this was more or less my interpretation as well, that the Bowie character is a representation of the 'scary unknown' in the adult world, (which intrinsically includes a sexual component, of course) that she's figuring out in her mind, as opposed to a direct representation of SA and trauma.
That said, I do think that some of the themes in the video are inherently - but unconsciously - there, as a result of the time it was made, wherein there was an undercurrent of frightening acceptability to older men having sex with younger girls, and a surface level ignorance of it...but there's just no way Jim Henson made a film for young children about sexual assault, and no way Bowie agreed to act as a child abuser character, even if veiled within a degree of metaphor.
Nonetheless, a pertinent and incisive take on the film, should one choose to view it that way.
I really like this take re 'safe spaces'. Definitely a new way of thinking about it for me that makes it a lot less dark! And thank you so much 😊
Yes, I never once thought about her take! To me, it was about growing up. I was 11 when my brother was born so I was very often left in charge of him and my then 6 year old sister from then on. I had to do adult things like babysitting at an age when I obviously sometimes resented it because I wanted to do what I wanted to do. I never thought about the age difference because I never really saw him as a legit love interest. No way was she going to choose the villain of the movie. I just saw him as a older prince that any girl may imagine in a fantasy or such as ones she read in her books.
Interesting take! I always took Jareth to be her own fantasy, her own projection of something to overcome. Fears of adulthood, men, sexuality, power, finding her voice. His appearance seems to be taken from a decoration in her room as well as a newspaper clipping she has up- if I remember right its intended to be a tabloid photo of her birth mother and the actor(?) she ran away with- he takes on the appearance of both. I always like a movie to have a cheeky little "was it a fantasy or was it not?" hint and this one does have it. I also always found it interesting that when she returns she keeps the friends and challenges she wants but he doesn't return with her, he leaves in owl form- the way he is outside the window has very vampiric or fairy-like symbolism- he is not invited in anymore. In a literal fantasy creature sense or in a dream-logic sense, he's created by her, given form and role etc and absolutely plays the part of the enigmatic villain she wants to confront while she teeters on the edge of adulthood.
I never really got a sinister message from it- especially because so many people growing up go through grappling with darker themes and interest in the adult world before they're ready- out of curiosity, trauma etc. If anything did happen to her, the movie feels like a bit of one of her dreams trying to work through it. Ofc this is only what I always took from it! Interesting to see lots of other takes in the comments as well. The dreamlike symbolism and quality really lends itself to interpretation.
A lot of the movies of the 80s kids’ fantasy film variety have the same premise.
I get a Peter Pan vibe from Jareth. Like he was kidnapped just as Toby was and despite looking like an adult and possibly being hundreds of years old he is emotionally stuck as a child. He manipulates and drugs Sarah and he and his subjects seem to have been watching her all her life from the goblin realm. The junk lady can even give Sarah toys she lost years ago. Sarah closely resembles her dead or absent mother.
I’ve heard a similar theory before that jareth was kidnapped as a baby and raised by goblins! Quite a fun twist on the film
The weirdest experience is watching Labyrinth for the first time when you are younger than 4/5 and then think you are gong in for your first watch at 16 as a Bowie fan. Nightmare Deja vu
just noticing this. the ballroom scene is very similar to the ballroom scene in "sweeney todd" wich is where judge Turpin rapes Lucy while the crowd cheers.... and yep, the musical version of sweeney todd predates the labyrinth film by 9 years (just checked).
I just want to thank you for making this video. Being a survivor myself, I grew up watching Labyrinth and to this day it’s still one of my favorite movies. But, rewatching it time and again after having gone through what I did, now that I’m older I’ve been finding a kind of different comfort past the whimsical nature of this film. Like, yeah, I’d always felt empowered in a sort of way by the message of growing up and finding unlikely friendship and defying those who seek to harm you- but seeing all of that as a story of someone going through the complex emotions of being taken advantage of and harmed and inevitably taking control over her own life… I just see myself in that and this video really just formulates what I feel when I watch this film into words and I can’t commend you enough for it.
Also- you’re just really funny! And cool! And I love your videos, you’re always so thoughtful and respectful when covering such dark subject matter and I find it very intriguing, even when you’re not cracking jokes haha
Hi!! Thank you for this comment and for sharing. I really resonate with you on that and I'm so glad you that the video was able to express some of those feelings.
And thank you!! This made me so happy to read 💜
WOW, i saw the title & was honestly hoping this was the theory you'd talk about, the first time I heard it it clicked so many things for me. Your care in explaining this is great and done way better than I ever could. I'll say tho I tend to think it wasnt intentional on Hensons part, but it was also too perfect to cast Bowie & the exaggeration of the bulge. Ultimately, I believe Henson always had a prominent message of preserving our innocence, to never disconnect from our inner child. Whats so masterful to me of his films is the extreme change of perspective from watching them as kids vs as adults, nothing about the films change, but suddenly you notice deeply detailed subliminals that speak heavily to real complexities of our world. The Dark Crystal is also canonically esoteric! Great Work!
Hey thank you so much!
I think you’re so right about ‘preserving innocence’… even just reading that made me shiver a little bit. I think his work exists in that perfect space of tapping into some of the inherent understandings we have about morality and evil and magic as children… and reconnecting to that as an adult is something very magical but also quite frightening… much to think about 💭
@rachellydiab thank u :,,)) and I'd say!!!! perhaps Jim Hensons mind is honestly much more far reaching then most of us can know. I admire your energy and dedication to analysis so much! 🙏
"Like we're still supposed to be in Jareth's world, and in that sense, still under his control." One of the things I came across while digging on the internet for the meaning of the Labyrinth is that Jareth is actually Sarah's stepdad/mother's boyfriend, Jeremy. Around Sarah's room, there are photos that include Bowie with her mom, and there's a snippet from a newspaper article telling that both are theater actors. With the interpretation that her fantastical journey is actually her processing her sexual assault, Jareth really being her stepdad who has groomed her makes a lot of sense. How she may have very complicated feelings for him, since he's this amazing guy and stage actor who she crushes on, knowing it's wrong, and yet he preys on that. Under this lens, your quote toward the end of the video may be true. Jareth, who is really Jeremy, has groomed Sarah, and she is trying to break free from his spell in the only way she knows how, through fantasy. Saving herself in her mind because she feels so lost and helpless.
Excellent video analysis btw, immediately subscribed.
Oh wow, I did not know the details about the phots/him being an actor etc- especially given that she's shown at the beginning as being into theatre that would totally line up with her idolising him and possibly allowing him to get close to her. Really interesting theory, thank you for commenting!
And thank u so much for the kind words 💜💜
this makes too much sense. and it makes a labyrinth the perfect metaphor for the situation.
Wow that was amazing 🤩 thanks for sharing your interpretation this and goes really well with what she explained in the video about her being assaulted it all makes sense now!!
Oh my Goodness!!! That’s so effed! I thought he was Bowie in real life and her mom was a fan, that’s so messed up.
I watched this film for the first time yesterday. It was an experience. Weird , cheesy but incredible. I think that to try to explain it in a literal sense is futile so it’s about the themes (basically treating it like Utena)
I think Jareth wanting Sarah to be with him is him wanting to drag her down into childishness and irresponsibility.
Sarah means princess in Hebrew and traditionally princesses where objects of desire in stories and not ppl with actual political power. Accepting Jareth is to have everything but also not being able to grow and develop or experience the world. Basically being a child forever. And I think Jareth is also stuck in this role of a powerful king - basically the epitome of power and masculinity but has no say in the manner. Maybe he thinks by being with Sarah he will be more whole and fulfilled? But of course to truly be you and grow up you need to break free from the roles that you were given as they are restrictive. Unfortunately Jareth didn’t. But thankfully Sarah manage to grow up while not completely throwing away her childhood.
Maybe one day Jareth will revolutionize his world. Sarah did it after all. That’s my first impression in the film. Your analysis is dark but oddly fitting.
UTENA MENTIONED!!!!
This essay speaks out on such a deep level what I felt about this movie, re-watching it in my 20s. Amazing!
Aw thank you so so much 🙏🏻
11:00 On that note, just yesterday I read a very alarming comment on Instagram. The topic from the slides was "to women who chose to be the other woman, why?" In the comments, one person confessed that when she was 15, a 34 year old friend of her dad's had groomed her. However, she framed the whole thing as flirting, not grooming, and that it was HER fault. That she, a 15 year old, had been flattered and excited about the attractive older man being interested in her and had willingly played along. She expressed that later on she felt guilty about flirting with him since he was a married man with kids. Despite being an adult while writing the comment, it was very clear that she still didn't understand that what had happened to her was grooming.
A flood of people responded, telling her the fact that she was a victim, that he had groomed her, and that none of that could possibly have been her fault. Her response was that while in retrospect it's obvious now that it's been pointed out to her, she can't bring herself to FEEL like she was groomed. At the time it happened, she felt in control. At the time, she felt safe and happy this was happening. To the point that, even as an adult, she can't fully comprehend that she was a victim or that what happened to her was his fault, not hers.
And that is such a dangerous thing. It's very clear that what happened to her DID affect her; even as an adult, her judgement on the situation is warped. She is clearly primed to view such situations as normal, or to blame the child involved. It's so damn insidious and I can't help but wonder how many grown women are walking around with that same mentality, likely perpetuating it. Is it more common to have that attitude than to be fully traumatized by it? How many women out there blame themselves? How many of them blame the child?
There is this another theory that Jareth was abandoned in the labyrinth by either his mother or sister who gave up trying to solve it in the same scenario. Supposedly that's how a human became the king of the goblins.
This was so interesting, I've never fully watched Labyrinth but I definitely want to now. You've strangely made me think about Howl's Moving Castle with this, how age is so entwinned in that story, the feminine lead magically becoming an elderly woman and the wizard Howl being almost stuck as a young boy
Exciting, thank you for watching! I’ve only seen Howl’s Movint Castle once but I was quite shocked about Sophies transformation, because its such a specific change and I never really understood its relevance. This has got me thinking hahah
I've always taken this movie at face value. This analysis makes so much sense, but it's completely changed my perspective on it. I always interpreted the goblin king in the end, being jealous of Sarah's friendships with all the goblins . They were all his victims and he will never be a part of their inner world the way she connects with them.
I watched this everyday with next door neighbor for months in her basement. My mom would have never let me watch it at age 6 pre-1st grade (circa 89-90). Same girl ignored me once she hit Private school in 1st grade 😂 and everything in this movie is 80s, baby! I vibed with Bowie's magical, magnetic androgyny but repelled by his characters creepiness. It was the opposite of romance
lmao. So 80's and magical! I'm a 90's baby but I've always felt really drawn to 80's movies (heathers, lost boys, beetlejuice) and Labyrinth is the best of the best imo!
What I love about this film is how open to interpretation it is, so here's what I've come to after it having been in my life for years (I caught it on TV when I was about 10 I think).
As others have said, there's a clipping of David Bowie with Sarah's mother, who is an actress. And I think the implication is that the mother left her father for him. And in her only scenes, the stepmother is actually really mean and insensitive to Sarah, expecting her to be a free babysitter without even checking with her and passive aggressively shaming her for not dating, later triangulating and running to her husband to use as an ally whenever Sarah has a problem with her behaviour. The father likewise does nothing and doesn't seem to care that his daughter is upset. The fact that there's mention of them frequently taking her toys to give to Toby without asking indicates that Sarah's boundaries aren't respected in the house. Like many toxic parents, they want her to be an adult when it will benefit them, but they don't treat her like one when it requires giving up something.
Sarah identifies with fairy tales and misunderstood heroines, which often do feature toxic or dysfunctional families, and the heroines like Cinderella, Rapunzel, Snow White etc are usually rewarded for struggling through difficulty by having a handsome prince come and whisk her away to a better life. But in this case, the prince charming is also the wicked witch, and Sarah already begins to realise her mistake when Toby is kidnapped. Toby is an innocent whom she took her frustrations out on, and Sarah's maturity is in spending the whole film trying to rescue him when she had wished he be taken away from her in the first place. Sarah repeatedly has to learn not to take things for granted and that life sometimes isn't fair - like with how the Labyrinth changes or Jareth accelerates time - and she ultimately wins by working with the hand she's been dealt and finding people to help her rather than doing it all herself. So the Labyrinth is a metaphor for the situation she's in with her father and stepmother - it's a difficult situation that she was unfairly put in, but she 'wins' by being smart and not hurting innocent people as revenge for what was done to her, breaking the cycle of abuse. She is given the choice to live in her fantasy forever, which would also involve condemning Toby to a lifetime among the goblins, but she rejects Jareth's offer and tells him he has no power over her.
And while she says she does need the friends at the end, note that she doesn't return to the Labyrinth to be with them, like when the Junk Lady tried to get her to live in an illusion. She brings *them* into *her* world. The friends also respect her boundaries the way the parents never did, first offering her the chance to let them be part of her world and telling her they're there if she needs them, rather than forcing their way into the room. And Jareth, likewise unlike the family, accepts defeat, creating a rather sad bit of subtext that in Sarah's fantasy world, even the villains respect her boundaries and treat her with respect when her parents don't. So Sarah learns that prince charming isn't coming to save her, so she will have to take steps to save herself, while also taking care of Toby and not punishing him for things that aren't his fault, showing love and care for the baby the way her parents haven't for her.
This was an excellent analysis of the film! I’ve always disliked Labyrinth but could never quite put my finger on why it made me so uncomfortable - puppets and obvious predatory behaviors aside - and this really nailed why I can never seem to walk away feeling good after watching this movie, despite it being something I should usually like as a musical/Bowie/fantasy/creepy things fan. Your take on it gives me a much deeper appreciation of the film.
I just recently realized that the entire movie is about a target trying to escape the mental trapping claws of a narcissist! 🤯
It's all there - the love-bombing, smoke-and-mirrors, gas-lighting, word-salading, denying, intimidating, cruelty - and the entire world is populated with gobbling-shaped flying-monkeys!!! 🤯
Just like the Wizard of Oz.
In both movies, every character in the fantasy world is created by the protagonist. The villain is their own shadow, and in Sarah’s case, her animus.
I don't agree with the quote about Sarah entering the adult world. *an adult's* world, sure. Jareth rules over it. But every character she meets is some stunted, naive, innocent, reflection of a child, except for the grumpy, jaded Hoggle, whom she meets *outside* the labyrinth. She isn't entering the adult world, she's navigating getting older, and realizing not a lot changes. It's all the same, just twisted, and more dangerous, representations of what she already knows.
And I'd say it is exactly a flippant happy ending to round out the film. The bad characters being present give me the opposite impression, if I try to dig deeper, though. I see it as the situation never being real or threatening. In the opening scene we see a figure of Hoggle, a plushy of Didimus, and other references to places and people she hasn't met yet, and the book she's reading from is The Labyrinth. If we look at it as real, I see it as Jareth putting her through a trial to make her appreciate her brother and step mother more, showing her they're not that bad, and that she truly does love them or she wouldn't have fought so hard to get to them. Or, if we look at it as not real, it's just her whiling away the time in her established dramatic and active imagination while she's stuck inside babysitting. The owl flying away because it had owl stuff to do, but was pulled into her imagination because of seeing it earlier.
Oh my word I have missed you so much. Love this RayRay you're a champion x
Girl your channel is everything how do you not have millions of followers!!
Raaa, thank you!!! Fingers crossed one day haha x
I love the ball scene, because it is a dream so everything is a blend of everything we've seen up till now and a heightened fantasy, even moreso than the Labyrinth. But I also like that in the behind the scenes, they state that this is Sarahs idea of an adult world as opposed to a real adult world. Also all the masks are meant to resemble the goblins we see throughout the film.
Beside the point, but I always thought Jennifer Connelly was so beautiful in this scene. Like, she is so grimdark gorgeous to me in that ballgown, to the point when I read the Grimms Fairytale of Snow White, she's exactly what I imagine
I like this review. You handled the sensitive topics with sensitivity and careness.
Thank you 💜
Jermaine as David Bowie is just as iconic!😂❤ fantastic video
Thank u!!! x
The problem with this interpretation is that it's contradicted in the text. Jareth doesnt exist. Sarah makes the labyrinth and she makes Jareth - its her story, not his. Look around her room - everything, even the ballroom, comes from Sarah's room. She presents herself with choices, with dangers - and it's her that makes Jareth scary or otherwise.
“I felt so connected to it like I was seeing something I had seen before or even living out one of my own memories.” I resonated so much with that line. That's exactly the way I feel about my favourite childhood movies.
I love Labyrinth (& Bowie) so much and this was a joy to watch thanks !💙
Thank you! So glad you enjoyed ⭐️
This movie changes meaning quickly when you realize that Sarah made up Jareth’s “face” from the scene partner/lover that her mother left her family for. Sarah is viewing Jareth through an Elektra complex lens, the film is a metaphor for an abandoned girl’s first masturbatory fantasy. Maybe Jareth and the Labyrinth are real, maybe they aren’t, but Sarah manifested how everything would appear to her, she is the one pulling the strings. Perhaps it’s my own love of this film, but I see the SA metaphor as much weaker than that of a girl on her sexual awakening fantasizing.
I first watched Labyrinth when I was 24 and found it deeply intriguing but also unsettling. Your analysis beautifully captures some of the sinister vibes I got from the film. It's gorgeous, but there's something buried underneath that doesn't bear looking at too closely, lest it drag us into a place we don't understand and aren't ready for. (Alas, I was already an adult and stuck in that realm! 😂)
ugh your mind!!!
The story of Alice in wonderland and this of Labyrinth where both the female leads have this implied power in certain iterations like the Live action Disney Alice being made the knight and in control of her own destiny and being able to transfer that strength to finally say no to the proposal at the end of the movie is very interesting when a film like Dream child(1985) exists. Dream child deals with a much older Alice whom the book was based off of dealing with the twisted fantasy world that wonderland has become now that she's older. Jim Henson's creature shop even made the puppets for the movie and when you see how they look like they're almost rotting it really emphasizes how her childhood was rotten itself from the influence of a man like Charles Dodgson. It's really sad how the imagination seems like the one place you can go to make sense of things and think you have a say in what goes on there until it becomes a hell in itself as the unaddressed traumas continue to invade it but they must be dealt with at some point though.
Dreamchild is great. I have it on DVD.
I had a similar perspective of this film - especially given that at the start when she’s acting and reading her script her parents criticise her childishness
I remember watching this movie on a birthday party with my friends. We were 11 or 12 at the time. And even back then, i had the feeling that something was off. The "relationship" between Sarah and Jared felt wrong, like we were watching a movie for adults we are not supposed to watch yet. So, I agree with everything you say.
I understand this dark interpretation but ona folkloric level fruit was often used in fairytales to make mortals forget their own realm or forget they’ve been to the fairy realm as in The Goblin
Market
And this is a goblin realm with Jared as the Goblin King One of the rules of entering other realms is “don’t eat the food” Just playing Devils advocate
I had a really unique experience with this film as I grew up! My favorite book as a child was Outside Over There by Maurice Sendak, which I experienced before ever watching Labyrinth. Did you know Outside Over There is an inspiration for Labyrinth? If you look closely, it’s one of the books in her bedroom at the start of the film! I can’t tell you how shocked I was when I watched Labyrinth for the first time in my tween years with my younger sister. We both recognized the structure of the story immediately! It’s no surprise I loved the movie and she hated it-she understandably never liked the position of being the younger sibling who got replaced by the goblins’ changeling. She made me promise I’d never “say my right words” so the goblins would take her away! 💕😂
In Outside Over There, young Ida has the responsibility of caring for her baby sister while her Papa is away at sea and Mama in the arbor (emotionally absent). One night when she’s practicing her wonder horn and not looking, the baby is stolen by goblins and replaced by a changeling of ice! She decides to save her sister by donning her mother’s yellow raincoat and escaping backwards out the window into “outside over there”. I’ll leave the rest a mystery for you to enjoy if you’re interested!
And if you become even more interested, there is an entire book dedicated to exploring how and why Maurice Sendak wrote specifically this book!! The book is called There’s a Mystery There: The Primal Vision of Maurice Sendak by Jonathon Cott. Incredible read. I learned that Outside Over There was an enormous feat for Sendak that helped him process his deep trauma of seeing the deceased Lindbergh baby (sadly kidnapped then murdered) in the newspaper as a young child himself in 1932. He said the creation of this book was how he saved the baby in a way he couldn’t as a child, and that he nearly died himself trying to finish it!
I’m amazed how people continue to inspire one another and how art continues to inspire art.
It's definitely an appreciative unique and different take of the story from what it's originally intended as.
It is a Gnostic tale. Jareth is the Demiurge/Satan. He created and rules over the word of matter, false appearances and illusions where human beings get lost and forget their true purposes and identities (the spheres, the mirrors, the labyrinth itself) as opposed to the true world of essences created by the actual God. For this reason, Jareth is a trickster and a deceiver, but at the same time, he is the instrument of a higher power, in the sense that he fulfils his duty by testing Sarah and leading her to become fully individuated. He is also the Tempter, enticing Sarah with her own fantasies about what adulthood can be like, but leading her away from what's wholesome and essential and into shallow, materialistic and selfish pursuits (the thrill of erotic love, beauty, nice stuff, etc.). I saw the ballroom scene as a temptation and as a carnivalesque vanitas (work of art showing the futility, shallowness and fleetingness of temporary riches, transient physical beauty, worldly society, reputations and pleasures and how death hides behind them and ultimately swallows them). In this scene Jareth's mask is a devil with horns and a skeletal hand that holds it. Jareth is not fazed by relative defeat because he has fulfilled his mission of carrying Sarah to full development and he is still not totally defeated because he is a sub-God, the demiurge, we all still live and will always live in the world of matter removed from the ultimate world of spirit or reality. That's why I also interpreted the scene where she wakes up after eating the peach as coming back to ugly reality after indulging in fantasies. So many more examples can be found throughout the film. Even the hairy demons symbolise the fear of the dissolution of the ego and the material body (they take off parts of themselves, chomp each other, etc.) the underlying logic of these Hyeronimous Bosch-like demons is not punishment, but ultimately quasi Tibetan non attachment, to stop making you overidentify your selfhood with a temporary, material vessel and reconnect to something higher and eternal.
💯
So I'm 43, and from The States, and I grew up on Labyrinth, I was really young when I saw it, I don't remember if I saw it in the cinema or not, but I just remember being young, maybe 6 or 7. And when it came out on VHS I wore the tape out, lol, and to this day it's a comfort film I ljke to watch each autumn. Fast foward to not that long ago, I'm living in Korea and I'm just dating my now husband that's French, he's a bit younger than me so was way too young for the initial Labyrinth pandemonium, lol, and he was in France where from his perspective it wasn't as popular, and his parents aren't "in to" those kinds of movies, so he's heard of it but has never seen it before, I show it to him, and he says it's not horrible but way too weird for his tastes, 😂😂, but then I showed him the Black Crystal, and he loved it, like really loved it. Lol, I don't get it, they are similar in style and feeling in a way, why would Labyrinth be weird but not The Black Crystal, lol, is it because The Black Crystal is more "traditional" fantasy?
When I was 9 and watched the movie, I liked it. But it felt wrong to watch the ball scene for some reason even though it resembled a fairytale. You're theory fits the story well
i love you and your mind, never change or apologize lmao
This comment legit means so much, thank u 💜
I think there's a tinge of Persephone and Hades to all of it, honestly. Ancient stories made modern.
Persephone was a child, too.
It's interesting to me how much this reading, especially of the ending, echoes the 1960s sci-fi show, The Prisoner, though that show centers the POV of a middle-aged man, not teen girl.
Sarah wants to be an adult so she doesn’t have to deal with her family situation. This could be why she is surrounded by adults. But she realizes that isn’t where she wants to be and has to join the family by saving her brother. (Stepbrother?)
Yes, it looks like a narcissist kind of show I love labyrinth, but being with a narcissist, kind of shows me of what spells they put on you, and looking in the mirror and knowing you got your power, and they cannot control you
I LOVE this, it’s so important for the history of fairy tales because most of them are meant to warn young girls against the evils of the world.
I saw this movie when I was a child and I always found it terrifying yet captivating. Casting David Bowie is still something i’m conflicted with, i think he played this role very well but it’s also unfortunate to see him play a predator. Overall this movie makes me sad but it’s something I think about pretty regularly so it’s definitely made an impact
I'm a year late to this conversation, but I'd like to point out that preteen to early teenage years is one the most conflicting and awkward periods of life - there's this constant pushing and pulling of people insisting you're still a child while demanding you grow up and have more responsibility, expecting you to know better while treating you as naive. Everyone has an opinion about you, telling you how you should be treated, what you should do, what you should feel, how you should respond, dress, behave, and on and on. It's also when most girls enter puberty and *feel* sexual for the first time (as most teenagers of any gender do, hormones be damned). I like your interpretation, but it's very one-sided, only bc it disregards Sarah's own desires, fantasies and agency. I always interpreted her relationship with Jareth as her confronting the part of herself that wants to relinquish control, realizing that it isn't a great idea, and pushing through of her own accord, presuming that the whole Labyrinth fantasy, Jareth included, isn't real, all a construct of her own making.
I love this movie, and have loved it since I was around that same age, because it is remarkably empathetic to the tween in us that never let go beyond that uncomfortable transitional phase from child to adult. It lets Sarah grow up but not forget the parts of herself that need to escape, fantasize and create stories, so that she can continue to nurture her inner child. Sometimes that means letting yourself imagine you playing the hero. I hope that makes sense.
Still one of my favourite movies from the 80's ❤
I'm trying to remember a claymation or animation movie about a girl in a nightmarish world, overcoming obstacles and fears. It had something to do with a cat and a ball of yarn, I think, or I'm confusing it with Coraline AGAIN. It's not Coraline.
I saw it in an artsy theater in the early 2000's. It was new at the time. Anyone have any ideas?
also the Bowie impression at the end made me gayer
this is the best outcome I could hope for 💓💓💓💓
This hit hard for me having a lot of weird experiences growing up
A lot of unpleasant realisations come the further we way from adulthood- hope ur ok x
Lmaooooo not the David bowie in the beginning
@@Sam-0827 glad u respect my flawless impression 😌😌
@@rachellydiab you ate, respectfully
only 2 films I'm sure I think are perfect, Labyrinth and Coraline
I never got that seeing it as a kid, a teen or now but I suppose I could be missing it. To me, it was about growing up. I was 11 when my brother was born so I was very often left in charge of him and my then 6 year old sister from then on. I had to do adult things like babysitting at an age when I obviously sometimes resented it because I wanted to do what I wanted to do. I never thought about the age difference because I never really saw him as a legit love interest. No way was she going to choose the villain of the movie. I just saw him as a older king/prince that any girl may imagine in a fantasy or such as ones she read about in her books. The ball just being a fantasy ball from the same place imagination/books or some combination. I definitely didn't see it as sexual or any kind of date rape. I've been sexually assaulted in various ways since my late teens be men. I was only fully date raped by one boyfriend I had in my early 30's thankfully but he didn't bother to drug me he just overpowered me. It took me a while to even be able to recognize and fully realize that was what had actually happened with him on multiple occasions. Thankfully, it didn't take me as long to realize I was in ever increasing danger and I needed to leave him. Especially because he very quickly TOLD me I was wife material and mother of his children material and he was set on it from date number one. So, kids and married were imminent in HIS mind. He didn't ask if I wanted either of those things with him because he was an arrogant ahole obviously. To me, Labyrinth is just a kids movie still thankfully.
David Bowls singing with Muppets why I'm Queer
1986...
omg the deer! im dying. ive wanting one for years. beautiful, one day i hope ill have one too 😂😂
Isn’t she gorgeous! Such a lucky second hand find!!
... no, it's about Goblins. Kidding. Nice essay. I think you missed something here. After her dream/sexual assault she wakes up in a junkyard. After being abused and giving her virginity, she's no longer pure, so she's symbolically thrown away, she had become trash of no value to the goblin king anymore. This may also be reference to women sometimes waking up in strange places, their bodies dumped after their sexual abuser accidentally kills them when taking sex by force.
Thank you! And, although I didn’t go into as much detail as you do here, I agree and actually do allude to this when I talk about it ringing an unpleasant bell- that bell, to me, being the real life incidences you’ve mentioned of waking by dumpsters or in unfamiliar places.
@@rachellydiab You know what I'm hearing? We are both insanely smart. Agreed? :P
@@johnnytyler1 Agreed 😇
Jareth’s final outfit is the only one I don’t like! The rest of the costumes are spot on imo
i read a feminist essay suggesting it's a metaphor for masturbation
Link?
It isn’t
How have I not seen this video already?!? I love Labyrinth 😭😂
It's the best 🦋🦋🦋 hope u enjoyed the vid!
@@rachellydiab I did! Loved the whole video!!
Is there a link to the Labyrinth D.I.D. mind control C.I.A. article?
the irony of this being the movie my mom put on after I got my first period
The ball scene reminds me of Sweeny Todd
I am imagining Prince in this movie now. :)
Great blouse
Cheers!
I am sorry but I believe you are reading a way to adult personal point of view into the story. I think you need a more innocent eye to really get the point that the story is trying to tell. This is clearly about a transition of ages of a young female. The primary theme is how her proper playful child is being pulled into more adult worlds. This is how Sarah is asked by her parents to take on more adult and responsible roles. So she is moving from child into teenage life and eventually towards womanhood. The dream world is all Sarahs psyche and Jareth is not some 39 yo male, its Sarahs view on her male "ideals" what she thinks male is and what she wants it to be. Thus the fruit narrative becomes really about her confronting her growing sexuality and how she escapes its lure. The whole film is fundamentally about a childhood saved and not lost. The scene with the Owl on the perch in the end is clearly hinting at the fact that Sarah might have postponed her adult a little, but its all eventually going to happen. Using terms like rape and grooming is really way to dark for what the movie contain, but I am sure all loss of virginity and first encounter with sexuality will have some aspects of that in it for almost everyone, males and females. Its always a child/teen being pushed or pulled into a world they don't really know or understand yet.
That’s your interpretation though, the thing is you can’t say “clearly this represents x” because it’s not clear, that’s the point of storytelling and art, it’s not clear and is up to interpretation. You may not be wrong but you can’t go around saying others are wrong because *clearly* your opinion is the right one
@@sl4teddy1 you have a point, as it pertains to a person declaring absolutes of interpretation, but in this case what are the odds that Jim Henson made a film for young children about child sexual assault, or that Bowie agreed to act as a child abuser character, even if veiled within a degree of metaphor? The chances are that this poster is more along the right lines, if I may say.
Kia ora! As I said at the beginning of the video, this is my interpretation of the film and I make no claims as to what the intended meaning is. I'm here to discuss what resonated with me within Labyrinth and to explain how I came to think about it the way I do.
Thanks for watching (-:
that is the way I read it "You have no power over me" is her starting to manage her own emotions
You are missing the point of the role of Toby. The entire plot actually revolves around him.
I’m 39 and I watched the labyrinth loads. I fell in love with David Bowie Goblin King and his leggings and yeah that bulge 😂 it’s a beautiful movie and pure nostalgia.
I have to admit I was obsessed by this movie 🎥 and looking back on it, I think it was unhealthy. I remember years later I became obsessed with David Bowie. About three years ago I sold all my Bowie vinyl collection and decided to move on from the obsession. I occasionally watch labyrinth movie clips and sometimes listen to the soundtrack. But I’m older now and realised there was something about this movie. It was a lovely movie but feels different now
@@Luluknights This is so interesting!! Fascinating that the love of Bowie continued... I adore him and his character in Labyrinth but I can't not see sinister undertones in his performance , intentional or not!
What was that clip with the animated rabbit heads from!?
Watership Down!
Yes my first ewacton after closing ky lapto was wtf was that bit alsp wtf was David Bowie as Jareth so hot there😂
Understandable hahaha
comment !
Bowie has an upsetting history with Uber young girls - most fans don't know about it, but he was as bad as the other rocker creeps of the day. At least he didn't take a minor on the road, marriage or guardianship, with the parents blessing like some did
I have heard some of this here or there. It so disappointing - I just hope it didn't effect too many people.
Jim Henson created so much more. Also they aren’t goofy characters, they’re all biblical references and if you look up all the character names, they’re in the bible. The labyrinth is a test and not for the faint hearted but this random woman who can’t keep to one accent is a perfect example. Which would you choose?
Bowie and Henson deserve the utmost respect and this video isn’t doing that. Seriously, pick an accent and leave the greats alone.
Benedict Cumberbatch was in a recent Netflix series called Eric ( same theme) an ode to Jim.
If you’re promoting stupid, crack on but this video is clueless.
@@Sam-mn4ed Hoggle, Sir Lancelot and Ludo are in the bible? I’ve never come across them as a christian, no is it coming up on google.
Sorry my silly voice is so upsetting to you.
Hope you have a lovely day though 💜
@@rachellydiablook harder. Look up the game the ludo
@@rachellydiab hoggle is attached to pride, he makes several references with jewels and his pride. They aren’t named from the movie in the bible. I guess the Henson company assumed people would be less brain dead. Ah well.
A story I'm working on is inspired by the premise of Labyrinth, mostly, with the heroine being a bisexual autistic living with loving but unhelpful adopted family, pining for her birth parents (a glamorous but controversial hollywood couple of mixed ages), suffering both an Electra and Oedipal complex, obsessing over fantasy and mythology and folklore, both fears and desires adulthood, is in denial of her identity due to living a place and time where being queer and autistic could get her both shunned and committed (so she would lie to herself that she's normal and not accept the suspicions of the judgemental people around her).
And also suffers the unwanted attention from a wicked Fairy Queen and Fae Prince; a sinister mother-son duo who both serve, in classic Jungian and Freudian terms, as the Heroine's shadow and negative animus.
She rashly wishes her adopted family away, only to be granted by the Fae Monarch to get her alone so as to make her their shared "companion" (make that what you will), but she rejects them and goes out into the Fae other world to find and rescue her family. And eventually embrace her inner strength and self-accept her identity.
Part of this is based on my own experience growing up on the spectrum.
Hi! What a story! What are you wiring it for- is it just a personal project?
@@rachellydiab I'm hoping to get it published. As soon as I'm finished.
Lol😂
Stop talking shot from pharma
This video is far too focused on feminist ideology and SA induced trauma. This was not fun and instead of being entertained and informed, I'm leaving with a bad taste in my mouth wishing I never watched. The ominous droning music score didn't help either. Let's stick to the topic next time and try not to turn it into a crisis hotline psa.
If you haven't studied psychology or filmmaking don't comment on things you know nothing about.
Also, please get some professional help with your OBVIOUS unprocessed trauma.
I'll also add.. this film was made IN THE 80s. Your opinion is rooted in your own privileged narrative.
It was written by cis white men and released in 86 - clearly before you were born.
If you have the audacity to comment on a 'period' piece, please reference it as such. You're taking your opinion completely out of context.
As I previously stated, do your research. Your of ignorance and level of maturity is clearly apparent.
It's not illegal to give opinions on movies buddy.
It’s commentary on a kids movie mate she’s not running an unregistered medical practice, get over yourself weirdo
@@grime_reaperWell, maybe if you are a lady, people want to silence you? :/ I am not sure why everyone has to have a degree to discuss a topic. I have made short films…so maybe I could do film critiques? Or am I not “qualified”?