Word of the Day. 9/19/11

Word of the Day

 Keeping up with our pattern of looking at the Labyrinth characters and elements today we'll be discussing four words that play into the character of the goblin king, Jareth.

illusion [ih-loo-zhuhn]
noun

1. Something that deceives by creating a false or misleading reality.

2. the instance, state or condition of being deceived.

illusionist [ih-loo-zhuhn-ist]
noun

1. a conjurer or magician who creates illusions, as if by sleight of hand.
 

MC Escher's Relativity.

paradox [par-uh-doks]
noun

1. a statement or preposition that seems contradictory or absurd but possesses a possible truth.

2. a self-contradictory and false proposition.

3. a person, thing or situation that exhibits a contradictory nature.

To the right you can see one of M. C. Escher's visual paradoxes, Relativity, more colloquially called "Crazy stairs" or thanks to Jim Henson, "The stairs from Labyrinth."  The 1986 film really plays on the audience with visual tricks.

FOR ALL IS NOT AS IT SEEMS

 Jareth is the film's antagonist. He is the king of goblins, master of the maze, illustrious illusionist, enhanced enchanter and androgynous sex in tights. He is also a master of the slight of hand, slight of tongue and slight of body (and of reality). When he first arrives in teenage Sarah's room, after kidnapping her infant brother Toby, he tells her plainly that he has only done what she wished. At first he tries to convince her to surrender the game because she will lose. But this is his first play on her emotions and in his own desires. He wants her attention and her challenge. He doesn't want her to succeed. It would just be another win in a succession of successes. He toys with the idea of perception when he juggles a glass ball (FUSHIGI is not a new idea by any stretch and it turns into a little beasty. He gives her the challenge, get to the center of the labyrinth in 13 hours and she gets Toby back. Fail? He gets to keep Toby and turn him into a goblin. The character loves playing games not only with his words and with his illusions but with the perceived notions that the audience has. He changes the rules.

The first illusion is his motives. His motives seem to be mixed. On one hand, we have the simplest of motives, of pride. She invokes his name and requests his assistance. The Goblin King cannot resist such a request. But his motives are layered. His intentions with Toby at first seem cruel but, at least on some dimensions, he wants an heir. The Goblin King may have been like Sarah once, a human, and seeks out human companionship. A manga sequel to the Labyrinth seems to pose the idea of him needing/wanting a heir but even then his intentions are dubious and confused. Does he really want an heir? Or does he simply want a family? Or just a friend? Maybe he is just reminded of the babe? What babe? Maybe he just wants the babe with the power? What power? The power of vodoo. Who do? You do. Do what? Remind me of the babe. His intentions are never truly revealed cuz they don't have to be. He is complete control of his realm and Sarah is, at first, just a point of amusement.

Let's talk about the illusions of the Labyrinth that Jareth has created before we get back into his intentions and personality. The first illusion is his impressive juggling. Not to ruin the spectacle, but David Bowie is not a master juggler. During the scenes where he juggles, a man is sticking his arms from behind him and creating the illusion. The next big illusion is the matrix itself. The shots of Sarah running through the Labyrinth are juxtaposed in such a way that it seems like it never ends. When Sarah tries to just run in a straight line, she ends up back where she started. It turns out that some of the walls are actually ways forward, furthermore, sometimes the fastest route through the Labyrinth is not a straight line but under it. All the while, walls are shifted, marks are covered up and most attempts at trying to make it across are erased. Jareth doesn't even play by his own rules, so Sarah realizes she shouldn't either. Lives are on the line!

Sarah is also challenged by the temptation of Jareth, a symbol of her desire to be adult but live in a fantastic world. In this way, Jareth plays the role of enchanter, as he tempts Hoggle with what he desires as well. Jareth makes all matter of ridiculous claims and poses all matter of cluttered riddles to distract his opponents. When Sarah teams up with Hoggle and her other friends, he becomes desperate, and tries to drag Sarah into a fantasy world, via a poisoned peach from Hoggle. Yet, his deceptions and Labyrinth are defeated and Sarah makes it into the final test, alone.

Jareth was supposed to return Toby once Sarah found her way to his castle. Instead, he switches his motives and takes one last try at trying to control her. He wants her, not only because she is a beautiful human (like he was once) but she bested him. In the end, Jareth is an illusion or a deception. He is adolescence. He has power, charisma and the body of an adult, but at the same time has the imagination, playfulness and unfairness of child. He is Sarah's struggle with growing up. Or is he?


That is the real question presented with the Labyrinth. Many critics and film buffs see this as just another Wizard of Oz knock-off with pop songs but they don't look into it further. This film is filled with twists and turns. Perhaps, what draws me back is the mystery and the layers of the dream. For all is not as it seems.

BWAAAAHHHAHAHAHAHWAHHA!