‘Patriarchy’ has Greek origins stemming from the word ‘Patriarkhes’ meaning ‘ruling father’. For thousands of years patriarchy has been an evident in every environment without exceptions from ethnicity, culture or religion. It is a social hierarchy in which the male is the primary authority figure and it implies the institutes of male rule and privilege, and entails female subordination. Modern day patriarchy is far from what it use to be in the sense that more men and women have strayed from the patriarchal “norm”. Patriarchal values are unconsciously taught to us from the minute we are born, from our last name given at birth to the colour of our clothes [ref 1]. The stereotype that separates genders was ingrained into my vulnerable mind from a young age. From a young age I was taught that I should be “girly” encouraged by the way my parents brought me up.
Mary Wollstonecraft and Bell Hooks grew up in a home influenced by patriarchy, they were taught patriarchal thinking through religion, as well as through their own family structures, however because Hooks and Wollstonecraft are from different eras they have slightly different views on patriarchy. Mary Wollstonecraft writing was published well before women had most of the rights they have today (1790s), this influenced her opinion towards patriarchy being how she was more concerned with females and how they were positioned in society. Mary Wollstonecraft was an English writer, philosopher, and advocate of women's rights in the 1800s. Wollstonecraft is best known for A Vindication of the Rights of Woman (1792), in which she argues that “women are not naturally inferior to men, but appear to be only because they lack education”. She suggests that both men and women should be treated as rational beings and imagines a social order founded on reason. Bell Hooks is more concerned with both males and females and how they are positioned in this, she talks with a focus on both genders with a more personal opinion as she writes from her own experiences. Bell Hooks is an American author, feminist, and social activist. The framework of her writing is largely focused around race, capitalism and gender. Bell Hooks described patriarchy as “Patriarchy is the single most life-threatening social disease assaulting the male body and spirit in our nation.” Pan's Labyrinth (directed by Guillermo Del Toro) is set during the Spanish civil war in 1944. It follows 11 year old Ofelia when her and her pregnant mother Carmen move in with her new malicious step father. Ofelias new life is paralleled by an alternate reality stemmed from her fantasy novels as she explores through a magical world of mythical beings. Scenes throughout Pan’s Labyrinth can be analysed from a patriarchal perspective as the films protagonists are seen observing, conforming and rejecting patriarchy which brings to light three important statements; ‘patriarchy is a system which positions females to be inferior to men’, ‘men must suppress their feelings and preserve their dominance through violence’ and ‘women must challenge patriarchy if they wish to diminish patriotic hierarchies in society’.
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Patriarchy is a hierarchical system which position females to be inferior to men and this is something both Hooks and Wollstonecraft are critical of. Its origins stem back to early human history, where life expectancies were shorter and women were required to give birth more frequently to maintain the population. As a result, women spent more time in a domestic setting while men were hunter/gatherers ultimately leading to men to be inherently dominant. In Bell Hooks “Understanding Patriarchy” she discusses this stating “Patriarchy insists that males are inherently dominating, superior to everything and everyone deemed weak, especially females and endowed with the right to dominate and rule over the weak”. In viewing Pan’s Labyrinth through a patriarchal lens I can’t help but notice the truth behind what Bell Hooks highlights. Hook’s theory on patriarchy is evident as from the beginning Captain Vidal is in control and the fact that he was in control was never questioned. Guillermo Del Toro enforces the patriotic hierarchy upon Carmen and Ofelias arrival to start their new life under the Captains rule.The Captain insists Carmen is to sit in a wheelchair because she is pregnant. The camera pans down and focuses on the wheelchair which is a symbol of weakness as it takes away Carmen's agency and puts her physically beneath him. Although it may seem Captain Vidal is just being a gentleman, looking at this scene through a patriotic lens I can see that it is just his way of controlling Carmen as his focus is to care for his unborn baby boy and not Carmen. The Captain is as Bell Hooks said, trying to ‘rule over her and position her as weak’. Include something from Wollstonecraft here, if you want a well balanced report then you should be comparing them and using them each in your work. Another scene from the film that can be analysed through a patriarchal lens is the dress scene. Carmen passes on the idea to Ofelia that to be a good female you have to look good for the Captain. She sewed a dress for Ofelia telling her “I want you to be beautiful for the Captain”, not giving Ofelia a choice. A passage from Hook’s book Feminist theory: from margin to center, refers to the lack of agency women have living in a patriotic world, “Patriarchy is structured so that sexism restricts women’s behaviour. The absence of extreme restrictions leads many women to ignore the areas in which they are are exploited or discriminated against; it may even lead them to imagine that no women are oppressed”. The ‘restrictions in women's behaviour’ that Bell Hooks talks about is evident in Pan’s Labyrinth. Through analysis of these scenes in Pan’s Labyrinth through a patriotic lens, I can see that women's agency and autonomy are taken away to the point where women feel they are restricted to what they can wear. Our identity is somewhat perceived by our choices so when opportunity of choice is forsaken we conform to societies patriarchal “norms”.
Because the captain has always had this power he never questioned what he does, he believes what he is doing is right
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Hooks is also concerned with how Patriarchy positions males, as the idea of toxic masculinity that accompanies patriarchy forces men to suppress their feelings and preserve their dominance through violence. Theorist Bell Hook’s explores this stigma that attaches to patriarchy in her text Understanding Patriarchy. She explains how when she was young she was “taught that it was not proper for a female to be violent, that it was “unnatural.” My brother was taught that his value would be determined by his will to do violence”. Looking through a patriotic lens this relates back to Captain Vidal the antagonist in my primary text Pan’s Labyrinth. In the peasant scene one of Captain Vidal's sergeants caught two civilians with a fired weapon in their possession. When questioned they tell the captain they went to the woods to hunt rabbits for his family. In disbelief, the captain responds with violence beating him to death and shooting his father. This vicious behavior has been passed onto the Captain by his dad who says “only real men die in battle” which promotes idea of violence being a natural part of a man. “Patriarchy has taught him that his masculinity has to be proved by the willingness to conquer fear through aggression; that it would be unmanly to ask questions before taking action”. This passage from Hooke's novel All about love further discusses her theory on the violence encouraged by patriarchy. Towards the end of the film Captain addresses the doctor about a prisoner explaining how “Above me there's no one”. Here he positions himself as some sort of god like in the hierarchy. He knows that no one will question him they will only do what they are told, because he is the ruling father. This links to a quote from Mary Wollstonecraft in her novel A Vindication of the Rights of Women – “else this flaw in your new constitution will ever show that man must, in some shape, act like a tyrant, and tyranny, in whatever part of society it rears its brazen front, will ever undermine morality.”