Fandoms: Cult fandoms
- May 5, 2018
- 3 min read
Before I can start talking about one of my favourite examples of a cult classic, first I'm going to clarify the definition of 'cult films'. The specifics are open to debate however in its simplest term, 'A cult film, also commonly referred to as a cult classic, is a film with a cult following, obscure or unpopular with mainstream audiences, and often revolutionary or ironically enjoyed. ... Cult films are defined as much by audience reaction as they are content.'11 Patrick T Kinkade states, 'They differ from popular re‐releases, fad films, films with cult qualities, and critical cult films in that they involve typical people in atypical situations, sympathetic deviance, challenges to traditional authority, reflections of societal strains, and paradoxical and interpretable resolutions.'12
One of my all-time favourite cult classics is, Labyrinth by Jim Henson (1986). For those who haven't seen it, it is a film about a young girl named Sarah (played by Jennifer Connelly) who wishes away her baby brother, the king of the goblins, Jareth (played by David Bowie), grants her wish, and she spends 90% of the film trying to get through a labyrinth in an attempt to get him back in under 13 hours. It is packed with bizarre characters, plot twists and so much symbolism. One of my favourite interpretations of this piece is by Cecilia Sells13, who suggests that, 'Jareth is a personification of temptation in a Christian allegory'. Despite having watched the film 100 times over, I never realised the implications of the characters actions and how they could fit into this theory. Sells makes some valid and interesting points about this in her article, however I'm going to take it one stage further and suggest that each character represents one of the 7 deadly sins.
Didymus-Pride: Didymus challenges Ludo to a fight claiming that he could not cross a bridge as it was his duty to guard it. This over sense of pride about a menial task, which could have potentially cost Sarah her baby brother, showed a lack of humility, which was not over-came until he was defeated in combat.
Jareth-Lust: Jareth is a complex character throughout the film, however one side of him is a pure dedication and lust for Sarah. He takes a baby, changes time and creates a fantasy world all for her, in an attempt to win her heart, although it is not meant to be.
Hoggle-Greed: Hoggle refuses to help Sarah until she bribes him with jewels. He has a collection on his waist and only helps her to overcome obstacles if she gives him more.
Sarah-Envy: Sarah, although it could be argued is mistreated by her stepmother, has a hatred towards her, which I interpret as being jealousy over the attention she gets from the father, which Sarah lacks.
The Firies-Sloth and Wrath: This one is kind of a long shot but, the firies do nothing but sit by the fire place all day and take each-others body apart, when Sarah does not join in they chase her down and attempt to take off her head. So, sloth for their regular activities and Wrath for their behaviour towards Sarah.
The ballroom characters -Gluttony: The extras in the ballroom scene are all pictured eating, laughing and drinking. It is the only scene in the entire film that has over weight characters in it, so I felt like it was trying to subtly represent the gluttony in the aristocracy.
However, I digress, in terms of fandoms the piece in an amazing example of a film having a cult following. It has nearly 650,000 fans on Facebook,14 got $12.7 million15 at the box office and has a ridiculous amount of merchandise available. It is also one of the most referenced films of all time, most recently being featured in Stranger things, with a poster of the film been on Mike’s (Finn Wolfhard) wall.
In conclusion, a cult film is one that features typical people in atypical situations and then gains a following.
11 https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_cult_films
12 TOWARD A SOCIOLOGY OF CULT FILMS: Reading Rocky Horror
Patrick T. Kinkade
Michael A. Katovich
First published: June 1992
13 https://www.quora.com/Why-is-the-movie-Labyrinth-such-a-cult-classic
14 There are several pages, this is only one.
15 http://www.boxofficemojo.com/movies/?id=labyrinth.htm
Comments