We accept David Bowie’s hair, exaggerated eyebrows and cheesy crystal ball tricks because we feel as though we are still seeing the film through our childhood eyes. We can “suspend” our boring, beige-colored adulthood responsibilities for one and a half hours of extravagant, colorful singing and dancing, complete with a ballroom dancing scene that still leaves our hearts all fluttery. Plus, it’s hard to ignore the drag-like sensibilities of the Goblin King. If he doesn’t scream campy, who does? One particularly entertaining read on the film’s redeeming campy qualities can be found at the Web site www.sweatpantserection.com (<a href=http://www.sweatpantserection.com/labyrinth-david-bowie.html>Click here</a>). Blogger Lisa Warner refers to Labyrinth as “truly a one man drag parade,” and asks readers, “How many drag queens on the planet have aspired to get this look? Punky, frosted hair, dashing eye shadow, pouty coral-colored lips and nary a trace of stubble.”

Growing up queer, I related strongly to Sarah’s desire to escape into a fantasy world of goblins, fairies and princesses. Her early confrontation with her stepmother (“How do you know if I have plans? You don’t even ask me anymore!,” she says in one scene), her initial bitterness towards her younger brother, and her reluctance to let go of childish fantasies characterize her not just as an adolescent girl, but as one who feels out of place and painfully alone. Her defeat of the Goblin King symbolizes, to me at least, her acknowledgement of her own personal demons in order to allow herself to become a confident, strong, assertive woman.

I wasn’t fully conscious of my own queerness until I was on the cusp of my adolescence, but I’m sure that in some corner of my subconscious, I was deeply connecting to Jennifer Connelly’s character the moment I saw her. Her desire to escape into her head and tune out adult influences is essentially a definition of my early teenage years. She was terrified of her own individuality, so she clung to an ideal set for her in the labyrinth.

Twenty one years later, I now realize that not only did I want to be like Jennifer Connelly’s character, but I was also so obviously in love with her. And I was in love with David Bowie too—possibly because he’s so pretty.

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