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1986 saw the release of both the Henson / Bowie film Labyrinth and the Ravensberger board game Labyrinth. What was going on in the zeitgeist that created these two seemingly unrelated classics? (slrpnk.net)

submitted 3 days ago* (last edited 3 days ago) by [email protected] to c/nostupidquestions

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Neither seems to be inspired by the other, but share a lot of imagery and mechanics. Do they both owe a common precursor? Or is it the collective unconscious at work?

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[–] adespoton 6 points 3 days ago

And the tie-in here is that traditionally, the labyrinth is a religious tool used for meditation. Unlike a maze, a labyrinth follows a single path, with places to stop and reflect.

So the re-use of the term to represent both the minotaur’s labyrinth and a story/game with a single conclusion following many twists and turns makes perfect sense for the time. Both the game and the movie were able to use all the religious symbols associated with the labyrinth and re-purpose them for a different story. But it meant they were both able to use a well established iconography and symbology that many people in the 1980s would be unfamiliar with.