Sucker Punch is a film about a teenage girl who loses her parents and family. With the death of her parents, her guardian then becomes an abusive male figure whom she rebels against. Her rebellion is unfortunately viewed as a mental breakdown and the girl is taken to an all girl mental asylum. At the asylum she meets other girls who are being held against their will and want to escape their horrible fate. Our main character searches for a method of escape and realizes that her and her companions can escape by going on an epic journey within their mind. Their retreat into this new fantastical and dangerous world and meet a man who tells them that that in order to escape the asylum they must find 5 items, a map, a knife, a fire and a key as well as a mysterious last item.
After only viewing the trailer, it is obvious to me that this movie contains many different archetypes, including character, symbolic, and journey archetypes.
Character Archetypes:
Proto- Feminist Hero: This is seen because our hero is a teenage girl who goes on a quest to escape the mental asylum and then re enter society as a free person.
The hero is naïve and inexperienced- When our heroine first arrives in the asylum she is very scared, timid and can be seen crying in the earlier parts of the trailer.
Mentor- A mentor figure can be seen in this trailer, in the form of the man who tells the girl and her companions all the objects that they will need to find in order to succeed in their quest and escape the asylum. He gives them valuable knowledge, and they would not be able to succeed in their quest without his help.
Loyal retainers- These are the girl who accompany our hero on the journey to free all of them from asylum.
Journey archetypes:
This movie contains many characteristics of a heroes’ journey, though I am not quite sure which specific type of archetypal journey are hero is on after only viewing the trailer.
The hero has a guide- Our heroines guide is the man she meets in her imaginary world that tells her what objects she must find in order to escape the asylum.
The hero has an un healable wound- Our heroines un healable wound is the death of her parent’s which resulted in her being abused by her new guardian. The death of her parents without a doubt had significant impact on the girl and the physical/ sexual abuse she was then subject to after that probably hurt her deeply.
The hero meets monsters- Our heroine meets many monsters and magical beings in the movie in the imaginary world which she must battle and overcome. Some of the monsters present in the trailer include dragons, robotic men, and snakes.
Symbolic archetypes:
Shadows- The images shown of the mental asylum portray that is a dark place, filled with shadows. Shadows symbolize evil and darkness. This shows us that the asylum is a terrifying, evil place.
Fire- When our heroine is getting guidance from her mentor figure; the room that he is in is filled with lots of tiny lit candles. Fire symbolizes control, regeneration and the ability to transform. Our mentor figure is teaching the girl the objects she needs to seek in order to be free. It is at this point that our heroine learns all the obstacles she must overcome. Her entire outlook is changing because she know has a purpose and knows what she needs to achieve . She has transformed from a naïve, scared girl into a more confident girl who knows what she needs to achieve.
Rain- Rain symbolizes rebirth and gives life. In the trailer, our heroine can be seen sitting on a bed , scared and crying in regards to her fate at the asylum. It is raining outside and this rain signifies a shift in the girl’s character. Rain gives life, and in this scene it shows that girl is going to shift from an inexperienced, innocent girl into one that is going to take control of her life and attempt to saver herself and her friends.
What other archetypes may be found in the rest of the movie?
I think in the movie the situation archetype of a battle between good and evil will be seen, in that the heroine and her companions will have to defeat some dark force in their imaginary world in order to escape the asylum. Our heroine and her friends would be the good guys and the monsters and evil forces will be the bad guys.
In regards to the type of archetypal journey present, I think that the journey present in the movie may be the warriors journey to save her people. Now, I’m not applying this archetype in a completely literal sense. What I mean, is that our heroine is going on a journey with her companions to save themselves, as well as maybe all the other girls at the asylum from a terrible fate. She is enduring many hardships and difficulties in her quest in order to save her and her friends.
On the other hand, I think that the archetypal journey in this movie may end up being a quest to find the promised land. Again, I’m not applying this archetype literally, in that our heroine is obviously not searching for a city. Our heroine and her companions have gone on this quest in their minds in order to escape the asylum and be free. Everything they endure in their fantastical imagination is to achieve freedom. They were told that once they found the objects that they would be free. Our hero is seeking this promised escape and peace which is in essence the same thing is seeking a peaceful, promised city.
Do you predict any other archetypes that will be present in the movie?
What type of archetypal journey do you think will be present in the movie?
