The movie trailer for Sucker Punch portrays the story of a teenage girl who unfortunately lost her parents at a young age, and rebelled against her parental figure soon after. Her rebellion was seen as a mental breakdown and she was taken off to an all girl insane asylum by her guardian without her knowledge. At the asylum she discovers that she and her companions can potentially escape the asylum by going on a quest within their minds. As the girl travels into the world of her mind, she realizes she has been trusted into a dangerous world of war and weapons where she meats a man who explains that she needs to find a map, fire, knife, a key and a mystery fifth item.
Having just seen the trailer, many archetypes are portrayed, such as:
Heroic Archetypes:
Proto-Feminist Hero
This is shown by the girl who gets put in the insane asylum and attempts to free her and her friends and return to society after completing her quest.
Characteristics of the Heroine's Journey:
The hero is naive and unexperienced:
This is seen when she gets put into the asylum and is seen crying because she might feel as if she does not belong there. Another time in the movie that portrays this idea is when she is learning to enter the world in her mind, which shows that she is unexperienced in her quest.
The hero meets monsters:
The girl has to face a fire breathing dragon on her quest to find the five items.
The heroin looses her parents at a young age and is raised by animals or a wise guardian:
The girl losses her parents when she is little and is raised by an "animal" as in her guardian is not humane because she sends her to an unhealthy place for her to go.
Situational Archetypes:
The Quest:
The girl is sent out to find a map, fire, a knife, a key and a mystery item to free herself and her friends from their entrapment.
Symbolic archetypes:
Numbers:
The number 4:
Seen on the key that is used to help the girls escape the asylum. Four normally presents the idea of mankind, which could mean that the girls need it to return to people in society or to be with"mankind" again.
Shapes:
Circle:
The button that falls to the floor from the heroine's shirt before she is taken off to the asylum is a circle. The circle presents the idea of intellect, perfection, and celestial realm which foreshadow the upcoming events in the movie, where the girl goes on a quest in her own realm to free herself and portray the girl as a smart, perfect girl.
Rain:
Rain is often associated with life and is described as the "life giver". In the trailer it is raining when the girl is crying and appears to be having a major difficulty trying to adjust to the asylum life. The rain in this scene presents the idea that the girl will soon become full of life and be ready to combat her situation which is portrayed later in the trailer.
Character Archetypes:
The Hero:
The young girl who goes on the quest within her mind
The Loyal Retainers:
The girls who accompany the heroine on her quest to free them all
Some possible archetypes that are bought up in the trailer that could be seen in the full length movie are:
Archetypal Journeys:
The Quest for Vengeance
The girl could possible escape the insane asylum and get revenge on her guardian for putting her in the insane asylum.
This idea comes from the fact that the girl clearly did not like her guardian, seen when the girl pulls out a gun and attempts to shoot him, and she did not want to be in the asylum, shown by her attempting to pull out of the grasp of the asylum's guards when they take her out of her car.
