Board Games – An Archetype Filled Treasure Trove?

AN UNSLOVED MYSTERY AT THE BODDY ESTATE!

Hampshire- Well known anthropologist John Boddy met his end on Saturday night at his Hampshire estate, Tudor Mansion. The cause is unknown but police are treating it as suspicious. 

·       Body found

·       Six suspects detained

·       Six possible weapons

·       Nine possible rooms

·       No break in

·       And two dice…

·       Investigators need your help to search the nine rooms and secret passages for CLUES!!!!!

Do you recognize this article?  Probably.  We all know of the game CLUE and this is the story on the back of the box.  CLUE has always been one of my favorite board games.  Yesterday, while in Hawaii relaxing and playing games, I suddenly realized that the game CLUE incorporates numerous archetypes. 

          When you play the board game you are the hero: you are the one who (hopefully) solves the mystery, the one who is on a search for   knowledge, the one who finds John Boddy’s murderer.   

Stages of the Hero’s Journey

Departure: The departure occurs when the game begins.  You, the hero, are called to engage in an adventure (or asked to join a game of CLUE).  Sometimes you are slightly reluctant to accept. 

Initiation: You enter a different world when the game begins, one where you are acting as a heroic detective genius.  A new, mature perspective may be gained when you realize that the task or goal is potentially difficult and that real effort is necessary to solve the crime.

The Road of Trials: Throughout the board game CLUE you are constantly being tested on intelligence or skillful guessing. So, the entire game is essentially a road of trials.

The Inner Most Cave:  The inner most cave occurs near the end of the game, moments before the real murderer is revealed. All players are filled with suspense as they wait to learn if they were correct in their accusation.  The great trial is when a player makes an educated guess about who is the suspected killer.  To make this guess the player must enter a rather deep state of thought.  
Return and Reintegration with Society:  When the game has ended and the winners and losers are evident, you can all return to society and continue being friends.

Left to right: Ms. Scarlet, Col. Mustered, Mrs. White, Mr. Green, Mrs. Peacock and Mr. Plum.



Color Archetypes:  

The game board marker or place holders are all characters, when playing you assume the role of a certain character. The characters’ colors hold certain connotations and meet the criteria for being symbolic archetypes.

Red:  Ms. Scarlet, seemingly, the most popular character, is clothed in a red dress. Red is symbolic of blood, sacrifice, violent passion, disorder, emotion, excitement and death.  Possibly the blood thirsty Ms. Scarlet murdered John Boddy, as she had an affair with him and demonstrated violent passion which he did not like or accept.  She could have been very emotional and affected by a disorder which prompted her to murder him and ultimately sacrifice her own freedom.    

Yellow: Col. Mustered is donning all yellow which is symbolic of majesty, life dependency, cowardice and truth. Col. Mustered could have murdered the wealthy John Boddy if he had been lied to by Boddy. The motivation of the murder may be that Col. Mustered was lied to about a sum of money he yearns for or his life depends on to appear wealthy. Rather than settling the dispute through words, Col. Mustered may have been too cowardly and instead killed John Boddy.   

Grey: The character Mrs. White is clothed in an outfit of all grey.  She serves as the scullery maid at John Boddy’s mansion.  The color grey is symbolic of moody feelings, stupidity, sadness and boredom.  The maid, Mrs. White, may have murdered her employer as she was overcome with sadness, boredom and wanted a change in her otherwise dull life.  Stupidly, she may have believed that her life could be filled with enjoyment if she had some money.  She could have killed John Boddy for his money and various assets to inject satisfaction and enjoyment in to her life. 

Green: Mr. Green, not surprisingly, is completely green.  Like the color of his name, Green bears connotations towards envy, death, and evil.  So maybe Mr. Green killed John Boddy as he was jealous of John Boddy’s fortune.  Possibly Mr. Green is an evil greedy person who is jealous of others who are superior to him.  Motivated by jealousy, greed and inner evils he may have murdered John Boddy.

Blue:   Mrs. Peacock is clothed mainly in blue.  The color is symbolic of freedom, strength and new beginnings. Possibly, Mrs. Peacock desired freedom that could only be granted by money. So she decided that with her strength she would kill John Boddy for his money and create a new and free beginning for herself. 

Purple: Mr. Plum dons all purple which is symbolic of envy, confusion, intelligent and wealth. John Boddy could have been a possible business competitor of the intelligent and wealthy Mr. Plum.  John Boddy may have been on a road to higher success of which Mr. Plum was jealous. Filled with jealousy and the desire to eliminate competition, Plum may have killed John Boddy.  

Now I’m not saying that this all happened. In the game the murderer, weapon and room change every time a new game is played (given 324 possible combinations).  Colors do influence our decisions to choose who the “killer” might possibly be.  Possibly, we choose the player with the more classic archetype than others….Ms Scarlet being my number one choice.  Archetypes are present in numerous aspects of life including board games!

Who is your chosen murderer in CLUE?

Do you think that archetypes influence more than just stories, music and board games in our society?  Do you think archetypes have lead to stereotypes and discrimination in our world? How so?

Sucker Punch – Archetype Analysis

I was very thrilled to learn that in English class we would be creating a blog on the movie Sucker Punch, as I have viewed the trailer on numerous occasions.   Although the movie was just released yesterday, like many of you, I have not had an opportunity to view it yet.  As we now know archetypes are present in nearly every aspect of society, subsequently the movie trailer for Sucker Punch is rich with archetypes.   The movie trailer for Sucker Punch includes many character, symbolic and journey archetypes.   

To summarize the trailer: 

In the movie trailer Sucker Punch the main character and female protagonist, Baby Doll looses her mother and father at a very young age.  With the loss of her parents she is placed under the care of a cruel, abusive man who is assumed to be her step father.  Under his brutal regime Baby Doll rebels and is driven into the deep pit of depression where she seemingly looses sanity.  Baby Doll is deemed mentally ill and forcefully placed in an asylum where she meets other girls longing to escape the misery of the asylum.  Baby Doll and her companions are constantly searching for a method of escape.  Finally, they devise a plan and embark on a challenging journey in a dangerous parallel universe which appears to be only in their minds.  At the beginning of the journey an unnamed mentor gives them a task to find five items that will grant them freedom; a map, a knife, fire, a key and a fifth item which is a mystery.  

Character Archetypes:

The Hero:  The main character in the movie Sucker Punch can be categorized as a warrior hero.  Baby Doll is a teenage girl who is embarking on the quest to escape from the asylum.  She is very inexperienced, naïve and longing for the privilege of freedom.  

The Mentor:  In the trailer a mentor-like figure is evident.   Baby Doll and her companions receive valuable information from him in regards to escaping the asylum, he tells them of the objects that must be found in order to reach freedom.

Loyal Retainers: Baby Dolls companions serve as her loyal retainers. The girls devoutly protect Baby Doll and work with her to free the girls from the asylum.

Journey archetypes:

Journey:

The heroine, Baby Doll, is on a journey to spare her and fellow companions from the fate of a wrongful lobotomy.  In the trailer for Sucker Punch the type of archetypal journey was “the warrior’s journey” but this may be different in the entire movie.   

Characteristics of hero’s journey:

Meets Monsters:

In the movie trailer for Sucker Punch, Baby Doll encounters a variety of magical and monstrous beings. To survive in the imaginary world she must battle against these creatures whether they are dragons, snakes, robots or men.  

Has a Mentor and Guide:

Baby Doll has a guide/mentor who informs her of the five items she must find in the imaginary world.  Furthermore the mentor/guide leads or instructs her in the imaginary world he also provides her with motivational phrases.

Has an Un-healable Wound:

Baby Doll is constantly feeling the pain of her un-healable wound, the death of her parents and the subsequent abuse she suffered from the man perceived as her step father.    

Struggles for Something Important:

The heroine is constantly struggling for the most important component of life: freedom.  In the asylum she had her freedom stolen away.  She longs to be free and free her fellow companions.  Baby Doll will gain freedom once she finds the five objects.  

Symbolic Archetypes:

The movie trailer for Sucker Punch incorporates numerous symbolic archetypes that enhance the meaning of the film.

Light vs. Darkness:

When Baby Doll is bawling and evidently depressed the scenery is dark and dismal suggestive of her depressed feelings. The lightning gives the viewer an overwhelming feeling of despair. The asylum is only shown in a dark light indicating that it is an unjust evil place.  When she learns of an escape means the scenery lightens and her feelings of hope are portrayed.

Fire:

When Baby Doll enters into the new world the element of fire is ever present.  As she receives instruction from her mentor the room is filled with candles that represent knowledge, regeneration and the rebirth of a hopeful future.     

Rain:

It is raining as the protagonist is feeling overwhelmed with despair, fear and the feeling of hopelessness. The rain is representative of spiritual growth, as Baby Doll has realized her dire situations.  Spiritually she is reborn, as her naivety lessens and her motivation to escape while surviving emerges.  She is no longer a sad, innocent girl.  She has become strong willed, motivated and ready to change her life for the better.

The trailer of the movie Sucker Punch is only a fragment of the movie, it will be interesting to learn what other situational, character and journey archetypes are evident.  I predict that Baby Doll will successfully escape the asylum and emerge as a different person, educated, motivated and appreciative of freedom.

What other archetypes are present in the trailer? What archetypes do you think the entire movies will incorporate? How will they enhance the film? What do you predict the plot to be?