Vicitm Archetype, Queen for a Day

February 26, 2013 — 3 Comments

Jack Bailey, host of Queen for a Day, gave big prizes to the most pathetic contestant as judged by audience response. The woman deemed most victimized got a full length mink coat, long stemmed red roses, and almost always a washing machine.  The prizes were given in consideration of promotional value of the show.  This was the prototype for almost every game prize show that was ever produced.  In the 1950’s what it took to win was the most tragic story.

The victim exists in all of us, as it is a survival archetype.  We have all been on both sides of bully/victim, typically starting with siblings at a young age.  The lesson the victim teaches is that pity can be a temporary reward, but a hollow one.  Like the lady who takes her full length mink coat back to her shack in Appalachia, the victim never really wins. If suffering gains too much collateral reward, suffering will be used to control others.  We need boundaries to be happy and well balanced.  By being victims we learn how to protect ourselves. If this lesson is not learned the individual always feels that they suffer through no fault of their own and have no power to change that.