Archetypes in entertainment media and narrative structure

Sammy Glick

Hollywood and the Creation of the Archetype: The Modern Individual, Sammy Glick, and Dawn Steel

The concept of "archetype" was initially prevalently applied in literary works, wherein through literary characters, readers as audiences were able to generate a general type, an individual that embodies a specific set of characteristics that are considered either likeable or not likeable by the audiences. However, as mass media became a popular, archetypes have 'crossed the border,' and were no longer relegated to literary works, but are eventually created with the help of mass media such as TV, radio, and film.

In fact, Hollywood has become an influential agent that helped create, develop, and proliferate different archetypes for audiences to identify with or against. In the mid-20th century, archetypes became prevalent through film actresses and actors that have generated strong admiration from and influence over the public. In the midst of these archetypes, the character of Sammy Glick, popularized by the writer Bud Schulberg ("What makes Sammy run?"), was able to penetrate not only the field of literature, but he managed also to represent the Hollywood archetype through the mass media.

This paper discusses how the archetype of Sammy Glick persisted in the 20th century, for he symbolized and embodied the attractive, yet ugly, realities of Hollywood and life in general. Depicting the "dog-eat-dog" world of Hollywood -- and of modern life in general -- Sammy Glick became the archetype of modern society, representing the ambitious nature of modern society. However, his being an archetype developed into a negative image, because despite his representation of the progress of modern society, Sammy also represented the gradual demoralization or the eventual loss of morals of this modern society. In the show biz industry, Sammy was the "norm," and individuals negating the Sammy archetype are considered the exception rather than the rule.

As elucidated in Schulberg's book, Sammy aptly represented the modern individual because s/he is someone who is constantly on the run. The modern individual, or the Sammy archetype, was illustrated figuratively by the author as follows:

He is one of the symptoms of our times -- from the little man who shoves you out of the way on the street to the go-getter who shoves you out of a job in the office to the Fuehrer who shoves you out of the world. And all of us have stopped to wonder, at some time or another, what it is that makes these people tick. What makes them run?

This question that was posed is a rhetorical one. Looking carefully into the life of Sammy, the audiences will realize that people like him portray the reality that happens in modern society during this period: life is lived by the clock, morals became mere words and memories of an earlier, traditional society, and human interaction have become a mere event, a business transaction. The need to go forward and to be in sync with the fast-paced life that characterizes modernity was the main objectives of people like Sammy Glick. These individuals, in fact, are considered the modern individuals of Schulberg's time. What made Sammy became the embodiment of an archetype was because, among the "runners" in his time, "Sammy was just a little bit faster, that's all..." Combining ambition, cunning, and disregard for morals, Sammy was able to achieve the high standard of success modern individuals in the 20th century American society sought to achieve and have.

From the persona of Sammy, audiences will realize that archetypes are developed and patronized because they mirror the realities of human society in a specific time period and place. This realization was echoed in Abramowitz's interviews and analyses in the book, "Is that a gun in your pocket?" In it, the author elucidated on how during the same period of modernity wherein Sammy lived, women of the 20th century were depicted as more emancipated in terms of their self-regard and assessment of their capabilities, skills, and talents as individuals.