Loss Of Innocence and Revenge In From The World Of John Wick Ballerina (2025)
Keywords:
Trauma, loss of innocence, revenge, Bildungsroman, Cathy CaruthAbstract
From the World of John Wick: Ballerina (2025) portrays revenge as a psychological process shaped by trauma and identity formation rather than as a simple act of retaliation. This study aims to analyze how Eve Macarro's loss of innocence is represented through Layers of Psychological Wounds and to examine how these traumatic experiences motivate her pursuit of revenge. This research employs a qualitative descriptive method using textual analysis of selected scenes, dialogues, and relevant cinematic elements from the film. The analysis is conducted by applying Cathy Caruth's Trauma Theory and the Bildungsroman framework to explore the relationship between trauma, psychological development, and identity formation. The findings reveal that Eve's transformation is constructed through four successive layers of psychological wounds:witnessing her father's death, training as transformation, discovering the truth about her enemy, and deception about her family. These cumulative traumatic experiences gradually shape Eve's identity and transform revenge from an emotional response into a life purpose emerging from psychological development and self-discovery. This study concludes that cumulative trauma plays a crucial role in shaping the protagonist's identity and motivating her quest for revenge. Furthermore, it demonstrates that the concept of Layers of Psychological Wounds offers an alternative analytical perspective for understanding the relationship between trauma, loss of innocence, and revenge in contemporary action cinema.
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