Nature never duplicates her products, however persistently she may adhere to types. Everyone in the World has the ability to recognize certain figures. Archetypes are considered influential in myth, history, and the present. People focus on certain individuals because these people are in some place others would like to be or because they possess some quality that many wish they had. For women of all walks of life, there is a requirement to grow into a leader that the World respects, in a male-dominated society. Sometimes women are punished for being too successful or driven because they do not adhere to antiquated stereotypes of being inferior, passive, dependent, easy, or powerless.

The film, Queen of the Damned, starring Aaliayh Haughton, is a cautionary tale about what happens to powerful women. Aaliyah Haughton played the role of a 5,000-year-old Egyptian Queen called Akasha. One of Queen Akasha’s most notable attributes is that she was very powerful and had power over other vampires. Queen Akasha was fearless and wanted to rule over the human, as other vampires feared the humans and lived in the shadows, only coming out at night like cowards. Queen Akasha planned to end this shameful lifestyle, she sees Earth as her home, and wants to command the other vampires.

Many cultures are patriarchal, in these cultures, women are internalizing the idea that women are inferior, and that they require approval and validation for men. Queen Akasha rejects this restrictive lifestyle and steps out of the shadows. Dependency acts as a threat to Queen Akasha power and authority. She dethrones her husband, King Enkil, after awaking in modern times by the music of the vampire Lestat, and plans to take him as a new King and rule the World. Queen Akasha fears that her race, the race of vampires, is near death, and she wants to find and protect vampires living on Earth.

The first appearance we get of Akasha, she is an alabaster statue, which indicates she is virginal goddess. However, Queen Akasha initial encounter with Lestat, she is wearing a black dress, and she saves him from being killed by other vampires, who are upset with him because he is calling attention to their race, and is a successful rockstar. Lestat becomes a culture icon in the modern World, and other vampires fear him and all the attention he is getting. Lestat is using his music to tell a story and program the minds of the masses! People start to sing or chant his music, and it entrains their brains and makes them more receptive to his intended message. This is probably why the Queen sees Lestat as more of a suitable mate.

Queen Akasha is not a damsel in distress, however, she does face a challenge asserting her power with the other vampires. She is unaccustomed to others outright devaluing her status, and has to assert her power in front of these men. It is at this juncture that we see Queen Akasha deal with expectations of her sex and position as women do in real life.  To instill fear in them, she seduces a male vampire and rips out his heart and eats it. This symbolizes the power of her father. After other vampires try to kill her in the bar, because she is the Queen of all vampires, they have her blood in them, and she uses her power to make them burst into flames, which represents purification.

In identifying with and adapting to a masculine World, many women may find success in their chosen careers. On the surface, these women exude power, and may feel that something is missing from their lives because the male-dominated culture is not accommodating to their needs and sometimes other women fear women who are more powerful than them. Through her leadership, Queen Akasha tries to strengthen the vampire race, and bring about the destruction of human reign. Queen Akasha starts inciting other women as vampires to rise up and put an end to their oppressors. However, some vampires feel threatened because they have been breeding with humans and meet at an ancient vampire’s compound in Death Valley.

While in Death Valley, Maharet explains that Queen Akasha plans to eliminate 90 percent of human men, and establish a new garden of Eden where everyone will worship her as the goddess she is. Maharet does not like Queen Akasha because Maharet used to be a witch, and she was taken advantage of by a member of Akasha’s staff. Eventually, the witches rise up against Akasha and her King Enkil and kill them. As they lay dying on the floor the spirt of Amel sees this as his chance to ensnare the soul of the dying Queen and combines himself with her flesh and blood, transforming her into a vampire. Akasha allows the king to drink her blood, which saves his life. This process is symbolic of why people fear powerful women, and also explains why Maharet supports the rule of a weaker race.

The story of Queen Akasha also theorizes that the journey of the heroine is not an outward adventure, but one that delves deeper into the soul. There is a desire to rediscover the feminine and mesh the masculine and feminine together into a complete, whole person, as Amel does when he turns Queen Akasha into a vampire. Without attending to her inner needs the woman feels incomplete, she wants to be an equal of a man, but still remain a feminine role model. Akasha slowly beginas a romance with Lestat, even though the feelings she develops for him never match the feelings she had for King Enkil. However, it is easy to see how Akasha and Lestat  form a relationship, the feel they complete each other.

Queen Akasha, realizes the thirst in her brain and the need for Lestat. The heroine’s journey does not always mean falling in love; rather, it is the recognition that outward success does not necessarily equate with true happiness. Despite the brief (and often interrupted interactions) between Lestate and Akasha in the Queen of the Damned, the audience see that their bond brings genuine happiness and joy to both characters. One of the most gut-wrenching moments in the fil is when Akasha allows Lestat to drink her blood, at the compound in Death Valley, this is supposed to represent their love for each other, but also represents that love leaves women vulnerable.

In the presence of their enemies, Queen Akasha bare her heart to Lestat, while he acknowledges that he knows her true feelings, but the other vampires attack the Queen and she bursts into flames and turns to dust. The decent into death represents a crucial moment to the development of women. Queen Akasha does not really die, this is actually a transition. Maharet takes the last drop of her blood and turns into a statue, being the Queen of all Vampires, Akasha simply enters another body, the body of Jesse, Mahrat’s niece. The woman, when reaching great success may reach a period of isolation, she emerges from this period by going deep into herself. A woman’s descent triggers her need to seek out and reclaim her femininity. The descent helps release the woman from the society’s patriarchal demands through the natural introspection that accompanies it.

As a result of this new body and concealed identity, the woman who emerges is stronger because she now accepts the femininity she once rejected. She can focus on being rather than controlling. Queen Akasha is not fully in charge of her deep feelings for Lestat and she is rediscovered in Jesse’s body, as she reclaims her femininity through being an equal with her and reaffirming her love by symbolically overcoming her need to rule. This does not diminish the power Queen Akasha possess, bit rather enhances it because she is no longer looked at as a threat. The laws of nature will defend themselves.