Everything's foreseeable. Everything has already been foreseen. What has been fated cannot be avoided. Even this boiled potato, this fork. This chunk of dark bread. This thought too.... My grandmother sweeping the sidewalk knows that. She says there's no God, only an eye here and there that sees clearly. The neighbors are too busy watching TV to burn her as a witch.--Charles Simic, from his Pulitzer Prize winning book of poetry, The World Doesn't End.
A trickster is an omnipresent mythological and Jungian archetypal character defined as a clever, crafty mischief-maker, whose aim it is to survive in a threatening environment by use of non-traditional, mundane or magical means and pranks. Easily recognizable traditional, cultural, and classical literary tricksters include court jesters and harlequins, Rasputin, the kokopelli, Brer Rabbit, fairies, Parsifal, Pan, skinwalkers, witches, St. Germaine, and Count Cagliostro.
Modern incarnations of the trickster continuum include: Amelia Bedelia, Bugs Bunny, Bart Simpson, Star Trek's enigmatic Q, the Borg, Dr. House, Wile E. Coyote, evil clowns, Pink Panther, Aleister Crowley, Andy Kaufmann, Elvis, Gilligan, Lucy Ricardo, John McEnroe, Harry Potter, Britney Spears, and perhaps the Grand Poobah of modern day tricksters, Michael Jackson.Contemporarily, the trickster persona, as it is perceived and created within both our media and develops culturally within our 'real lives', retains its traditional qualities, but also seems to have taken on almost a happy martyr, sin-eater type of tone, as the trickster becomes an outlet of expression by proxy with permission (although this may be veiled or superficially negated) for the pent-up dysfunctions, negativities, evils, and frustrations of his/her/its immediate 'good' and functional close populations and society.
Tricksters are not actually evil or bad, although there are always rumors, conspiracies, outright accusations and assumptions, and/or a general aura of evil or badness (or sometimes, but more rarely, stupidness) surrounding or attached to the trickster. This is an essential quality of the trickster, and it is very highly visible and important quality in the modern trickster persona. The morality and general integrity of Dr. Gregory House is almost always at the forefront of each episode of House, MD. The recent "bad parenting" issues of both Michael Jackson and Britney Spears, along with their other outrageous, socially unacceptable behaviors (obviously, the sexual abuse accusations of Jackson fall into quite another realm, but even then, the ambiguities, mysteries, non-verdicts, and antics found within seem to only strengthen his role as uber-dark-trickster) reflect this aura of evil.
The brilliant comedian Andy Kaufmann's bizarre, violent boxing-ring, saloon-style catfights with women onstage, along with his descent into profoundly uncomfortable existentialist meltdowns during his stand-up act (which was part of the act) led to his marginalization within the entertainment world, then even caustic he-faked-it-for-the-ultimate-hoax conspiracies and rumors after his tragic, premature death.
Harry Potter, who although obviously is a modern day trickster, is at his core a classic trickster persona, in that he essentially plays an unwitting Parsifal-esque role. Harry is overwhelmingly seen as a Hero, but carries great underdog and classic Fool qualities. Harry triumphs over all seemingly insurmountable hardships and trials (as exampled in the treacherous Triwizard Tournament) as a mostly reluctant participant using his wits and unlikely tactics to overcome adversities. Even within his role as unquestioned Hero, however, there is a great darkness about Harry. It was revealed, that via a backfired Killing Curse, a part of the evil Voldemort's soul accidentally flew into Harry, giving him some access to the Dark Lord's psyche, and the gift of Parseltongue, the ability to communicate with snakes.
Even outside the literal storyworld of Harry Potter, perhaps because of its unprecedented popularity and influence on culture, the idea of evil, moral controversy, and dark conspiracies have attached to the Harry Potter brand itself; not only is the character Harry Potter a trickster, but the books and films themselves have taken on the role with the allegations of Satanic/and or impure origins by conservative Christians and others concerned with such dynamics.
So, if the trickster figure isn't really evil or bad, what is it? The trickster carries a great sense of hyper-duality, complexity, is ineffeably mysterious and sometimes androgynous and/or bisexual. The trickster is an ambiguous (threateningly so sometimes) outsider, a socially unreliable rule-breaker in that he/she/it comprises particular sacred or established social norms(that may be ultimately in need of breaking, or on the brink of collapse or mass confrontation.)
Modern cultural trickster figures seem to be very much in line with court jesters. The trickster fills a desperate, essential need; it is a marginalized vessel into which our unattractive, dysfunctional, or scary qualities can be dumped, processed, and confronted at a safe distance. Our reaction to the modern trickster is usually one of exhaustive annoyance mixed with amused disgust, usually masking a fairly transparent, inexplicable attraction.
by www.thesupernaturalworld.co.uk
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