A Filmmaker's Guide to: Trickster Archetypes

In this chapter of ‘the filmmaker’s guide’ we’re actually going to be learning about literature and film together. I understand that many of you are sitting in university during difficult times and finding it increasingly hard to study and I understand that many of you who are not at university or not planning on it are possibly stuck of what to do, need a break or even need to catch up on learning film before you get to the next level. This guide will be brief but will also contain: new vocabulary, concepts and theories, films to watch and we will be exploring something taboo until now in the ‘filmmaker’s guide’ - academia (abyss opens). Each article will explore a different concept of film, philosophy, literature or bibliography/filmography etc. in order to give you something new to learn each time we see each other. You can use some of the words amongst family and friends to sound clever or you can get back to me (email in bio) and tell me how you’re doing. So, strap in and prepare for the filmmaker’s guide to film studies because it is going to be one wild ride.

Trickster Archetypes

What are they?

Characters who often do one or more of the following:

• have some secret knowledge
• contain a lot of intellect on a topic of interest to the protagonist
• rebels against the regular behaviour of the storyline and its characters
• disobeys everyone and everything in terms of laws and rules
• tries to trick both sides of the team [good and evil]

In literature, there have been many trickster characters, some more famous than others. These include but are not limited to:

• Pan from mythology and also from books such as "The Great God Pan"
• Rumplestiltskin from the "Grimm's Fairy Tales"
• Puck from Shakespeare's "A Midsummer Night's Dream"
• Dionysus, God of wine and ecstasy
• The Cheshire Cat from "Alice's Adventures in Wonderland" by Lewis Carroll

What about in film?

In television and film the trickster character is very popular. Mostly popularised by folklorish intentions, these characters often have the extreme ability to obscure and control the outcomes of the storylines because of their actions. In films and television shows, in comparison to books, the trickster normally has a lot more to do in terms of character - he or she normally has a backstory and a whole plot line to themselves, whereas in books they simply live to manipulate the storyline. This is why I personally prefer tricksters on television and film in comparison to novels. They seem more developed.

These include but are not limited to:

• Bugs Bunny
• Bart Simpson
• The Joker
• Loki
• The Pink Panther

When it comes to the way in which tricksters are presented to us, they can either be a part of the protagonist’s storyline or they can be directly related to/actually be the antagonist. In the case of Batman and the Joker, the Joker is both the trickster and the antagonist. The Joker manages to manipulate the storyline, has a backstory and contains a lot of flaws as well - which ultimately means that he cannot beat Batman. It is only the fact that the Joker has these flaws that means that he cannot beat Batman and the way in which this is seen to the audience is something that is very simply defeated. This therefore means that the Joker is actually more of the trickster archetype than the antagonist archetype because he contains more features that suit the trickster in terms of manipulation, knowledge and intelligence, rebellion and law-breaking. In the relation he has to the protagonist, he does not have his entire being centred on being the exact opposite to him, which makes him less likely to be your standard antagonist.

Further Reading:

• Hirschfeld, H (2018). The Oxford Handbook of Shakespearean Comedy (Oxford Handbooks). UK: Oxford University Press.
• Rutledge, G.E (2017). The Epic Trickster in American Literature. UK: Routledge.
• Scheub, H (2012). Trickster and Hero: Two Characters in the Oral and Written Traditions of the World. USA: University of Wisconsin Press
• Zipes, J (2015). The Oxford Companion to Fairy Tales (Oxford Companions). 2nd ed. UK: Oxford University Press.