Princess and the Frog: Trickster

Since I did not touch on the trickster elements I saw in The Princess and the Frog, here they are!

The shadow man plays the role of a trickster in the movie for several reasons. First, he has an ambiguous personality in that he is associated with life and death. He constantly refers to his friends on “the other side” and deals a lot with the dead souls. On the other hand, he deals a lot with live souls and manipulates them to get what he wants. This brings us to the next trait of a trickster that he possesses, which is being a deceiver. An example of this is when he convinces the prince that he is going to help him become rich, when in reality, he turns him into a frog and uses his blood for voodoo magic. The voodoo magic he uses can transform someone else into Prince Naveen, which has to do with shape shifting, another trait of the trickster. He himself does not physically transform, but his personality does change when he is trying to get something, and he has the ability to transform others into animals, other people, etc. The shadow man can also transform situation, as he is a situation inverter, the fourth characteristic of the trickster. There is one instance in the story where Tiana is still a frog, but has possession of a very powerful voodoo necklace that the shadow man wants. In order to tempt her, he creates a vision that appears very real to her. In it, she is human again and is standing in her dream restaurant, just as she wanted it to look, chandelier and all. It is full of people waiting to try her delicious food, and she almost gives into the shadow man’s trickery because it seems so real and perfect.

The shadow man is also a messenger/imitator of the gods. These would be his “friends on the other side”. In this movie, he gets their help by promising them all the wayward souls they want, and in exchange, they assist him in finding Prince Naveen. He ends up owing them a debt at the end when his plan fails and the frogs escape.

The final characteristic of the trickster that shines through the shadow man is that he is a sacred bricoleur. He is very innovative in his ways and can do things that most people certainly would not be able to do. He can create situations that are terrible, such turning people into frogs, or he can create wonderful situations, such as Tiana’s dream restaurant.

A Tragedy

Sometimes things happen in our lives where there is no happy ending. I've experienced such a thing myself, but the story of the Peterson family of Hamilton, MT truly broke my heart. Josh Peterson was a 2010 graduate like myself and was a victim of a severe tumor that ultimately lead to his passing. His father, Mike, had twice survived cancer, but lost his 8 year old daughter due to brain cancer in 2005. Also, his wife died suddendly when his son was but 5 years old. What a journey he has had to endure. I can only imagine the questions going through his mind. "Why not me? Why take my son and daughter who have not even lived?" The sad part is, these questions will remain unanswered. We often see children as almost untouchable. They do not die. When one does die at such a young age, what do we do but ask "why"? Unhappy endings are so disturbing to me because things are supposed to work out. The hero is supposed to overcome the battle. The child should live. Perhaps the hero in the story is not Josh, but it is Mike. Everything seems to be against him at this point, but he has made it thus far. What I don't understand though is why he hasn't seen his ultimate boone yet. Shouldn't his son have survived? His battles would have been enduring seeing his son suffer through intense chemotherapy, and then all would be bright again when his son defeated the cancer. Unfortunately this was not the case. My prayers go out to the Peterson family, especially Mike, as they face another setback in their journey of the hero.

Studying For Quiz

Norse Pantheon

Odin*Raven-thoughts and memory
*Wolves
*(one eye)

Frigg
*Odin's wife

Thor (Odin's son)
*hammer- iron gloves
*strength- belt
*goats

Baldr
*Son of Odin
*Wisdom
*Whiteness

Njard
*Sea
*Fire
*North
*Wind

Frey                                   
*brother of Freyja
*rain
*controls sunlight (because he controls rain clouds not the sun)
*peaceful
*fertility

Freyja
*love/beauty
*cats
Tyr
*war
*one hand

Bragi
*poetry

Heimdall
*watchmen/guardian of rainbow
*horn (sound in warning)

Loki
*Evil children (Ferris, Hel, Midgard Serpent)
*Trickster

Characteristics of Trickster

1) Ambiguous Personality- associated with death & life, fertility/impedance, society/nature
2) Deceiver - trick player
3) Shape Shifter - elements, other people, genders, animals
4) Situation Inverter - can flip things around from what isn't to what is
5) Messenger/Imitator of Gods
6) Sacred/Lewd Bricoleur - DIY (do it yourself); can do things other gods
    can't, not constrained by rules, creates things either good or bad

Theophany

gods/goddesses reveal themselves

Omphalas

*naval gazing
*"ommmmmm"- access the desire to return back to the center (womb)Psychopomp

responsible for escorting the dead to the afterlife

Hermes

crazy trickster man, messenger of gods, flying shoes, cool stick thing

Yggdrasil

world tree
Liminal

neither/nor, thresholds

Ragnarok

end of the world, final battle between good/evil

3/28 Trickster

*tricks
*trouble-maker
*conman
*delivering
*joker
*used car salesman

-Loki
-Puck
-Hermes
-Bugs buggy
-Coyote
-Satan/J.C.
-Raven
-Maui
-Charlie Sheen

*Without trickster figures, we would not have a world

Nature of Trickster

*old world- human/god
*Africa- animals (new world)
     *more closely associated us animal world

*liminal space
       -threshold, cross roads, boundary markers, neither/nor

*threshold

Hermes- statue, thing that marks threshold/crossroads

motivation- appetite/desire for things that please the flesh

cultural heroes

Bricolage

1. ambiguous personality
        *life/death, culture/nature, order/chaos, fertility/impotence

2. deceiver
      *trick player

3. shape shifter

4. situation inverter

5. messenger/immitation of gods

6. sacred/lewd bricoleum -DIY
          *do it yourself
         *not bound by rules that constrain others

obscene:
not normal, lude, mud/filth, shit, left-sided

off-scene: can see rules of society

4/1 Notes

Edda

All-father: in Norse mythology they don't name him
         *patriarchal society
         *warriors

wyrd: fate, but more dependable

*personalization embodies nature

Ymir: giant

Yggdrasil

Bifrost

Odin

Sleipnir

Norms

Beserker--
bear sark
bear shirt

Ate shrooms

And went into battle

Midyard

Freya

Nighog

Asgard

3/25 Notes: Trees

axis mundi-sacred space of worship

sacred grows
     *Stonehenge
     *usually in a circle
     *related to lunar cycles

Hera got pisssed that Zeus had born Athena out of head...

Hera+rock=Agistis>>>>>>Attis-raised by goats

agopomorphize

3/21 Notes- Rocks and Lakes

axis mundi- central location

Lake:
    *healing
    *womb (feminine)
    *unconscious

Rocks:
    *King Arthur


sacred SITE
sacred SIGHT

Mountains:
-easy to see a magical quality
-sacred central
-heaven/earth (axis mundi!)

Omphalos (naval)
    *navel gazing
    *we say "ommmm"- desire to return back to center (womb)

Sacred cities
      -Jerusalem
      -Babylon

Vine Deloria- sacred spaces

HUMAN---->>---Gettysberg----->>>-----holy occurence (Jordan River)------>>>------Divine reveals self w/out anything (burning bush)---------->>>------------DIVINE (new revelation, hasn't happened yet)

*Scotland
*Custer

Why do we make places sacred where people all died?
The older it is, the more sacred?

Bethel- house of God
 (el=god)

axis mundi: present, real, constant

theothany- god/gods reveal themselves
         *Jesus appears w/ Elijah
         *transfiguration

Personal spaces vs geographical

Agdistis- kid born from sperm on rock
     *hermaphrodite