I <3 Tricksters

This afternoon we came across Willy Wonka & the Chocolate Factory (that's the orginal one with Gene Wilder) as we channel hopped, and I was struck by how perfect a Trickster character Willy Wonka is. (I don't have time to delve further, and I'm sure you don't need me to. I mean, just look at this clip!) ETA: OK, couldn't help myself. Had to embed this...

Also, I've been meaning to pull out these parts of Mark's review of LotR (from Chapter 6 of The Two Towers). He might not be analytical, but he is reflective:

It was interesting to me that Théoden harked on a single point: that Gandalf always brought about bad news, bad tidings, or bad luck. Wormtongue, who appears to be some sort of assistant or official counsel to the King of the Mark, makes the same point, though he adds that Gandalf meddles. Even if this is ultimately shown to be an attempt by Wormtongue to thwart Rohan, I still think there’s some truth here. Gandalf really does meddle! He is a brilliant wizard and he’s rarely shown to be wrong, but he appears in people’s lives, changes them, and then leaves. I would actually be happy to see Tolkien address this further myself.
[...]
I was impressed with Gandalf’s decision to allow Wormtongue to live and choose his fate, and it’s something that relates to what I brought up earlier. Gandalf meddles, yes, but he leaves people with a choice. He did this with Bilbo in The Hobbit, and he did it with Frodo at the beginning of the book, and now he gives Wormtongue a choice.

Which in turn reminded me that I wanted to post ( this! )

I <3 Tricksters

This afternoon we came across Willy Wonka & the Chocolate Factory (that's the orginal one with Gene Wilder) as we channel hopped, and I was struck by how perfect a Trickster character Willy Wonka is. (I don't have time to delve further, and I'm sure you don't need me to. I mean, just look at this clip!) ETA: OK, couldn't help myself. Had to embed this...

Also, I've been meaning to pull out these parts of Mark's review of LotR (from Chapter 6 of The Two Towers). He might not be analytical, but he is reflective:

It was interesting to me that Théoden harked on a single point: that Gandalf always brought about bad news, bad tidings, or bad luck. Wormtongue, who appears to be some sort of assistant or official counsel to the King of the Mark, makes the same point, though he adds that Gandalf meddles. Even if this is ultimately shown to be an attempt by Wormtongue to thwart Rohan, I still think there’s some truth here. Gandalf really does meddle! He is a brilliant wizard and he’s rarely shown to be wrong, but he appears in people’s lives, changes them, and then leaves. I would actually be happy to see Tolkien address this further myself.
[...]
I was impressed with Gandalf’s decision to allow Wormtongue to live and choose his fate, and it’s something that relates to what I brought up earlier. Gandalf meddles, yes, but he leaves people with a choice. He did this with Bilbo in The Hobbit, and he did it with Frodo at the beginning of the book, and now he gives Wormtongue a choice.

Which in turn reminded me that I wanted to post ( this! )