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The figure of the Trickster, insofar as I can tell, is always to destabilize the dominant powers and norms of a society and help those marginalized by them.
In the neighbourhood of Dennis, Mr Wilson is a retired postman whose attitude towards Dennis, his friends, and their attempt to enjoy life, is far from hospitable, even though for the most part Dennis means well. The norms that Mr Wilson represents, especially upon his inception in 1951, are white, middle/upper class, conservatist attitudes towards younger generations, which can be enforced due to stable financial position and inherrent social structure; dominant powers and norms that whilst weakened over the past 50 years, are still in place today.
Whilst western society is, in an advertising sense at least, geared towards the "consumerist, youth-worshiping, male, heterosexual, and white" cult, this demographic is not that of Dennis and he doesn't support their ideals - he's not 15-35, he's not sexual, he has no cash, and his sex and race are products of his previous incarnations. His interactions with friends don't involve the latest consumer products, and in the most modern incarnation his best friends include a african american male and and asian female; basically he's destablizing the image that you've presented, in that his is a simple and immaterial life which relies more interacting with friends and being active outside the home environment, as opposed to buying the latest games console and games. |
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