African American trickster tales

For my final paper project, I think I'd like to study African American trickster tales. I really like how the tales take on a role of strategy. As Edwards puts it (in an article discussed in my last blog), "Though neither trickery nor trust is clearly favored in the folktale cycles (the trickster loses as well as wins), the problem of which strategy to adopt was one which constantly outcropped in the lives of people forcibly prevented from developing cooperative social contracts for their own long-range self-improvement" (160). Although the trickster demonstrates ways to gave an upperhand over oppressors, the trickster himself can get duped. This reminds me of some rap music; gangster rap can illustrate ways of "overcoming" (ie police brutality) but they come with a price.

I am also drawn to the transformation some of the characters had in moving from Africa to America. I'll have to do more research on this... Anyone come across anything?

Also, as this picture demonstrates, the African American trickster tale was "disneyized." I'll have to watch the cartoons to see how much of the original stories remained.