Den övertygande dåren - Ethos och persona i tricksterdiskurser

Sammanfattning: This paper examines the persuasive role of ethos and persona in trickster discourse by studying the pilot episode of the Australian TV-series "John Safran's Race Relations". Using methods of Role- and Fantasy-theme criticism I conclude that the artefact uses a strategy of authority by experience and identification to create a strong bond of sympathy for the main character, who leads by example in his subversive strategies and actions to find loopholes in the cultural and ethnic constraints in a multicultural society. This is offset by an ironic form that creates a complex meaning of the main character, who uses himself as a scapegoat for shortcomings of the majority culture. This is achieved by an ambivalent authenticity in connection to the persona and the rhetor, and a core strategy of forcing the audience to adopt the rhetors perspective.