You Don’t Know Jack: Reimagining a Modern Folk Hero
American folklore has always been a unique blend of folktales, myths, and legends from around the world, filled with heroes, heroines, and myriad tricksters along the way. In her book, The Story Experience, Jane B. Wilson points out, “Migratory peoples have insured a wide geographical distribution of folktales and ballads. Comparisons by professional folklorists have revealed over and over again the close parallels that exist among widely-scattered peoples and cultures in the stories they tell and the folksongs they sing… Nowhere is the great melting pot of folklore more in evidence than in America.”
The challenge in reinterpreting these classic, archetypal figures lies in creating broader, more inclusive characters that are diverse, interesting and authentic.
In the Folktellers Universe, we are introducing a new character to our ensemble cast in Book 3: Shadows on the Silver Strings. Soon, audiences will meet Silver Jack — A traveling Folkteller who uses his magical, silver-stringed guitar to capture and share stories, while fighting the forces of evil alongside Aaron, Wendy, Jake, and Eddie Little Bear.
In traditional mythological and folkloric terms, Jack would be considered a heroic, trickster figure — a character who walks the line between good and evil, using their own powers of discernment as they go. The typical trickster is an agent of rebellion, ready to buck social norms or defy conventional wisdom when necessary. Ultimately, these figures are highly intelligent, resourceful, and make a conscious effort to cut their own path through life.
Numerous “Jack Tales” have migrated from Europe to North America over the centuries, morphing in form and function as they arrived. Folklorist, Carl Lindahl points out:
“As far back as English-language folktales can be traced, there are stories about Jack. From the fifteenth century, when “Jack and His Step-Dame” was set down in rhyme in England, to the present, when Ray Hick’s rendition of “Jack and the Three Steers” dominates the National Storytelling Festival, one name above all others has been associated with magic tales in the British-American tradition. Yet the relation between the earlier Jacks and the most recent is difficult to trace, since no oral Jack Tales have survived from distant centuries. But a handful of texts provide essential, if fragmentary, clues about the nature of the stories told by long-dead raconteurs. The earliest written versions of the fantasy tales that scholars call “Märchen” were most often rendered in rhyme and hand-copied on manuscripts. Later tales, printed in prose and priced for a popular audience, were known as chapbooks. Jacks populate both forms.”
In the Folktellers Guidebook Series, our “Jack” is a wandering, African-American raconteur who chooses brains over brawn to defeat the forces of shadow and darkness. Giving a nod to Manley Wade Wellman’s pulp-fiction character, “Silver John”, our Jack is described as a Rhythm & Blues man, living life on the road, traveling from town to town, and helping out wherever he can through his unique talents.
In an effort to craft characters of substance, our team is building the Silver Jack mythos though music, story, and song. Famed Music Producers, Randy and Allen Lynch (III Worlds Productions), Jaunty Meek (Death by Lipstick Productions), and Folktellers Executive Producer, Stephen Sadler, have been tasked with bringing Silver Jack to life.
EP Stephen Sadler noted: “I wish Silver Jack was real, he’s definitely one of my favorite characters in Folktellers Universe. It’s easy to talk about inclusion and unity, but Silver Jack lives it through music and love. It’s like his heart is magnetized. Maybe all of our hearts are magnetized, and all we need to do is reset our poles.”
Fellow Producer, Jaunty Meek, added, “This a beautiful opportunity expand the Folktellers Universe. I’m truly honored and excited to contribute and help breathe musical life to Silver Jack. A dream come true!”
In the spirit of authenticity, Folkteller artists are rendering Jack using the Lynch brothers as models. The team felt it was important to portray Silver Jack using the likenesses of real musicians and real people of color. As the stories unfold, we are ensuring our creative team is as culturally diverse as the characters they portray.
Their first Silver Jack song will be based upon an old folk ballad, “The Devil’s Nine Questions,” which tells of a musical struggle between the balladeer and that nasty demon from down below. This reinterpretation will highlight Jack’s magical, R&B prowess while enriching the character portrayed in the Guidebook Series novels.
Allen Lynch shared, “I am very grateful to be a part of the Folktellers Universe. Randy & I have been fortunate to perform music all over the world. When your performance is right, it feels like you have a little “Silver Jack” in you — You are a storyteller and a performer. We look forward to bringing Josef’s fantastical tales of Silver Jack to life while still honoring his rich oral history.”
Brother Randy added, “Allen & I are honored to be a part of the Folktellers Universe. Watching Josef’s brilliant series unfold is truly awe-inspiring! The culturally diverse creative team that Josef has assembled is as magical & inclusive as the characters he’s created. So needed in these times, Josef has “chosen brains (& heart) over brawn to defeat the forces of shadow and darkness for all of us.”
We embrace heroes who reflect who we are as individuals, as well as those figures who resonate across myriad cultures. For in the end, we have much to share with each other, and every story told is an opportunity to expand our horizons — to understand, empathize, and ultimately grow, as we come to know Jack.
