Länsstyrelsen och o-djuret. Lek som strategi i fridlysningen av Storsjöodjuret 1985-2005

In 1985 the County Administrative Board of Jämtland initiated a process to protect Storsjöodjuret (the Great Lake Monster). As other famous cryptids, the Monster has become a valuable resource in the process of cultural heritage, marketing and tourism. We apply Bateson’s theories of play (1972) and Goffman’s concept of frame (1974) to show how play offers a metacommunicative strategy to circumvent expressions of disbelief in a locally important folkloristic phenomenon. We ask what reactions the board’s invitation to play are met with, and how the case’s zoological, cultural and juridical frames are negotiated. The process is analysed with respect to the different actors’ relation to genres and keys. The playful process in 1985 is contrasted by the judicial intervention in 2002 by the parliamentary ombudsman by whom humour and play are not deemed acceptable communicative strategies. We understand this in terms of closeness, and find that closeness to Storsjöodjuret is a direct factor both to the complexity of suitable communicative strategy, as well as to the creation of the protective decision made as such.