About the Informant

The informant is a wordly individual. He’s travelled to more than 20 countries and has lived for long periods in 3 of them, including England, America and Norway. Although born in America he is native to both the US and England. His primary focus is on technology and marketing and utilizes these fields for an understanding of the places he travels to. A great deal of his adolescents were spent in Lonion, so he has gained a good deal of insight into the lore of various sub-cultures there.

Description (What is being performed):

Amongst some youth in England, a distinct call where one creates the hand gesture (see photo above) and places their mouth up to the whole that is made and aggressively yell the word “mork” , is made to people that you like to poke fun at or simply dislike.  This is often done by groups who collectively share mutual feelings for people. A primary objective is for the “Target'” to not notice that the noise is being directed toward them. Therefore the call is often made when the target is at a distance and hasn’t acknowledged the perpetrator.

The Informant (Background info about performance from informant):

The informant states that he did not discover this call but rather came up with it when with his friends while at university in England. One day his group heard the mork sound being made by someone which they then adopted. At a later point the informant saw a classmate that he and his friends liked to make fun of and he said mork as the student walked by. This was the moment where purpose was assigned the call. Since then they would do it to random people and others would catch them do it. They too would start to use it. The call spread quickly amongst various groups of friends and even so in the states where the informant coninuted college.

It is said that the ability to vent your dislike to someone while close in proximity is partially what makes doing it so humorous and satisfying. ALso the fact that the target is unaware of it makes it funnier. Additionally it acts as a way for a group of people to bond with one another, whether it be a group of friends who share the dislike for someone, or when hearing someone your unfamiliar with do it, which instantly creates a connection between you two.

The Analysis (My Thoughts):
People have been making chants or signal sounds for centuries. One particular context is making sounds to warn a group of an approaching other. In war this is often used, but the with the mork sound it is put in a humorous context. Within this use it is as though a sense of false superiority is trying to be established. I say false because unless the target is aware of this call, then they may not perceive the perpetrators as superior. Along side this the call functions as a way of venting.

The fact that the sound catches on quickly and that a sort of sub-culture forms around those who know and understand it means its ability to sustain its existence throughout time to some degree or another is likely.