Category Archives: Material

R2D2 “Hack” at MIT

Text: In May 1999, MIT students pulled a prank that involved making a building resemble R2D2.

Minor Genre: Prank, Practical Joke

Context:

When the Phantom Menace opened in May of 1999, students on the MIT campus colored fabric panels to make a building resemble R2D2, a beloved droid from the Star Wars universe. According to L, who witnessed the building, “MIT is very proud of its prank culture.” Such pranks were common on campus and encouraged among students. They were dubbed “hacks” among those involved, and “hack culture” was widespread at MIT. Part of hack culture was to “do no damage,” which is a potential reason why the administration allowed for such a mischievous culture to thrive.

When the R2D2 “hack” took place, L described that “campus was buzzing. It was the kind of feeling like ‘it’s cool that I go to a school where people do stuff like this thing.’” The prank made national news because it happened at a time when “everyone was going crazy about the Phantom Menace.”

Analysis:

“Interesting Hacks To Fascinate People: The MIT Gallery of Hacks” is a website created by those involved in “hack culture” intended to document the history of pranks at MIT. The website describes the meaning of the word: “the word hack at MIT usually refers to a clever, benign, and ‘ethical’ prank or practical joke, which is both challenging for the perpetrators and amusing to the MIT community (and sometimes even the rest of the world!).” (https://hacks.mit.edu/) Although hacks are not officially sanctioned by the university, the culture built on clever practical jokes has had a significant impact on broader MIT student culture.

The R2D2 hack described by my mother is officially catalogued on the MIT Gallery of Hacks as the “Great Droid.” It stood in place from May 17th through the 18th in 1999 on the Great Dome building. The “Great Droid” is a prime example of how pranks can utilize popular culture to inspire excitement and a sense of unity within a community. It also provides insight into the values of MIT as a whole; due to its overall high level of safety, the hack received praise from an MIT security officer and the administration initially declared they would allow it to remain in place for three days. The MIT “hack culture,” therefore, was based on intellectual and thorough planning to create large-scale, harmless pranks.

Marching Band Shot Taking

Tweeeeeeeet, tweet, tweet, tweet, tweet, down, don’t die preformed

“Tweeee^eet tweet tweet tweet tweet down, don’t die”

I’m in band, I am a college student of legal age, who occasionally recreationally takes alcohol, in a safe, consensual manner (laughter) [consensual between you and the alcohol?] Yes. (laughter) [So where will you use this?] Often times I’ll use this right before parties. [So you’d use it at parties, do you think you would use it (this method of taking shots) at a non-band party?] Probably not because I think I’d look like a weirdo. [Who taught you this? Who did you originally learn it from?] The people who were in band before me, so like when I was a freshman they were seniors and it just gets passed down. [Would that be your section or just general band? (both the taking of the shot and the teaching of the shot] General band, but I learned it from my section. [Why do people in the band say this?] We say this before we run down on the field, we say “tweeeeet, tweet, tweet, tweet, tweet, down, don’t die” and then we would start going “aaaaaaa” and then running on the field, and then because another huge part of the band other than marching band and music is alcohol (laughs) we will also do that before we drink. [So what does the tweet stand for? How does that become a thing?} the tweet mimics the sounds of the whistle that Jake uses to cue us off (to go running onto the field).

-Interview with the Informant

The USC Marching Band became as well known and impressive as it is today thanks to its previous director, Arthur Bartner. His tenure at USC is marked by the current band for having an incredibly football team, manly mentality as well as a band that was rowdy and alcoholic. The identity of the band has shifted since Dr. Jacob Vogel, the current director, took the reigns, however the importance of alcohol for band members has not been completely erased. Band members spend much of their time together, especially during the fall football season and as a result they have created a folk group that transcends just being a marching band and is also a social group outside of band itself. They have band exclusive parties, drinking traditions, particular mixed drinks made special by each different section, all of these different social aspects that are considered a part of band despite not being practice or music related. Using the folklore of their band activities, such as being tweeted off before running onto the field, they extend the group’s activities to drinking, partying, and socializing outside of just the marching band practice and game hours.

Mangia, y’all

Text:

A ritualistic saying that acts as performative speech to signal that people may start eating (similar to “bon appetit”).

Context:

The informant comes from an Italian family that currently lives in Dallas, TX. Her family emigrated from Sicily 6 generations ago through Louisiana and settled in South Texas; they have lived in the same city ever since. Her generation is actually the first generation that is not fully Sicilian Italian, because her father is from Nebraska. Members of the family will commonly say this phrase before meals.

Interpretation:

Given the family’s deep connections to both Italy and Texas, both places are fundamentally intrinsic to their family identity. This saying is not only a form of performative speech that instructs people to begin eating, but an indicator of a deeply loyal family history as a source of pride. Saying this phrase ritualistically before eating contextualizes mealtimes as a ritual through which to connect with the family through food, in both the past and present.

Chinese Tea Rhyme

Text: 

Original Script in Mandarin Characters:

甜配绿, 酸配红, 瓜子配乌龙。

Pronunciation in Mandarin Pinyin:

tián pèi lǜ, suān pèi hóng, guā zǐ pèi wū lóng.

Transliteration:

Sweet matches green, sour matches red, sunflower seeds match oolong.

Translation:

Serve sweet food with green tea, serve sour food with black tea, and serve snacks like sunflower seeds with oolong.

Context: 

I first heard the rhyme when I was enjoying a traditional-style tea party one day with my family when I was in middle school. I randomly asked my paternal grandparents how did they manage to choose different tea on different days, and my grandma replied with this tea rhyme and said the choice was dependent on what flavor of food and snacks we were having. Later when I interviewed my grandma for this project, it appeared that she couldn’t remember when, where, and from whom she learned this rhyme. Having circulated orally among people, this tea rhyme has been and still is a popular phrase across different regions in China.

Analysis: 

Historically, China is known for tea culture and tea serves a vital role in people’s daily lives. Tea-drinking is not simply a pleasant gustatory and olfactory experience, but also facilitates social and spiritual activities. When it comes to deciding which tea to drink, this tea rhyme is a shortcut that speeds up decision-making, though many may have their own preferences and theories. 

Broadly conceived as an agreeable saying, this rhyme reveals the basic logics in matching tea with food. According to the informant, this rhyme can be broken down into three parts and each part has a solid backing to it. To begin with, one should serve sweet food with green tea since its relatively bland taste tones down sweetness. Though not known to the informant, it has been proven scientifically that gallated catechin (GC) found in green tea acutely reduces blood glucose levels, resulting in the consensus that green tea makes sweet food and dessert “healthier”. Contrarily, the rich flavor of black tea is thought to be best served with sour food to reduce bitterness as well as add depth to its smell and taste. Lastly, sunflower seeds are a popular snack in China that tastes nutty, slightly salty, and savory. Despite literally specifying sunflower seeds as oolong’s “partner”, this tea rhyme generalizes a category of nutty and less flavored snacks compared to the aforementioned sweet and sour food, saying that oolong’s flavor will not be sabotaged but enhanced when served with this snack category.

In terms of the rhyme’s pronunciation in Mandarin, the three short phrases rhyme perfectly together with the first ending in a downward tone and the last two ending in an upward tone. Furthermore, the rhyme strictly follows a rhythmic structure (3 characters, 3 characters, 5 characters) as the last two phrases rhyme with two different characters but they sound the same vowels and the exact same tone. The rhyme’s catching pronunciation helps it withstand the test of time and remain popular among its specific folk group.

As much as Chinese people value tea and food, the theories behind matching a food with a specific tea are passed down generation to generation, and this tea rhyme not only allows us to take a glimpse into this rich tea culture, but also helps distill collective wisdom in tea-drinking.

Capirotada Cultural Dish

Informant Info:

  • Nationality: Mexican
  • Age: 50
  • Residence: Los Angeles 
  • Primary language: Spanish 
  • Relationship: mother 

Text: 

Capirotada(cultural food) 

Context:

EP explained to me the cultural and religious significance of the traditional Mexican capirotada dish. The capirotada dish is made during a specific season, as EP says, “la temporada de cuaresma.” Cuaresma is basically the Lenten period, in which Ash Wednesday, Palm Sunday, Good Friday and Easter occur. She views this period of time in which she prepares for the death and the resurrection of Jesus by fasting and making this cultural dish. She learned this traditional dish from her mother who would make it during the Lenten period. EP goes into depth on the ingredients of the Capirotada, “La canela, clavo, y piloncillo se cuece, y así se hace la miel que se pone arriba de todos los ingredientes antes de hornear.” She first makes a sort of sweet juice/syrup to put on top of the ingredients. The ingredients consist of: white bolillo bread, tortillas, bananas, apples, queso fresco, raisins, prunes, viznaga, different types of nuts and dried fruits, etc. She said that you put the syrup that was made prior on top of all the ingredients and then you can bake it. 

Analysis:

Capirotada is made in different ways, and it also depends on the preference of the person making the dish. Not everyone will make it the same; each person has their own touch. I have grown up eating capirotada as well, but when I would ask other people if they had tried or heard of it before, they would say no. It is a dish that is not as commonly made or known. When I was younger, I always thought it wasn’t something I wanted to eat, but as I grew older I learned to appreciate and actually love to eat the dish. While the capirotada might not look as physically appealing as other desserts, it is truly delicious and holds a special place in our Mexican culture.