Monthly Archives: May 2011

“A Broken Clock is Right Twice a Day”

Nationality: Vietnamese-American
Age: 21
Occupation: Philosophy and Mathematics Student
Residence: Egg Harbor Township, New Jersey
Performance Date: April 4, 2011
Primary Language: Vietnamese
Language: English

“A broken clock is right twice a day.”

My informant first heard this proverb in the fall of 2010. She cannot remember who told it to her or the context that she first heard it in, but she liked the phrase enough that it stuck with her. She generally says it in a sarcastic, playful tone when arguing with one of her friends and the friend makes a correct point, but my informant thinks that her friend’s overall argument is flawed. She also uses it when someone who normally gets answers incorrect, answers something correctly. She believes that the proverb means that even unreliable witnesses can be correct, and should be taken seriously despite their bad track record.

My informant’s explanation makes sense, but given the context that I’ve heard her use the phrase in, I’m not sure it’s the best explanation. My informant’s interpretation implies that when she uses it, she is trusting someone’s opinion despite his or her tendency to be incorrect. However, given her cheeky tone and the playful atmosphere in which she says the proverb, it seems like the proverb is used to make fun of the person it references, not imply confidence in them. I believe that the proverb implies that sometimes people are right coincidentally or on accident, and that does not mean that they can be or should be trusted to know what they are talking about. A broken clock tells the right time twice a day, but there’s no way to know if you are looking at it at exactly the right time. Despite its accuracy in those two specific situations, one cannot trust a broken clock. Likewise, one should not trust someone who is consistently wrong, even if they occasionally say something true. This proverb reflects a distrust of accidental truth.

Riddle/Joke

Nationality: USA
Age: 54
Occupation: Architect
Residence: Providence, RI
Performance Date: April 25, 2011
Primary Language: English

Have you ever read the book Broken Bra Strap by Wun Hung Lo?

Have you ever read the book Rusty Bed Springs by I.P Knightly?

Have you ever read the book Race to the Outhouse by Willie Makit, illustrated by Betty Wont?

Have you ever read the book Bloody Stump by that famous Russian author, Hubitcha Kokov?

Jonathan: Well I could go on and on with those, you know. I don’t know where I picked em’ up and I know they are not the most PC little things to be saying, but people get a laugh out of em. The racial/ethnic ones are very stereotypical but there are tons and they refer to all different types of people. I guess knowing that I feel less of a desire to censor myself. Not to mention, people say German jokes to me all the time! I could give a hoot! In fact, I find them funny! And most of these are more clever than controversial I’d say.

My dad is known for his sense of humor. Growing up I used to be embarrassed by some of his ‘risky’ jokes. However, in observing his performance of these and other jokes, I have notice that he is able to maintain his audience respect. It was interesting to interview him after studying folklore traditions. His employment of these blason populare folk sayings become more about his delivery/performance of them, than about what he is saying. Thus, he manages to not be offensive through his charismatic delivery. Although, this is not always the case, viewing his delivery of these jokes with a more academic lens, helped to further highlight the importance of the lore’s performance along with the lore itself.

Additionally, these jokes clearly represent the different, more controversial, tone of my parent’s generation. Today, people are not as flippant in explicitly joking about cultural or ethnic stereotypes. The notion of ‘political correctness’ more commonly characterizing what we are taught today. However, these jokes are implicitly ‘dirty’ as well, which I believe is just as, if not more, prevalent amongst the younger generations today.

Superstition: Sports Luck

Nationality: American
Age: 25
Occupation: Colorist for Cartoon Network
Residence: Los Angeles, CA
Performance Date: 20 April 2011
Primary Language: English
Language: Spanish, Japanese

White/Hispanic

California State University Fullerton

Illustration

Colorist for Cartoon Network’s Regular Show

English, Spanish

20 April 2011

Sports luck- Kicking the base of the flag pole.

“I’m a huge SC football fan. I’ve been going to football games with my family since before I can even remember. And for as long as I can remember, I’ve kicked the base of one of the flagpoles off Trousdale on the way to the Coliseum. I think I learned it from my father, he has been an SC football fan since he started going to the games when he was a Freshman. I don’t really know why I do it, I guess for luck and because that’s what my family always does. It’s a pretty common thing; you can hear people kicking the metal base plate long before you ever reach the flagpoles. The bases of the poles are scuffed and are so loose because of the thousands of people who kick it every game. It’s really funny when you get new fans that don’t realize how hard you have to kick the base to make a loud noise.  They’ll just tap it and it doesn’t make a noise. When this happens, it’s not uncommon to boo the person, unless they’re a kid or something.”

Looking at the act of kicking the flagpole, I agree with my informant. This act is an example of sport’s luck. People have thousands of different little things that they do prior to and during games to ensure there team the best chance of wining. If your team wins its because they are the better team, however if they lose, and you failed to adhere to your pre-game ritual, then its all your fault. The act of kicking the flagpole, in my opinion, is also a simple gesture to ward off possible calamity and for luck. It’s a superstition akin to knocking on wood after saying something is going really good. The act of kicking the pole can also be seen as a way for people to recognize the real fans that have stayed with the team for years. AT recalls a time when barely 15, 000 people would attend SC football games. In her own words, “Man we (the team) were bad back in the mid 90’s. Some fans started calling it the Dark Ages. The Coliseum was practically empty, you were a real fan if you stuck with the team back then. Now, we win all the time, which is awesome. But because of this, we get a bunch of bandwagoners that don’t know anything about the traditions.”

Mexican Cooking Good Luck Ritual

Nationality: Mexican
Age: 47
Occupation: Accountant
Residence: Sacramento, CA
Performance Date: March 15, 2011
Primary Language: Spanish
Language: English

The informant is a 47-year old accountant working in California, originally from Michoacán, Mexico. She lived a modest life as a young adult, having to take care of her family at a very young age while still finding success in management. She then moved to the United States with her husband to raise their family and now works in accounting. She primarily speaks Spanish with English as a second language.  He shall be referred to as MB.

MB explained that when she was first growing up, she lived on a ranch with a traditional adobe stove, heated by an open fire fueled by firewood. MB states that every morning, her grandmother would make tortillas from scratch, but the first tortilla would always get tossed into the fire. MB says her grandmother did this to “feed” the fire and keep it happy, to be sure it behaved properly throughout the rest of the cooking process in the morning.

According to MB, this tradition didn’t carry over with her mother or herself because of their transition to a consumer gas stove when they moved from the ranch.

To me, this personification of the stove fire reflects the great practicality of life on the ranch. Unlike modern households, where we are separated from so many of our amenities (we don’t see the fire in our stoves when we cook, and our dishes are cleaned within the confines of a dishwashing machine), those who actually do that work with their hands have a greater respect for such basic things as fire and water. This could explain the personification of a fire as something to be kept content for the sake of the people cooking, almost like a religious offering (considering how devoutly Catholic MB’s grandmother was). While MB and her mother didn’t carry on the tradition and attributed it to a lack of adobe stove, she appeared to have been willing to do so had it not been for the dangerousness of throwing a tortilla into the small fire of a gas stove.

Occupational Proverb- Film Production

Nationality: American
Age: 27
Occupation: Student
Residence: Los Angeles, CA
Performance Date: April 27, 2011
Primary Language: English
Language: Mandarin

The informant is a 27-year old grad student. He was born in Los Angeles, California, grew up in Seattle, Washington, was educated at UC Berkeley and now studying film production in Los Angeles. He’s worked as a freelance writer and filmmaker around Los Angeles and is a teaching assistant at the School of Cinematic Arts. He shall be referred to as NW.

“A movie is made three times: When it’s written, when it’s shot, and when it’s edited.”

This proverb is superficially about the filmmaking process. As those within the industry know, it’s possibly for a movie to be radically reinvented between the writing, filming, and editing of a film.  As NW explains, this is often done as a sign of reassurance for young filmmakers (from older, more experienced ones) who might not have gotten their way at some point in the production process: The writing, filming, or editing might have turned out poorly. However, because each of those steps is so critical, it give the project a chance at redemption. NW states that the use of the proverb is meant to be an optimistic look at the next step in the process.

I agree with NW’s analysis. The proverb certainly establishes that a film has a chance at reinvention at every major point in the process. At the same time, I feel that this also suggests the glorification of writers, directors, and editors. While the director is very involved in all three processes, the writer and editor have much more control over a project than others involved. Thus, this simple proverb reinforces the hierarchy on film crews, hierarchies that are rarely successfully challenged. Furthermore, those earlier down the line might feel resentment for those further down the line, as they have the potential to tamper with their initial vision. Thus, the proverb also reflects workplace anxiety when a project is taken out of one’s hands and handed over to someone who can potentially destroy or enhance the film.