Monthly Archives: May 2011

Mexican Child Game- “Aquí va un Gusanito”

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.

“Por aquí va un gusanito, no encuentra el hoyito, no encuentra el hoyito, y ya le encontró!”

“By here goes a worm, no finds the hole, no find the whole, and now it found!”

“Here goes a little worm, can’t find the little hole, can’t find the little hole, and now he found it!”

This game is played with slightly older children, about six months. The parent takes an outstretched arm in the non-dominant hand, then walks the index and ring finger of the other hand from the child’s hand toward the armpit, and on “y ya le encontró!”, the adult starts tickling the child in the armpit.

This game seems to serve both a physical and social purpose for children as they reach a certain age. As this game requires that the child be strong enough to support itself and supply an arm, it is not played until about six months of age. It is a very engaging activity for both involved, as the child might ask the parent to repeat this incessantly. With this game, the child’s repeated requests to repeat it take it a step beyond the simple mirroring of earlier child games. The worm looking for a hole could also be a basic introduction to types of animals (a worm looking for a hole), while the “-ito” suffix on “gusanito” is added to make it small and endearing.

Occupational Folklore- Origin of the term “C47”

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.

In the world of film production, clothespins are referred to as “C47s” (pronounced, “see fore-tee seh-vens). As NW explained, this is term used by the grips on a film set (those responsible for the physical labor of manning lights). They are used to pull scrims, which are tools for blocking light, out of a hot lighting kit and also useful for attaching colored gels to lights among other simple purposes.

NC explained that the origin of the term comes from the story of a production crew submitting a budget for a producer, which included five hundred clothespins. The producer did not see the importance of these clothespins, so he demanded they be removed from the budget because he didn’t see the value in them. Knowing how important they were for day-to-day work, the crew changed the name to “C47” to sound more technical and important. Upon looking at the revised budget, the producer approved and the crew was allowed to purchase the required clothespins. He told this story to a group of students in a class on film lighting for Film and Television Production majors. He could not remember specifically where he heard this story, but remembered that he was told it when he began working on film sets (as this was the first experience with film lights and equipment for many people in the class, we heard it in the same context he did). He did not provide too much historical context for his background story (such as the time and place), and he was not absolutely certain about five-hundred being the required number of clothespins.

While it didn’t seem that NW takes the story too seriously, he seemed eager to share this bit of knowledge for a group of people just cutting their teeth on film production. It seems to be a sign of acceptance into this field of work. The class immediately adopted the use of the term, rarely using the term “clothespins” but rather “C47.” NW believes that the story is about how even the most trivial items are important on a film set, even if they don’t seem that way to a producer. He said changing the name was  a big “eff you” directed at the studio on behalf of the crew against the “suits.” NW also explained that the use of this term is a simple indicator as to whether or not a person is knowledgeable about film production when starting out on set.

To me, this story expresses the kind of anxiety shared by those low on the film industry totem pole. This is not a story that involves elite directors or celebrated cinematographers. Rather, it is a story shared when young amateurs are starting out in low positions. At least in my experience with the class, everyone was very interested in demonstrating that they belonged in this environment. The story about the producer also illuminates the anxiety felt between those that produce a film and those that fund it. While filmmaking is a very technical craft, sometimes simple tools like clothespins are required. In the story, the name had to be changed to something credible for the crew to get what they needed to make their film. This portrayal of the producer as shallow and ignorant (immediately accepting the change to the term “C47” without further knowledge for their use) reflects the bitterness that can exist between the peons on a film set and the wealthy producers.

Mexican Lap Game- “Los maderos de San Juan”

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.

“Los maderos de San Juan piden pan, no les dan, piden queso, les dan hueso, ye se sientan a llorar en la puerta del zaguán!”

“The workers of San Juan beg bread, no them give, beg cheese, them give bone, and they sit to cry in the door of hallway!”

“The wood workers of San Juan beg for bread, they don’t give it to them, they beg for cheese, they give them bones, and they sit to cry in the door of the hallway!”

This is probably the most socially important of the child games that MB explained (for other Mexican child games, see the “aquí va un gusanito” and “Pon pon pata” entries in my collection). This one isn’t played until the child is about one year old. The child is seated on the lap facing the adult, and the adult places both hands to support the child’s back. The parent then slowly rocks the child back and forth (back on “San,” forward on “Juan,” back on “piden,” forward on “pan,” etc.). When they reach “en la puerta,” the adult begins tickling the child around the neck, much to the laughing delight of the child.

Notably, this is a very dark game, as it concerns poor workers who don’t have enough to eat. However, the game itself is very enjoyable for both the adult and the child. As MB explained, this game is usually played by members of the lower class who might have to deal with the reality of food shortage now and then. She compared it to slaves singing spirituals: Singing songs about your misfortunes often helps you deal with them, in the case of the parents. Turning their troubles into a silly game helps them deal with their lives. At the same time, the child is gaining exposure to the reality of the life they will probably live someday. Children might repeatedly request the game be played, often to the point where the child is barely able to fit on the adult’s lap.

I completely agree with MB’s analysis: This game seems to serve both a physical and social purpose for children as they reach a certain age. The “maderos” game not only involves the child being physically strong enough to be rocked back and forth, but also demands some social exposure. In a safe environment, the child is introduced to some of the harsh realities of poverty life, but does so in a way that brings joy. This prepares the child to cope with challenges in life that he or she will inevitably face.

Annotation:

Franco, Jean. Introduction to Spanish American Literature. Cambridge UP, 1995. Print

In this book on Spanish-American literature, poet José Asunción Silva includes a variant of the this rhyme (referred to as a nursery rhyme) as part of a longer poem titled “Los maderos de San Juan.” In the context of the poem, it is shared by a grandmother to her grandson as she rocks him on her knees. The poem itself is about remembering the hardship of the past and the continuity of stories.

Remedy/Superstition

Nationality: USA
Age: 22
Occupation: Student at USC
Residence: Los Angeles, CA
Performance Date: April 25, 2011
Primary Language: English

Kara: So my grandmother strongly believes in the like…’power of crystals’ or something. She wears different forms of crystal jewelry. She’s always trying to get me to wear crystals. I haven’t really asked her much about it but she claims the crystals attract toxins and so by wearing them you are allowing the crystals to purify you. The crystals like, like absorb the negative energy in your body or whatever. (LAUGH) I don’t know, I think she’s crazy in this sense but oh well. She also acts like the crystals have a spiritual benefit for her I think.

Kara’s description of her grandmother’s folk remedy practice exposes a disconnect between the two family members. Her grandmother’s crystal belief holds no weight within her family, Kara describes, and no one really knows when her grandmother started believing and following the crystal remedy. Unlike a familial tradition, Kara’s grandmother’s folk performance has not become a part of their family’s identity, rather, it has isolated her grandmother from the rest of her family. Her perspective is not as respected in the family as a result of the folk practice. There is currently many examples of others following this crystal belief. Ankerton and Weldon’s Encyclopedia for New Age Beliefs references the crystal practice. Those who defend this form of folklore practice are convinced that crystals infuse one’s body with the body’s maximum energy while maintaining spiritual balance.[1] As a result of the bourgeoning belief in the power of crystals, consumer society has tailored markets to attract those who perform crystal remedies. There are now crystal power jewelry lines and companies that sell individual crystals for medicinal and spiritual use.[2]

[1]Ankerberg, John, and John Weldon. Encyclopedia of New Age Beliefs. Eugene, Or.: Harvest House, 1996.             pp. 117

[2] Jones, Sandra. “Gemstones.” Web log post. Heartfelt Healers. IHealth. Web. <http://www.heartfulhealers.com/about>.

Occupational Folktale- Stanley Kubrick

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.

Here, NW shares a legend about the early career of Stanley Kubrick:

“And there’s lots of crazy stories about him, like, that early on in his career, you know, he, in one of his really early movies, The Killing, he got in an argument with uh, with his cinematographer, ‘cause the cinematographer didn’t think he knew what he was doing based on like, a lens choice, wide-angle lens, and now Kubrick’s really famous for his wide-angle lens shots, in certain films, you know, then he’s just his upstart director and the cinematographer changes the lens out because he thinks he made a mistake, and so they take it and Kubrick notices it, and then like blows up on him, and tells him, ‘if you touch my lens again you’re fired, and I won’t ever see you again.” And then they have this big argument. I hear those stories about a lot of directors, famous directors, it’s like, and people kind of tell those now and it’s like, ‘oh, look at what a genius and how sure he was of himself back then,’ and I don’t know, again, I don’t know if that happened or what, but I think it’s a way of rationalizing like, ‘oh, if you were a real director, you’d know like what the hell you’re doing right away… From personal experience, I don’t think that’s necessarily true, but it’s like a way of building their legend, you know, it’s like anyone, you know it’s like, people tell stories about Thomas Jefferson or Abraham Lincoln whoever, like they knew this, so they did this, and that showed who they were really early on and you’re kinda like I don’t know if that really worked that way, but it helps build them up as these, like, mythic figures so you’re like that’s what, that’s what a filmmaker is.”

As NW explains, this is a very relevant idea for young filmmakers. It is common to idolize the great directors of the past, and stories like these increase that level of respect.

Specifically, this story addresses some of the tensions that happen on film sets. Because film is a very collaborative process, it can be easy for one person to alter the work of another. As such, a person with a strong vision might see that compromised because of the interference of another person, such as this young Stanley Kubrick.

More importantly, this story stresses the importance of ego in the film industry. A director must be able to clearly argue for his or her vision, as Kubrick does in this story. Though his choices seemed like the mistakes of a novice, they were actually the eccentric brilliance of an auteur (in retrospect, that is). Thus, this story seems to encourage young filmmakers to think creatively and fight to protect the purity of the vision they have in mind for their artwork. It celebrates someone who, while acting like someone difficult to work with, was a true artist. In this industry, it is commonly believed that the most successful far surpassed their likability as people with their sheer talent. Thus, this seems to be an address of such a conflict for young filmmakers.