Monthly Archives: May 2015

“The Golem of Prague”

Nationality: American
Age: 20
Occupation: Student
Residence: Los Angeles, CA
Performance Date: 12 April 2015
Primary Language: English

Text:

The Golem of Prague is one of the best known stories in the Jewish oral tradition. There are many versions, but they all tend to share the common thread of a well-respected 17th Century Rabbi in the secluded Jewish ghetto in Prague. Beset by antisemitic raids and pogroms, the Rabbi constructed a clay statue of a man, which when given a scroll reading “shem” (a holy word) came to life. The animated statue defended the Jews from their enemies, but eventually fell out of the Rabbi’s control (some legends point to the Golem falling in love, others to basic monstrous behavior). The Rabbi, realizing that the creature had to be stopped, removed the “shem” from it’s mouth, and it fell apart on the spot.

Background:

To me, the legend of the Golem is fascinating because of its ambiguous message. On the one hand, it’s a cautionary tale that warns against overreaching human limits; on the other, it’s an expression of Jewish resilience and ingenuity. The proto-sci-fi angle also reveals some of the more offbeat elements of the Jewish oral tradition. My general impression of the story is one in which the Jews, whether to their benefit or detriment, manage to assert themselves in a hostile environment (a theme which would have absolutely helped the story to endure throughout the events of recent centuries).

Context:

The legend of the Golem comes from a fundamental part of Jewish identity and history: persecution. The Golem represents the desperation to which Jewish culture would resort for their very survival, and the inherent risk of playing God in order to do so. The Golem’s influence is evident in many popular legends, most notably in that of the Robot. I think the story is invoked in times of peril.

My Thoughts:

I think it’s really interesting that my informant didn’t try to tell a definitive version. It wasn’t important to him that the story had a one-hundred percent certain plot, but more so he took the general idea as the important piece of the narrative. He seemed totally comfortable with the ambiguity of the stories and took it as having multiple meanings and lessons more so than having no meaning at all by being ambiguous.

“Festina lente”

Nationality: American
Age: 20
Occupation: Student
Residence: Los Angeles, CA
Performance Date: 12 April 2015
Primary Language: English

Text:

Original Latin: “Festina lente”

English: “Make haste slowly”

Background:

This is a Latin motto I learned in high school during my four years of learning Latin. We learned it as a motto that Augustus Caesar would use as a way of progressing as an emperor; always have something you want to do, and wait for the right time to do it. It is a classic example of the literary device oxymoron. This proverb has governed how I think about parts of my life, especially working on film sets. One always needs to be working on somethings, but sometimes to work, one must wait. And on film sets, you always have a job to do that involves waiting: waiting for actors to fly in, waiting for lights to be set up, waiting for the camera to roll, etc. There are so many moving parts in a film, and it’s important to understand how all of them work together. So for one part to progress well, it must wait for the others.

Context:

This proverb comes up a lot in work environments, particularly those that rely on multiple people to finish one’s own job.

My Thoughts:

I think it was interesting that my informant described this piece as being used almost exclusively in a professional context. I think this is the only piece I’ve collected so far that is used thusly. In any case, it seems to be particularly applied to film for the informant’s life… I wonder how it applied in ancient times? If there were specific professions or tasks that utilized this proverb more than others?

 

“Wolfjob meme”

Nationality: American
Age: 20
Occupation: Student
Residence: Los Angeles, CA
Performance Date: 18, March 2015
Primary Language: English

 

Background:

There’s this youtube channel called Game Grumps that consists of two dudes named Danny and Aaron, and Danny told Aaron about this picture on one of the episodes of the show. The Game Grumps have kinda owned the picture by doing a lot of photoshops with it where to censor it they’ll put their faces over the nipples or add a top hat over the penis or whatever. There’s a Christmas version and a Jew version, but I think all of them embody the same vision or purpose which I guess is just vague internet awkwardness, like something really awkward done very seriously, which creates this quality of irony and campiness that I find hilarious.

Context:

Danny first used it between his friends like they’d be texting and whenever things got awkward or he had to break a silence he’d send wolfjob. The way he puts it is there’s something weird and adorable about it which juxtaposed with this ridiculous CG thing it helps to break those silences. I use it a little differently because I know people don’t know about wolfjob, so I use it for a lot of shock value or to comment on the awkwardness of a situation by making it even more awkward through this photo.

My Thoughts:

I guess this is just me, but I don’t understand how this breaks awkward silences as opposed to creating them. In the first place the photo is really lewd, and I don’t know where the comedy comes from. But I think it’s interesting that my informant and many people over the internet find this funny – especially over the internet where people can like it anonymously without admitting to another live person they think this thing is funny thereby facing the judgment of others.

“Condescending Willy Wonka meme”

Nationality: American
Age: 20
Occupation: Student
Residence: Los Angeles, CA
Performance Date: 18 March 2015
Primary Language: English

wonka meme

Background:

Can I just say the internet? I never went on reddit or 4chan or anything like that, so where would I have seen it? Probably just a stupid comment thread on Facebook or something, back in the day. It’s based on Willy Wanka and the Chocolate Factory, it’s a screenshot of that, and Gene Wilder is one of my favorite actors. He has such great delivery and great comedic timing, so probably any screenshot you take will be funny. Then the internet kinda owned it cuz in the film, he’s not being sassy in that scene this is a screenshot of, and turned it into this other thing which I think is interesting. Even though this meme has specific uses, I think it’s interesting that it’s adaptable to specific conversations, so it has the same function but keeps changing the words that overlay the image.

Context:

You’re supposed to use it when you’re mocking someone’s complaining, like “Oh you have to do four papers? Your life is so hard.” Or like demeaning someone who thinks their life is important. I guess I just mean the meme has gotten such specific usage in conversation it’s essentially become it’s own recognizable phrase like anything else in a language, but it’s not based around the specific words, it’s based around the construction and delivery of the words which is pretty fascinating to me having taken linguistics classes.

My Thoughts:

I think this meme is hilarious. He just looks so sassy. My informant is definitely correct that if someone constructs a sentence in this way, anyone from my generation will be able to recognize it as the “Sassy Wonka” meme almost immediately. It’s cool that the internet can facilitate this kind of folklore which becomes a part of everyday situational lexicon.

Doge meme

Nationality: American
Age: 20
Occupation: Student
Residence: Los Angeles, CA
Performance Date: 18 March 2015
Primary Language: English

doge meme

Background:

Doge originated on Tumblr when this one picture of this really cute dog with this huge face was given comic sans text over it with poorly grammatically structured phrases over it. Usually these phrases are in different colors and center around a common theme. In this example, that would be about fashion. Usually the format is “much (blank), many (blank), wow” but can have all sorts of other poorly structured phrases. Then it got really popular and spread to 4chan and reddit and all these other sites. I’m pretty sure the first place I ever saw it was Facebook. I don’t know what I like about it. I don’t know what anyone likes about it. It’s just so funny. It’s like… so… I’m trying to find the right word. Like, infantile? … Dumbed down? That it’s just hilarious. There’s something inherently funny when someone says something wrong grammatically, like in everyday conversation with someone, it’s funny when people mess up. So to have a cute dog saying it just works, staring you right in the soul. Something it really capitalized on when it was getting popular was just a really ridiculously high frequency of posts. It got super annoying, but that almost made me love it more.

Context:

There’s actually no specific time this is appropriate. I guess just during sessions where you and your friends are hanging out on your phones showing each other funny pictures.

My Thoughts:

It seems to be that since there’s no specific context for this other than friends hanging out, it’s used as a way to bond in the digital age. I mean, if people are on their phones anyways, it’s a lot easier to connect with people by sharing things that are mutually humorous than trying to make jokes yourself. In this way, the doge meme becomes a sort of social lubricant to facilitate group dynamics, much like alcohol.