Monthly Archives: April 2018

Step on a Crack, Break Your Mother’s Back.

Nationality: American
Age: 21
Occupation: Student.
Residence: Flemington, New Jersey.
Performance Date: 4/22/18.
Primary Language: English
Language: N/A

Michael Gordon, a junior studying Pop Music at the University of Southern California, who hails from Flemington, New Jersey, provided four pieces of folklore for this collection.

The interview was run, within his studio, at Orchard Avenue, on the outskirts of the University of Southern California.

Folk Performance: Step on a Crack, Break Your Mother’s Back.

Folk Type: Proverb.

“Got any proverbs? I don’t think I have enough proverbs. There was an emphasis on variety in the description of this project.” – Stanley Kalu

STORY: I feel like this is a popular one, “step on a crack, break your mother’s back.”

Background Information: The origin of the common, uniquely American superstition ranges back to the late 19th and early 20th century and was originally “Step on a crack and your mother’s baby will be black” or “Step on a crack and your mother will turn black.” A clear reference to the white supremacist perspective is common in the American psyche.

Michael learned the proverb on the playground and his attachment to it comes from the proverbs ubiquity and it’s tie to his early development.

Context of Performance: Michael performed this saying within his room but has not used the term in years. It is, as aforementioned, a playground saying and therefore is performed within that context.

Thoughts: It’s interesting that this has deep, racist roots that have been largely ignored as it’s been passed down through history. This seems to be a direct link the, to paraphrase of Alan Dundes, the “future orientation” of the American psyche. This nation continues to ignore it’s racist past, so it makes sense that this would occur within their proverbs.

 

 

 

 

 

 

The Beggar vs. The Rich Man

Nationality: Caucasian
Age: 21
Performance Date: 04/18/18
  1. Did your parents ever tell you any stories that taught you important lessons?

They weren’t really big storytellers but there was one from the bible. It’s the story about the poor man in the streets who gave a coin as a donation and a rich man who gave the same. The poor man had much less to give than the rich man and when he gave that coin, he gave so much more of what he had. When the rich man gave a coin, he gave only a small amount of his wealth.

  1. What lesson did this teach you?

Quantity is not necessarily what’s important, but gauging what you have to give is.   If you’re having a bad day, and you give someone a smile it means so much more than on any other day. This story originates from the bible and to be honest I don’t really know how or where. All I know is when I was younger my parents would always say remember the beggar with the coin. I don’t know what entirely they meant by that especially when I was little. But know I remember always the beggar with a coin… I think it might’ve been a lady.

My Thoughts:

I’m always interested in hearing a good moral story. I’ve also heard that in the bible, there are many comparisons to rich men and poor men. There’s something in the bible where they teach about how much money one should give to the church. It’s interesting how it’s very similar to a tax as opposed to a donation

Proctor Valley (A Ghost Story).

Nationality: American.
Age: 23
Occupation: Photographer.
Residence: Chula Vista, San Diego.
Performance Date: 4/22/18
Primary Language: English
Language: N/A

Ethan Newmayer, a free-lance photographer working for Louis Vuitton, who hails from, Chula Vista, San Diego, three pieces of folklore for this collection.

The interview was run, in his bedroom, The interview was run, within his studio, at Orchard Avenue, on the outskirts of the University of Southern California

Folk Performance: Proctor Valley (A Ghost Story).

Folk Type: Legend.

“So Ethan, tell me about this Ghost” – Stanley Kalu

STORY: It’s not a Ghost. It’s a haunted road called Proctor Valley. Proctor Valley road in Chula Vista. You’re not supposed to drive down that road at night because cars disappear and people disappear. It’s this like dirt road, it’s a great shortcut from one side of town to another but no one goes that way because there is no infrastructure. Like no light, so if your headlights go out you’re essentially driving in the dark. I guess, not really that haunted more like sketchy but there are legends around it.

Background information: Proctor Valley was originally a farm-scape with a livestock mutilation problem. The mutilation incidents led the inhabitants of the area to believe that a monster roamed the area. An 18-inch cast of its footprints, currently preserved at the Bonita Museum in Chula Vista, confirmed its existence.

The haunted area took on new life, however, in the 1960’s in line with the normalization of automobiles. Teens would go to Proctor Valley to have premarital coitus and, eventually, became known as a place where teenagers would disappear.

Ethan learned about this story from living in Chula Vista and having both his parents and friends warn him about the haunted area. It is an important to him because it is apart of his local identity.

Context of Performance: This is a local legend, but the context of performance comes in the form of a warning, particularly when someone wants to take said shortcut from one side of town to another.

Thoughts: My interest in this piece of folklore lies in its historical multiplicity and the real life impact of folklore. It appears, at least to me, that the area maintains it’s haunted status despite a multitude of changes within the community simply because it’s haunted status has been established. This, I posit, has led to the under development of the area which explains Ethan’s “sketchy” comment.

 

 

 

 

 

The Day After Thanksgiving

Nationality: Caucasian
Age: 21
Performance Date: 04/18/18
  1. What’s A Holiday Tradition You Celebrate?

It’s kind of basic but every year after Thanksgiving my Mom and I decorate the house for Christmas. We turn on KOST 103.5 with all their Christmas songs. We start with a small fake tree that used to be in the kids room when we all shared a room. There are little mini ornaments that my grandmother gave us. They’re nativity scenes and they fit nicely on the small tree. My family is Christian, so the nativity is fairly meaningful to us. We even have this book that we put out every year detailing the Birth of Christ as told through the life of trees. My grandpa really loves trees… he loves to draw trees, so this book is super meaningful.

  1. How Long Have You Done This?

For sure since when we moved to where my parents currently live so that was like 2000. I know my parents have had some of the significant decorations for much longer. Also every year my grandparents give us coordinating ornaments every year so it’s cool to see them all on the tree each coming year.

  1. What Significance Does This Have?

Well like I said we’re Christian so the book and the nativity scenes are meaningful. But also it’s a good time to spend with my mom and bond. I don’t get to see her very often anymore since college so it’s a good time.

My Thoughts:

Family is an important value especially, in the Christian community. It’s a good experience to bond with them. Christmas is a time that I celebrate with my family and it’s always fun to celebrate doing something where you’re working towards a common goal.

The One About Ferrari’s and Fidelity

Nationality: Armenian
Age: 20
Performance Date: 04/09/18

So I know this joke that I was told by my dad when I was little… So it goes like this, it’s the one with the cheating and the Ferrari… it goes like this. So one man dies and is at the gates of heaven. He approaches St. Peter and St. Peter says, “you’ve been a good man, you’ve never cheated on your wife so to get around heaven you will get a Ferrari. The man then goes through the gates of heaven. Another man dies and is at the gates of heaven. He approaches St. Peter and St. Peter says, “you’ve been an ok man you’ve only cheated a few times, so you get a broken down Toyota. The man then goes through the gates of heaven. He see’s the first man in the Ferrari crying and approaches him. “What’s wrong?” he asks. And the man replies, “I just saw my wife on a skateboard!”

 

  1. Why did your dad tell you this?

I don’t really remember, but I think it was probably as a way to say don’t cheat. It’s a satire to teach a lesson about cheating like “oh if you cheat you’ll have to ride a skateboard in heaven” or something like that.

 

My Thoughts:

I appreciate that humor can be used to teach lessons. Fidelity is a very important thing to teach your children, but how do you do it without being too personal and detailed? A joke, obviously. It’s a good way to make an important point without letting out more information about the subject than necessary