Monthly Archives: March 2024

Claw Machine Game

In elementary in Illinois, the desks would open so you can store stuff inside. A kid would clear half their desk, or the corner of it, and put erasers and pencil toppers and similar things of theirs in that space. The owner would then pretend their hand was the hand of a claw machine and other people would take turns “playing the claw machine”. You got to keep what the owner took out for your turn.

The informant kept commenting that this was a very stupid and pointless thing to do. Different people would do it different ways as well, sometimes the person whose turn it was would pretend that they are controlling the claw hand, and other times the owner would just pretend to be the hand on its own and pick things up on people’s turn when they felt like it. The informant remembered that usually only items that the owner didn’t care much for would be given away or “won,” as they were the one picking the items up and could, obviously, just not pick up anything they liked. The informant did recall one time that they accidentally picked up an item they liked and felt really dumb after doing so and having to give the item away to the “winner.”

This game is yet another example of children playing a game that mimics something they are normally not allowed to use or do, this time being claw machines, which many times they aren’t allowed to play with because of the cost and small chance they will win a toy from one. Claw machines are intriguing to children, and really most people, because of the thrill of maybe getting a good deal on an item, the feeling of earning/winning something, and the mystery of whether one will receive an item and, if so, what. The game also reinforces, in a way, the value of giving, as the children are voluntarily giving each other gifts, though through the format or ritual of this game. A final aspect that could be likable to the children playing this game, specifically those “operating” the claw machine and giving out their possessions to other children, is that they feel in full control of the situation, which is not something children usually are.

Theatre Catch

Text:

Actors in a stage play/musical will pass around an item like a penny onstage during the show.

Context:

The informant acts in musicals and knows of this ongoing theatre tradition among teenage actors to pass around a penny secretly during shows, sometimes on the last performance, as a catch among the cast. The cast members hand off the penny to each other, very subtly, at inconspicuous moments when the audience cannot see, and whoever is left with the penny at the end of the show is the “loser”. When they pass the penny (or other small object) to each other, it is usually behind each other’s backs or during some kind of exchange, like shaking hands, in the performance so that the audience does not know. The game gives the cast members an obstacle to trying to stay in character during the show.

Analysis:

This catch is a subtle example of the anti-institutional nature of teenagers and children that draws them to do what they are told not to. In a stage play, the actors have been rehearsing their roles for months, and yet they play games, like the penny passing game, to see if they can get each other to break character. This shows us that, while these actors might care very much about the play that they’re in and want to do their best, they also find ways to come together to be subtly rebellious while still acting to the best of their abilities and wanting to succeed.

Family Jeer

Text:

“Every party needs a pooper, and that’s why we invited you.”

Context:

This jeer (or insult) is a part of the informant’s family lore. Within his family, this jeer is very well known, because members of the informant’s family often say it to each other to tease each other, implying that the recipient of the jeer is a party pooper. When used in the context of his family lore, the jeer is not actually meant to insult or slight its recipient, but is instead meant as a loving tease shared between loved ones.

Analysis:

While this insult is not yelled in a crowd setting at an opposing team, it is much like others that are very commonly used as teasing insults among loved ones. Another example of an insult of the same nature is when someone holds their hand above their friend’s head and says “This is a brain eater. Do you know what it’s doing? Starving!”

Insults like these are meant to bring families and friends closer together rather than to actually put them down or start an argument. After all, it is unlikely that someone who truly wanted to insult/start an argument with anyone else would actually use one of these insults to do so, as they are much more silly than actually hurtful. Instead, they are used to tease someone in a fun way and spread laughter among a group of people who already have some degree of love between them. This insult is also a very interesting example of our inclination to bond so much through teasing and sarcasm, as I am sure many other families have some version, if not many, of these insults that they share lovingly.

The No-Tell Motel

Text:

“The no-tell motel”

Context:

“The no-tell motel” is an example of tabooistic vocabulary used to talk about taboo topics (in this case, sex) without actually mentioning them. The informant heard this reference to sex from her mother. Her mother lives in a nursing home, where a male resident in the same nursing home told her that he’d like to take her to the “no-tell motel”, implying that he has a crush on her.

Analysis:

This reference to sex is one of many that exist to talk about it in a sneaky way without actually mentioning it. It is first important to note how it incorporates a rhyme, and it exemplifies rhymes being used to make light of more serious topics to make them more easily discussed. As this particular rhyme was shared by residents in a nursing home, we can assume that it is an older saying, which would make sense, as sex was likely even more taboo of a topic in decades past, making tabooistic references like this even more necessary to those with a rebellious spirit who want to talk about forbidden topics.

The use of this rhyme in a nursing home is a perfect example of this rebellious spirit that draws us toward the taboo. The same rebellious spirit caused the residents in this nursing home to flirt and be as charismatic as possible, even in a nursing home where such things as fornication are not allowed. In fact, the taboo and forbidden nature of such things seem to be what draws users of rhymes like these in even more, exemplifying the proverb “we want what we can’t have”. If something is forbidden, our rebellious nature attracts us towards it even more, which is why sayings like “the no-tell motel” exist – to allow rebels of social etiquette to sneakily talk about a forbidden topic.

Halloween Tradition

Text:

During October, before Halloween, neighbors will “boo” each other. To “boo” beach other, they leave baskets of candy or other Halloween-themed treats on each other’s door steps with a sign that says “You got Bood!” They will then ding-dong-ditch the recipient of the boo-ing and run away to make the catch anonymous. Then, the recipient of the boo-ing must boo someone else in the neighborhood, and it goes on and on as an anonymous chain until Halloween.

Context:

The informant knows about this traditional catch from her hometown neighborhood, where all of the neighbors participated in the tradition while she was growing up. She knows it to be a common tradition that is done often in suburban neighborhoods where lots of kids live to help keep the holiday festive and fun for them.

Analysis:

Traditions like boo-ing neighbors are very common within different communities, because they do a very good job of creating a fun and festive atmosphere that brings neighbors together. This tradition, in particular, exemplifies very well how we revel so much in the festivities of our traditions and holidays, as those who celebrate each different holiday often like to decorate in their own ways and be in the spirit of the season. When we have celebrations, they bring us together, and neighborhoods who participate in “boo-ing” clearly have a very strong inclination for togetherness.

Suburban neighborhoods, in general, make strong efforts to create their own senses of community by hosting events like potlucks, playing outside together, and sometimes, having neighborhood parks that only each neighborhood’s residents have access to. Boo-ing traditions in these neighborhoods are the perfect way to show these inclinations towards celebration, festivity, togetherness and community.