Author Archives: cdjohnst

About cdjohnst

Class of USC 2020

The Game

Nationality: American
Age: 21
Occupation: NA
Residence: California
Performance Date: 3 - 28 - 2020
Primary Language: English

Main Piece:

The following is transcribed from a conversation between the informant and the interviewer.

Interviewer: So tell me a little bit about “the Game”

Informant: well for starters, you just lost it haha

Interviewer: Basically the entire point of the game is to just not think about the game, so if you forget it you win. But any time you ever think of the game, you have to publicly announce it to the people around you so that they also lose the game. It’s pretty pointless but my friends have been playing for like 10 years at this point and it’s just a funny thing to bring up.

Background:

My Informant is a 21 year old male who has lived in California for over 20 years. He originally lived in Utah, but moved too early to remember it there. He has very liberal views and works a full time job. 

Context:

I talked to my informant over a phone call during the coronavirus epidemic. 

Thoughts:

I think its cool how a seemingly unimportant game that was played in elementary school can not only spread across the entire country. But also last a lifetime for the people who actually know what it is. 

For more information about “the Game,” see https://knowyourmeme.com/memes/the-game

Happy Birthday (On Channel 4)

Nationality: American
Age: 22
Occupation: Environmental Scientist
Residence: California
Performance Date: 4 - 25 - 2020
Primary Language: English

Main Piece:

The following is transcribed from a conversation between the informant and the interviewer.

Interviewer: So how did you sing the Happy Birthday song growing up?

Informant: Umm most of the time it was pretty normal with your average happy birthday to whomever and all that, but I remember this thing kids used to do where they would finish singing the normal song and then be like, “On channel four, theres something more, on channel five, you’re still alive, on channel six…” and so on but yeah I’m honestly glad no one does that anymore haha 

Background: 

My informant is in his early 20’s and was born and raised in Agoura Hills, CA. He’s lived in the same neighborhood throughout his entire life, other than when he was in college at Virginia Tech. 

Context:

I talked to my informant over a zoom video call during the 2020 Coronavirus quarantine

Thoughts:

It’s incredible how many different versions of Happy Birthday there are. It seems like every other family has their own idea of what it should be. My own hometown did the “On Channel,” whatever thing, but with different rhymes. I’ve also heard a ton of completely different joke-endings to the song, all with different lyrics and melodies. 

Liquor before beer…

Nationality: American
Age: 26
Occupation: Musician
Residence: California
Performance Date: 4 - 22 - 2020
Primary Language: English

Main Piece:

The following is transcribed from a conversation between the informant and the interviewer.

Interviewer: So I’m pretty sure you’ve heard this term before, but I wanna get your understanding of what it means if that’s good… the saying I’m talking about is,”Liquor before beer, you’re in the clear, beer before liquor, you’ve never been sicker.”

Informant: hahaha yeah I’ve definitely heard that one, even if it’s been a couple years. Pretty sure it just means exactly what it sounds like haha just dont take shots after you’ve already been drinking beer for a while and I just honestly say it’s good advice. Pretty sure most people just take it as “don’t mix your alcohol,” though.

Background:

My informant is in his mid 20’s, born and raised in California. His parents immigrated from Italy and are extremely conservative, while he has adopted much more liberal views. He is also an electronic music producer.

Context:

I talked to my informant over a facetime call during the 2020 coronavirus Quarantine 

Thoughts:

I’ve actually heard this saying before, and after doing some research, I found that it makes no difference whether you drink beer or liquor first, you just tend to drink more if you start with beer and then start by taking a bunch of shots. 

Jumping off the Couch into the New Year

Nationality: Danish
Age: 54
Occupation: NA
Residence: California
Performance Date: 4 - 22 - 2020
Primary Language: English

Main Piece:

The following is transcribed from a conversation between the informant and the interviewer.

Interviewer: So do you have any New Year’s traditions that you take part in?

Informant:Yes I do! Every year at midnight, everyone has to get up on the couch and jump of right as the clock hits midnight so that we’re jumping into the new year. My mom used to do it in Denmark and I always loved doing it so I saw no reason to stop.

Interviewer: and no one else you know does that?

Informant: Not that I know of…. Some of my American friends like to take a shot at midnight haha but i feel like our way is a little more sentimental. 

Background:

My informant is a woman in her 50’s, originally growing up in Denmark and moving to the United states in her early 20’s. She has exceedingly liberal views, and has been a mother for a majority of her life. 

Context:

I talked to my informant over the phone during the 2020 Coronavirus Epidemic. 

Thoughts:

I love the idea of “Jumping into the New Year” as a sentimental way of not just finishing off a year, but having a good start to a new one. The differences between Danish culture and American culture are also highlighted here, since most special occasions are celebrated with drinking in America, while family, friends, and good virtue take precedent in most European culture. This definitely doesn’t mean that Danish people don’t like to drink, however, because they definitely like to party

Tunnel Etiquette

Nationality: American
Age: 22
Occupation: Preschool Teacher
Residence: California
Performance Date: 3 - 27 - 2020
Primary Language: English

Main Piece:

The following is transcribed from a conversation between the informant and the interviewer.

Interviewer: I’m pretty sure we’ve talked about this before, but do you know what you’re supposed to do when you drive through a tunnel?

Informant: I’ve heard a lot of things haha but I haven’t done most of them since I was a kid. 

Interviewer: Yeah same haha my sister told me that we should hold our breath and touch the ceiling, and then say Banana as soon as we got out the other side of the tunnel.

Informant: Yeah ours was similar but we had to put our feet up too and just say any fruit. I haven’t done it since I started driving though haha

Background:

My informant was born and raised in Southern California. Her Parents were also raised in the same area. She grew up near my hometown, where the only routes to the beach have several tunnels to get there, so I knew she would have some insight into this subject of what to do when going through tunnels.

Context:

I spoke to my informant over a facetime call during the 2020 Coronavirus epidemic. We had plans to meet in person, however, the quarantine made that impossible.

Thoughts:

I was surprised by how different her approach was when going through a tunnel, even though there were similar aspects. We grew up within miles of each-other, so I expected us to have basically the exact same story. This just made me realize that who you hang out with does actually play a very large role in what you think is true, even if we get most of our information from the internet these days.