Author Archives: Zoe Warganz

Manogue High School “Spirit Clap”

Age: 19
Residence: Reno, Nevada
Performance Date: 4/19/2011
Primary Language: English

clap hands, slap hands on thighs, and alternate until you get the entire group doing it

Willie learned this clapping ritual in one of his various leadership organizations. For him, it symbolizes all the fun times he has had in his high school, particularly with these groups.

The “spirit clap” is a relatively simple maneuver, intended to get the attention of a noisy crowd. It is a series of movements that one person picks up, and then another, until the entire group is doing it, and everyone is united in their attention. This is an effective leadership tool, because it gets peoples’ attention and then makes them participate.

“Ride the Pony”

Age: 19
Residence: Reno, Nevada

Interview:

Willie:“you have at least like fifteen people, about 5%, get in a circle, and they ride the pony and they do the traditional thing, like ride the pony (gestures with his hands, like he’s holding a laso and reins, galloping motions) and you run around the circle of people and …it’s like a warble…its ‘here we go, ride that pony, ride around that big fat pony, this is how do it.’ And then you like stop if your in the middle and look to the person on the outside of the circle and then go ‘front to front to front my baby,’ all while getting all up in eachother’s business.. and then ‘back to back to back my baby, side to side to side my baby…this is how we do it!’ and then they go in the middle and you keep going until everyone gets in the middle.”

Me: And what do you think about it

Willie: “i really like it, you know, it’s like stupid fun, and everyone is doing it and being stupid and it’s like a great time”

Willie learned this game on a leadership retreat. Group humiliation is one way to form a fast bond with a new group of people. Also, just “being stupid” and having fun promotes a sense of unity within a leadership group.

This game forces people to get “all up in each other’s business,” forcing people to feel more comfortable, and break the personal boundaries. Breaking down these boundaries is meant to facilitate cooperative work and sharing.

grass whistle

Age: 19
Performance Date: 4/19/2011
Primary Language: English

press a blade of grass flush between the palms of your hands, hold the heels of your hands to your lips, and blow, producing a whistle.

Willie learned this at some point in his childhood, though he does not exactly recall when or from whom. The grass whistle is a widespread piece of childhood folklore, being a simple, yet fun object for kids to make noise with. Children tend to make entertaining toys out of their surroundings, and they learn it from each other, just playing outside, as children do.

Being “Rickrolled”

Age: 18
Performance Date: 4/25/2011
Primary Language: English

post a link (which does not indicate any relation to 80’s singer Rick Astley or his music), or tell someone to go look it up, and it takes you to a youtube video of Rick Astley’s “Never Gonna Give You Up,” or some other Rick Astley related thing.

Devon was first “Rickrolled” some time in high school, and has propagated the prank himself. Friends often prank each other by tricking each other into following this link, leading to amusing and irritating video clips. Rick Astley himself was a one-hit wonder, and he is generally regarded as something of a joke in popular culture, because his voice does not seem to match his nerdy, red-headed appearance. This brand of prank has become a viral internet version of folklore 2.0.

Dead Baby Joke

Age: 18
Performance Date: 4/25/2011
Primary Language: English

What’s slimy, red, and tries to crawl up your leg?

A homesick abortion

Devon heard this “dead baby joke” from a friend at a party in high school. While he finds the joke somewhat disgusting, it is also highly amusing and sort of clever. People, especially high school and college aged students, find humor in jokes like this because there is still an element of fear. People in this age group tend to be newly sexually active, and so the fear of pregnancy, abortion, and “dead babies” plays into the humor of the joke.