Category Archives: Humor

Rocky Horror Picture Show Callback Response

Text

Hey! I heard this movie was made in New York City! *group response* New York City? Get a rope!

Context

The informant is a cast member in a weekly performance of the Rocky Horror Picture Show that takes place on Saturday night at midnight. While the movie is being screened, there are many vulgar things the audience shouts back at the film at specific points. There are also actors on stage performing scenes from the movie as it is being played.

This particular callback happens in response to the character named Frank dieing.

Analysis

The screening of Rocky Horror Picture Show serves as a sort of festival for alternative and queer youth. By developing and memorizing all of the callbacks involved, audience members communicate their dedication and belonging to the folk group. Some callbacks are universal such as calling the character named Janet a slut and the character named Brad an asshole, but others are regional or specific to a particular cast. Therefore, based on the callbacks you are familiar with, you might be communicating your identity within your local community or an international one.

Rocky Horror Picture show is infamous for being a place for the vulgar and the taboo. Many of the scenes and callbacks are not deemed socially acceptable in the real world, even by the alternative community that find so much belonging in the show. In this way, screenings of Rocky Horror Picture Show serve as festivals in that they provide an opportunity for social norms to be turned on their head. In doing so, they may provide a socially acceptable form of release of tension just to return to reality or serve as a rehearsal for revolution.

This informant attributed this particular callback to a salsa advertisement in which a cowboy is in distress because he has run out of salsa. When he is given a less than sufficient replacement, he exclaims, “This stuff’s made in New York City?!” The rest of the cowboys respond by saying, “New York City?! Get a rope.” This pop-culture reference is an inside joke that is related to the scene taking place.

Hebrew Racing Joke

אני נהג מרוצים כי אני הנהג ואתם המרוצים

Phonetic Translation: A-nee na-HAGh me-roo-TSEEM kee A-nee ha-na-HAGh ve-a-TEM ha-me-roo-TSEEM

L: which means I’m a race car driver because I’m the driver and you’re the pleased people. It is a pun that works in Hebrew and not at all in English. I guess because race and fulfilled are the same.

Context

Both of the informant’s parents were born in Israel and they speak in Hebrew together as a family. The informant claims to have heard this joke from their Grandfather.

Analysis

As the informant pointed out, this joke is based on a play on words that calls attention to the homonym מרוצים, which means both satisfied and race. Jokes that involve a play on words are often used to communicate wit and mastery of a language. In the case of Hebrew, a language that is so uncommon, it might be even more important to be able to demonstrate such mastery.

Frozen Faces

Text:

Parents would tell their children that if they make funny faces too much, their faces will be stuck like that forever.

Context:

The informant was told this as a child, and noted that it was said generally either in jest or as a light way to discourage them from being immature/disrespectful and making faces all the time. They also carried this on and said it occasionally to their own child, though mostly in teasing.

Analysis:

This phrase was and is used by parents as a funny but somewhat “scary” way of keeping their children from making faces all the time. It shows how certain beliefs are born from ways of keeping children in check rather than innately from fact or fear.

“Time is money, you’re a big spender”

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Text:
The informant, A, recalls a high school classmate saying, “Time is money, you’re a big spender,” whenever they were working on tedious task such as a project or in-class exercise and felt it was taking too long.

Context:
The classmate would usually say this during group projects or in class work sessions, especially when the work felt repetitive or long.

Analysis:
This saying twists the common phrase “Time is money” by adding humor. Instead of saying they’re wasting time, the classmate plays with the idea that they’re “spending” it freely. Even though they weren’t literally losing money, the comparison made it clear that spending too much time on something unproductive can feel like a loss, similar to a financial loss. The lighthearted delivery might also suggest a coping mechanism for dealing with the frustration of tedious work.

The Tortoise and the Pepper Soup

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Story:

IJ: “Once upon a time, the animals in the forest decided to have a big feast. There was all kinds of food, but the main dish was pepper soup. Oh, that soup! It was so spicy that even the strongest animals couldn’t eat it without feeling it. But they all agreed on a game—whoever makes the sss sound while eating loses the game. You know, that sound when something is so hot that your tongue wants to cool down, and you say sss? Yes, that one.

Now, the Tortoise, he’s very smart, you know. He’s always looking for how to trick others. So, when the challenge started, everybody was eating, and the heat from the soup was too much! But nobody wanted to be the first to make the sss sound. Everyone tried to hold it in, even though their tongues were burning!

But then, the Tortoise, hmm, he’s clever, oh. He turned to them and said, “Remember, oh, nobody should sss!” And every time he said it, he would stretch out the sss sound and use it as his own opportunity to cool his tounge down, but nobody thought twice. They didn’t even realize that he was making the sound too! And so, one by one, the other animals couldn’t hold it anymore. They would make the sss sound, trying to cool their tongues down.

In the end, only Tortoise was left. He was the winner. And do you know what he did? He ate the whole pot of pepper soup by himself! All the other animals had lost because they didn’t think twice about what he was doing!”

Context:

This story was told to the informant by her teacher in school, as part of the oral traditions passed down in the Igbo community. The informant, now a mother, remembers the story vividly because it always made her laugh as a child, and she often retells it to her own children as a way of teaching them about cleverness and the importance of using their minds. In her family, it’s seen as a fun story but also one that reminds them to be mindful of trickery and to always be sharp.

My Interpretation:

This story really highlights the cleverness of the Tortoise, a character who appears often in Igbo folklore. The Tortoise is known for using his intelligence and wit to outsmart others, rather than relying on strength. In this tale, he doesn’t cheat; instead, he plays with the rules of the game. By repeatedly saying, “Nobody should sss,” he himself makes the sound while pretending to remind the others of the rule. The other animals, focused on the heat of the soup, don’t realize what he’s doing and end up losing.

What stands out to me is how this story emphasizes the value of cleverness and quick thinking. It shows that intelligence can be a powerful tool, sometimes even more effective than physical strength. The Tortoise, as a character, isn’t about tricking others maliciously, he simply knows how to navigate a situation with strategy. In Igbo culture, the Tortoise is often seen as a symbol of wisdom, and this story reinforces how using your mind can lead to success, even when others don’t see it coming.