Category Archives: Kinesthetic

Body movements

Christmas Run

Nationality: American
Age: 20
Occupation: Student
Residence: Downtown LA
Performance Date: 3.16.14
Primary Language: English

The Informant is 20 years old, a junior at USC studying Screenwriting, and is from Denver, Colorado.

Him: Yeah, I come from a big running family. Christmas morning we get up super early and all go on a 5k run together. We’ve always done it. I run with my dad like 2x a week or so whenever I’m home. And I run a 5k about 5 days a week. It’s just habit at this point. Running is a big part of my life and our family’s life.

Me: Do other members of your family still run? How has this tradition changed as you’ve grown up?

Him:  I think my grandparents on my dad’s side are the ones who started it. My aunts and uncles do it too, but not with their kids I don’t think. My dad has always been a runner, and I think my mom just started doing it when they met. I’m not sure how the Christmas Run thing got started though. I don’t even remember NOT doing it. It’s always been a thing for us. It’s changed a little. When we were younger, we’d just run 1 mile or so, but now that we’re older and all still running, we bumped it up a bit. This is BEFORE we open presents by the way. I think that shows how ritualistic it is *laughs*.

Me: I know you’re from Colorado, so it can get pretty cold out there. Do you always go on a run no matter what the weather?

Him: Typically, yeah. It just might be a shorter run. It’s just a habit for us. We can’t NOT go on our Christmas Run! My dad would get sad and it wouldn’t be a proper Christmas *laughs*.

Analysis:

This tradition is interesting because it shows how holidays can differ among the people who celebrate it. Christmas in my household is about staying inside and eating as much as possible. No exercise required. In fact, if you exercise, you’re “doing Christmas wrong” in my house. However, in the Informant’s home, running is such an important factor in their lives that they make sure to fit it in even before opening Christmas presents. Even when they were children. Which tells me that there is a great level of significance and discipline placed on this Christmas morning run. Yet, despite the differences in how each family may celebrate the same holiday, the same intentions hold true. It’s about unity, family bonding time, and creating a sort of happiness among those you love. The different ways families choose to address those intentions will always be different according to each household.

Another thing to keep in mind is that Colorado tends to be a very athletic state. There’s snowboarding, skiing, sledding, running, etc. In Las Vegas (where I’m from), athletics isn’t a big factor at all. It wasn’t until I moved to California that I realized how important physical activity can be in social and familial aspects.

Post-Joke Toe-Grabbing

Nationality: American, Irish
Age: 21
Occupation: Student
Residence: Downtown LA
Performance Date: 4.16.14
Primary Language: English

The Informant is 21 years old, is a junior at USC studying Screenwriting, and is from Chicago, Illinois.

Me: Okay, so explain what just happened!

Him: Well, we’re all comedians in this house so we like to tell jokes. So we have a lot of joke competitions? It actually started in my dorm with my freshman year roommate. Whenever someone came over and jokes started being told, and mind you, they’re usually SUPER cheesy…just sad jokes…we’d have the guest pick which joke was funniest between me and my roommate. Whoever the guest deemed had told the funnier joke had to have their toes pulled by the losing joker. Don’t ask me how we decided to do that. I think we were pretty drunk and thought it was the most hilarious thing in the world.

Me: So, what do you do now?

Him: Well, now I live with 5 dudes, including my freshman year roommate, so we brought it with us not thinking it would really stick. And now there are ALWAYS people over, so that toe-pulling thing happens all of the time now. It caught on! We’re always just yanking on each others’ feet. It’s embarrassing. Don’t ask me why we do it *laughs*.

Me: Who usually wins?

Him: The person who comes up with the wittiest pun, typically. It’s whoever the guest chooses, also! We don’t really even think about it anymore. The people that come over also know the process now, too, so jokes will be told and someone will  just shout “M*******!” and I have to go pull M*******’s toes for him. Actually, people don’t even have to be over and we’ll just do it between ourselves. It’s rare that I get my toes pulled though *laughs*.

Analysis:

This presents an unique folk gesture by involving competition, humor, and an atypical interaction of body parts. The informant seemed almost embarrassed of his house’s little ritual because of how ridiculous even HE thought it was. I remember when it was first performed I was so confused by the course of events. I looked over at the informant after I deemed him the winner, and he turned red with embarrassment at the little ritual of his toes being pulled. Yet, despite his embarrassment, he clearly enjoyed the ritual in the the ways that it brings him closer to his roommates and friends. This shows that a lot of pride can be created from the establishment of a ritual, despite whatever level of ridiculousness it may involve. It’s this exact reason that we always play pranks on someone when it’s their birthday, why clubs have embarrassing inductions for their new members, and why college seniors always try to pull of the biggest school prank. Though they may be embarrassing at times, these rituals create a self-established sense of pride among those involved.

Gay-Dating Tips

Nationality: American
Age: 20
Occupation: Student
Residence: Downtown LA
Performance Date: 4.22.14
Primary Language: English

The Informant is 20 years old, a junior at USC studying Screenwriting, and is from Denver, Colorado.

Him: When I first got to college I didn’t really know much about the gay-dating world just because I don’t know I didn’t have much experience in it. But then I would go out with some of my gay friends or I’d hear from them the next day about them making eye contact with people at clubs or bars or something, and I’d be like, “What? I didn’t know that was a thing.”

Me: What is it?

Him: Well, apparently, and this is according to my friends, like, if you make eye contact with a man at a gay bar for 3-seconds, it means that it’s okay to go home with them for the night. But like, it can be funny because you’ll hear stories like, “Nope, he only looked at me for like 2.5 seconds, it’s a no!”

Me: Has it worked for you?

Him: I mean. Yes? I’m pretty sure it’s a thing just because I hear it so much, but I’m afraid to just stare a guy down and him be weirded out, especially if he’s straight and doesn’t know what’s happening.

Me: Where did your friends hear it from?

Him: I’m assuming they also heard it from friends in high school. It’s just something that they came to college already knowing, so I had to pick up on it. This kind of stuff isn’t really talked about a ton so you have to learn by experience or through knowing people that have experience.

Analysis:

I think that this type of folklore is informative due to how specific of a demographic it adheres to. Particularly young, gay, males, which is not a demographic whose idiosyncrasies are often discussed in textbooks, news segments, or a lot of popular culture. If anything it gives view to a different side of the young dating world that most of us are familiar with. It’s also interesting to me that these sorts of tips are the tips that you’d have to go to your peers to learn. It seems that the Informant could only get this information from the demographic itself because of how specific a gesture, or “folklore performance” that it is. The Informant also spoke of other gay-dating tips that he learned, but he had read them previously on gay websites. But this tip he had no clue about and never found when researching gay dating tips and couldn’t experience until he had “lived through it”.

USC marching band horn section cadence chant/dance

Nationality: Jewish-American
Age: 21
Occupation: Student
Residence: Los Angeles
Performance Date: 4/9/2014
Primary Language: English
Language: Hebrew

INFO:
Note: text in caps is spoken, text in brackets is directions and actions

Set to this drumline cadence:
USC drumline cadence (2007)

DRIVE IT, FRESHMEN – upperclassmen yelling at the freshmen to march in place
HEY, HO, HEY HO WHERE’S HOPO?

OHHHHH, OH YAY! BEAT THE [opposing team’s name], EH!
[sporadically shout EH]
ONE TWO, SOUND OFF, ONE TWO, PENN STATE SUCKS (in call and response; usually men call, women respond)
[imitating a double snare sound], x3 SMOOTH
[swing horn side to side, and make a wiping motion with left hand during SMOOTH]
[Repeat]
HEYYYYYYYYYYY
[raise horns, bells up]
ONE, TWO, THREE FOUR SIX NINE
[spin over your right shoulder]
[repeat entire section]

[galloping sideways]
KILL DESTROY, KILL DESTROY, REPEAT!
[raise horn bells, roll your tongue and scream]
MUHAMMAD ALI
FREAK OUT! HEY EVERYBODY, WATCH THIS!
[jump, while criss-crossing legs and making small arm circles] x2
WHOO! WHOO!
[repeat entire section]

SHAKE WEIGHT! [raise horn and shake it]

KILL, PILLAGE AND BURN
WE’RE GONNA KILL PILLAGE AND BURN AND EAT BABIES
KILL, PILLAGE AND BURN
WE’RE GONNA KILL PILLAGE AND BURN
[repeat entire section]

[insert personalized cheer for whomever is the current USC football head coach] x4

SHAKE WEIGHT! [raise horn and shake it]

KILL, PILLAGE AND BURN
WE’RE GONNA KILL PILLAGE AND BURN AND EAT BABIES
KILL, PILLAGE AND BURN
WE’RE GONNA KILL PILLAGE AND BURN
[repeat entire section]

[insert personalized cheer for whomever is the current USC football head coach] x4

[singsong DOO to the beat of the cadence while spinning and smiling with arms up] WHOO!
HEY I’M HAPPY! HEY [insert random person’s name]’S HAPPY! HEY, EVERYBODY’S HAPPY! HEY, EVERYBODY’S NAKED!

HEY [opposing team’s name]! EAT MY BUTT OUT!
BUT HOW? WITH A FORK, ASSHOLE!
EAT MY BUTT OUT WITH A FORK x2

WHOO! [wave arms in opposing circles] x2
[imitate drum hits] BAM BAM, BUM BUM BUM BUM, GOOSH! [wave arms in opposing circles]

[singsong DOO to the beat of the cadence while spinning and smiling with arms up] WHOO!
HEY I’M HAPPY! HEY [insert random person’s name]’S HAPPY! HEY, EVERYBODY’S HAPPY! HEY, EVERYBODY’S NAKED!

HEY [opposing team’s name]! EAT MY BUTT OUT!
BUT HOW? WITH A FORK, ASSHOLE!
EAT MY BUTT OUT WITH A FORK x2

WHOO! [wave arms in opposing circles] x2
[imitate drum hits] BAM BAM, BUM BUM BUM BUM, GOOSH! [wave arms in opposing circles]

[wait for the drumline to finish their line, then point your horn bell and your hand toward the sky] BADUM, BUM

[while moving arms in circular motions]
BEAT THE [opposing team’s name] x3
THEY ALL SUCK!/THEY WILL LOSE!
[repeat entire section four times, but don’t move arms during any other time]
[note: during the third time, instead of saying THEY ALL SUCK!/THEY WILL LOSE!, say WHOO! twice instead, while raising your arms and leaning back a little bit]

[buzz lips and move your left hand like a puppet mouth] BWA BWA BWA

[wait for the drumline to finish their line, then point your horn bell and your hand toward the sky] BADUM, BUM

[while moving arms in circular motions]
BEAT THE [opposing team’s name] x3
THEY ALL SUCK!/THEY WILL LOSE!
[repeat entire section four times, but don’t move arms during any other time]
[note: during the third time, instead of saying THEY ALL SUCK!/THEY WILL LOSE!, say WHOO! twice instead, while raising your arms and leaning back a little bit]

[buzz lips and move your left hand like a puppet mouth] BWA BWA BWA

HEY, HO, HEY HO, WHERE’S HOPO!

[while swinging horn up and down six times in an exaggerated power walk]
OH! THE ROW! LET’S GO!
[repeat three times, without vocals]
[repeat entire section]

[step left, right, kick with your left]
OHHHHHH!!!!!! [mimicking pulling on a lawnmower to start it]
[while hip-thrusting as walking] OH! OH! OH! OH!
[raise horn bell] THREE, FOUR, SIX, NINE
[repeat entire section]

[repeat entire cadence as needed until the band is called to halt and attention, in which case drive the last five beats and yell DOWN]

BACKGROUND:
Whenever the USC marching band travels as a group, however small, between halts and attentions (called out stops), band members have to chant the cadence in time to the drumlin.

Every section in band has their own lyrics and dances to the cadence. The cadence evolves over time based on whoever the section leaders are and also the current events/history surrounding USC, USC football and the USC band. For example, the cadence line “Everybody’s naked” has to do with a trombone section tradition involving the bi-yearly Notre Dame away game.

CONTEXT:
I spoke to my informant during an on-campus event.

ANALYSIS:
As a former horn marching band member myself, I love the cadence and what it stands for. Even just in my three years as a marching band member, I’ve seen and heard the cadence change not just for my own section, but also for other sections. The changes reflect current events, such as the many head coach changes that we’ve had over the past couple of years, and also random in-band jokes, and as such, serves as a dynamic reflection of both the marching band’s demographics and the strength of the organization’s traditions.

Haircuts and Rejections

Nationality: Japanese
Age: 23
Occupation: Student
Residence: Los Angeles, CA
Performance Date: 4/4/2014
Primary Language: Japanese
Language: English

The Informant:

My friend is someone I met two years ago when I first came to USC. She and I lived on the same floor and had similar classes. She was born in Japan and immigrated to the U.S. when she was less than four years old. She heard this reference when she was visiting her friend back in Japan in high school.

When a girl cuts her hair to make a drastic change, it means she was dumped by her boyfriend or rejected when confessing to someone. 

The Analysis:

The saying falls along the lines of a sort of remedy to channel the girl’s sadness or frustration at rejection. It represents the rejection but also a new beginning that comes after a type of failure. The cutting of one’s hair signifies that one has abandoned the faulty past and is working to move one to the future. The hair is significant because a maiden’s hair is a major form of attraction for men. Cutting off this form of attraction can mean that the boy had no attraction towards the girl so she might as well cut it off. The importance of hair in the Japanese culture accentuates the act of cutting it and this in turn accentuates the meaning behind it.