Joke- Grandmother and Grandson

Nationality: Jewish
Age: 21
Occupation: Student
Residence: Los Angeles
Primary Language: English

The informant is my film partner (referred to as MR) who has a Jewish mother and was raised Jewish. His mother belongs to a congregation and tries to instill Jewish values on her children who have all had Bar/Bat Mitzvahs. He told me this joke and claimed his mother always told him it was a Jewish joke:

MR: “A grandmother is giving directions to her grandson who is an adult and is coming to visit her.

‘First, you need to come to the front door of the apartment,’ she says,

‘I’m in apartment 201. There’s a big panel at the front, so press number 201 with your elbow and I’ll buzz you in. Come inside the elevator and with your elbow, press the 2nd-floor button.’ She tells him, ‘When you get off, my door is there. Hit my doorbell with your elbow and I’ll let you in. OK?’[

Her grandson says, ‘Ok Grandma, but why am I hitting these buttons with my elbow?’

She says back ‘What…. you’re coming empty handed?!”

CI: Why do you think that your mother insists this is a Jewish joke?

MR: “I think is very Jewish. The grandmother character seems to be pretty common in all Jewish families, and I definitely relate that to my own family. My mother always says, ‘In a Jewish family, you never show up empty-handed. You just don’t.’”

This is particularly interesting to me because while I have never heard this joke it seems to be very Italian as well. Growing up with very Italian grandparents, they would always come with their hands full and bags of food and things no one was expecting. The very involved and giving, grandmother is a common archetype in Italian families as well.  The grandmother is a strong figure in a lot of cultures, but this particular story of the Jewish grandmother is the most similar to the Italian grandmother. I think this also shows Jewish hospitality/ views on gifts.

 

Australian Proverb

Nationality: Australian
Age: 49
Occupation: Accountant/Talent Manager
Residence: Australia/Los Angeles
Primary Language: Panjabi

The informant was my best friends mother (referred to as KM) who is Australian. She is from Brisbane Australia and has been living there for around 50 years now. She works as a talent manager and an accountant. She told me her mother used to tell her the following proverb.

 

KM: “The more you know, the less you need.”

 

I think this short proverb is very powerful and says a lot about Australian culture. I think a lot of people in western culture view knowledge as power and power also equates to material items and money. So this is kind of the opposite of that. Knowledge is power and therefore, it is the only thing you need. Through my time in Australia and my friends, I have over there I saw a lot of people living a minimalist styled life. Obviously, people live in excess over there as well, but I think this is a beautiful way to live by. When you know more you become more resourceful and are filled with less desire to constantly consume.

 

 

 

 

 

El Cucuy

Nationality: Mexican
Age: 54
Occupation: Babysitter
Residence: Los Angeles
Primary Language: Spanish
Language: English

The informant was my childhood babysitter (referred to as JC) who is from Mexico. She moved to the United States about 25 years ago and would frequently go back to Mexico, bringing me dolls and candies. Every year for Christmas she would make homemade tamales. When I was little and misbehaving she would always tell me  El Cucuy will get me. Recently I asked her to tell me more about El Cucuy.

 

JC: “Behave or El Cucuy will come and find you… We say that to the children to make them behave.El Cucuy is kind of a boogeyman. He gets children who have misbehaved to their parents and can show up to steal you in the night.  He hides in your closet or under your bed and will come to eat your spirit and take you. It is a way for the children to listen.”

 

Growing up and hearing this, I was never really scared because I think that folklore about things coming to get you or haunt you can only really work if it is a widespread tale that most people have talked about. As I didn’t grow up in Mexico, the only time I had to hear of El Cucuy was from my babysitter and so it seemed made up and unreasonable to me. However, I do think that if more people were talking about this I would have believed it and been more intimidated. I think culturally it is interesting because El Cucuy seems to be the equivalent to the boogeyman, which is also a way for parents to get their children to behave.

 

For another version of this story see “Boogeyman,” 2005 film by Stephen Kay.

 

 

Vietnamese

Nationality: Vietnamese
Age: 26
Occupation: Nail Artist
Residence: Los Angeles
Primary Language: Vietnamese
Language: English

The informant was a woman (referred to as Sarah) at the nail salon who was Vietnamese. She was telling me she was from Vietnam and moved to the United States when she was 13. She lived in Michigan and now is a nail artist in Los Angeles.  She told me about the Vietnamese Lunar New Year, Tet.

 

Sarah: “Tet is the biggest holiday in Vietnam. Everybody celebrates. It is the Lunar New Year. We cook, special food in the days leading up to Tet and everyone is very busy. The preparations are very long. We have something called Mut, which is candy fruit. It is a snack and very sweet.

 

Then the first day of Tet is exciting. Children give greeting to elders- the grandmas you know? And then in exchange, the children get their lucky money. The whole holiday is about luck. We do not even sweep because that would sweep away good luck. The Vietnamese believe the very first visit to the family shows what fortune and luck the year will be. If good things come to your family on Tet, then the whole year will be lucky.”

 

I think Tet is particularly interesting because it is centered a lot on luck and there seem to be very specific traditions and superstitions that ensure you will have good luck. The worldview here would appear to be very future-oriented because the weeks leading up to Tet are focused on making sure everything is in place for a good fortune for the following year.

Vietnamese Pho

Nationality: Vietnamese
Age: 26
Occupation: Nail Artist
Residence: Los Angeles
Primary Language: Vietnamese
Language: English

The informant was a woman (referred to as Sarah) at the nail salon who was Vietnamese. She was telling me she was from Vietnam and moved to the United States when she was 13. She lived in Michigan and now is a nail artist in Los Angeles. Below she describes how to make Pho, a traditional Vietnamese soup.

 

Sarah: “Vietnamese food is very good. Different from American food. No oil and grease.”

 

CI: “What is a traditional Vietnamese dish?”

 

Sarah: “soup, rice, noodles.. all very common.”

 

CI: “Do you like Pho? What type of soup is it?”

 

Sarah: “Yes beef pho is very good. Very common too. We use beef bones and make broth, which is very good for you. Then we put onion, ginger, water, lime, basil and bean sprout. Then add in beef into soup with rice noodle. A lot of people add chili sauce to make it spicy, but I don’t like it spicy. Sometimes we use tofu or even chicken.”

 

Vietnamese food I would say is pretty common in Los Angeles and I love Pho. What she described sounds pretty standard to most pho I have seen.  I am a vegan and I always find that eating Vietnamese food is a really great option, despite the fact that what she described has beef. I think it’s interesting that she immediately said American food was bad because of the oil and grease. The recipe she described seemed fairly simple and to me, that shows that Vietnamese food is clean and fresh with very little processed foods and oils.