Text
“There was a thing when I was in middle school where if someone said they were gonna do something anybody could say B Card right after and if you didn’t do the thing that you said then your friends would neck you (slap you on the neck). I remember I thought it was just a thing like with me and my friends at my school in 6th grade but I remember when I went to a new school in 7th grade, one of my friends said it one day and everybody like knew what it was in our friend group like it was a common thing which was kinda surprising. I think it stood for bitch card, like you’re a bitch if you back out of doing the thing you said. And anything was fair game too so you had to just like watch what you were saying around your friends.”
Context
BS explains that this was a long running verbal game among his multiple friend groups in middle school. Essentially, if BS’s friend were to say an action (ie. “I’m gonna get an A on this test”), BS could then immediately say “B Card”. If the action then wasn’t completed, then BS could slap his friend on the neck. No matter how outlandish the action, anything could be B carded at any time. BS also says that this was a game that existed in 2 different friend groups at different schools.
Analysis
“B Card” is an example of folk speech among young boys, and also a game that utilizes play frames as a way to hurt your friends under “acceptable” rules. It also marked your acceptance or standing of certain friend groups, as not every group understood or valued the saying, and “B Card” was never explicitly taught nor have I ever seen it on social media. BS and I went to the same school, but I also had a similar experience where the school/friend group I came from before also played the “B Card” game with slightly different rules like punching instead of necking, showing that “B Card” existed in multiplicity and variations among us middle school boys. In my opinion, “B Card” could have been a way to hold each other accountable to the things we would say, an example of Mechling’s point that jokes can be used as social tools, but it was definitely a game that gave us an excuse to hit each other due to the mostly outlandish/impossible things that middle school boys would say they were going to do throughout the day.
Bangun Pagi
Text
Malay lyrics:
Bangun pagi, gosok gigi,
cuci muka, pakai baju,
makan roti, minum susu,
pergi sekolah, senang hati.
English translation:
Wake up, brush your teeth,
Wash your face, put on clothes,
Eat bread, drink milk,
Go to school, be happy.
*Translated from Mandarin Chinese
“I learned this song from my kindergarten teacher in Malaysia and it was a song for kids to remember their morning routines to start the day. Years later with my kids, when they were young, I would sing this song to them while waking them up before school. And they’re so hard to wake up, so I would use water on my hands to splash on their faces too, while singing the song.”
Context
This is a song that KL (who is my mom) learned 40 plus years ago as a young girl growing up in Malaysia. Even after moving to America and raising a family 40 years later, KL still remembered this song and used it as part of the routine of waking us up as that’s how the song was used when she was young.
Analysis
This is an example of verbal folklore / a folk song that my mom learned orally from her teacher in school. Functionally, it outlines a morning routine, but the value of the song is moreso found in its rhythm and memories/association with the song as a way for kids in Malaysia to wake up in the morning. It’s interesting how she turned a song that she learned from her hometown (rather than her family) into a piece of family folklore that my brothers and I still remember to this day. Bangun Pagi also represents the oral spread of folklore and folk songs, as outside of singing it, my mom never explicitly taught us the meaning of the song but my brothers and I still understand the song and its meaning from waking up to it over and over again. Sims and Stephens make a point that folklore should be understood through its context rather than purely its text, which in this case is especially interesting because even before I ever understood the actual meaning of the Malay lyrics, I knew that hearing this song meant that it was time to wake up and get ready for school. Even though my parents didn’t instill any Malay traditions in our family once they moved to America, this Malay song (which is the only Malay I know) became a core part of our family’s lore and connects us to the Malay folk.
Sonic.EXE
Context: The informant, GV, describes their knowledge of Sonic.EXE, a well-known horror creepypasta online.
GV: “I accidentally found out about it when I was like 8 scrolling through Youtube. I saw someone playing the game and got really scared because it just depicted this demonic-looking Sonic with blood everywhere. It was like a gameplay of three different characters and then after he kills them all, there’s a jumpscare in the end saying ‘I am god.’ When I found it again, I didn’t know that there was like lore to it. So there was this dude that got a haunted copy of the original Sonic game and he played it and after he got to the end it took his soul and trapped him in the game. I didn’t know it was considered a creepypasta since I don’t really know much about creepypastas. It’s also super popular too. I’ve seen different renditions of it online.”
Analysis: The informant describes their story on the popular online horror character Sonic.EXE, a creepypasta that tells that story of a haunted video game that steals your soul and traps it in the game seemingly forever. Creepypastas are a common form of telling stories through internet horror and they have recently seen a rise in popularity in part to users online continuing to expand their stories. This seems to apply to Sonic.EXE, where many fan renditions depict Sonic.EXE in their own way.
The Legend of Nian
Context: The informant, CC, describes the legend of Nian that is a popular Chinese folktale
CC: “In chinese lunar new year theres this story where in this old Chinese village, they were all terrorized by this big ol monster called ‘Nian’ …and to combat this they ended up creating big sounds through fireworks and firecrackers, which is a predominant reason why people today as tradition uses fireworks to celebrate the new year.”
Q: Where did you first hear about the story?
CC: “I first heard about it from my parents and other family members since we always get together to celebrate the Lunar New Year.”
Q: Have you heard of the story being told outside of your family?
CC: “Honestly no…well, there was this thing my middle school used to do where we celebrate each other’s culture and one of my teachers told us about the story of Nian. It was pretty accurate to the story I already knew.”
Analysis: The Legend of Nian, as described by CC, is a popular Chinese folktale that tells the story of Nian, a beast who used to terrorize villages in China. Many feared Nian due to its destructive nature. Because of this, many created loud sounds using fireworks and firecrackers in order to scare off the Nian beast and ward it away.
Whittier Tunnels
Q: What do you know about the Whittier Tunnels?
JM: “Ok so basically there’s this whole tunnel system in Whittier and it stretches out to nearby cities like Pico and La Mirada. I don’t know where it stops but it reaches through different parts of Whittier like Whittier High School. There’s different ways to enter the tunnel, but some parts of the tunnel are so small and dark from what I heard.”
Q: When did you first hear about the story?
JM: “It first started in middle school, that was when the tunnels were mentioned but it wasn’t until high school where I learned that one of the tunnel entrances was underneath the basement of the school. I was so shocked. My teacher actually took us down there at the end of the year just to see the basement and the entrance to the tunnel. It’s super creepy though. It’s just super dark.”
Analysis: The story of the Whittier Tunnels are well-known throughout the city of Whittier, CA. Under the city is different tunnels that stretch to different parts of neighboring cities such as La Mirada and Pico Rivera. The tunnels were seemingly built around the construction of the city around the late 1800s. One of the entrances to the tunnels is underneath the basement of Whittier High School, as the informant describes.