Fox Window Hand Sign

Age: 20


Date of performance: 2/22/25


Nationality: Chinese


Occupation: Student


Primary Language: Chinese & English


Residence: United States

Context:

The interviewee believes that the hand sign provides a window for the user to see someone close that’s deceased. They originally heard it from other kids while growing up. Despite this knowledge, and influence as a kid growing up, they have never tried the hand sign as a result of superstition. This superstition stems from the fact that they believe that if it’s done incorrectly, the dead will haunt them instead. According to them, they believe that its origins stem from Japan. Furthermore, this concept is also seen in general throughout Asian Literature

Analysis:

I found this concept to be interesting as I feel like I’ve heard of this hand sign before in media. Despite having a faint memory of previous references, I’ve never encountered one with a concept such as this one and its connection to a dead loved one. I feel like I’ve naturally heard of ones with similar ideas that are all connected to some vision of the dead. Much like my interviewee’s interpretation, I’ve heard of one that serves as a lens to the world of the dead in general, with the consequences serving from staring at the ghosts or certain animals.

Yeoubi

Age: 20


Date of performance: 2/12/25


Nationality: Korean


Occupation: Student


Primary Language: Korean & English


Residence: United States

Metaphor:

Yeoubi

This word is a Korean folklore metaphor for “Sun Shower” or “Foxes Rain.” Sun shower refers to when it rains and the sun is out while Foxes Rain refers to the folktale surrounding the phrase.

Context:

The interviewee states that this originates from a folktale about a fox’s unrequited love. This story is about a cloud that fell in love with a fox during the fox’s marriage. As a whole the word “Yeoubi” refers to a story about bittersweet love. She originally heard this story from her mom as a child.

Analysis:

My interpretation of the story and its origin follows through with its bittersweet nature. I found it endearing to piece together how the rain is meant to reflect the cloud’s tears as it comes to terms with being unable to stand alongside the fox whom he fell in love with, watching them make a big lifetime commitment to one another. The meaning of Sun Shower helps to exemplify this matter, as it is such a wonderful day for the fox as it gets married, but behind the scenes, it’s a sad day for the cloud, where it watches the love of its life marry someone else.

Let’s Rock ‘n Roll! – Joke

Nationality: Chinese-American
Age: 20
Occupation: Undergraduate Student at the University of Southern California
Residence: Icon Plaza Apartments in Los Angeles, CA
Language: Chinese

Text:

Let’s Rock ‘n Roll!

Context:

“We have this friend, [rREDACTED], who we met last year on set. He was DPing and one time before a shot, he said, ‘Okay guys. Let’s Rock ‘n Roll!’ We just thought it was so silly and corny because he just kept saying it: before starting a new shot, after breaks, and even outside of film contexts like before every ride at Disney Land. Sometimes we’d just be doing random stuff and he’d say ‘Let’s Rock ‘n Roll!’ and everyone will kinda groan in a teasing way. We now all quote him and our friend group’s name is ‘rock n roll.’ When someone uses ‘Let’s Rock ‘n Roll!’ ironically or unironically, we all know it’s kinda playing on his saying.”

Analysis:

“Let’s Rock ‘n Roll!” popularized with rock culture in the late 1900s and typically means “Let’s go have fun!” or “Let’s go!” The slang became more popular as it was commonly used in TV, shows, and radio. It makes sense that this friend would be well-aquainted with the phrase as he was a Director of Photography and their friend group consists of primarily University of Southern California School of Cinematic Arts majors. It seems that the phrase originally started out as a proverb–based on modern icons–and eventually evolved in a joke on their in-group would understnad. Eventually, the joke seemed to progressed into a ritual where they say the phrase whenever the group does an activity regardless of this activity is “fun” or not.

The stick that went up the camel’s ass – Joke

Nationality: Irish/German
Age: 19
Occupation: Business Undergraduate Student at the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign
Residence: Champaign Apartments in Champaign, IL
Language: English

Text:

The stick that went up the camel’s ass

Context:

“One time me and best friend were talking about how shitty our week had been, and I specifically told her about how finding a hole in my sweater was my breaking point. I was like, ‘this is officially the camel’s back thing,’ and she was so confused but kind of understood what I meant. We were so stuck on what the exact saying was–it was on the tips of our tongue–so I think she was like, ‘wait isn’t there like a stick or something… the stick that something the camel…’ and to be funny she was like, ‘oh! The stick that went up the camel’s ass!’ It clicked with me then that the correct saying was, “the stick that broke the camel’s back,” but we genuinely died laughing at her version for a whole minute. It was so funny. So now, when something particularly frustrating happens, we’ll look at each other super seriously and say, ‘this is like the stick that went up the camel’s ass,’ and die laughing. It’s so stupid, and we always get weird stares, but it’s still funny every time.” 

Analysis:

This joke originates from the proverb “the stick that breaks the camel’s back.” This proverb is a metaphor for how something small (like a stick) can affect someone so much that it becomes their breaking point despite how strong (like a camel’s back) they seem in comparison. Where this phrase evolves is in how the “folk”– or these two best friends– recalled the saying. In injecting their own spin on the phrase, the saying became a new phrase in only their folk vocabulary, which they ritualistically use in times of hardship to ease tension. The exclusivity of this phrase is further emphasized as this person mentions they get weird stares from others when spoken as others are in the out-group when it comes to this folklore.

F.I.T.F.O. – Slang

Nationality: Irish/German
Age: 19
Occupation: Undergraduate Business Student at the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign
Residence: Champaign Apartments in Champaign, IL
Language: English

Text:

F.I.T.F.O. (Figure It The Fuck Out)

Context:

“I’m in an investment banking org called [REDACTED] and to fit in with the finance bros, I started saying F.I.T.F.O. or Figure It The Fuck Out because ya know, sometimes you just don’t have time to do help someone or someone keeps slacking on a project and it’s just like F.I.T.F.O.!”

Analysis:

The performer is an investment banking female who’d mentioned she felt it hard to fit in with other people in her profession as it’s a male-dominated field, so she’s made an extra effort to learn the slang to be a part of the in-group. The occupational folk group of business people tends to need an air of professionalism, hence, it being an acronym as the full saying is too vulgar. Additionally, with the spirit of business being one that encourages one to take initiative at fast paces, F.I.T.F.O. makes succinct sense in telling someone to professionally (and somewhat aggressively) do their due diligence.