Tag Archives: friendship

DeerMan

JC is a student who grew up in Topanga Canyon, a town in the mountains of LA. The area is surrounded by dense woods and tons of wildlife.

JC- In like 2020 in COVID when my friends and I wanted to hang out but we couldn’t hang out inside together, we would camp in my backyard and set up tents and all sleep in the tents overnight. I live in kinda a rural area and my backyard backs up to a hill that’s pretty wild, a type of woods. My friends and I developed this legend about this creature called the DeerMan, that comes out at night and terrorizes us while we’re sleeping. He’s half man half deer. I would mess with my friends by going out at night and tapping on their tents and stuff and then in the morning when we all woke up I’d be like ‘guys, did you hear the DeerMan last night?”. The lore extended and eventually, there became this second character. There used to be this owl that would hang out in a tree by my house and we all started calling him Skeekee the Wise and we built up this lore that Skeekee the Wise and DeerMan were mortal enemies and Skeekee the Wise is the defender of all things good and DeerMan is the perpetrator of evil, and the two of them are at a constant clash for power. Skeekee the wise was our protector.

Analysis: 

2020 has already been historically categorized as a very crazy and strenuous year. For the groups of graduating high schoolers across the country, it posed an even harder challenge. All of the things people had worked their whole lives to achieve suddenly didn’t matter in the blink of an eye. COVID was a mass trauma event, almost everyone alive was affected by it and is still dealing with the effects. It was a time that taught people the importance of having a support system and community, especially once those moments of connection are taken away. JC and his friends were lucky to have a way to still see and support each other through this hard time. DeerMan was a completely fictionalized character that existed only within the confines of this group of friends. Creating this character and having an evil figure to jokingly mess around with was a good way for the group to distract themselves from the problems they were facing. When they were hanging out, the only thing they had to worry about was DeerMan, all of the other things going on around them didn’t matter as much. This creature helped them release tension by pranking one another and distracting themsleves with its lore and details. Furthermore, Skeekee the Wise also served a similar, but opposite role, being the character that represented their hope and the promise that one is always protected and that good will always prevail. Having these characters with these themes to connect with was a healthy way for the friends to process what they were going through. From just being an owl that lives in a nearby tree to suddenly transforming into a figure of all that is good in the universe, Skeekee the Wise also perfectly shows the way that myths and cryptids are created all the time by everyone around us. Everything imagined has truth and reality instilled within it. 

Snape Hunting

This folklore comes from my informant’s kindergarten campout. At night while all of the kids are about to go to sleep, they must go run around and try to catch the imaginary “snapes”. These creatures only come out at night and try to trick you and get you in your tents and you must capture them first. You can spot these creatures in the shadow of the night from their distinguished red eye that comes and goes at will. In reality the eye is nothing more than the red pen light of one of the teachers. Nonetheless, the students were none the wiser and continued after imaginary shadows in the dark. 

The tradition of hunting for snapes serves as a communal activity that strengthens bonds amongst the kindergartners. Engaging in a nightly group endeavor creates a sense of unity and camaraderie among the children. The shared goal of capturing these imaginary creatures requires cooperation and communication, essential components in building a strong community spirit. This activity also allows them to engage in a form of play that blurs the lines between reality and imagination, further enhancing the group’s cohesion through shared experiences. The act of searching for snapes, particularly in the context of the nighttime setting, can symbolize the children’s confrontation with and overcoming of fears. Nighttime often represents the unknown, a time when fears and anxieties can be heightened in members of all ages. By actively participating in an imaginative game that takes place in this context, the kindergartners can confront their fears in a controlled and safe environment. The hunt for snapes, with the creatures represented only by fleeting red lights (the teachers’ pen lights), allows children to face the abstract concept of fear through a tangible action. This symbolic conquering of fears can be empowering for children, giving them a sense of bravery and accomplishment.

Don’t split the pole

Nationality: American
Age: 20
Occupation: Student
Language: English

Text:

A superstitious practice that dictates that when two people walking together encounter an obstacle (such a pole), they should stay together and maneuver around that obstacle on the same side, rather than passing by the obstacle on either side, as is often most convenient.

Context:

The informant first learned of this superstition while attending college at USC in Los Angeles.

Interpretation:

This superstition conveys a clear message that staying together is preferable while breaking apart is bad luck. The unsaid implication is that the bad luck generated from splitting a pole would be regarding the relationship between those two who split the pole. It seems as if this superstition functions as a sort of performative gesture, in which the performance of this action serves to makes something happen. For two people to stay together while walking around an obstacles bodes that they will stay together in their relationship when they encounter their own obstacles.

Friendship Bracelets

Context

My informant was introduced to friendship bracelets in elementary school by friends. These bracelets remind them of past relationships, usually in a fond and positive light. They are special in the way that their power fluctuates with the way that the relationship they are connected to goes. If you are able to maintain a good relationship with them, they will retain their significance, but otherwise they lose their meaning.

My informant would wear these bracelets all the time, and could wear more than one. Sometimes they took the form of a necklace as well.

An example of a friendship bracelet my informant had was a handmade one made with tiny green beads and text beads that spells out the name of a group, signifying unity. Handmade bracelets tend to have more of a significant meaning behind them while purchasable bracelets tend to be more disposable. The bracelet they had was made years back in a middle school club meeting where everyone was making friendship bracelets. Even after a few years the meaning still holds true and they still remember how it was made. It’s spot has changed from being worn on their wrist to being attached to their phone as a phone charm, and continues to keep it’s fond memory and meaning.

Analysis

Handmade objects tend to hold more memories and meaning as their creation could be a part of that story, or the labor and love that went into making it could amplify its meaning, rather than simply finding a bracelet online and purchasing a bulk made one. The uniqueness of a single hand made bracelet holds more touching meaning as it is the only one out there made in that way. It is interesting how such small objects can retain memories throughout years of life, and still be held with fondness.

Proverb: Blood and Water

Text: “Blood of the covenant is thicker than the water of the womb.”

Context: G is a 20 years old Animation and Digital Arts major from Birmingham, UK. He is a junior at USC and has been living in the area for 3 years.

G said he initially heard the more popular version of this saying – “Blood is thicker than water” – at some point when he was younger. He says that he believes it was one of his teachers that later told him the actual proverb, the one listed above in text.

Interpretation: What’s interesting is that G chose to tell me the longer version of this proverb, but acknowledged the shorter version. This more popular version is used as an argument for familial bonds being stronger than others, while the version in text argues that relationships we form are stronger. While this may or may not be actually true, G believes the version he told me is the original, and that people are misquoting it in the shorter, ‘newer’ version. The key words “covenant” and “womb” are left out. This proverb which I’ve quoted from G is pretty straightforward, although metaphorical, saying that the bonds we choose to form and strengthen (covenant meaning agreement or trust) are stronger than those we cannot chose (those created solely by the womb). It’s definitely a type of advice, seemingly coming from someone experienced in life. What’s more, familial bonds being questioned is taboo in a number of cultures and societies, which seems to be why there are two different versions of this proverb circulating. It also speaks to the fact that my informant, who is a student at a college on an entirely different continent from his hometown (and his family), knows and references the version of the proverb that values formed relationships over inherited ones.