CONTEXT: 

RR is one of my best friends and roommates. She is a sophomore at USC who enjoys crocheting, writing poetry, and making me laugh. 

TEXT: 

Me: “Can you tell me now about Bigfoot? Because I know you heard about him since you were a little—all about him. Where is he from?”

R: “Bigfoot is a pretty big legend in the Pacific Northwest. 

I’m sure you have heard a little bit about him because you’re from Idaho 

but in Portland, and Oregon, because most of the state is covered in temperate rainforest. 

It’s a big thing for people to see Bigfoot. 

There’s so many sightings. 

There’s lots of websites too. 

The restaurant I worked in, the summer after I graduated high school, was a Pacific Northwest Oregon chain 

and some of the restaurants have lots of mementos of Bigfoot sightings 

like newspaper clippings or these really shitty, blurry photos of “Bigfoot” supposedly. I also had a teacher in high school who would go on hikes once a month 

and he’d try to find Bigfoot 

People really, really believe in him

there’s Facebook groups. 

There’s T shirts 

I bought us a shot glass that says Bigfoot country Oregon

It’s from the PDX airport. 

It’s big—it’s very prevalent in Oregon culture. 

I’d say that’s definitely one of the biggest landmarks of being an Oregonian.”

ANALYSIS:

The legend of Bigfoot has been around since 1958; a writer for the Humboldt Times, Andrew Genzoli, was sent pictures of large footprints that were found in northern California. He published the photos and joked that perhaps the footprints belonged to a “relative of the Abominable Snowman.” However, people were intrigued by the pictures and deemed this unknown creature, “Bigfoot.” Following this article being published, Bigfoot became a popular cultural phenomenon; especially in the Pacific NorthWest where temperate rainforests are common. In addition to Bigfoot being a mascot to the PNW, politicians in Washington and Oregon have even proposed bills in order to protect the creatures from hunters.