Extra Credit

This is in regard to the extra credit assignment. I am choosing to do my extra credit on a documentary film that I have watched. The film was extremely interesting and fortunately enough pertains to folklore. This film was based on a community that lives on an island off one if the Latin countries. This community is more so a tribe. This tribe is a very strict and old tribe. The tribe believes that whales once walked the earth and so they pray to the whales, like some people pray to god. Also this tribe is very strict with war and fighting. No woman can become a warrior what so ever. Once a girl is born she is thought of as in-superior. The woman is to stay in the house and cook and clean. Also the woman can not go to class/school with the boys, nor can the sit in front of the male. The female must always sit behind the male, as a sign of respect. Twice a year this tribe has a festival to praise the return of the whale king. They cook food and everyone comes together. The children learn the native dance and they perform it at the festival. Late at night fires are started and the tribe sings and dances all night around the fire praising the return of the whale. At the end of the documentary the tribe found out that the main character, the little girl was the chosen warrior and was the only one that could revive the tribe, due to the fact that this tribe and this way of life was fading out and slowly diminishing. This was a very interesting documentary and I learned a little bit about another way of life.

This is in response to the extra credit on a documentary film.

Chapter Seven Reflection Question

After a lot of thought I came up with a place that I would like to do my fieldwork, if I was a folklorist. My freshman year I had taken another folklore class and in this class we had a guest speaker, who talk up his fieldwork in the hills of North and South Carolina. I loved listening to all of his stories and wished that I could have had more time asking him questions and picking his brain. To me the mountains of the Carolina’s and the life style seem very interesting.

In the Carolina’s there is so much history that has occurred there. There is so much to visit and learn about and I would love to be apart of it. What I would love to study most, is the way of life of a Tar Heel, and the life style of a Carolinian. A way that I would try to accomplish this study, is I would try and find a family member or somebody I know who lives in one of the Carolina’s. I would then stay with them for a while and travel the country side. I would drive and stop at random spots and do my research. I would research the foods they eat, the music they listen to. I would study the person/family’s daily routine. I would study the jobs and task they perform and after they were done with their work, I would then study what they do for entertainment. If possible I would stay a couple days with these random individuals and submerge myself into their life. I would try and get the most out of my experience as possible. I would like to spend three to six months studying and doing my fieldwork. I would try getting in as many individuals and families as I could. I would then compare there way of life to my way life, to see the differences.

The reason that I feel this would be worth doing, is to inform all the other people studying this topic, the necessary information. People could use my experiences to gather the proper information that they need. Also maybe my information and knowledge could fuel someone else simple curiosity. Ultimately the main reason this would be worth doing, is to satisfy my own curiosity.

This is in response to the chapter seven reflection question.

Chapter Six reflection question

I would have to say that I really enjoyed this chapter. Chapter six talks about several topics that is very important. Also each topic discussed in this chapter was extremely enjoyable to read and learn about. I have to admit that I learned some new information from this chapter, as well old knowledge re-surfacing. One of my favorite topics in this chapter was the topic of structuralism.

When reading about structuralism I pick up on some information that I have taken for granted. In the chapter it talks about how important structure is. This is true when you think about a story with no structure. We all have that friend who can not tell a story to save his life. He/ she tries to tell a story but keep going back to add more details, which he or she forgot earlier and the story just is not enjoyable to listen to. A good story teller has structure and can entertain his or her listeners. This goes the same for Jokes. When you tell a joke or listen to a joke you realize the importance of structure. For a joke to be funny there has to be a set up and a punch line. We have all told or heard a joke that was not funny due to the fact that there was no punch line. The book gives an example of a knock knock joke. In order for a knock, knock joke to work, there must be a knocker and a cooperative knockee. This is an example of a structured knock, knock joke. An example that I felt was important in this chapter, is when the author tells the story of “Sleeping Beauty” or “Snow White”. There are several stories and fairy tales that are similar and follow the same plot. With out the proper structure we would not be able to decipher between all the similar fairy tales out there.

After reading this chapter I learned how important it is to have structure. With out structure stories, riddles, jokes, etc. just do not make sense. With using the proper structure, you have a better chance of being funny, or telling a much better story. This essay is in regards to the Chapter Six reflection question.