Urban Legends Discussion Paper

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puneyrfw33

Humanities

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As part of the course assignments, you are required to complete a final project that
reflects on the major themes and questions developed throughout the quarter. This project
is due on Canvas on Friday, March 13 th at 11:59PM. ***LATE PROJECTS WILL
NOT BE ACCEPTED***
The portfolio will contain a collection of six urban legends (with extensive analysis)
covering each of our main subject areas (teen horrors, racial fears, conspiracy theories, supernatural stories, contamination/disease fears, technology fears).Your portfolio must

include:
1) An Introductory Statement: This one-to-two page statement should detail your process
in finding and selecting your legends. It should also reflect on key class topics and
themes that aided in your understanding of these legends. (10 points)
2) Six personally collected narratives, with accompanying analysis. Each narrative
discussion should include the following:
• Basic background information, including the person or source from whom you
collected the narrative, and where that person in turn first heard it. Also, make a
concerted effort to locate the narrative’s folk origins through consultation of class
readings and/or internet inquiries. (30 points)
• Discuss what specific characteristics make this an urban
legend/legend/rumor/memorate/truth claim. (10 points)
• (Briefly) Narrative itself, including any variations or parallels found in class
readings/discussions. (10 points)
• Most importantly—One full page (or more) of analysis: How did this narrative
fit course themes? Is it believable, particularly to the storyteller? Does the
narrative hold an obvious social function or contain a clear moral message? Is it
conveying a sense of anxiety or fear? Use specific arguments and examples from
both our class discussions and readings in your analysis! (40 points)
Format: This is meant to be a creative assignment; choose the format the best fits your
set of legends. You may use illustrations, pictures, graphics, and specialized fonts at your
leisure. You are also required to provide a works cited page.
Topics: This portfolio offers the opportunity to select legend topics of your choice. I
encourage VARIETY, in both your sources and your themes. You must collect one
narrative from each major course theme from this quarter (supernatural legends, race
and urban legends, teen horror legends, travel/tourism/contamination legends,
conspiracy theories, or legends relating to media and technology). You may find
legends online, from friends and family, through library sources, or in the media. Do not
limit yourself to finding legends on snopes. At least four of the legends you collect must
come via oral transmission from friends, relatives, or other in-person interactions. If you
experience difficulty in finding sources, please come talk to me! You must cite all
sources (APA format preferred).
**Note: Please respect your respondents and their narratives. Use pseudonyms by
default.**
Grading: Your final portfolio is worth a whopping 40% of your final grade. Alex and I
will grade this final project based on your ability to fully engage and analyze the topics
covered during this quarter. Do not skimp on your analysis. Do not try to put together
your portfolio at the last minute. Exercise good judgment in your legend selections, and
take the time to put together a thoughtful, visually interesting portfolio.
Submission: This project is due on Friday, March 13
th by 11:59pm. Due to time
constraints, late portfolios will not be accepted. Although physical copies will be
allowed, we prefer that you submit your portfolio on our Canvas website.

I will also upload two previous papers from this course and its comments, as refrenece.

Unformatted Attachment Preview

Nan Han Professor Dewan Social Science 189 27 February 2020 Han 2 The Global Grapevine, “The Menace of International Trade” In an interesting perspective, rumours can be used as a tool to express fears and anxieties of people in a society. This is what the authors of “The Global Grapevine: Why Rumours of Terrorism, Immigration and Trade Matter” in the chapter “The Menace of International Trade” seek to express. They are not seen as simply being idle talks. They are used to depict how disturbing issues in society are talked about or expressed among people. Being specific, they focus on The United States as a developed nation and its relations, involvement and associations in trade with the rest of the world. Uncomfortable matters such as race, prejudice, culture are addressed concerning how people in the society and the united states in general deals with such issues as they engage with developing nations. Such issues would be uncomfortable to talk about openly but rumours are used as an avenue that can be interpreted to depict how the society feels. Human relations are complicated on many levels. It is even more complicated with the recent developments of increased globalization. Through globalization, countries’ borders are no longer a limiting factor to trade and association between people of different countries. There are more interaction and exchanges between people of different races, languages, cultures, and religious beliefs among others. With such differences, complications in relations compound tremendously. With such complications, people will tend to have fears and anxieties. Gary and Bill delve into the matter to show how rumours allow people to express their hidden fears and desires that might have been as a result of these relations. In this chapter, rumours have been depicted to be used as a mask to allow people in the United States and developed West to express their attitudes towards other people without claiming the attitudes as their own. It is without a doubt that globalization has come with its Han 3 pressures. There are specific themes are explored. Rumours about terrorism, immigration, international trade and tourism. It is exposed to how the American public reacts to perceived global threats through rumours concerning the mentioned themes. In a world that is constantly changing, American reactions are highlighted in terms of fears, fantasies, and beliefs about our place in the world. Various rumours over the years are brought to light as the authors seek to pass across their point. One that stands out is the rumours that foreign workers used to urinate in Corona beer. This was one of the most popular brands of imported beer from Mexico at the time. Within a span of a short time, the beer had grown to be among the most popular on American soil. A foreign commodity toppling the American brands in the market. The allegations were peddled and appeared convincing to the masses and ended up affecting sales. It was said that Mexican workers did it as an act of sabotage as they were considered immoral and they were angry over their working conditions (Fine and Bill). As it turns out, this was a corporate rumour meant to tarnish the Mexican company. Even so, the rumour was believed by most people due to the fear of immigration as this was a Mexican company whose profits would go a long way in favouring the Mexican economy more than it did for the American. In this case, prejudice and circumstance were used to play against the company and its related beer products. Other rumours focused on the daily risks that individuals would allegedly be exposed to. This was as a result of the lack of trust in everyday life. Specifically, is the spiders in the restroom case. This is more associated with international contact than trade. It was rumoured that individuals were bitten as a result of using the public toilet at the airport by spiders from South Han 4 America. These were just rumours seen to express fears of using a public toilet or used as an excuse for the treatment of STDs. Some rumours came as conspiracies while others were seen as distractions that kept government resources occupied. As the authors go on, one thing clear is that these rumours are reflective of anxieties and fears on contact with foreign cultures. Whether being that foreign competition is seen as a poison to the domestic market or that immigration is an erosion of American values. Rumours are packaged as ideal vehicles to bring out hidden anxieties. They end up revealing a lot of issues present in contemporary society. The arguments made by Fine and Bill in this section is supported in the works of other writings. In “The ‘knockout game’: moral panic and the politics of white victimhood” by Mike King a demonstration is made how the fears of society are expressed in rumours. White fears of black violence are projected and exaggerated around the theme of race and violent crime. The main fear here is that as the world changes, the white American fears subordination and end up carrying theories to indicate that there are possibilities of oppression. Similar to how Fine and Bill explore the various rumour over the years and how stories have been passed from generation to the next with alterations made with time. In a different work, Ellis Bill tracks the use of legends in society and how narratives have kept on changing reflecting what people in the society are going through at the moment. In the chapter ‘The Fast Food Ghost’ in the book Aliens, Ghosts, and Cults: Legends We Live by Bill Ellis readers are taken through how legends are carried and spread customized to the routine lives of people working in fast food chains. These legends appear to be a mutation concerning Han 5 the social process of society. They are also a way in which people spread their fears through legends. These legends are seen as a possible way of inspiring people to action. There are a lot of aspects to find convincing from the arguments made by the authors on these issues. As globalization grows there is the movement of goods, services and people across borders more than ever. Changes are bound to occur. As these changes transpire, people may not be comfortable with some of them. People may develop fears brought about disruptions of markets all over the world. America is consuming more goods from developing nations and local productions are at risk of shutting down as competition becomes stiff from foreign products. This is a reason to spark fear. Besides, as people cross borders, they tag along with their cultures. As more of these cultures interact, there is always the fear of cultural erosion. As it seems, relationships are complicated with these developments. Even so, it is not always easy to talk about such matters openly. People do not want to appear judgemental, racial, or prejudicial. Even so, they seem not to be able to hide their thoughts and feelings. They all come to show in one way or another. Rumours is just one of how these fears are expressed. These rumours carry messages that even though might be untrue on the surface, they tag along with people’s feelings and beliefs. These feelings and beliefs can be interpreted to understand the situation with a particular society. This has been done well by the authors and we can see how complications have resulted from globalization and America relations with goods, services, and people from developing nations. Attitudes and beliefs can be seen clearly from these rumours making their arguments very convincing. From the readings, we can see strained relations brought about by globalization. In as much as there are benefits attributed to more trade across borders with other countries, there are Han 6 also several concerns that come about. Strain in racial relations, prejudice, negative attitudes and even exposed American local industry are just some of them. People do not openly talk about these matters are use rumours and legends to peddle their fears. This is a matter of concern and their needs to be more discussions on the matter to be able to seek proper solutions on them. Evident here is that the world is changing and will continue to do so even more in future. America is consuming more goods made in third world countries more than what is manufactured within the borders. There are a lot of fears that may come as a result, top being undermined sense of control that America once had. There is an aspect of uncertainty that creeps in about the future. In as much as this would be normal the economic shift passes down to the population and warnings come in the form of rumours. These rumours are a suggestion of the possibilities of third world problems growing to be American problems. Snakes in coats, spiders in fruits, deadly bacteria in food products are just some of the ways rumours are packaged to depict a fear of uncertainty. These fears packaged as contamination and many more are all a symbol of competition and inability to come to terms to the economic shifts brought about by globalization. This is all complicated and intertwined with anxieties and fears of contact with other cultures of the world. Han 7 Works Cited Ellis, Bill. Aliens, Ghosts, and Cults: Legends We Live. Jackson: University Press of Mississippi, 2001. Print. Fine, Gary A, and Bill Ellis. The Global Grapevine: Why Rumors of Terrorism, Immigration, and Trade Matter. New York: Oxford University Press, 2010. Internet resource. King, M. (2015). The ‘knockout game’: moral panic and the politics of white victimhood. Race & Class, 56(4), 85-94. Running head: READING RESPONSE 1 Reading Response: Urban Legends: Rumor and Society Nate UC Irvine READING RESPONSE 2 Reading Response: Urban Legends: Rumor and Society Summary In the book, the Global Grapevine, "There Goes the Neighborhood: Latino Migrants and Immigration Rumors, the main argument the author put across is that the spread of rumors has led to negative attitudes towards immigrants. Fine & Ellis (2010) argues that rumors spread very quickly after tragic events in society, such as terrorism and disasters. When such events occur in the neighborhood, rumors provide the information that people require to understand the cause of these events. The authors argue that in the process, rumors can create distrust among communities when they tend to link particular groups with adversities encountered in the community. Fine & Ellis (2010) presents their arguments about how rumors can affects the relationship between different groups by giving several examples where people have developed negative attitudes towards Latinos because of rumors. The authors begin by highlighting an example of an incident that happened in Hazelton in which rumors spread about two Latino's shooting a white. These rumors spread fear about the newcomers in Hazleton. People began to view newcomers as potentially harmful individuals. They also believed that these newcomers were members of organized criminal gangs. The Latinos were mainly considered as terrorists and forced the governments to take strict measures, including an illegal immigration act, which recommended fines for landlords who gave houses to Latinos without proper documentation. Fine & Ellis (2010) mention that the fear of Latinos did not only spread in Hazelton but to various parts of the nation as negative rumors about this group continued to spread. These rumors have persisted and continue to create fear about immigrants, even in contemporary society. READING RESPONSE 3 Fine & Ellis (2010) argue that the spread of hostile rumors creates an enabling environment for people to commit crimes and acts of violence. For instance, in Hazelton in 1989, a group of students heard a rumor that their classmates were planning to conduct mass killings in the school after joining a cult. An investigation into the issue revealed the contrary, and the principle of the school solved the crisis. A similar case of potential violence emerged in the neighboring town of Shenandoah. The problem of illegal immigration led to the rumor that immigrants were taking over the town. Because of this rumor, a group of employees returning from work spotted a young Latino boy. They began chanting against him and eventually knocked him down, and the young Latino got severe head injuries. The local government was, however, quick to prevent the situation from escalating and arrested the mob who attacked the young Latino, and they were charged in court. The authors argue that rumors possibly explain the lynching that occurred in Sothern America during the era of slavery. It appears that rumors created tensions between the whites and the blacks and therefore resulting in violence. According to Fine & Ellis (2010), when people feel the threat of displacements, they gather around to understand the source of such danger. The author argues that there are different sources of new in the society from which citizens acquire information regarding situations and events that occur in their neighborhoods. People rely on friends, neighbors, websites, and various Media for information. However, the credibility of these sources is what leads to rumors. The author argues that many narrators include their statements. The arguments that Fine & Ellis present in their book are supported by other authors. The argument that rumors spread so quickly is supported by Alan, Gary, and Turner, Patricia, in their book Rumor in the Life of America: Riots and Race. In the second chapter of the book READING RESPONSE 4 titled "how rumor works," Alan, Gary, and Turner, Patricia Turner explain in detail the process through which rumor spreads. Alan and Turner explain that rumors begin because of four main reasons. First, rumors can arise as a product of intentional deception. Such rumors are created by malicious individuals who think that they have something to gain by creating untruthful stories. For instance, in a political contest, these types of rumors are common tools used to injure the confidence of the opponent. They argue that this strategy of creating malicious rumors has been used in different scenarios, including World War II, where several Japanese women broadcasters produced and aired rumors to kill the pubic morale. Secondly, the author argues that rumors can also originate because of misunderstandings. Rumors can arise because people have a different understanding, and sometimes people may have a different meaning to statements. Sometimes, unaware of the speaker's intention, people assume that their perception of comments is the truth, and this may probably lead to rumors. Thirdly, Alan, and Turner argue that rumors can begin because of transformation. Transformation occurs because of the alteration and exaggeration of the initial information. The two authors mention that as information flow from the source, the chances that it gets distorted in the process are relatively high. In the end, people will come to hear different kinds of information from what the source has, and that marks the spread of rumors. Finally, Alan and Turner (1947) mention that the fourth reason why rumor emerges is because of suspicion and twisted details. They argue that some information and activities that can only lead to speculation. For example, when a new product is introduced into the market, many consumers can get very speculative, resulting in rumors about how the product is made and its intention. The two authors gave an example of when various family planning methods were introduced to African communities, arguing that many African societies did not accept them READING RESPONSE 5 because of the speculation, which leads to the rumors that these family planning methods were harmful to women and could lead to sterility. In the book Whispers on the color line: Rumor and race in America, the authors Fine and Turner also support some of the arguments made by Fine & Ellis In the book, The Global Grapevine, "There Goes the Neighborhood: Latino Migrants and Immigration Rumors.” For instance, in chapter seven of the book Whispers on the color line: Rumor and Race in America titled Cries and Whispers Race and False Accusations, the authors support the arguments that rumor could lead to mistrust between different groups. Fine and Turner (2001) argue that rumors have always provided a depressing window in American racial relationships. They support that although rumors are always false, the relevant audiences treat them as real and act upon them. Fine and Turner (2001) give an example of a situation that resulted in the lynching of black people following accusations by the white citizens. The two authors further also that the rumors are to blame for the incidences of police brutality towards minority races such as blacks and the Latinos. Critical Response The authors of the book, the Global Grapevine, "There Goes the Neighborhood: Latino Migrants and Immigration Rumor” deal with the issue of rumors and negative racial relations in a way that looks simple for the audience to comprehend. Their discussion begins by presenting READING RESPONSE 6 real-life examples in which the relationship between majority-white citizens and immigrant Latinos have gone sour because of negative rumors. The authors give an example of the case in Hazelton where rumors that two Latinos had killed a white woman led to fear of the immigrants forcing the white population to develop punitive measures to deal with the immigrants in their neighborhood and also forcing the local government to institute an act that would punish landlords who allow undocumented immigrants to stay in their houses. The authors also give an example of a case in Shenandoah in which rumors that immigrants were taking over the town drove a group of employees returning from work to attack a young Latino boy whom they met in the neighborhood. These examples by the authors support their argument. There are several arguments in the book that I find relatively convincing. For instance, the authors argue that rumors spread very fast in the community after an incident, such as terrorism or natural disaster. Indeed these statements are logical because, after such adversities, people tend to find answers. They seek information from wherever source they can find to explain the occurrence of these adversities. Under such circumstances, reports spread faster than formal media can contain from one person to another. For instance, when President John Kennedy was assassinated, the information spread across the country through the public than the formal media. I also agree with the authors' arguments that rumors can result in a negative relationship between different groups. One of the significant features of rumors is that it triggers the emotions of the audience. When rumors trigger fear between different groups, then the relationship between these different groups is likely to grow sour and may easily escalate into violence. I agree with the author that negative rumors have motivated most of the incidences of racial violence witnessed in America in the last. Looking at the historical conflicts that occurred READING RESPONSE 7 between the whites and blacks, I concur that rumors always played a role in instigating fear among the races and forcing people to react without thinking about the truth. I agree with the author that the negative attitudes that people have towards immigrants in contemporary America are because of the negative rumors they have heard, including that the immigrants are the cause of unemployment and insecurity, some of which they cannot substantiate. This book significantly contributes to the general discussion about rumors in the society. The authors creatively manage to make the audience understand how the issue of rumors can easily lead to bad relations and affect peaceful co-existence in our neighborhoods. By presenting historical instances where rumors have indeed led to negative ethnicity, the authors of the book provide us with an opportunity to learn from our past. Going through the book, I find the approach which the authors have applied to support their arguments by giving historical examples very useful. The evidence presented by the authors reveal that three always need to ensure proper and effective communication channels that will feed people with truthful information to ensure peace. READING RESPONSE 8 References Alan, G, & Turner, P. (1947.). Whispers on the Color Line: Rumor and Race in America.Berkeley: University Of California Press. Fine, G. A., & Ellis, B. (2010). The global grapevine: Why rumors of terrorism, immigration, and trade matter. New York: Oxford University Press. Fine, G. A., & Turner, P. A. (2001). Whispers on the color line: Rumor and race in America. Berkeley: University of California Press.
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Explanation & Answer

Attached.

Running head: Urban Legends

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Urban Legends
First Name Last Name
Institution

Urban Legends

2

Introduction

There is a lot of information that we are exposed to daily that have the potential to be classified
as urban legends. The information is normally in the form of stories that we share daily. With an
understanding of what urban legends are, it was easy for me to think and reflect in my life on
stories that I’ve heard over the years to come up with legends to use. Important to note is that
urban legends are normally stories that are circulated as true by the bearers of the information.
These stories are often marred with horrifying details or elements of humour. They are
sometimes sources of entertainment but can have strange aspects such as disappearances or
troubling events. Another aspect to look out for is the moralistic confirmation of thoughts, fears,
or prejudices that seek to explain individuals’ ways of making sense of things.

Equipped with information of telling apart an urban legend from daily stories, it became easier to
identify legends to use. It is worth noting that most of these legends are spread orally. Even so,
with the age of social media, other methods of spreading cannot be ruled out. Emails and also
newspapers can be included. There might be some changes is the information is passed from one
person to the other but the ideas of the original story and intention will tend to remain the same.

After reading the class topics, it became clear the themes that the urban legends I was supposed
to use should take. Each of the topics has unique aspects that make them stand out from each
other and would easily be used to tell apart or classify the legends. For instance, Supernatural
Stories will have the legends belonging to this category have elements not existing in nature or
subject those that are not subject to an explanation based on natural laws. The legends here

Urban Legends

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would be different from those in the category of Racial Fears. Racial Fears will tend to refer to
urban legends that are characteristic of race and so on.

Supernatural Stories: Bloody Mary

I heard about Bloody Mary in an English class essay competition. We had taken part in an essay
writing competition and the winner was supposed to read out their essay aloud and reveal their
thought process when writing the essay. It was an open topic and everyone wrote about different
things. Two weeks later, it was revealed who had won the competition. Our teacher gave a
summary of what the winner wrote. The paper was about ghosts that appeared in mirrors to tell
the future of people who looked into them. We were all curious to find out more about the story.

The ghost was called Bloody Mary and it was a legend told that she revealed the future of
individuals when they looked in the mirror. This was especially for young women back in the
past to be able to get their future told about their marriage. The ghost would appear after young
women walked backwards up a flight of stairs with a candle in their hand as they gazed into the
mirror. The environment needed to be dark to complete the ritual. At the end of it all, the lady
looking into the mirror would have the husband’s face revealed to them. This was only supposed
to be a glance. For those that would not be married, a skull face would be shown in the mirror.
This means that they were going to die before they got married.

While the essay was being read, in my mind I was wondering the kind of imagination one would
have to come up with such an essay. I was looking forward to the final part of the presentation
when he would reveal his thought process in coming up with the essay.

Urban Legends

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The revelation was made. He said this was a ritual that used to be practiced in the past and that it
was true. He stated that his grandmother had done the ritual and it revealed who she would get
married to. The grandmother used to share the story when they visited her for holidays. Most of
us disagreed but he stuck to the legend being true and that it was not only for his grandmother
but a lot more people had done the ritual.

Following through on my own, I found out that there were different accounts of Bloody Mary.
Same as holding a mirror and a candle, most of the accounts online stated that it was supposed to
be a group ritual. People would gather and chant the name of Bloody Mary several times in a
dimly lit room. She would appear as a witch or a ghost covered in blood with variations
depending on different individuals. Some a...


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