Vol. 70, No. 2 – Spring, 2011

An Unexpected Font of Folklore: Online Gaming as Occupational Lore

Ben Gillis

ABSTRACT: What does the American workplace have in common with the online role-playing game World of Warcraft? Occupational lore. World of Warcraft is one of many online communities that exemplifies how the internet facilitates the growth of folklore in an entirely new way. A study of the folklore found among World of Warcraft “gamers” reveals that the dedication these players have towards the game is identical to common principles of the American work ethic. KEYWORDS: internet, occupational lore, World of Warcraft

Beatboxing, Mashups, and Cyborg Identity: Folk Music for the Twenty-First Century

Tok Thompson

ABSTRACT: This article discusses two new artistic musical traditions, beatboxing and mashups, in terms of their communal, changeable forms as displaying hallmarks often associated with folk music. Investigating the relationship between aesthetic choices and identity concerns highlights the central theme of the man-and-the-machine, the cyborg, and the inter-connected cognitive functioning of man and machine—all increasingly a part of reality at the beginning of the 21st century. KEYWORDS: mashups, copyright, music, cyborg, posthuman

Tracking Bigfoot Through 1970s North American Children's Culture: How Mass Media, Consumerism, and the Culture of Preadolescence Shaped Wildman Lore

Joshua Blu Buhs

ABSTRACT: Juvenile Bigfoot stories of the 1970s filtered generic themes inherent in wildman tales through culturally specific concerns about children s desires, the ubiquity of consumerism, and the power of mass media. The stories were meant to help children navigate the complexities of American culture. Children found something else: a way to break from their parents and claim a place in the social world as adults. They did not fret over consumerism but adapted to it. KEYWORDS: Bigfoot, children s culture, mass media, lore cycl,e, consumerism