The popular Discovery Channel show “Mythbusters” is known for its entertaining ways of testing stories that are incredibly popular to see if they are in fact true. A common component of the show is a special guest who is a folklorist. She comes on and explains what the myth is, where is possibly comes from, and as much background is known on the subject. Recently, the Mythbusters took on the challenge of trying to duplicate a Youtube video about pulling a table cloth out from under a full table setting by using a motorcycle. As many can guess, this video was faked and they proved that the people who made it faked it, but it made me start thinking about the future of Folklore.
In the past everything was done by word of mouth and eventually things started to be written down. Now, however, it is really common to get an email with a story and that seems to be the way things are passed. It seems though that there is a shift again from just the email age to posting more on Facebook or Youtube. The interesting part about these things, I think, is that it seems as though stories could be more traceable so the mystery of an old folk story is somewhat lost. The internet has made it so that we can easily find out where the story comes from and if it is true or not. Beyond that, even if people do not know if it is true then someone like the Mythbusters comes along to test it. Is Folklore a thing of the past or is there a new version for the future. Is all of our new media doing away with something that has been around for centuries?
An interesting point to consider is the idea of taking folklore or fairy tales for what they are versus needing the truth. I teach 7 and 8 year olds during the summer and we were talking about fairy tales and fables and how people used to not know how things happened so they came up with their own explanations and turned them into stories. We then invited the kids to make up their own stories about how something may have happened or how something was made. Some of the kids had a great time explaining why the sun was only out during the day, or how a snake lost its legs, but one little girl said she could not do it because she did not want to make up a story when she could know the truth. If she had a question like these then she would go online and look it up. It was something that I had not considered and it surprised me. There was no more need for imagination and made up stories when you could just know the truth. Magic is not cool, it is just a trick. Technology has definitely pushed us to another way of thinking, but what happens to the past? No more just day dreaming when you can make your own world by just going on the computer. If it is so easy to make our fantasies a “real” thing, then the imagination of the future is going to be a very interesting thing to see develop.
Interesting analysis, but I don't think our imaginations are going to dissapear anytime soon. Though we no longer need myths to explain scientific phenomena, pretty much everyone still loves a good story. For example, we all know Santa doesn't exist, but it's still fun to tell little kids that he does. It's not the most exact way to teach generosity, but it does the trick and people love the tradition.
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