The Culture of.... Santa Claus.

I mentioned in my last post that there were research possibilities I had passed over, thinking it was impossible to find sources. Thankfully, I was proven wrong.

 I have decided to research the culture of the men who choose to portray Santa Claus. I will explore questions such as: What made you wish to take this type of job? Does this job give you a greater appreciation for Christmas, or does it have the opposite effect? What do you do in the off-season? Etcetera. I will also explore different customs and variances in Santas. For instance, through my preliminary research, I have found conflict between those with authentic beards and those without.

To gain insight into this profession, I will explore groups such as The Amalgamated Order of Real Bearded Santas, Santa’s Rampage, the Santa Claus Network, and other related sites. Most importantly, I will attempt to access this information by contacting malls and large department stores to receive information about the men they have hired to portray Santa Claus. Personal interviews will provide me with the most thorough answers to the questions I have proposed.

Research Possibilities

There are many cultures and subcultures I have interest in researching. Unfortunately some of these, such as people who dress up like Santa Claus, are difficult to find sources or are simply out of season. Still, there are a few more I have taken interest in:

1. Clowns. This is an interesting group of people. It is a group of individuals who have chosen a career that has the ability to make people laugh or run away in fear. I began thinking about this culture when the circus came to town last week. I am sad child who has never been to the circus and, therefore, have never had an opportunity to observe these artists at their finest. Through this project I will attempt to contact clowns who appear and circuses and birthday parties, communicate with schools geared for training clowns, hopefully go to a circus, as well as obtain an outsiders' opinions of clowns.

2. People born in the 1940s. I will admit this is a fairly large jump from my last topic, but bear with me, I'm eclectic. The people born in the 1940s were largely affected by World War II, even though they are unable to remember much of it. However, they were raised during the 1950s, the age of conformity, structure, and "The American Dream." I am interested in discovering the similarities and differences in their lives compared to each other as well as society today. In order to conduct this research, I will talk with people between the ages of 61-70, the generation before them, as well as trusted historians.

3. Trekkies/Star Wars Fanatics. Yes, I realize the two cultures I just listed are competing cultures, I have simply listed both because I am indecisive. I do not consider myself to be a part of either group (though I do tend to sway towards the latter), but I am well acquainted with members of both. These subcultures have flourished since the 1970s and are a vital part of America's pop culture. I wish to interview self-proclaimed Trekkies/Star Wars Fanatics, research more into their conventions and the decade they were introduced, as well as immerse myself in a bit of their culture.

Mork Meets The Fonz

Now, for those of you who have been deprived of seeing Happy Days or Mork and Mindy, allow me to enlighten you. In this clip, Mork (Robin Williams), an alien from Ork, is sent to learn how to date from the Fonz (Henry Winkler). Fonzie attempts to teach him the basic concepts and sets him up on a date with Laverne (from Laverne & Shirley, played by Penny Marshall).

Anyone who has watched an episode of Mork and Mindy knows that literacy discourse is a main theme. In the show, Mork has been sent to Earth to observe humans. At the end of each episode he reports back to Ork and, in doing this, allows us to see the absurdities of many of our customs. For instance, Mork has an interesting handshake (Nanoo Nanoo), sits on his head, is naive about propriety, and takes everything literally.  We often fail to recognize the wording of the common phrases we use daily. However, in this show, Mork finds a humorous way of bringing it to our attention. I recommend watching the continuation of this episode as well:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=J5G0qD321a0

Goal of Class

Wednesday we were asked to prioritize a list of goals we have for this class. First in my list is to be more creative in my writing. As you can probably already see, I tend to write exactly what I am told. I shy away from creativity. This is not because I cannot do it, but rather because I am afraid of it. Being creative in one's writing is to leave an impression of yourself in your paper. I do not enjoy exposing my private life or my thoughts to the masses or even a handful of people. Yet, by setting this goal, I am purposefully going to go against my norm and attempt to let more of myself be seen in my writings.