This week is, as previously mentioned in this blog, a transition week from folk knowledge to oral knowledge. As I started contemplating what I wanted my post to focus on, I stumbled upon a subject that blurs the lines and incorporates some of both. Urban legends are fascinating in how they get started, why they are accepted, and how they maintain relevance.
An urban legend is a term I use broadly. It can apply to many specific groups such as a culture, religion (Mormon myths), a region and even an individual family. Myths and legends have been an important part of history for as long as we have had oral or written history. The most commonly known are those from Greek mythology. Native Americans told many legends as well, such as how Gluskabe changes maple syrup. Some are more universal, such as that of the lost city of Atlantis (has it been found?).
In modern times, usually the legend is founded in some truth, and then stretched to conform to a more exciting version of reality for somebody. I can just see it now…a young man trying to impress a pretty girl…a father trying to spice up the story he’s telling to his kids…a sly prankster hoping for a good laugh to himself…there are an infinite amount of ways and reasons these things get started.
But why are these urban legends accepted? Usually it is quite obvious to any reasonable individual that there is something beyond what’s being presented, or that all the information is not accurate. A simple exercise of checking sources, or some small amount of research would testify to the truth or falsehood of the information.
I believe there are two main reasons these legends remain viable. First, the information comes from somebody in a position of authority or credibility. As with any type of folk knowledge, we do not learn these things from school or from a book, rather from life experience and a trusted source. And as long as there is no research done into the validity of the information, the legend is passed on as a form of oral knowledge. Second, people want to believe the legend. In some way the legend creates a reality that is more satisfying to that person. Whether it is exciting, mysterious, romantic, horrific, or beautiful, there is something about it that we crave in our own lives.
I witnessed this first-hand when I was in Mexico this summer. Due to the large number of people in our family, we needed a large SUV for transportation around Puerto Vallarta. Each time we called for a taxi, we got the same nice man. He would enthrall us with the myths of ancient Mexico, and the legends of drug cartel activities and conspiracy theories. He told us that he lived a hard life, driving taxis every day to support his family, and that he preferred to think about the stuff of myth and legend. He understood the inherent falsehood of the stories, and yet that didn’t matter because for him, it was a preferable reality.
There are many people like him, and yet there are many more people like me. I had one urban legend dispelled for me last night. For years I have heard about this haunted house (somewhere in Utah) where this kid I know (or maybe it was that kid’s older brother…) went and it was the scariest thing of his life. He had to sign a waver, it’s in an actual insane asylum, and if you make it to the 13th floor, you get your money back. The BYU football team made it to the 12th floor, the Utah team only made it to the 10th. Various rumors and legends have floated around this place for years. Finally last night I was asking my friend Ryan about it and he just flat out said, “It’s a myth.” All it took was for him to say it and everything came together. No wonder I could never find this place online, no wonder nobody had every actually been but their “friends had”. And yet, the stories were just believable enough, and I wanted them to be true because it made my reality more interesting.
Lastly, I think that urban legends are so common because there is something inherently satisfying in verbally sharing knowledge, legend or fact. There is immense pleasure in saying something that somebody finds intriguing, outstanding, or just downright awesome, and so we take this oral knowledge and hand it out like party favors.
I think that one important reason urban legends (and, by extension, all kinds of mythology) have survived is because they are all based, even if only ever so lightly, in truth. That is why they are so intriguing: they are based enough in truth to be mildly believable, yet they stretch our imagination to the point where we should reasonably know that they aren't true- or are some?
ReplyDeleteIt's the same thing with stereotypes...which ties into a previous post of mine. We know that it's unreasonable to assume something about an entire race, but it's based in just enough fact that it remains relevant.
ReplyDeleteAnd in some cases, there are bits of the information that are true, and the rest we can't prove either way. Those ones become especially intriguing.
The in the pool thing isn't real??? What? Haha no wonder I've never actually seen it happen! I showed that video to my husband, and he said her didn't believe it, and he still thinks there its a chemical that can trace urine. Wow, thats just too funny.
ReplyDeleteYou know, its funny cause I believed in Santa Claus until I was 13, in fact, my parents overheard me telling my friend something about Santa (a myth in the making), and had to pull me outside and tell me that he isn't real. I was so shocked! I felt like my world fell out from under me.
I think as well as creating myths because they are more interesting than reality, I think some are created because someone kept elaborating their stories until they actually truly believed it!
Some of my favorites are the patriarchal blessing and three nephites ones.