FOLKLORE ON TELEVISION
Carter W. Craigie
Department of Folklore and F o l k l i f e
University of Pennsylvania
Early i n the s p r i n g of 1969 I was asked t o speak about c e r t a i n t o p i c s
of f o l k l o r e on l o c a l t e l e v i s i o n i n Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. On t h r e e
d i f f e r e n t occasions I was asked t o do a " f i v e minute spot,It f i r s t on
Pennsylvania Dutch hex signs, next on unicorns, and f i n a l l y on t h e
f o l k l o r e of ''Beauty and the Beast." Perhaps some students of f o l k l o r e
have had the opportunity t o do s i m i l a r pror,rams; i f not, some of you
may be asked t o p a r t i c i p a t e in such an adventure. Hopefully, you w i l l
appreciate my personal findings a s a s o r t of preparation.
An hiportant f a c t o r i n t h i s discussion is t h a t t h e subject of f o l k l o r e
is considered by t h i s l o c a l t e l e v i s i o n s t a t i o n as s u i t a b l e subject
matter f o r c h i l d r e n ' s viewing. The program runs from seven t o e i g h t
o'clock i n the morning and i s aimed a t pre-school and primary school
children. Each show focuses upon a c e n t r a l theme o r topic, and a l l
t h e a c t i v i t i e s a r e r e l a t e d t o t h e c e n t r a l idea. Each performer, be he
child, speaker, or singer, must c u r t a i l h i s p a r t i c i p a t i o n t o a f i v e
minute segment. The s u b j e c t matter must be e n t e r t a i n i n g and d i r e c t e d
a t the age and i n t e r e s t l e v e l of the young t e l e v i s i o n audience. The
f o l k l o r e presented, therefore, must be "nice and cleann, according t o
the standards of the t e l e v i s i o n code, and must be appropriate t o t h e
policy of the s t a t i o n . The moderator of t h e program always r e f e r r e d t o
f o l k l o r e a s flmythology,w and it seemed obvious t o me t h a t those on
the s t a f f of t h e s t a t i o n t'?ought t h a t mythology should not only be
s u l t a b l e f o r children, b u t t h a t it was t o be e n t e r t a i n i n g a s well.
A s far a s t h i s s t a t i o n is concerned, t h e function of f o l k l o r e is t o amuse
and enterta'in children by presenting a ttcleanu version of what they
think i s mythology.
When I was first invited t o he on thi,s shew t h e c e n t r a l theme was
t h e discussion of d i f f e r e n t items which start with each of t h e twentysix l e t t e r s of the alphabet; each day a new l e t t e r would be the tonic.
My t e l e v i s i o n debut was t o f a l l under the l e t t e r H, and hex s i g n s
were t o be spotlighted. My preparation took me back t o notes taken i n
f o l k l i f e courses, t o my wDutchn professor, Dr. Don Yoder, and out t o
the nearby countryside t o photograph or obtain hex s i g n s t o show on
t h e program. I purchased a few s i g n s which, although produced f o r t h e
t o u r i s t market, were i n accordance with t r a d i t i o n a l designs. After
so: study I decided t h a t among the Pennsylvania Germans, hex s i g n s were
considered as barn decorations; symbolic meaning, i f any, derive from
t h e i r use a s a kind of family c r e s t . These findings were t o be my
c e n t r a l message.
Upon a r r i v a l a t t h e s t u d i o a t 6:30 A. M e , I was t o l d t h a t my spot would
come around 7:35. I had a two-minute chat with t h e lady moderator, who
couldn't believe t h a t my findings were true. I hoped I had convinced
her I was correct. During t h e f i r s t h a l f hour I r e a l i z e d t h a t t h e t e l e vision s t a f f had b u i l t t h e whole show around t:;e f a l s e impression t h a t
a l l Pennsylvania Germans d i d i n f a c t b e l i e v e i n hexes and witches, and
Gt t h e signs were r e a l l y supposed t o ward o f f t h e e v i l doings of such
creatures. My message was t o be i n complete opposition t o t h e i r preconceived notions! I was convinced t h a t t h i s was t o be my first and l a s t
t e l e v i s i o n appearance.
A l l too soon my segment of the show approached and I was positioned next
t o a blackboard on which I had placed my commercial examples of f o l k a r t .
I showed a few color photographs o f the signs on barns, and t h e camera
focused i n on my materials. I s t a r t e d f e e l i n g confident u n t i l t h e mode r a t o r asked, "Do these s i g n s r e a l l y ward o f f witches?ll Was she playing
t h e d e v i l ' s advocate o r did she s t i l l c l i n g t o h e r preconceived notions?
I t e n t a t i v e l y postulated my findings t o t h e contrary, She then turned t o
t h e children s i t t i n g next t o us: "Do you think t h e hex signs ward off
witches?" The children r e p l i e d i n the affirmative. I stuck t o my p o s i t i o n
and s t a r t e d giving examples t o prove t h a t t h e s i g n s were i n r e a l i t y
decorations t h a t some Pennsylvania Germans p a i n t on t h e i r barns llchust
f o r cice.It I r h e t o r i c a l l y asked i f they thought t h a t anyone s o supers t i t i o u s would d i s p l a y t h i s deep-seated b e l i e f i n public, I gave examples
from my experience of the use of hex s i g n s a s ltsignaturesll o r "family
crests." Bricks of b u t t e r a r e s o marked i n order t h a t t h e buyers i n t h e
l o c a l markets can see which i s t h e mark t h a t denotes "Mrs. Yoderls
butter.ll A f i n a l example was t h a t a l l t h e buildings of one farm c a r r y
t h e same decoration i n place of the family name, I r e a l l y had t o think
f a s t . I hoped t h a t I was convincing.
-
A s a f i n a l e I took a compass and t r i e d t o draw t h e t y p i c a l rounded
r o s e t t e type of barn decoration, showing children i n t h e audience how
they could make t h e i r own signs. I f you ever t r y t o do t h i s make s u r e
the d i v i d e r s of the compass s t a y firmly fixed; mine d i d n ' t and t h e l a s t
point of the r o s e t t e was not complete. I was mortified u n t i l l a t e r when
I learned t h a t hex sign drawings were popular i n l o c a l schools t h a t
day. Unfortunately, I couldn't have known t h i s during t h e show. I thought
my t e l e v i s i o n career was over.
Imagine my suprise when a week l a t e r I was asked t o handle t h e s u b j e c t of
unicorns, t h e main t o p i c t o be t r e a t e d f o r t h e l e t t e r U. On t h i s occasion
I was heralded i n t h e l o c a l issue of TV Guide. My name was p r i n t e d backwards, and tl-e blurb s a i d I was t o speak on t h e llmythulogy of t h e .
univornM (sic!). I can understand t h e i r p r i n t i n g my name i n reverse order;
one can overlook the misspelling of mythology; b u t I was d i s t r e s s e d
l a t e r t o hear my eight-year-old niece s a y she had heard me speak on
univorns. Again we see the emphasis on llmythologyll a s a synonym f o r
folklore. This concept is s t i l l current among t h e s t a t i o n ' s t e l e v i s i o n
s t a f f , which i s an i n t e r e s t i n g comment on t h e tenacious nature of primary
b e l i e f s among educated people. I doubt i f I can ever change t h i s b e l i e f *
During the research f o r t h i s presentation I came across the f a c t t h a t
tha unicorn is associated with v i r g i n i t y . It seems t h a t only a t r u e
v i r g i n is a b l e t o subdue t h e ferocious beast vhere even t h e most s k i l l f u l
hunter always f a i l s . I n the Unicorn Tapestries a t t h e C l o i s t e r s i n New
York City, f o r instance, t h e f i f t h t a p e s t r y shows t h e unicorn captured
by the maiden. I was f e a r f u l t h a t t h e moderator might ask me how t h e
animal was captured, and t h e l a s t word I wanted t o use was "virgin,ll as
I was sure the s t a t i o n would not l i k e me t o employ a word t h a t might be
controversial. Therefore, I searched i n t h e l i b r a r y t o f i n d items of
i n t e r e s t about t h e unicorn t h a t would not emphasize t h i s aspect. TO
r e l i e f , I found q u i t e a l a r g e amount of s u i t a b l e m a t e r i a l .
I was most confident when t h e cameras aimed a t me f o r t h i s , my second
T.V. appearance. By now I am s u r e you have guessed t h e moderator's opening question: "How do you c a t c h a unicorn?" I was caught i n a t r a p ; I knew
tha,t f o r t h e sake o r v e r a c i t y I should have s a i d , "By throwing a v i r g i n
i n i t s path." Instead, however, I s u b s t i t u t e d "young g i r l u f o r " v i r g i n u
and turned q u i t e red-faced because of my bowdlerization. And even though
I had a l a r g e drawing of a unicorn made by a f r i e n d , I a m a f r a i d t h a t I
stumbled through my d e s c r i p t i o n . I n any event, I know I l e f t out many of
t h e i n t e r e s t i n g f a c t s which I had looked up i n t h e l i b r a r y . The f e a r of
p u b l i c censure from t h e anonymous audience had caused me t o change my
complete s t y l e of presentation. A word t o t h e wise: Try t o give t h e modera t o r t h e opening question you wish t o be asked; had I done t h i s , I might
have avoided my s e l f - i n f l i c t e d confusion. I was a b l e , however, t o show a
peice of paper r o l l e d up and shaped t o look l i k e a horn. I had s e a n t t o
s a y t h a t t h e c h i l d r e n i n t h e audience could make a s i m i l a r one and p l a y
a t being a unicorn, b u t my time ran out. L a t e r t h a t day I stopped a t t h e
s c h o d where I used t o t e a c h and saw children on t h e playground b u t t i n g
each other with paper horns, s o I assume t h a t t h e i d e a came a c r o s s without
my saying a word,
My f i n a l t e l e v i s i o n appearance of the s p r i n g season came with one day's
notice. They had f i n i s h e d with t h e alphabet and were now going i n t o
c h i l d r e n ' s s t o r i e s . The one f o r t h e next day was t o be "The Beauty and
t h e B e a s t Y u and of a l l t h i n g s , they wanted me t o b r i n g i n p h y s i c a l
m a t e r i a l s . This time I was r e a l l y stumped: I had l e s s than twelve hours
t o produce both a beauty and a beast. I thought t h a t t h e moderator
could be t h e beauty (she is q u i t e a t t r a c t i v e ) and t h a t I could be t h e
b e a s t , b u t t h a t sounded t o o f l i p even f o r a c h i l d r e n ' s show. I considered
t a k i n g i n my dog, whose name is Bear, and who looks very much l i k e a
b e a s t , but I a l s o discarded t h a t idea. I f i n a l l y s e t t l e d on b r i n g i n g a l l t h e
p i c t u r e s t o t h e s t u d i o which I could f i n d of t t b e a u t i e s u from c u l t u r e s
other than our own. I s e l e c t e d "beautiesf1 which t o t h e c h i l d r e n might
appear q u i t e llbeastly,lt and p i c t u r e s of ttbeastsll which looked most beaut i f u l . I looked up t h e s t o r y i n The Types of t h e F o l k t a l e ( 4 2 5 ~f o r those
o f you who a r e i n t e r e s t e d ) and noted t h e wide d i s t r i b u t i o n o f t h i s t a l e .
I went t o t h e s t a t i o n armed with a v a s t load of v i s u a l materials.
Before t o e show I was asked how long I thought my p r e s e n t a t i o n would take,
and I guessed from about f i v e t o e i g h t minutes; t h i s was f i n e with t h e
moderator. I was scheduled t o appear a t 7:45 b u t it became obvious t h a t
t h e show was "running late." A t about 7:52 I was again aslced how much time
I would need, and I made t h e same reply. A second question came back
i m - d i a t e l y : Could I b o i l it down t o a minute and a h a l f ? I thought of a l l
t h e preparation t h e day before, b u t I found myself saying I would comply
with t h e request. A s it was, I spoke f o r t h r e e and a h a l f minutes and a
cotnmercial had t o be dropped; b u t f o l l ~ l o r ewon out. I had prepared an
t
I was conscious
opening question f o r t h e moderator and t h i n g s ~ e n well.
of leaving out much of my prepared m a t e r i a l , but a t l e a s t I was i n c o n t r o l
from t h e s t a r t . A t t h e conclusion of t h e show, I s a d l y requested t h a t
I be dropped from t h e r e g u l a r scheduling due t o impending f i n a l examinations. Now t h a t t h e exams a r e over, I look forward t o g e t t i n g back
under t11e l i g h t s .
What can be learned from a l l t h i s ? My f i r s t observation is t h a t a t e l e vision s t a t i o n may consider f o l k l o r e a s u b j e c t only f o r children. Knowing t h i s i n advance may help you shape your m a t e r i a l s and s t y l e of delivery; it may h e l p you i n deciding whether t o use possibly c o n t r o v e r s i a l
items. If you can f i n d out about the policy of t h e s t a t i o n regarding
such matters, you may ask i f c e r t a i n things a r e permissible o r not.
Always t r y t o &ve the moderator a written lead-in question s o t h a t you
may s t a r t a t t h e point you d e s i r e and not be caught off zuard. Prepare
your d e l i v e r y i n advance s o t h a t you can give a longer o r s h o r t e r vers i o n a s t h e s i t u a t i o n may demand. I have found t h a t i f you a r e scheduled
toward the beginning of t h e show t h e r e tends t o be more leeway i n time
allotment; toward t h e close of the show t h e time segments always seem
t o shrink. You must t h e r e f o r e be flexible.
The more v i s u a l m a t e r i a l s you can use, t h e b e t t e r , Remember t h a t t e l e vision is more oriented toward showing than t e l l i n g . Pictures, maps,
and drawings a r e f i n e but concrete o b j e c t s i n t h e round a r e best. Forma l a t e a c e n t r a l theme with l o t s of i l l u s t r a t i o n s t o back up your b a s i c
generalization. Have a s many examples a s possible even i f t h e r e is not
enough time t o employ them a l l , The more you know about a subject, t h e
more confidence you w i l l have when you have t o s t a r e i n t o t h e l e n s of t h e
camera. It is advisable t o include some simple p r o j e c t which t h e children
can do a f t e r t h e show i s over. Use simyle m a t e r i a l s t h a t t h e children can
obtain a t home. Simplicity is t h e key, with an accent on drawing o r
making something very quickly. The age and i n t e r e s t f a c t o r is important
here. The more m e c h a n i m operation, the b e t t e r .
Finally, a word of encouragement: You w i l l be your own worst c r i t i c .
Don't be too hard on yourself if mistakes occur; probably only you w i l l
know of the e r r o r s . Present your materials a s honestly as possible and
you w i l l be successful. You w i l l a l s o have a l o t of fun and enjoy t h e
adventure. I did!