AMST
There are very many differences between folk culture and the popular culture, based on the type of lives that people lead. Folk culture is a type of life which entails the traditions of a certain people. For instance, deer hunting is a type of folk culture which has been passed from one generation to another (George et al, n.p). This therefore makes most people particularly the old, to embrace it, and to live by it. On the other hand, popular culture is the belief that people have, and it is not consequently based on civilised experiences, but on the actions that people believe in. A good example is when people believe that deer hunting is a ritual, which should always be carried out.
The author argues that the function of the hunting lore for men is to bring them together in a different world from the normal world, and making them to enrich their minds through undertaking tasks which they do not undertake on a daily basis. This consequently means that hunting brings people from the real world into the wild, where they meet and discuss the current rituals that they are supposed to undertake (George, n.p). In so doing, it makes men to be able to understand what it is they are supposed to in order to avoid any obstacles that they are likely to face in the world.
The main function of the fraternity ritual which is depicted in the salamanders is to compare the genders of different people. In this ritual, both ladies and gentlemen take part swallowing the salamanders immersed in beer while they are still alive (Simon, 13). Whoever gets to swallow most salamanders becomes the winner. Even though the ritual seem to be awful, if a man is able to swallow most salamanders, then it means that mean are stronger as compared to women and vice versa. The ritual therefore shows the strength between men and women depending on whoever swallows most salamanders.
Work Cited
George H, Marie H, Tom K, & Kenneth Thigpen. Salamanders: A Night at the Phi Delt House. http://www.folkstreams.net/film,113. 1982.
George H, Kenneth T. Buck Season at Bear Meadows Sunset. http://www.folkstreams.net/film,100. 1984.
Simon J. Bronner. “This Is Why We Hunt” Social-Psychological Meanings of the Traditions and Rituals of Deer Camp: Western Folkore; winter 2004. Print.
