Topic: Rites of passage
Sources: Hey Arnold!
(the television show) and information acquired from my African Storytelling
class here at HSU.
Relation: In our ANTHRO textbook, the incorporation phase of
rites of passage is described by Arnold van Gennep as the transfer of a person
from one social group to another (Robbins, 139). There are a lot of rites of passage for
American children that are supposed to incorporate them into society. These rites serve to introduce them to the
values and norms of the culture and society.
Hey Arnold! is a cartoon show
that shows various rites of passage in its episodes and the character of Gerald
is the one who initiates these rites.
Description: One day last week while I was feeling
nostalgic, I decided to watch some Hey
Arnold! on netflix. I watched an
episode called The List and I suddenly realized that the character of Gerald is
very similar to a traditional west African griot. The reason this is important is because the
griot is the one who initiates people into the society through the sharing of
sacred knowledge in the form of stories.
Listening to these stories is a rite of passage. The list in the episode is the list of things
for a kid to do in order to have the perfect Saturday. When Arnold wants to attempt the list, it is
Gerald who stands up and reads the list for the other children around. Other times during the show, Gerald is
referred to as a keeper of this or another tale and he is always the one who
holds the sacred knowledge that will incorporate the various children in the
neighborhood into society as they know it.
Many typical childhood rites of
passage are depicted in Hey Arnold!
such as sleepovers, camping, playing hookie, school plays, etc. All of these are used to teach something
about culture whether it is camaraderie, survival, or teamwork.
Commentary/Analysis: The griot is a very important character
in west African history and spreads his knowledge of the culture through
traditional storytelling. As such, the
griot is also the person who often initiates people into the society through
different rites of passage. In the tv
show Hey Arnold!, Gerald acts as a
griot and guides his fellow classmates into their rites of passage to become
part of the larger society. Because the
rites of passage in the show are similar to those found in our culture, Hey Arnold! is a source of cultural
knowledge and I might say that watching it was a sort of rite of passage for
any 90s kid.
I loved your connection of Hey Arnold! (fantastic show! haha) with what you've learned in the African Storytelling class. That's a great use of cultural comparison that I never would have know about. I definitely agree that watching Hey Arnold! was a rite of passage for 90s kids, as with any show on nickelodeon at the time! Thanks for the awesome post!
ReplyDelete