Fashions, Fads, Crazes & Urban Legends
Fashion: Something that is “in style” for a long period of time.
Examples: Blue jeans, t-shirts, tennis shoes, “little
black dress”
Fad: Popular for a shorter period of time than fashion.
Examples: Hula-hoops, pro-wrestling, mood rings, Pokemon,
Cabbage Patch Kids, Harry Potter, Pet Rocks,
swallowing live goldfish, Beanie Babies, crowding into telephone
booths, eating lightbulbs
Craze: Even shorter lived in duration than a fad. Everyone does
whatever for a while and then all of a sudden no one
engages in the behavior anymore.
Examples: Tickle-me Elmo, streaking, Mohawk haircuts
Urban Legends
Urban legends: stories that teach a lesson and seem realistic but are
untrue. These stories seem realistic because they are said to have
happened to someone known to the storyteller.
Ex. “The Boyfriend’s Death” - Tells the story of a boy and his date
who park their car off a particular road by a motel. After spending
some time there, the girl tells the boyfriend that she needs to go
home. However, the car will not start. After telling the girl to lock
herself in the car, the boy starts out on foot for the motel, where he
plans to call for help. Much time goes by, but the boy does not
return. Eventually, the girl hears a scratching noise on the roof of
the car. Too afraid to investigate the sound, she stays in the car all
night long. At daylight, some people come by and help the girl out
of the car. She looks up to find that her boyfriend is hanging from
the tree and that his shoes have been scraping the roof of the car.
This story is the origin of the road’s name – “Hangman’s Road.”
Disney urban legends: Aladdin -“do you want to sleep with me”
Lion King – S E X spelled out in the dust
Little Mermaid – minister is excited
Other urban legends
Wizard of Oz – person hanging himself
play “Dark side of the Moon” by
Pink Floyd
music goes along with the movie perfectly (repeat
album over until end if movie