Urban Legends Essay examples

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Urban Legends and Internet Hoaxes

1. What are urban legends and internet hoaxes? (Hint: Anything underlined is a hyperlink to an informational site that will help answer questions.)
Urban legends are popular stories alleged to be true and passed from individual to individual via oral or written communication.

2. What are some of the current hoaxes? (Pick 3) Hint: look for the word "Current" in the navigation on the Urban Legends and Folklore site, and "What's New" on the Snopes site.
The 28th Amendment
Obama suffers from “emotional Breakdown”
National Kill a Pitt Bull day

3. Describe four signs or signals that tell you what you are reading may be a hoax.
1) Consider the form of the information passed along to you. Is it a narrative — a story with a beginning, middle and end? Does it feature a surprising twist and/or end with a 'punch line' reminiscent of a joke? If so, it may be an urban legend.
2) Urban legends usually toe a fine line between outlandishness and plausibility
3) Consider whether there's evidence to suggest the story you've heard is false, and/or there are commonsense reasons to disbelieve it.
4) Check books and Websites about urban legends to see if the story is listed there

4. What criteria would you use to assess whether what you are reading is real or a hoax? List five criteria.
1) Note whether the text you've received was actually written by the person who sent it
2) Look for the telltale phrase, 'Forward this to everyone you know!' The more urgent the plea, the more suspect the message.
3) Look for statements like 'This is NOT a hoax' or 'This is NOT an urban legend.' They typically mean the opposite of what they say.
4) Watch for overly emphatic language, as well as frequent use of UPPERCASE LETTERS and multiple exclamation points!!!!!!!
5) Check for references to outside

Folklore and Urban Legends Essay

.................................................................................. new media & society Copyright © 2003 SAGE Publications London, Thousand Oaks, CA and New Delhi Vol5(1):29–45 [1461–4448(200305)5:1,29–45;030902] ARTICLE Legends on the net: an examination of computermediated communication as a locus of oral culture .............................................................................................................................................................…

Words 7666 - Pages 31

Urban Legends Essay

of Cupid started to change because of the cultural belief behind the true meaning of the word love. It is understood that a number of individuals started to realize that love was an emotion and an expression within and not a force of projection. Urban and contemporary myths are represented as a formula for the creation of modern mythology, which is believed to be a form of storytelling. It is understood that a number of cultures within the past have implemented myths that have clearly became a part…

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La Llorona Urban Legend

To Begin, the urban legend I would like to write about is “La Llorona”. My understanding about this urban legend is that she is a Hispanic legend and is known as “the weeping woman” in America. I heard her story when I was a little girl about the age of 5 by my mom. My mom told me “La Llorona” drown her 2 kids in a river and she would go at night looking for her kids crying for them. The reason she drowned her 2 kids were because a man she finally thought was the “perfect guy” for her had distanced…

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Cropey: The Urban Legend Of Cropsey

the word, Cropsey represents. Cropsey as described in the Cropsey documentary is the “generic term for manic” (“Cropsey”). Cropsey is the awful human being that’s “out there, lurking in the shadows” (“Cropsey”). But of course, Cropsey must be an urban legend that has been passed down from one scared adolescent to another over time right? There isn’t really such a scary and evil individual that exists is there? Well, the film Cropsey explores the very question as to whether or not Andre Rand, an accused…

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Urban Legend Of Red Masked Woman

truth. For instance “the beast”, and “Babe Ruth”. This kind of sensationalism about folklore or legend quite similar to one Korean urban legend called “red masked woman”. This story was originally from Japan, but somehow it got wide spread when I was in elementary school. Even I strongly believed the story as real and I was so afraid of it. The folklore or legend in the movie they are relate to the urban legend “red masked woman”. In the movie, young Smalls moves to new town with his family. One day he…

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Essay about Summary 1

Legends on the Net If there is anything that has change the way we used to live and particularly the way we used to communicate, then it has to be technology. Jan Fernback discusses the computer mediated communication as a locus of oral culture. The cultural significance of urban legends who are a type of oral folklore is discussed. She points out the role of cyberspace in oral culture along with the areas like humanity and sociability. What struck me in her discussion were the numerous examples…

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The Hook Myths

Urban legends are known all over the world. Most of them are based on true stories while the rest are just myths that are used to scare people. Some of the myths teach important lessons and others just have some awkward reason not to doubt an urban legend. There’s always a story behind majority of the tales told from decades ago or most recent. Because no one knows the moral of the fables, there’s no way no one knows what they truly mean. The urban myth I chose was The Hook, which is pretty interesting…

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Supernatural Response Assignment Essay example

of an “urban legend” is that it is touted as being a true story having happened to a real person or persons but once this legend is passed from one person to another, there ends up being multiple variations. Things are added to make the legend more exciting or outlandish. With these exciting additions, it makes the story more exciting to pass around and generally ensures that the story is told from generation to generation. People are fascinated with legends and myths and urban legends provide…

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Halloween Myths

The public is too well-informed to believe in literal witches and bogeymen, but Satanists running a preschool or sickos handing out drugs at playgrounds are still considered plausible occurrences. Urban legends serve the same function of old folklore. Hansel and Gretel, for example, is a story often told to children to teach them not to stray from the path, not to trust strangers, and so on. The boy who cried wolf illustrates why you should not ruin your…

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La Llorona Research Paper

culture is their holiday Day of the Dead. The holiday focuses on family and friends gathering to pray for and remember the passing of their loved ones. They also visit the cemetery with gifts and favorite foods of the departed. Urban legends are also known in Mexico. One popular legend is “La Llorona” which is Spanish for “The Crying Woman”. The story is about a beautiful woman who murdered all her children to be with the man that she loved, only to be rejected by him in the end. She then killed…

Words 225 - Pages 1