Bumper Sticker Slogans and Five Functions of Folklore
MILLI FOLKLOR, vol.2018, no.118, pp.49-62, 2018 (AHCI)
- Publication Type: Article / Article
- Volume: 2018 Issue: 118
- Publication Date: 2018
- Journal Name: MILLI FOLKLOR
- Journal Indexes: Arts and Humanities Citation Index (AHCI), Scopus, TR DİZİN (ULAKBİM)
- Page Numbers: pp.49-62
- Keywords: Bumper sticker slogans, car stickers, functions of folklore, protest function of folklore, automobile folklore
- Akdeniz University Affiliated: Yes
Abstract
Bumper sticker slogans and the words written behind cars are the places for reflecting a public itself and its culture. For this reason, they have many producers, writers, readers, compilers, and fans. These writings were considered as a communication tool among individuals while evaluated in terms of social psychology. Bumper stickers and the words written behind the cars which generally named as automobile folklore, automobile literature, and road literature and regarded as a part of arabesque and popular culture have been a topic for books, movies, and essays. These stickers and words which draw the attention of many scientists as a folkloric phenomenon mention many topics such as global warming, economic-judicial problems, personal feelings, thoughts and experiences to religious beliefs, customs and traditions, and the speeches of politicians, celebrities, and artists. But they have not analysed in terms of their functions yet. This study aims to categorize the writings in terms of their topic and discuss them within the five function of folklore. The context-based functionalist theory is among the most frequently used theories in folklore studies. William R. Bascom who set a model about the functions of folklore argued that folklore serves four primary functions. Ilhan Basgoz added a new function called as 'protest' to these four functions. This study analysed the words behind the cars in the light of Basgoz's protest function along with Bascom' four primary functions.