Most of us, if asked to describe just what it is that the study of folklore involves, would probably end up talking about the preservation of relics and traditions of a bygone era as exemplified in something like the recording of old-timey songs and stories collected from the mountain folk of Appalachia. Although such a description does, it is true, go a long way toward defining the domain of the folklorist, it is apt to have the unfortunate result of blinding us to a whole body of bonafide folklore which is reflected almost daily in our urban, industrialized, mass media-oriented society.

As a matter of fact, one of the most prominent types ...