Emily Sragg: An Analysis Of The Ethnography Of Emily Stagg

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Ethnography of Emily Stagg Every year in the early summer, hundreds of students in grades 3 through 8 travel to Washington DC to participate in the Scripps National Spelling Bee. These kids have been prepping for this event for months and months, practicing day and night to spell every word perfectly. This national event, which takes place in the Grand Hyatt Hotel in Washington DC, is televised annually with around one million viewers. The 2002 Oscar nominated film Spellbound follows eight students on their journey to the spelling bee final competition. One of these contestants is Emily Stagg, third time finalist who hopes to with the title of National Spelling Bee Champion. Join me as I follow her journey. Emily Stagg reigns from the town …show more content…

She admits she is nervous because “there’s so much luck in it you can’t not be nervous.” In fact, she is so nervous that she and her mom though it was a better idea to study instead of sightseeing. When it comes time to start the Bee, Emily walks down to the microphone in a National Spelling Bee T-shirt and her brown hair in a ponytail. She spells her words perfectly in the first three rounds. In round 4, the pronouncer announces her word. “Kookaburra,” he says. The camera pans to her moms face, and then back to Emily. Emily’s mom does not know if Emily knows the word, and Emily can see the “pain in her face.” Emily proceeds to spell the word, and does it correctly. The audience bursts in applause, and her mom is relieved. In the interview after this round, her mom exclaims, “I just died! I just died! I had no clue!” “You can know every single word except one in a round and not win,” Emily says, regarding her nerves. She and her mom then agree to go eat lunch, their “first meal of the day.” When they return for the ESPN round, Emily is ready to go. She correctly spells the word “viand,” but first makes sure it is the word she is thinking of by asking if it is of French origin. “Apocope” is her next word. After repeating the word a couple times, she spells the word accurately. The leader announces that there are now only 17 spellers left for the next round, and Emily’s face shows a very surprised

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