Boots on wires: what does it mean?

In the American film “The Tail Wags the Dog,” the camera twice shows a sequence with wires on which shoes and sneakers tied with laces hang. The viewer involuntarily asks the question: what is this, who is doing it and why?

Why do shoes hang on wires and what does it mean?

Shoes hanging on wires or trees are not the prank of hooligans, as it might seem at first glance, but one of the trends of street art in the youth subculture - shufiti.

Reference! Shufiti is derived from the words shoe (footwear) and graffiti, that is, in fact, it is drawing with shoes.

I don’t think that ordinary city residents are pleased to see old shoes swinging over their heads, but the ranks of followers of the tradition of “throwing sneakers” are constantly growing.

There are several options for answering the questions: who, why and what does it mean. Let's look at some of them:

1. American soldiers, marking the end of military service. They threw in everything that was at hand.The first pair of boots hanging on the wires impressed them so much that they began to be considered a symbol and marked the beginning of a whole tradition.
2. Pupils - this is how they say goodbye to school. Shoes symbolize parting with a certain stage of life and moving to a new level. Among US high school students, this has become a cult. Traditionally, American schoolchildren are even given a tree that will be decorated with many pairs of sneakers. To be fair, we note that it will remain like this for less than a year, because next year’s graduates will also need to part with their shoes somewhere.
3. First year students – they have been admitted and are celebrating their enrollment at the university.
4. Undergraduate students – graduated from an educational institution and are happy to receive a diploma.
5. Students of different courses – arrange a “fun” life for newcomers so that they know their place.
6. Athleteswhen they cannot contain their emotions when losing or winning. When a whole team lets off steam this way, many models of sports shoes are left hanging from the wires.
7. Hooligans, because they like to go against the rules, and shoes taken from passers-by may well end up on a tree or on wires.
8. Cinema fans - just out of curiosity, to watch a live replay of a trick that has been used in a number of Hollywood films: "The Tail Wags the Dog", "Big Fish", "Freedom Writers", "Like Mike", "Everybody's Okay" , "Sexdrive". But in films, hanging shoes did not appear just for the sake of a spectacular shot, but carry a certain semantic message to the viewer.

These are the most plausible explanations for the strange tradition. But there are others that go back several decades:

• Hanging shoes indicated places where drugs were sold. The designs and colors of the boots and sneakers alerted potential buyers to the types of potions on sale. Perhaps this was the case in gangster America, but now it’s unlikely: it’s too easy for the police to spot hucksters, and they are masters of disguise.
• Boots were thrown onto the wires to cause a discharge followed by a short circuit. Disabling power lines for repairs was used to steal non-ferrous metals for sale at the relevant purchase points. What was not removed remained hanging alone. The version is so-so, probably from the reckless 90s. Even if this happened, now the shoes are thrown up for exactly that.

Who hangs boots on wires and why?

Here are a few more explanations that have a right to exist, but whether they are true or not is not known for certain:

• Abroad, they mark the place of death in the same way as we do with a wreath or flowers on the side of the road.
• African Americans mark the boundaries of the ghetto.
• And vice versa, areas where the presence of people with dark skin color is not welcome are marked with sneakers thrown on wires.
• The goalkeeper of the losing team hangs up his sneakers as a sign of his shame.
• The gangs that divided the city's territory designate the area of ​​"fishing".
• Teenagers short-circuit to admire the fireworks.

In different countries

To get rid of unnecessary shoes in this way is in the traditions of some peoples:

• Colombians are trying to use hanging shoes to heal sick children.
• Residents of Guatemala use a method to scare away a flock of bats.
• Venezuelans consider this a sign of making some profit.
• The Spaniards call for rain in times of drought.

Such “art” began to spread throughout the world from the second half of the 20th century.The pioneers of this movement are two North American countries, the USA and Canada. In the state of Nevada, until recently, there was even a huge tree with thousands of pairs of shoes left on the poplar branches by passing travelers. There are several such trees throughout the country.

In European countries - France, the Czech Republic, Germany, Great Britain, Ireland and others - there is also a whole army of fans of this art. The German town of Flensburg even donated one of its streets to express youth creativity through shoes.

In Australia and New Zealand, annual shoe-throwing championships are held. This tradition has not bypassed some CIS countries - Ukraine, Belarus.

In Russia - in Moscow and St. Petersburg, Voronezh and Novosibirsk, in Khabarovsk and Smolensk, in Kaluga and Saratov, Rostov and Orel, Tyumen and Nizhny Tagil - islands of shufiti have already appeared and its spread continues.

There are blogs and groups on the Internet dedicated to boot-throwing techniques and “reports” on the work done. The “arts” are photographed and posted for public viewing. Clusters of tattered and not-so-worn sneakers and boots are moving along wires inland. A dubious decoration of cities, isn't it?