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Transcript of Folk and Popular Culture Chapter 4 Objective: Compare and contrast the origin and diffusion of folk...
Folk and Popular Culture
Chapter 4
Objective: Compare and contrast the origin and diffusion of folk and popular cultures
Folk and Popular Culture
Woman with Oxcart, Myanmar
Insanely Rad Scot, with Kilt and Three-Fin Thruster
The Forbidden CityBeijing, China
2004
Beijing, China2004
“Where do folk and popular cultures originate and diffuse?” Folk Culture – traditionally practiced by a small,
homogeneous, rural group living in relative isolation.
Popular Culture – found in a large, heterogeneous society that shares certain habits despite differences in personal characteristics.
Polish folk culture Simpsons – TV Pop. Culture
Material Culture
The physical objects produced by a culture in order to meet its material needs: food, clothing, shelter, arts, and recreation.
Custom – frequent repetition of an act until it becomes characteristic of a group of people
Habit – repetitive act performed by an individual.
Taboo – a restriction on behavior imposed by social custom
Folk Culture – rapidly changing and/or disappearing throughout much of the
world.
Turkish Camel Market
Portuguese Fishing Boat
Guatemalan Market
anonymous origins, diffuses slowly through migration. Develops over time.
Stable and close knit Usually a rural community
Folk Culture – Where?
Popular Culture – Where?Often product of advances in
industrial technology and increased leisure time
Originates in more developed countries
Diffuses to other MDC as well as less developed countries
Folk Culture - DiffusionRelocation DiffusionMainly through the movement or
migration of the people themselves
Popular CultureHierarchical diffusionTypically from a hearth or node of
innovationEx: Hollywood, California for the
film industry
The Communist Party…
…Loves popular culture…
Why is folk culture clustered?
Previously uncontacted tribe in Amazon jungle, found in 2011
North American Folk Culture Regions
Tradition controls Resistance to changeClustered distributions:
isolation/lack of interaction breed uniqueness
Influence of the physical environment – can be seen in food and shelter choices
Folk Culture
Folk ArchitectureBuildings erected without
architect or blueprint using locally available building materials
Effects on Landscape: usually of limited scale and scope.
FOLK ARCHITECTURE
Agricultural: fields, terraces, grain storage
Dwellings: wood, brick, stone, skins; often uniquely and traditionally arranged
FOLK ARCHITECTURE
Hog Production and Food Cultures
Fig. 4-6: Annual hog production is influenced by religious taboos against pork consumption in Islam and other religions. The highest production is in China, which is largely Buddhist.
Food Taboos: Jews – can’t eat animals that chew cud, that have cloven feet; can’t mix meat and milk, or eat fish lacking fins or scales; Muslims – no pork; Hindus – no cows (used for oxen during monsoon)
Washing Cow in Ganges
Why is popular culture widely distributed?
Objective: Explain the process and the extent of the diffusion of different elements of popular culture
Popular Culture
Wide Distribution: Variances in pop. culture are more in time than in place.
Rapid diffusion requires high level of economic development to acquire the “products” of pop. culture.
Popular Culture
Clothing: Jeans, for example, have become valuable status symbols in many regions including Asia and Russia despite longstanding folk traditions.
Methods of DiffusionTechnology makes widespread
exposure possible, and quickerTV and Internet are instrumental in
spreading items of pop. culture, especially fashion
David Beckham
Diffusion of TV, 1954–1999
Television has diffused widely since the 1950s, but some areas still have low numbers of TVs per population.
Much media is still state-controlled.
Ten Most Censored Countries:1. North Korea2. Myanmar (Burma)3. Turkmenistan4. Equatorial Guinea5. Libya6. Eritrea7. Cuba8. Uzbekistan9. Syria10. BelarusSource: The Committee to Protect
Journalists. www.cpj.org.
Internet Connections
The Internet is diffusing today, but access varies widely. Some countries censor the Internet, but this is much harder to do.
FoodFranchises, cargo planes,
superhighways and freezer trucks have eliminated much local variation
National advertising reaches large audiences
HousingOnly small regional variations,
more generally there are trends over time
U.S. House Types by Region
Small towns in different regions of the eastern U.S. have different combinations of five main traditional house types.
Why does globalization of popular culture cause problems?
Objective: Explain the impact of globalization on folk and popular cultures
Popular Culture
Effects on Landscape: creates homogenous, “placeless,” landscape
· Complex network of roads and highways
· Commercial Structures tend towards ‘boxes’
· Dwellings may be aesthetically suggestive of older folk traditions
· Planned and Gated Communities more and more common
Progress?
Surfing at Disney’s Orlando Typhoon LagoonAre places still tied to local landscapes?
Disconnect with landscape: indoor swimming pools? desert surfing?
Swimming Pool, West Edmonton Mall, Canada
Dubai’s Indoor Ski Resort
Muslim Women in Traditional Dress at Indoor Ski Resort
Problems with the Globalization of Culture
Often Destroys Folk Culture – or preserves traditions as museum pieces or tourism gimmicks.
· Mexican Mariachis; Polynesian Navigators; Cruise Line Simulations
· Change in Traditional Roles and Values
Satellite Television, Baja California
Western Media Imperialism?· U.S., Britain, and Japan dominate
worldwide media.· Glorified consumerism, violence,
sexuality in media· U.S. (Networks and CNN) and British
(BBC) news media provide/control the dissemination of information worldwide.
· These networks are unlikely to focus on or provide third world perspective on issues important in the LDCs.
Environmental Problems with Cultural Globalization
-Accelerated Resource Use through Accelerated Consumption Furs: minx, lynx, jaguar, kangaroo, whale, sea otters (18th
Century Russians) fed early fashion trends. Consumerism evident in most Western Media fashions, including
hip hop and rock and roll. Inefficient over-consumption of Meats, Poultry, even Fish by
meat-eating pop cultures· Mineral Extraction for Machines, Plastics and Fuel· New larger housing desires and associated energy and water
use.· Golf courses use valuable water and destroy habitat worldwide.
Pollution: waste from fuel generation and discarded products, plastics, marketing and packaging materials
Cattle Feed lots – function of corporations needing massive quantities of cheap beef, ex: McDonalds
Beijing, China
Palm Springs, CA
Using water resources for the green grass of golf courses
Marlboro Man in Egypt
Fiji – popular culture has spread to the Pacific Islands
Suburban Sprawl, Arizona
Progress? – Urban Sprawl in Tokyo