Title: Chapter 4.1: Where do folk/popular cultures originate?
1Chapter 4.1 Where do folk/popular cultures
originate?
2Origin of Folk and Pop Culture
- Folk customs often come from anonymous hearths at
unknown times while pop culture typically comes
from more developed countries (pop music, pizza) - Origin of Folk Music
- According to Chinese legend, music was invented
in 2697 BC - In reality, folk songs are usually created
anonymously and are transmitted orally - Can change from generation to generation, usually
shaped by daily events - Often tell stories about farming, life-cycle
events (birth, death, marriage), or mysterious
events such as storms or earthquakes - Can occur independently in multiple hearths
example country music
3Origin of Country Music
Fig. 4-1 U.S. country music has four main
hearths, or regions of origin southern
Appalachia, central Tennessee and Kentucky, the
Ozark-Ouachita uplands, and north-central Texas.
4- Origin of Pop Music
- Written by specific people with the intent of
selling to a large number of people - Originated around 1900 in New York, neighborhood
becomes known as Tin Pan Alley - During WWII the Armed Forces Radio Network
broadcasts music worldwide - Hip hop originated in the 1970s in the South
Bronx, does not spread until the late 1980s
5A Mental Map of Hip Hop
Fig. 4-3 This mental map places major hip hop
performers near other similar performers and in
the portion of the country where they performed.
6Diffusion of Folk and Pop Culture
- The spread of pop culture typically follows a
pattern of hierarchical diffusion - Nodes in the US include Hollywood (film), Madison
Ave (advertising) - Pop culture spreads rapidly through modern
communication and transportation - Folk culture is spread much more slowly and on a
smaller scale - Usually through migration rather than
electronically (relocation diffusion)
7- The Amish Relocation Diffusion of Folk Culture
- The Amish have distinctive clothing, farming,
religious practices, and other customs - They shun mechanical and electrical power
- Diffused by moving to Pennsylvania and then Ohio,
Indiana, Iowa - Now moving to Kentucky for farmland
8Amish Settlements in the U.S.
Fig. 4-4 Amish settlements are distributed
through the northeast U.S.
9- Sports Hierarchical Diffusion of Pop Culture
- Soccer originated in England during the early
1000s - Increased leisure time in the 1800s allowed it
to spread across England and later to colonies - Sports have become a huge part of popular culture
10Chapter 4.2 Why is Folk Culture Clustered?
11Isolation Promotes Cultural Diversity
- A groups unique folk customs develop through
centuries of relative isolation from customs of
other cultural groups. - Folk customs observed at a point in time vary
widely from one place to another, even in nearby
places - Himalayan Art
- Four cultural groups near each other but isolated
(Buddhists, Islam, Hindu, Animists) - In spite of proximity, each has different
religions and very different depictions of things
such as climate, landforms and vegetation
12Himalayan Folk Cultural Regions
Fig. 4-5 Cultural geographers have identified
four distinct culture regions based on
predominant religions in the Himalaya Mountains.
13Influence of the Physical Environment
- People respond to and adapt to the physical
environment, but it is only one of several
influences over social customs - Customs such as food, clothing and shelter are
clearly influenced by climate - Folk societies are very responsive to the
environment due to relatively low technology and
prevalence of an agricultural economy - Food and shelter illustrate the influence of
cultural values and the environment on the unique
development of folk culture
14- Food preferences
- People adapt their food preferences to conditions
the environment - Climate, rainfall, lack of fuel (uncooked
soybeans) - Transylvania- Jews, Armenians, Hungarians all
have their own soup preferences in spite of
modern pop culture erases folk differences
15- Food Attractions and Taboos
- Some foods are eaten because their natural
properties are believed to increase strength,
fierceness, intellect or even lovemaking ability
(jaguars, bulls, mandrake) - Some people refuse to eat certain plants or
animals that are thought to have negative
properties. These restrictions imposed by social
customs are known as taboos - Europeans once resisted the potato, pregnant
women in Chad wont eat chicken, the Bible
restricts fish lacking fins, Muslims-pork,
Hindus-cows - Even in pop-culture countries there are taboos
(US Insects)
16Hog 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.
17- Folk Housing
- Housing is a product of cultural tradition and
natural conditions - Choice of building materials is largely
influenced by the environment - Two most common building materials in world wood
and brick - The form and orientation of the house depends on
culture (i.e. Madagascar) - Climate is also a big influence on housing design
18Chapter 4.3 Why is Pop Culture Widely
Distributed?
19Diffusion of Popular Housing, Clothing, and Food
- There are some regional differences, but in
modern MDCs there are fewer and fewer
differences - Popular Housing Styles
- US houses built since 1940 illustrate how popular
customs vary over time rather than place - 1940 Minimal Traditional homes were one story
with few decorative details. Small, modest homes
designed for returning WWII vets
20- 1950s-60s Ranch Style homes are one story and
spread over a large lot, reflect urban sprawl - 1950s-70s Split Level homes add the addition
of the Family Room for TV watching - 1960s-Today Replaces the large family room
into separate family rooms and living rooms
21- Rapid Diffusion of Clothing Styles
- Clothing habits show how popular culture is
distributed with little regard for physical
features - Clothing depends more on availability of income
and job characteristics - In North America and W. Europe people dress for
their professions (White collar v. Blue collar) - Womens fashion changes yearly, it takes income
to keep up - Communication has also permitted quick diffusion
of clothing (runways of Europe to America) - Improved travel has exposed the world to more
folk clothes, and many groups continue to dress
this way to attract tourism
22- Jeans
- The most visible symbol of Western pop culture
- Although globalized, there are some local
variations (button fly vs. zipper) - Jeans were an obsession and status symbol in
communist Soviet Union
23- Popular Food Customs
- Also depends on the availability of wealth
- Consumption of alcoholic beverages and snack
foods are characteristics of pop food culture - There are regional preferences of alcohol and
religion also influences choices - Research shows that choices are influenced more
by income and national advertising - Environment can play a role in distribution of
popular culture as well as folk - Wine production works best in temperate regions
and on hillsides as well as near a lake or river
24Wine Production per Year
Fig. 4-13 The distribution of wine production
shows the joint impact of the physical
environment and social customs.
25Alcohol Preferences in the U.S.
Fig. 4-12 Per capita consumption of rum (top)
and Canadian whiskey (bottom) show different
distributions and histories of diffusion.
26Role of Television in Diffusing Popular Culture
- A significant popular custom for two reasons
- Most popular leisure activity in more developed
countries throughout the world - Most important mechanism for the diffusion of
popular culture (such as pro sports) - Diffusion of Television
- First viewed in the US in 1930s but slowed by
WWII - By 1959 the number grows to 50 million homes with
TVs - Spread around the world during the 60s
27- Today the level of TV services falls into four
categories - Nearly every home owns a TV (US, Japan)
- Ownership is common but not universal (Latin
America, Romania) - TV exists but is not widely diffused due to cost
(some Asian, African) - Very few to none (30 countries in Asia, Africa)
- During the rule of the Taliban, watching TV was
punishable with jail time
28Diffusion of TV, 19541999
Fig. 4-14 Television has diffused widely since
the 1950s, but some areas still have low numbers
of TVs per population.
29- Government Control of TV
- In the US most TV stations are owned by private
corporations which receive licenses from the
government - In most of the world TV stations are controlled
by the government to limit speech against them - With the spread of satellite technology
governments are not able to control TV as much - As satellite dishes get smaller they are even
easier to hide from the government
30Chapter 4.4 Problems with Globalization of Pop
Culture
31- International diffusion of popular culture has
created two problems - It threatens the survival of traditional folk
culture in many countries - It is less responsive to the diversity of local
environments and create adverse environmental
impacts
32Threat to Folk Culture
- Rising income can fuel demand for possessions
typical of pop culture - When people turn from folk to pop culture they
often abandon their societys traditional values
33- Loss of values
- One example of this struggle is clothing
- Developing countries are often replacing
traditional clothes with more western styles - The Western business suit has been adopted by
businessmen and government officials around the
world - In the middle east there is a struggle between
those who are adopting Western clothes and those
who wish to retain traditional styles of dress
(men and women)
34- Change in Traditional Role of Women
- Diffusion of pop culture threatens the
subservience of women to men that is in most folk
cultures - Limited to housework- cooking, cleaning, child
rearing - The Taliban violently opposed changes in womens
role, punishable by death
35- Low levels of education and high rates of
violence have held women back in some of these
countries - In MDCs women have found much more equality
- Increased interaction between LDCs and MDCs has
led to increases in prostitution in LDCs which
highly encourage it to bring in money
36- Threat of Foreign Media Imperialism
- Leaders of some LDCs view the popular media as a
threat to their independence (news and TV) - The US, Japan and Britain dominate the television
industry in LDCs - American beliefs such as social mobility, rights
for women and stylized violence may conflict with
or drive out traditional values - LDCs believe that western control of news media
leads to a western slant on news
37Environmental Impact of Pop Culture
- Popular culture is less likely than folk culture
to be distributed with consideration of physical
features - Modifying nature
- Popular culture is often imposed on the
environment, rather than springing from it - For many popular customs, the environment is
something that must be modified to enhance
leisure activities or promote sales of products
38- Diffusion of golf
- Golf has become a very popular sport across
America - They are designed partially in response to local
conditions (grass, existing trees) - But often the environment must be remade
dramatically to build the courses (raising or
lowing hills, digging ponds, cutting grass)
39Golf Courses in Metropolitan Areas
Fig. 4-16 The 50 best-served and worst-served
metropolitan areas in terms of golf holes per
capita, and areas that are above and below
average.
40- Uniform Landscapes
- Distribution of pop culture has led to much more
uniform landscapes - Fast food restaurants
- Usually organized as franchises, sell logo and
menu to local business people - Cheap, quick food as well as a social outlet for
teenagers are some of the appeals - Have spread all over the world and are readily
identifiable by their signs and architecture - Gas stations, supermarkets, and motels are also
similar examples
41- Global Diffusion of Uniform Landscapes
- Fast food has spread globally, originally to
attract American business people but also to
satisfy local curiosity of locals who have seen
it on TV - Not confined to US products, Japanese cars and
electronics have spread the same way
42- Negative Environmental Impact
- Diffusion of pop culture can impact environmental
quality in two ways depletion of natural
resources and pollution - Demand for natural resources
- Pop customs often require minerals for production
of goods, petroleum for energy, even animals for
certain fashions - Increased demand for products can strain the
capacity of the environment (oil, wood, etc.) - Pollution
- Popular culture generates a great deal of
pollution (solid, liquid, and gas) - Often products are discarded rather than re-used
or recycled (throw away society)