Folk and Popular Culture Chapter 4 Folk and Popular Culture

Culture combines three things: values, material artifacts, and political institutions. Habit vs. Custom Folk culture: practiced by small, homogenous groups living in an isolated rural area. Popular culture: Large, heterogeneous societies that share certain habits despite differences in other personal characteristics.

Where Do Folk and Popular Cultures Originate and Diffuse? Origin of Folk and Popular Cultures Origin of Folk Music Folk songs are composed anonymously and transmitted orally. Probably well before 2697 b.c.

Where Do Folk and Popular Cultures Originate and Diffuse? Origin of Folk and Popular Cultures B. Origin of Popular Music 1. Originated around 1900. 2. Made for money and to be reproduced. 3. Many eras of popular music: vaudeville, tinpan alley, swing, rock and roll, rap

Where Do Folk and Popular Cultures Originate and Diffuse? II. Diffusion of Folk and Popular Cultures A. The Amish: Relocation Diffusion of Folk Culture 1. Amish are unique 2. roughly 80,000 in the U.S. 3. History of the Amish a. started in the 1600s in Bern, Switz. b. Migrated to U.S. in early 1700s and early 1800s c. Have retained their culture, even when other groups did not.

Where Do Folk and Popular Cultures Originate and Diffuse? II. Diffusion of Folk and Popular Cultures B. Sports: Hierarchical Diffusion of Popular Culture 1. Folk culture origin of soccer a. world’s most popular sport b. “Kick the Dane’s Head” c. Early mob activity d. Outlawed in England from 1100s to 1603.

Where Do Folk and Popular Cultures Originate and Diffuse? II. Diffusion of Folk and Popular Cultures B. Sports: Hierarchical Diffusion of Popular Culture 2. Globalization of Soccer a. Created in England in the 1800s b. British people diffused the sport around the world. c. Soccer led to the creation of American Football.

Where Do Folk and Popular Cultures Originate and Diffuse? II. Diffusion of Folk and Popular Cultures B. Sports: Hierarchical Diffusion of Popular Culture 3. Sports in popular culture a. each country has its sport b. Iroquois created lacrosse c. Competitions in sport are now world wide: Olympics, World Cup Soccer, Baseball classic, etc.

Why is Folk Culture Clustered? Isolation promotes Cultural Diversity Himalayan Art Tibetan Buddhists in the north, Hindus in the south, Muslims in the west, and Southeast Asian animists in the east. Each group has its own style and focus of art. 3. Each group is influenced by its cultural institutions.

Why is Folk Culture Clustered? II. Influence of the Physical Environment * Physical environment affects customs. * Cold climates vs. Warm climates * Food and shelter are cultural.

Why is Folk Culture Clustered? II. Influence of the Physical Environment A. Distinctive Food Preferences 1. Paying attention to the environment a. food comes from environment b. Italian vs. Northern Europe c. Terrior – effect of local environment on a food item. d. Bostan farmers in Istanbul, Turkey

Why is Folk Culture Clustered? II. Influence of the Physical Environment 2. Food Diversity in Transylvania a. Food habits are influenced by culture b. Many different groups in Transylvania c. Have many different ideas about how to make food.

Why is Folk Culture Clustered? II. Influence of the Physical Environment 3. Food Attractions and Taboos a. Social customs determine what foods one will eat or not eat and why. b. food taboos are religious, for safety, and for social values.

Why is Folk Culture Clustered? II. Influence of the Physical Environment B. Folk Housing 1. Distinctive Building Materials. a. Most common wood and brick b. Other materials? c. What people make their houses from is determined by social factors and what is available in the environment.

Why is Folk Culture Clustered? II. Influence of the Physical Environment 2. Distinctive House form and Orientation a. Society determines what parts are in a house. b. Different groups have different beliefs about significant parts of a house. (walls, corners, front doors, etc.) c. Society even determines where and how someone may sleep.

Why is Folk Culture Clustered? II. Influence of the Physical Environment 3. Housing and Environment a. How a house is shaped is determined by environment and social conditions. b. even in similar climates, houses can have different shapes and designs.

Why is Folk Culture Clustered? II. Influence of the Physical Environment C. U.S. Folk House Forms 1. People moved across the U.S. and brought their house styles with them. 2. New England style spread across the Northeast. 3. The “I” house in the mid-west 4. Today, housing distinctions are not as clear.

Why is Popular Culture Widely Distributed? Diffusion of popular housing, clothing, and food. Popular housing styles Modern house styles (1945-1960) Minimal traditional Ranch house Split-level house Contemporary style

Why is Popular Culture Widely Distributed? Diffusion of popular housing, clothing, and food. 2. Neo-Eclectic House Styles (since 1960) a. Mansard b. Neo-Tudor c. Neo-French d. Neo-Colonial

Why is Popular Culture Widely Distributed? Diffusion of popular housing, clothing, and food. B. Rapid diffusion of Clothing Styles * In the West, Occupations dictate clothing more than environment. * Income also affects clothing style * Culture can spread quickly. * Other styles of dress influence More Developed Countries.

Why is Popular Culture Widely Distributed? Diffusion of popular housing, clothing, and food. Jeans Seen as youthful in the U.S. Globalization has made them popular Can cost a lot of money elsewhere in the world Most popular brand is Levi Strauss

Why is Popular Culture Widely Distributed? Diffusion of popular housing, clothing, and food. 2. Wine production a. soil, climate, and environment affect the flavor of grapes. b. Best to grow grapes in temperate climates, on a hill side, with coarse soil. c. wine gets identified by region, year, and grape. d. Only the best regions for wine production produce wines.

Why is Popular Culture Widely Distributed? II. Role of Television in Diffusing Popular Culture A. Diffusion of Television 1. television diffused from the U.S. to Europe then to LDCs. 2. first in the U.S. in the 1930s. 50 million t.v.s in the U.S. by 1959. 3. In 1970 half the countries of the world had little if any television broadcasting. 4. by 2000 most LDCs had a large ownership rate of television.

Why is Popular Culture Widely Distributed? II. Role of Television in Diffusing Popular Culture B. Diffusion of the Internet 1. 1995 40 million internet users worldwide. 2. 2000 400 million internet users worldwide. 3. 2004 880 million internet users worldwide. 4. fifty years for the television to diffuse around the world. The internet has only taken a decade.

Why is Popular Culture Widely Distributed? II. Role of Television in Diffusing Popular Culture C. Government Control of Television 1. In the U.S. Commercial channels get licenses from the government. 2. In other places television is a mixture of public corporations and public-private ownership. 3. In communist countries the government controls the television and the information that the public sees.

Why is Popular Culture Widely Distributed? II. Role of Television in Diffusing Popular Culture D. Reduced Government Control 1. 1984 by George Orwell – television could control what happens in people’s daily lives. 2. Many countries have outlawed satellite dishes because they open a society to other points of view. 3. the satellite dish was partially responsible for the fall of communist Europe.

Why Does Globalization of Popular Culture Cause Problems? Threat to Folk Culture Loss of traditional values Clothing – Rural vs. Urban Business suit is worldwide Fundamentalist Muslims favor traditional clothes for men and women. Iran and the “Blue Jean” vote.

Why Does Globalization of Popular Culture Cause Problems? Threat to Folk Culture B. Change in traditional role of women 1. Women are no longer traditionally bound to the house. 2. The Taliban was especially harsh toward women. 3. Good stuff – More opportunities for women worldwide. 4. Bad stuff – Increased prostitution. Often encouraged as a source of currency.

Why Does Globalization of Popular Culture Cause Problems? Threat to Folk Culture C. Threat of Foreign Media Imperialism 1. The U.S., U.K., and Japan influence television around the world. 2. People from other areas view this as a new form of spreading those cultures around parts of the world. 3. Countries around the world may block satellite channels or not show certain shows.

Why Does Globalization of Popular Culture Cause Problems? Threat to Folk Culture D. Western Control of News Media 1. AP and Reuters cover most news. 2. Most governments around the world control the news media. 3. many countries in Africa and Asia criticize the western idea of freedom of the press.

Why Does Globalization of Popular Culture Cause Problems? II. Environmental Impact of Popular Culture B. Uniform Landscapes 1. Fast-Food Restaurants. a. franchise b. immediately recognizable c. Newcomers to an area immediately know what to expect. d. recognize the purpose of the building.

Why Does Globalization of Popular Culture Cause Problems? II. Environmental Impact of Popular Culture B. Uniform Landscapes 2. Global diffusion of Uniform Landscapes a. U.S. culture has diffused to other parts of the world. b. most people who visit McDonald’s in Moscow are Russian who want to know about Western Culture. c. Cars from Japan are another example of global diffusion of uniform landscapes.

Why Does Globalization of Popular Culture Cause Problems? II. Environmental Impact of Popular Culture C. Negative Environmental Impact 1. Increased demand for natural resources a. animal skins b. Meat consumption by humans c. Grain consumption by animals rather than humans.

Why Does Globalization of Popular Culture Cause Problems? II. Environmental Impact of Popular Culture C. Negative Environmental Impact 2. Pollution a. Trash – Most discarded not recycled b. Folk cultures also harm the environment. (over hunting, burning grasslands, etc.) c. We can create widespread environmental damage and control it.

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