Folk and Popular Culture
Folk and Popular Culture
Threat to Folk Culture:
Rising incomes often fuel
demand for popular
culture possessions
Turning to popular culture
may cause a shift away
from a society’s traditional
values
May lead to the dominance
of Western perspectives
Folk and Popular Culture
In clothing, the Western business suit has been associated
with business success and social status
-has become the ‘world uniform’ for business execs
Brazil
South Korea
Folk and Popular Culture
In the Middle East, rulers who wear business suits show
that they are trying to form closer relations with the U.S.
and Western European countries
Saudi Arabia delegates at UN
Folk and Popular Culture
Fundamentalist Muslim
leaders oppose widespread
adoption of Western clothes
-urban women are
encouraged to wear a
chadors (is a combination
head covering and veil)
Folk and Popular Culture
1997 Iranian Presidential Election:
Ali Akbar Nateq-Nauri favored banning
Western culture
-supported by religious and military
leaders
Mohammad Khatami favored
a more tolerant attitude toward
Western cultural influences
-supported by the
young people
Khatami won
Folk and Popular Culture
The spread of popular culture threatens the subservient role
of women to men that is found in many folk cultures
Taliban Afghanistan (late 1990s):
-women were prohibited from attending school, working
outside the home, seeking health care (including during
child birth), and from driving a car
-the women could only leave the home if fully covered by
clothing and escorted by a male relative
-women who did not follow these rules were often beaten,
shot, or stoned to death
Folk and Popular Culture
MDCs have created opportunities for women to have
economic and social opportunities outside of the home
Taliban slide show: (from http://www.phrusa.org/campaigns/afghanistan/af_phgl.htm)
A young girl, pushing
her paraplegic and blind
father on the streets of
Kabul, begs for money.
The father lost his legs
and vision in a landmine
accident a few years ago.
Her mother could not
work due to Taliban
policies.
Folk and Popular Culture
A 12-year-old boy, working as a
shopkeeper`s assistant and
supporting his three younger
siblings and parents, started to
cry when he expressed his
concerns about the rising costs
of wheat flour, oil, and other
cooking essentials. He was
also traumatized after having
attended a public execution in
the Kabul sports stadium.
Folk and Popular Culture
Not permitted to enter NGO
buildings and talk to foreign
aid workers, Afghan women
wait outside for hours
hoping to obtain
humanitarian assistance.
Folk and Popular Culture
Children often play near a
destroyed residential area
contaminated with mines and
UXOs (unexploded
ordnances).
A portion of an unexploded
ordnance (UXO) protruding
from a house in a residential
area of western Kabul.
Folk and Popular Culture
Women from all walks of life are forced
to conceal themselves in public with a
shroud-like burqa, or else face
beatings. These women were waiting to
be examined in a women's clinic.
Those without a burqa have no such
opportunity for health care.
"First, I lost my husband, then the
Taliban took my job: now, like a
professional beggar I have my
own spot on the side of the road,"
said a young widow. For many
women, begging has become the
only means of survival under the
Taliban's restrictions for women.
Folk and Popular Culture
Threat of Foreign Media Imperialism:
LDCs fear that popular culture is a threat to their
independence
-popular customs often replace cultural traditions
LDCs fear news-gathering media
The U.S., Great Britain, and Japan dominate television
programming in LDCs
Folk and Popular Culture
Many American television shows present American beliefs
and social reforms
•Upward social mobility
•Freedom for women
•Glorification of youth
•Stylized violence
Many LDCs ban American programming
Folk and Popular Culture
Environmental Impact of Popular Culture:
Popular culture usually spreads without considering physical
features
Popular culture can significantly modify and control the
environment
-whereas folk customs usually begin as a result of the
physical environment
The Diffusion of Golf
http://www.koreus.com/media/backkom-golf.html
Folk and Popular Culture
Golf is an example of popular culture imposing the
environment
Typical golf courses are about 200 acres in size
More than 200 new golf courses built in U.S. during last 20
years
-more retired people
-younger people with more flexible work schedules
Folk and Popular Culture
Golf course distribution is not even across the U.S.
There are more golf courses per person in Upper Midwest
and Great Lakes states
-rapid population growth in South and West
-little land available in Mid-Atlantic states
-there are areas in Arizona, South Carolina, and
Florida that have high concentrations of golf courses
Folk and Popular Culture
Uniform Landscapes:
The spread of popular culture tends to produce more
uniform landscapes
Fast-food Restaurants
-attractive due to convenience and low-cost
American fast-food restaurants and hotels have opened in
other countries
-they appeal to travelers
-locals are curious to try these things that they see
on TV
Folk and Popular Culture
Folk and Popular Culture
Other examples of Worldwide Diffusion of Pop Culture:
Toyota
Folk and Popular Culture
Two Ways Diffusion of Pop Culture Has Negative
Environmental Impacts:
1. Depletion of scarce natural resources
-minerals, petroleum
-popular furs hurt animal populations
Although folk cultures
also encourage using
certain animal skins,
demand is far less
Folk and Popular Culture
The depletion of natural resources from pop culture can also
strain an economy
-pop culture is often less efficient and uses more resources
For example, if humans ate grains directly, they could
acquire the calories they need to survive 90% faster than they
do
Instead, humans raise animals
which is much less efficient
-to produce one kg of beef,
nearly 10 kg of grain must be
consumed by the animal
Folk and Popular Culture
2. Pollution
-popular culture generates a high volume of waste
(solids, liquids, and gas)
-the environment is forced to absorb this waste
Most visible: solids (cans, old cars, paper, plastics…)
A commitment of time and
money must be made to
control the damage of
pollution
Folk and Popular Culture