Think about it…When does the
diffusion of pop culture become a
problem?

Contributions to the spread of popular
culture




Industrialization
Urbanization
Rise of formal education
Resultant increase in leisure time
› All the reasons popular culture spread
caused folk culture to retreat
 Often
Destroys
Folk Culture
› preserves traditions as museum
pieces or tourism gimmicks.
 Mexican Mariachis
Swimming Pool, West Edmonton Mall,
Canada
Western Media Imperialism?
 U.S., Britain, and Japan dominate worldwide
media.
 Glorified consumerism, violence, sexuality, and
militarism?
 U.S. (Networks and CNN) and British (BBC)
news media provide/control the dissemination of
information worldwide.
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; meat-eating pop cultures
 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

Their style is no style; a
sense of sameness
pervades.

Nothing sets these
structures apart as
being in a particular
place; this is
placelessness

James Kunstler speaks of “geography of nowhere” in describing
America

Most effective device for popular culture
diffusion

Commercial advertising of retail
products bombards us visually and orally

Using psychology, we are sold products
we do not need

Modern advertising is very place-conscious
› Products and services are linked to popular,
admired places
› Example of the “Marlboro Man” and the
romanticized American West
› Remarkably such techniques work in countries
as far away as Egypt

Symbols are important
marketing tools and
companies aim to get
instant recognition for
their products.

Here a row of former
Chinese shop houses has
been renovated as a
“strip mall.”

The signs are international
status symbols meaning
“American.”

American pop culture is
becoming increasingly
popular in Asia to the
dismay of many
traditional parents.

What signs do you
recognize?

Popular cultures of North America, Europe,
and Australia have become similar and in
constant contact
› Americans lineup to hear touring British rock
›
›
›
›
musicians
Rocky Mountain ski resorts are built in AlpineSwiss architecture
Latest Paris fashions appear in American
department stores
Fast-food franchises of McDonalds and Kentucky
Fried Chicken diffused to Russia
Motel chains such as Holiday Inn took root in
Tibet and other countries
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 Korea
2. Myanmar (Burma)
3. Turkmenistan
4. Equatorial Guinea
5. Libya
6. Eritrea
7. Cuba
8. Uzbekistan
9. Syria
10. Belarus
Source: The Committee to Protect
Journalists. www.cpj.org.
Perhaps the personal computer and
Internet access have created another
new type of place
 Certain words we use imply it has a
geography—”Cyberspace”
 The information superhighway connects
not two points, but all points, creating a
new sort of place


Cyberspace possesses some
geographical qualities
› Enhances opportunities for communication
›
›
›
›
over long distances
Allows access to rare data banks
Encourages and speeds cultural diffusion
The Internet helps heighten regional
contrasts
Uneven spatial distribution of Internet
connections creates a new way people
differ
The Internet is diffusing today, but access varies widely.

http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/pages/frontlin
e/video/flv/generic.html?s=frow03pe6

The country of Bhutan should have
government control on TV to preserve it’s
folk culture.