FOLK AND POPULAR CULTURE

• Describe, in as much detail as possible, a typical Friday (from the time you get out of bed until you go to bed)

…The body of customary beliefs, social forms and material traits that together constitute a group of people’s distinct traditions
(uggghhh)
• basically it is the way of life of a group of people
(their collection of customs)

VALUES
MATERIAL ***
ARTIFACTS
-visible objects a group possesses and leaves behind for the future
- survival and leisure activities????
POLITICAL
INSTITUTIONS

FOLK
• Found in small, homogenous, isolated groups
POPULAR
• Found in large, heterogeneous societies
•
• tends to be more isolated and rural
More likely to vary from place to place at a given time
• Practiced by more people over a larger portion of the Earth’s surface
• More likely to vary from time to time at a given place

Where do Folk and Popular Cultures Originate and Diffuse?

Origins of Folk
&
Popular Cultures
• Hearths of folk culture may be anonymous and multiple
– ex. Folk music and agricultural connections in Vietnam
• Hearths of popular culture tend to be located in
MDCs
– ex. Popular music and production for sale to mass audience (hip hop music, fast food/McDonalds)

1. How would a folk song about agriculture in
Southeast Asia spread/diffuse?
2. How would Justin Bieber’s music spread/diffuse?

Diffusion of Folk & Popular Cultures
Folk
• Diffuses more slowly and on a smaller scale
Popular
• Diffuses faster and to more places
• Primarily through migration/relocation diffusion
• Pattern of hierarchical diffusion from node on down
• Also through word of mouth
(orally)
• Spreads through modern communications and transportation
Ex - Amish EX – Organized Sports/Soccer

HOW DO YOU KNOW WHO/WHAT
THIS IS?

HOW DO YOU KNOW WHAT THIS IS?

Amish Settlements in the U.S.
Fig. 4-3: Amish settlements are distributed through the northeast U.S.

• 2 examples of folk culture
• 2 examples of popular culture

Fig. 4-1: Writers and publishers of popular music were clustered in Tin Pan Alley in
New York in the early 20th c. The area later moved north from 28th St to
Times Square.

Fig. 4-2: This mental map places major hip hop performers near other similar performers and in the portion of the country where they performed.

French, German, and Italian fans at 2006 World Cup
(eventually won by Italy, which broke Mr. Oswald’s heart!).
We destroy the sport with our boring style of play!!!

Why is Folk Culture Clustered?

ISOLATION PROMOTES CULTURAL
DIVERSITY
• Unique folk customs are a result of a group’s long-term isolation from other groups
(even those close to them)
– This is why folk customs are clustered vary from place to place at the same time
• Read the Himalayan art section on your own

Fig. 4-4: Cultural geographers have identified four distinct culture regions based on predominant religions in the Himalaya Mountains.
Shows how folk custom are influenced by both cultural institutions (religion) and by environmental processes (climate, landforms, vegetation…)

• List as many ways you can think of that the physical environment/climate affect culture.
You can give specific examples if that helps.

INFLUENCE OF THE PHYSICAL
ENVIRONMENT
• Environment is one, not the only, factor that influences culture !!!!!!!
(cultural values also play a part)
• Due to lack of technology, folk societies are even more influenced by the environment
• Environment and cultural values have a strong impact on food and shelter in folk cultures
Environment

• Folk food habits derive from the environment (why? – people eat mostly plants and animals)
• People adapt their diets based on their environment ex. abundant wood supply leads to slow stewing in NE)
know terroir – pp.121-122

Fig. 4-5: The bostan, or traditional vegetable garden, provides fresh vegetables in a large city such as Istanbul

Food habits are also affected by cultural traditions….
• Different groups with different traditions will have unique diets that are not solely a result of the environment (soups in
Transylvania, seating patterns at tables…)
• Food attractions and taboos will also play a major role in diet a kitchen is often a BIG clue to the family’s ethnicity

ATTRACTIONS
• Some foods are eaten based on appearance or qualities
(real or perceived)
TABOOS
• Some foods are avoided due to negative forces, characteristics, or associations
– Exs. Abipone Indians eat jaguars and bulls
– Mandrake root in
Mediterranean associated with sexual prowess
- Muslims don’t eat pork
- Hindus don’t eat cows
- Mbum Kpau women in Chad avoid goats and chicken before getting pregnant

Hog Production & 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.

• Folk housing will display the following:
- distinctive building materials
- distinctive form and orientation
- influence of the environment

Fig. 4-7: Houses and sleeping positions are oriented according to local customs among the Lao in northern Laos (left) and the Yuan and Shan in northern Thailand
(right).

Fig. 4-8: Four communities in western China all have distinctive house types.

Kashgar houses have second floor open-air patios

Turpan is located in a deep valley with little open land. Second stories are avoided because of strong winds

Dunhuang houses have walled central courtyards, covered with an open air grape arbor.

Liz Lewis:
Yinchuan houses are built around large open courtyards which provide seclusion from ousi
…from outsiders

• Older houses display local folk-culture traditions (why?)
• Kniffen’s nodes of U.S. folk homes:
1. New England
• Much more difficult to detect distinctions in modern homes (why?)
2. Middle Atlantic
3. Lower Chesapeake

• Know the different types for each:
1. 4 types of NE home
2. “I” house in MA
3. 1-story w/ chimney in
LC

Fig. 4-9: Distinct house types originated in three main source areas in the U.S. and then diffused into the interior as migrants moved west.

Fig. 4-10: Four main New England house types of the 18th & 19th centuries diffused westward as settlers migrated.

Why is Popular Culture Widely Distributed?

POP CULTURE IS WIDELY DISTRIBUTED
BECAUSE…
1. It diffuses very quickly across Earth, unlike folk culture
- this diffusion relies on people having high economic development to acquire the material aspects of pop culture (what does this mean?)
- Remember: pop culture varies from time to time at the same place
‘50s today

DIFFUSION OF POPULAR HOUSING,
CLOTHING & FOOD
• Differences in these categories vary much less now in MDCs than they used to (why?)
• List 5-7 characteristics of a suburb (what do people wear, eat, types of buildings, types of activities, forms of transportation……)

• Newer homes reflect how customs vary more in time than place
• Years right after WWII = modern style
• Since 1960s = neo-eclectic
• See “popular housing” graphic organizer and page 128

U.S. House Types, 1945-1990
Fig. 4-11: Several variations of the “modern style” were dominant from the 1940s into the 1970s. Since then, “neo-eclectic” styles have become the dominant type of house construction in the U.S.

Write the first thing that comes to mind in terms of clothing for a …..

• Clothing habits reflect:
1. Income
2. Social forms (job characteristics)
• Rapid communication/technology spreads fashion
• MDCs of NA/WE
– Clothing usually reflects occupation rather than environment
– Higher incomes greatly influence clothing and changing styles (especially for women – why?)
• Ironically, has led to more awareness of folk clothing (can be used to preserve memories/promote tourism
– p.128)

- Read section about Jeans
(pp.128-129)

• High consumption of alcohol and snack foods are indicative of popular food customs
• Consumption does vary regionally within MDCs :
– local production(ex.
Whiskey consumption in the U.S.)
– Cultural background
(Mexican food in Texas)
• Generally speaking, consumption of alcohol and snack foods depends on :
1. High income
2. National advertising
• The environment can also play a role in the distribution of pop.
Culture food customs
(read section on wine – pp.129-130)

Fig. 4-12: Per capita consumption of Canadian whiskey (left) and tequila (right) show different source areas and histories of diffusion.

Fig. 4-13: The distribution of wine production shows the joint impact of the physical environment and social customs.

DIFFUSION OF POP CULTURE
THROUGH… television internet

1. Explain the trend of TV usage around the world from
1954-2003
2. Explain “ “ internet usage “ “ from 1995-2004
3. List 2 similarities between the evolution of TV and
Internet usage around the globe
4. “ “ differences “ “
5. True/False: The diffusion of Internet service/usage is following a similar pattern to that of TV diffusion

1954 - 2003
Fig. 4-14: Television has diffused widely since the 1950s, but some areas still have low numbers of TVs per population.

Internet Users, 1995 per 1000 population

Internet Users, 2000 per 1000 population

Internet Users, 2004 per 1000 population

Fig. 4-15: Internet users per 1000 population. Diffusion of internet service is following the pattern of
TV diffusion in the 20th century, but at a much faster rate.

Why Does Globalization of Popular Culture Cause Problems?

• List as many reasons you can think of as to why the spread of popular culture causes problems

THREAT TO FOLK CULTURE
POP CULTURE
NEGATIVE ENVIRONMENTAL
IMPACT
FOLK CULTURE

• When people turn away from folk culture in favor of pop. culture they may also turn away from their traditional values (= great tension)
• May lead to dominance of Western culture (can lead to anger towards the
West)
• Wearing of Western style clothes as opposed to traditional local clothing can cause great rifts in a society
(Muslim clothing v. “skimpy” clothing like bikinis)
– -article about bikini in Dubai
Right to wear or disrespectful???????

• Diffusion of pop. Culture can have positive benefits for women in LDCs
– ex. Women under the Taliban in Afghanistan
• Can also have negative impact on them
- International prostitution

• Leaders of LDCs often fear the role of foreign media in their countries
• Some see it as a threat to their independence
• U.S., UK, and Japan dominate
TV in LDCs (new form of imperialism???)
• Programming may be adjusted to deal with these concerns
– No Porky Pig in Muslim countries

Examples of media and spread of PC in
China
1.
Nobel Prize
2.
Twitter
3.
High School Students
4.
China’s biggest search engine

• Diffusion of information on a global scale is dominated by
U.S. and UK
• News media in most LDCs is dominated by the gov’t (not the case in MDCs)
• Many African and Asian nations criticize Western concept of freedom of the press as promoting Western values and have unbalanced reports interception twitter
Nobel prize

• Pop. Culture spreads with less consideration for environment than folk culture
• Spatial organization of PC reflects distribution of social/economic features
• Due to globalization, pop.
Culture is increasingly uniform and creates more uniform landscapes

• Folk Culture springs from the environment,
PC modifies it
– Ex. Golf courses are aspects of PC that modify the environment

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.

• Spread of PC leads to uniform landscapes
• Spatial expression of PC in one area will be very similar to another
– Fast food restaurants
• This spread of common landscapes has diffused from NA to rest of the world

NEGATIVE ENVIRONMENTAL IMPACT
DEPLETION OF NATURAL
RESOURCES
• Demand for resources such as:
– Petroleum
– Animal skins
– Animal meat
POLLUTION
• PC generates incredible amounts of waste that strain the environment:
– Liquid
– Gas
– Solids (cans, bottles…)

04.01 An act repeatedly performed by an individual is a(n)
1. Cultural characteristic
2. Habit
3. Custom
4. Trait
5. Annoyance

04.01 An act repeatedly performed by an individual is a(n)
1. Cultural characteristic
2. Habit
3. Custom
4. Trait
5. Annoyance

04.02 Popular culture is practiced
1. Only where folk culture is absent
2. By large heterogeneous groups
3. By individuals only
4. Only in the more developed countries
5. At specific places

04.02 Popular culture is practiced
1. Only where folk culture is absent
2. By large heterogeneous groups
3. By individuals only
4. Only in the more developed countries
5. At specific places

04.03 Folk culture is most likely to spread by
1. Hierarchical diffusion
2. Contagious diffusion
3. Stimulus diffusion
4. Copycat diffusion
5. Relocation diffusion

04.03 Folk culture is most likely to spread by
1. Hierarchical diffusion
2. Contagious diffusion
3. Stimulus diffusion
4. Copycat diffusion
5. Relocation diffusion

04.04 Modern communications methods have
_________ of social customs.
1. Slowed the dissemination
2. Had little effect on the spread
3. Increased the global uniformity
4. Led to the fragmentation
5. None of these

04.04 Modern communications methods have
_________ of social customs.
1. Slowed the dissemination
2. Had little effect on the spread
3. Increased the global uniformity
4. Led to the fragmentation
5. None of these

04.05 Folk songs
1. Focus on daily activities
2. Cannot become part of popular culture
3. Are inseparable from the acoustic guitar
4. Have so far been of little cultural significance in the United States
5. Are often difficult to interpret

04.05 Folk songs
1. Focus on daily activities
2. Cannot become part of popular culture
3. Are inseparable from the acoustic guitar
4. Have so far been of little cultural significance in the United States
5. Are often difficult to interpret

04.06 Hog production is lowest in
1. North Africa
2. Europe
3. South America
4. East Asia
5. North America

04.06 Hog production is lowest in
1. North Africa
2. Europe
3. South America
4. East Asia
5. North America

04.07 Wine production typically requires all of the following, except
1. Well-drained soils
2. Supportive customs
3. Proximity to water
4. Cool summers
5. Cool winters

04.07 Wine production typically requires all of the following, except
1. Well-drained soils
2. Supportive customs
3. Proximity to water
4. Cool summers
5. Cool winters

04.08 In America, tequila is consumed primarily in the
1. Northwest
2. Midwest
3. Southwest
4. Southeast
5. Northeast

04.08 In America, tequila is consumed primarily in the
1. Northwest
2. Midwest
3. Southwest
4. Southeast
5. Northeast

04.09 Internet use is least prevalent in
1. North America
2. Europe
3. Japan
4. Central Africa
5. Russia

04.09 Internet use is least prevalent in
1. North America
2. Europe
3. Japan
4. Central Africa
5. Russia

04.10 Similar restaurants, gas stations, and stores throughout the United States
1. Illustrate how popular culture can create a uniform landscape
2. Show how folk culture can diffuse
3. Are a prime example of globalization
4. Increase cultural awareness
5. None of these

04.10 Similar restaurants, gas stations, and stores throughout the United States
1. Illustrate how popular culture can create a uniform landscape
2. Show how folk culture can diffuse
3. Are a prime example of globalization
4. Increase cultural awareness
5. None of these