Food Customs
• People in a MDC are likely to have the
income, time, and inclination to facilitate
greater adoption of popular culture.
• Consumption of large quantities of
alcoholic beverages and snack foods are
characteristic of the food customs of
popular societies.
American Food Customs
• Choice, in part, on the basis of preference for
what is produced, grown, or imported locally.
• Cultural backgrounds also affect the amount and
types of alcohol and snack foods consumed.
• Low Alcohol consumed because Baptists are
concentrated in the Southeast and Mormons in
Utah, these regions have relatively low
consumption rates.
Housing
• The house is a product of both cultural
tradition and natural conditions.
• A reflection of cultural heritage, current
fashion, functional needs, and the impact of
the environment
• Materials Used
• Wood when forest are available.
• Bricks of dried wet mud, when trees are in limited
supply.
• Also used are resources such as stone, grass,
sod, and skins.
• Drywall for interior wall is used to save money.
Housing and Environment
• Pitched roofs in wet and snowy
climates to facilitate runoff.
• Windows face south in
temperate climates to take
advantage of the Sun’s heat
and light.
• In hot climates, window
opening may be small to
protect the interior from the
heat of the sun.
Major hearths of folk house forms in
U.S
US Housing Types Today
Ranch Style
• Single story with low
pitched gable roof
and deep-set eaves
• Horizontal, rambling
layout
• Large windows
• Sliding glass doors
leading out to patios
• Attached garage
Split Level House
• Popular variant
between the 50s-70s.
• The lower level
contained the garage
and the newly
invented family room.
• The kitchen, formal
living, and dining
room were on the
intermediate level.
• Bedrooms were on
the top level
Contemporary Style
• Especially popular
choice between the
1950s and 1970s for
architect-designed
houses.
• Frequently had flat or
low pitched roofs.
Shed House
• Popular in the late
1960s,
• Characterized by
high-pitched shed
roofs, giving the
house the
appearance of a
series of geometric
forms
Neo-eclectic House Styles
• Became popular in the late 1960s, and by
the 1970s had surpassed modern styles in
vogue.
• “Great Room” replaced separate family
room and formal living room.
– Mansard
– Neo-Tudor
– Neo-French
– Neo-colonial
Mansard House
• Popular in the late
1960s and early
1970s.
• Shingle-covered
second or third-story
walls sloped slightly
inward and merged
into the roofline.
Neo Tudor House
• Popular in the 1970s.
• Characterized by
dominant, steeppitched front-facing
gables and halftimbered detailing
Neo French House
• Appeared in the early
1970s.
• Was the most
fashionable style for
new houses by the
1980s.
• Featured dormer
windows, usually with
rounded tops, and
high-hipped roofs.
Neo Colonial House
• An adaptation of
English colonial
houses.
• Has been
continuously popular
since the 1950s but
never dominant
Rapid Diffusion of Clothing Styles
• Individual clothing habits reveal how pop
culture can be distributed across the
landscape with little regard for distinctive
physical features
• Improved Communications (internet) permit
rapid diffusion of clothing styles from one
region of Earth to another.
• Inexpensive reproductions of designer’s
originals
An important symbol of the diffusion of western
popular culture throughout the world.
•Are available
throughout Europe and
Asia for under $10
• “Genuine” jeans made
by Levi Strauss, priced
at $50 to $100, are
preferred as a status
symbol.
Diffusion of the Television
TV 1950s-90s
• Early 1950s TVs being sold in only 20
countries, and more than 85% of the
world’s 37 million sets were in the US.
• Early 1990s more than 180 countries had
900 million sets, with less than one-fourth
in the US.
1954
1970
1999
Levels of TV Service
• Latin America and poorer European states
ownership of TVs is common but not
universal
• About 30 countries, most of which are in
Africa and Asia, TVs have not rapidly
diffused therefore few people own them
Afghanistan TV
• The Taliban made it illegal to own or watch
television.
• Typical punishment was three months in jail and
confiscation of equipment
• In most countries, the government(s) control
television stations to minimize the likelihood that
programs hostile to current policies will be
broadcast . . . in other words, they are censored.
• In most countries, operating costs are typically paid
by the national government from tax revenues,
although some government-controlled stations do
sell air time to private advertisers.
USA Television
• Most television stations are owned by
private corporations.
• Some stations, however, are owned by
local governments or other nonprofit
organizations and are devoted to
educational or noncommercial programs
Owned by GE &
Viacom
Rupert Murdoch
Comcast
Newscorp
Walt Disney
Corporation
Non Profit
The Internet
• Internet service is
following the pattern
established by television
a generation earlier, and
is likely to diffuse rapidly
to other countries in the
years ahead
• Among rapid diffusion is
happening faster in Latin
American and Asia than
in some African countries
The Internet
International diffusion of Pop Culture has led
to two problems.
1. The diffusion of popular culture may
threaten the survival of traditional folk
culture in many countries.
2. Pop culture may generate adverse
environmental impacts.
Loss of Traditional Values
• The Western business suit has been
accepted as the uniform for business
executives and bureaucrats around the
world.
• Wearing clothes typical of MDCs is
controversial in some Middle Eastern
countries.
• Muslim women in MDCs
are encouraged to discard
the black Chador in favor
of skirts and blouses.
Changing Women’s Roles
• Diffusion of pop culture threatens the subservience
of women to men that is embedded in many folk
customs.
Fear of Foreign Media
• Many LDCs view TV as a new method of
economic and cultural imperialism on the part
of the MDCs, especially the United States.
• LDCs fear the effects of the newsgathering
capability of the media even more than
their entertainment function
• Most LDCs criticize the Western concept
of freedom of the press
• American news organizations reflect
American values and do not provide a
balanced, accurate view of other
countries.
• The only reliable and unbiased news
accounts come from the BBC World
Service shortwave radio newscasts.
Cultural Imperialism
• The invasion of a culture into another with
the intent of dominating the invaded
culture politically, economically, and or
socially
• Globalization is often
seen as
cultural imperialism
– McDonalds
Uniform Landscape
• The distribution of popular culture around the world
tends to produce more uniform landscapes.
• In fact, promoters of popular culture want a uniform
appearance to generate “Product Recognition” and
greater consumption.
What are these products?
• Uniformity in the appearance of the landscape
is promoted by a wide variety of other popular
structures in North America, such as gas
stations, supermarkets, and motels.
• Franchise an agreement which allows the local
outlet use of the company’s name, symbols,
trademarks, methods, and architectural styles.
Fast Food
• An example of uniform landscape.
• Usually organized as franchises.
• Originally developed to attract people who
travel by car.
• Recently buildings are more subdued.
Pollution
• Folk culture, like popular
culture, can cause
environmental damage,
especially when natural
processes are ignored.
• MDCs produce endless
supplies of pop culture have
created the technological
capacity both to create largescale environmental damage
and to control it.
• However, a commitment of
time and money must be
made to control the damage.
• Video of new use of water bottle