Why is
Popular
Culture
Widely
Distributed?
Objectives
• Diffusion of Popular Housing, Clothing, and
Food
• Electronic Diffusion of Popular Culture
• Underlining thread to popular culture is
CONSUMPTION.
Diffusion of Popular Housing, Clothing,
and Food
• What allows popular
culture to be widely
distributed?
• Money, technology, & time
allow for people to adopt
popular culture
• Slight regional differences
in MDC’s.
WALMARTIZATION
• Regional differences are
due to variation of
resources (Food Franchises)
• Amount consumed is also
based on beliefs, income,
and advertisement.
What do you call a generic soft
drink?
Coke, Soda, or Pop?
Underlining thread to popular
culture is CONSUMPTION.
Wine: case study
• Spatial distribution of
wine = environment
(soil/climate)
• Also influenced/
diffused by particular
cultural values
(European hearth/
Christianity)
Rapid Diffusion of Clothing Style
• MDC countries’ fashion
typically reflect social
group, occupation &
income rather than
environmental
• Communication and
mass distribution from
designer to
manufacturer to
consumer result in rapid
diffusion of fashion.
Underlining thread to popular
culture is CONSUMPTION.
Case Study: Jeans
• Associated with lowstatus manual laborer
and farmer.
• 1960’s they symbolized
cool, youthful, western,
independence. (USSR =
banned)
• Highly prized in foreign
markets $2000
Momotaro Jeans Japan
Underlining thread to popular
culture is CONSUMPTION.
Popular Housing Styles
• Change more rapidly
with time than in place
(3 periods)
• Pre-1940: Folk
• 1945 – 1960: Modern
• Post- 1960: Neo Eclectic
Modern House Style 1945 – 1960)
• Tudor-style (one story)
target young families and
veterans WWII.
• Ranch House: One story,
long side parallel to street,
one story, larger
• Split Level: garage, intro of
“new” family room. 2nd level
bedrooms.
• Contemporary: flat or low
pitched roofs
• Shed: high pitched shed
roofs (geometric)
Neo Eclectic (since 1960)
• Mansard: shingle covered
2nd story walls sloped
inward and merged into
the roof
• Neo Tudor: steep-pitched
front facing gables.
• Neo French: dormer
windows, rounded tops,
high hipped roofs
• Neo Colonial: large
central great room
(combined family and
living room)
Underlining thread to popular
culture is CONSUMPTION.
Electronic
Diffusion of
Popular Culture
• Television: diffusion of
popular culture
• 1954: US contained 86%
of TV’s
• 1955 - 1970: spread to
Europe & Japan
• 1970 - 2005: ownership
rates to that of US. LDC
rapid increase.
Diffusion of
Internet
• More rapid diffusion
than television
• 1995: 62% of world
market
• By 2000: 31% of
world market
• By 2008: 14% of
world market
The End
HW Bring Books