Folk and popular culture

1. Folk and popular culture CHAPTER 4 Unit IV

2. Cultural differences • Why do cultural differences exist across the world? • How are social customs related to our landscape? • How is the world becoming more familiar w/ our customs?

3. culture • Culture involves 3 things: • Values • Artifacts • Political institutions • Our focus, look at material culture that has survived: • Food, clothing, types of shelter • Leisure activities, arts and recreation • Habit: repetitive act that an ind.performs • Custom: repetitive act a group performs

4. culture • Material culture, the collection of social customs: • Folk culture: traditionally practiced by small, homogeneous groups living in isolated rural areas • Popular culture: large, heterogeneous societies that share certain habits despite differences in other personal characteristics • Where folk/pop culture are located • How material culture and is related to physical enviro

5. Where do folk and pop. Culture originate? • Originate at the hearth (center for innovation) • Unknown source, date, or originators • Possibly multiple hearths, originating independently • Pop culture usually develops in MDCs • Why?

6. Origins of folk & pop music FOLK MUSIC • Possibly multiple hearths • Songs about daily life; farming, life cycle, physical events POP MUSIC • Written for specific ppl and sale • Started w/ Vaudeville (1900) • Made in NYC—Tin Pan Alley • WWII/Armed Forces Radio

8. Diffusion of folk & pop culture • Pop culture: rapidly, hierarchical diffusion via modern comm. • Folk culture: small scale, through migration AMISH: RELOCATION DIFFUSION OF FOLK CULTURE • Originally from Bern, Switzerland • Religious freedom & cheap land (U.S.) • Slow diffusion through interregional migration

10. Diffusion of folk & pop culture SPORTS: HIERARCHICAL DIFFUSION OF POP CULTURE • Folk Culture Origin of Soccer • England 11th Cent. • Kicking a Danes headinflated cow bladder • Village vs. village – Mob scene • Banned late 12th Cent, legal again 17th Cent

11. Diffusion of folk & pop culture SPORTS: HIERARCHICAL DIFFUSION OF POP CULTURE • Globalization of Soccer • Begins in 1800’s when British clubs formed organizations • Organize leagues and establish standard rules • Football Association assoc  soccer • Diffused through contact with Brits • Dutch students, Spanish miners, • Moscow Dynamo

12. Why is folk culture clustered? • Folk customs develop through cent. of isolation HIMALAYAN ART • Looking at 4 religious groups in the Himalayas • Tibetan Buddhists: N region, painted divine figures Monks/St’s, harsh conditions • Hindus: S region, every day life, regions extreme climate • Muslims: W region, plants/flowers, didn’t paint harsh cond. • Animist: SE region, symbols/designs deriving from religion

14. Physical enviro influences • Enviro. Determinism rejected • Similar enviro, adopt diff. social customs • Diff. enviro, similar social customs • Provision of food, clothing and shelter, heavily influenced • Folk societies are responsive to environment…why? • Low level of tech. • Food & Shelter influence cultural values & enviro on develop of unique folk culture

15. Distinctive food preferences ENVIRONMENTAL INFLUENCE • We consider climate, soil, vegetation b4 producing food • Ppl adapt food preferences to enviro conditions • Soy Beans • Quick-frying foods in S Europe • Stewing/Roasting in N Europe • Terroir: contribution of a locations distinctive physical features to the way food tastes (grounded)

16. Distinctive food preferences FOOD DIVERSITY IN TRANSYLVANIA • Dif. groups migrate to Transylvania, & its all about the soup • Soup is poor peoples food but shows tradition • Romanians: cracked wheat, corn, brown bread, sour bran • Saxons: simmered fatty pork, sauerkraut/vinegar, fruits • Jews: beets and sorrel (no meat) • Armenians: churut and ground vegetables • Hungarians: smoked bacon, thickened w/ flour and onion • Szeklers: similar to Jews, used poultry for pork substitute

17. Distinctive food preferences FOOD ATTRACTIONS & TABOOS • We consume food based on perceived benefits • Strength, fierceness, lovemaking ability • AbiponeIndians of Paraguay & Mandrake plant • Taboo: restriction on behavior imposed by social customs • MbumKpau: no chicken/goat, twisted horned antelope • Jews: no pig, fish lacking scales/fins

18. Hog Production & Food Cultures

19. Folk housing • The house is a good reflection of cultural heritage, current fashion, functional needs, and the impact of the environment • Usually build with what is readily available; wood, brick, sod • Sacred doors, walls, furniture arrangement (Laos and Thai) • Some ppl share similar materials and climates but ignore practicality (Windows for heat)

20. Home Locations in Southeast Asia

21. u.s. folk house forms • 3 major hearths for U.S. homes: New England, Mid Atlantic, and Lower Chesapeake • NE: North, North West (Great Lakes) • Mid Atlantic: Ohio Valley and Appalachia • Chesapeake: Southward-Atlantic coast

22. u.s. folk house forms • Housing styles from NE migrated w/ ppl westward • New England, Mid Atlantic, and Lower Chesapeake

23. Diffusion of pop housing HOUSING STYLES • Housing since the 40’s shows pop customs in time than place • After WWII two housing types came about: • Modern House Styles (1945-1960) • Minimal traditional, ranch, split level • Neo-Eclectic House Styles (since 1960) • Neo-Tudor, neo-French, neo-Colonial, mansard

24. 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.

25. U.S. House Types by Region Fig. 4-1.1: Small towns in different regions of the eastern U.S. have different combinations of five main house types.

26. Rapid diffusion of clothes • Designer clothes spread more rapidly in MDCs • Jeans • Symbol of youth, starts in western world • Low status manual laborers  designer jeans • Button fly vs zipper fly • Denim destroys communism

27. Popular food customs ALCOHOL AND FRESH PRODUCE • Both ^ depend on the region of the U.S. • Based on what is produced, grown or imported locally • Bourbon, Whiskey, and Rum…? • Pork rinds, Potato Chips, and Popcorn…? • Also based on cultural background • Baptists and Mormons don’t consume barrels of alcohol • Therefore those regions consumption rate falls • Can’t expl. all regional variations in food preferences

28. Alcohol Preferences in the U.S. Fig. 4-12: Per capita consumption of Canadian whiskey (left) and tequila (right) show different source areas and histories of diffusion.

29. Per Capita Consumption of Canadian Whiskey

30. Per Capita Consumption of Tequila

31. Popular food customs WINE PRODUCTION • Enviro plays a role in the dist. of pop as well as folk food cust. • Cold, rainy winters & long, hot summers • Hillsides and to be near lakes or rivers are desirable • Different soil composition creates dif. tasting wines • Bordeaux: sandy/gravelly, Champagne: chalky • Also grown based on cultural values

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

33. Diffusion of TV1954 - 2003 • Most pop. Leisure activity in MDCs • TV diffuses knowledge of pop culture the most rapidly across E • Gov’t control of TV • Dif. In US TV and RoW

34. TV Distribution, 1954

35. TV Distribution, 1970

36. TV Distribution, 2003

37. Distribution of Internet Users, 1995 - 2003 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.

38. Internet Users, 1995 per 1000 population

39. Internet Users, 2000 per 1000 population

40. Internet Users, 2004 per 1000 population

42. Threat to folk culture • Rising income can lead to consuming more pop. Culture • Western perspectives dominate • Loss of traditional values • African & Asian cultures: clothing • Changing role for women • Positives: working towards equality • Negatives: prostitution

43. Threat of Foreign Media Imperialism • LDCs consider pop customs of MDCs a threat • U.S., U.K., and Japan dominate the TV market • U.S. TV: upward mobility, =women, glorification of youth, and violence • LDCs want family values and avoid political, economic and culture controversy • Associated Press (AP) and Reuters domination of news • Criticized for non-accurate and unbalanced news reports

44. Enviro impact of pop culture MODIFYING NATURE • Imposed on enivro rather than springing from it • Dist. of pop culture produces a uniform landscape • Nature modified to enhance sales or leisure act. • Diffusion of Golf • Fast food: “product recognition”

45. Golf Courses in Metropolitan Areas 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.

46. McDonald’s in Beijing, China

47. Negative environmental impact • Diffusion of pop customs has 2 negative enviro impacts: • Depletion of scarce natural resources • Pollution of the landscape • Product demand strains the environments resources • Animal consumption • HIGH levels of waste: solids, liquids, gases • “Throw away society”

48. Ask yourself • Where do folk and popular cultures originate and diffuse? • Why is folk culture clustered? • Why is popular culture widely distributed? • Why does globalization of popular culture cause problems?