Folk and Popular Culture

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Folk and Popular Culture
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Origins and Diffusion of Folk and Popular
Cultures

• Origin of folk and popular cultures
• Origin of folk music
• Anonymous hearths, transmitted orally
• About everyday life, things that are familiar to
  group
• Country music hearts-Upper south
• Origin of popular music
• Mass electronic production
• Tin Pan Alley and Hip Hop in New York
• Diffusion of folk and popular cultures
• The Amish Relocation diffusion of folk culture
• Sports Hierarchical diffusion of popular culture

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Tin Pan Alley and Popular Music
Fig. 4-2 Writers and publishers of popular music
were clustered in Tin Pan Alley in New York City
in the early twentieth century. The area later
moved north from 28th Street to Times Square.
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• Diffusion of folk and popular cultures
• Popular culture is spread by hierarchical
  diffusion (Hollywood, New York)
• Folk culture is spread by relocation diffusion
• Examples
• The Amish Relocation diffusion of folk culture
• 70,000, 17 states
• Migrated from Switzerland, France and Germany
  because of low land prices
• Sports Hierarchical diffusion of Soccer
• 11th century in England, spread outward because
  of increased leisure time
• Each country has preferred sports (Cricket,
  Hockey, Martial Arts and Lacrosse)
• T.V. and internet allow global spectators

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Clustering of Folk Cultures

• Isolation promotes cultural diversity
• Himalayan art styles that show differences among
  geographically close culture groups
• Tibet, Nepal, Hindus and Animist art styles
• Influence of the physical environment on food
• People hold on to old food habits after
  assimilating
• People adapt their food preferences based on
  environment
• Soybeans, quick frying and stewing/roasting
• Certain foods are avoided or desired
• Bulls, mandrake, otters, potatoes, or goats
• Transylvanian food diversity
• Romanians, Jews, Armenians and Hungarians

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Himalayan Folk Cultural Regions
Fig. 4-5 Cultural geographers have identified
four distinct culture regions based on
predominant religions in the Himalaya Mountains.
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• Folk Housing is a product of both cultural
  traditions and environmental conditions
• Houses are made from nearby materials and
  influenced by social factors
• Environment influences floor plans based on
  climate
• Social conditions affect the floor plan of houses
• Fiji, China, Middle East, India, Africa,
  Madagascar, Java
• U.S. Folk House Forms
• 3 hearths-New England, Mid Atlantic, Lower
  Chesapeake
• New England-Saltbox, Two-Chimney, Cape Cod and
  Front Gable wing
• Middle Atlantic- I house
• Lower Chesapeake- steep roof and chimneys

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House Types in Western China
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Diffusion of New England House Types
Fig. 4-10 Four main New England house types of
the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries diffused
westward as settlers migrated.
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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.
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Wide Dispersion of Popular Culture

• Diffusion of popular housing, clothing, and food
• Popular housing styles
• Transition from space to time, housing reflects
  fashion
• Rapid diffusion of clothing styles
• Clothing reflects occupation and income
• Popular food customs
• Alcohol and snacks

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U.S. House Types, 19451990
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.
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• Television and diffusion of popular culture
• Diffusion of television
• Introduced in the 1930s
• By 1950 ¾ of homes had a TV
• 4 major categories of countries
• Diffusion of the internet
• Highest number of internet hosts are in MDCs
• Will diffuse faster than TV
• Government control of television
• People turned on the TV and watched what the
  government wanted them to see
• Singapore banned satellites but wants MTV and HBO
  to have their Asian headquarters there
• Satellites hastened the fall of the Communism

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Distribution of Internet Hosts
Fig. 4-15 The U.S. had two-thirds of the worlds
internet hosts in 2002. Diffusion of internet
service is likely to follow the pattern of TV
diffusion, but the rate of this diffusion may
differ.
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Impacts of the Globalization of Popular Culture

• Threats to folk culture
• Loss of traditional values
• Wearing clothing from an MDC is controversial
• Fundamentalist Muslims oppose western clothing
• Threatens subservient role of women
• Foreign media dominance
• MDCs new form of Imperialism
• Environmental impacts of popular culture
• Modifying nature-golf courses
• Uniform landscapes-every town looks the same
• Negative environmental impact
• Increased demand of natural resources and
  pollution