GEOG 2057 Leisure and Recreation in Modern Society

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GEOG 2057 Leisure and Recreation in Modern
Society9 Popular Culture and Development of
Leisure Industry

• Lecture Objectives
• 2nd review of important socio-cultural factors
  which have influenced the modern leisure and
  recreation movement
• Conceptualize popular culture
• arts, entertainment, television, hobbies, etc.
• Examine some important forms of popular culture,
  e.g.
• mass media of entertainment
• Discuss issues regarding culture
  commodification in leisure recreation
• References
• Your Textbook (2005) Chapter 6
• Popular Culture Resources for Critical Analysis
  (2008)
• http//www.wsu.edu/amerstu/pop/tvrguide.html

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2nd review of important socio-cultural factors
which have influenced the modern leisure and
recreation movement
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Questions to ponder

• According to our textbook, what are the major
  gender factors that have influenced modern
  leisure and recreation movement?
• Can you give 3-5 examples of impacts of the
  feminist movement on leisure and recreation in
  the modern society?
• Can you give specific examples of the three types
  of constraints on womens participation in
  leisure and recreation?
• interpersonal
• intrapersonal
• structural
• How does the shift of masculine identities
  manifest in leisure and recreation? Can you give
  specific examples?
• How does the influence of race and ethnicity
  manifest in modern leisure? Can you give any
  examples?

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Conceptualize Popular Culture scope concept
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The broad range of activities of Popular culture

• active forms of participation spectator
  involvement in
• arts
• television
• video games
• etc.
• computer-linked
• pastimes
• movie
• radio
• a host of
• hobbies
• home-based pursuits

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2 approaches to understanding popular culture

• Narrow view
• Culture is applied to these artistic pursuits
  such as
• classic music
• opera ballet
• drama
• serious literature
• the fine arts of painting, sculpture print
  making

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• Broader view
• Culture embraces a much broader range of
• values
• customs
• beliefs
• behaviours,
• which characterize a people

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Social critics categorization of culture

• Elite or highbrow forms of art/culture,as
  opposed to vernacular or lowbrow forms
• The key term for defining popular culture is
• ENTERTAINMENT
• A form of popular culture (e.g. a play, movie, or
  book) may not be regarded as a serious piece of
  artistic/cultural expression when it is intended
  chiefly for easy and unsophisticated
  entertainment, e.g.
• rock roll or country music (as opposed to
  symphonic music or classical opera)
• Popular culture form is thought to be
• commonplace (as opposed to exclusive)
• affordable (as opposed to expensive)

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Why popular?
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The reasons for culturebeing popular include

• describes the middle class way of life
• covers the knowledge, belief, art, morals,
  customs leisure pursuits of the most visible
  segment of society
• affordable cheap
• includes many forms of entertainment
• or leisure participation that cross social
• class lines

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Examine some important forms of popular culture
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Mass media of entertainment as one form of
popular culture

• Motion pictures
• Radio
• TV
• Advertising
• Cyber entertainment
• etc.????

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Motion picture as a form of popular culture, and
its influence on human society

• Motion pictures have both reflected the image of
  us, stimulated our thoughts on important social
  issues, and helped us to shape our cultural
  values and behaviour
• Changing attitudes toward ethnic minority groups
  in the 1960s and 70s
• Treatment of women in films and the influence of
  feminism in the 1980s
• Handling homosexuality with more honesty and
  frankness in the 1990s
• The relax of controls on the portrayal of
  explicitly sexual behaviour on screen (removal of
  X category and replace it with NC 17)

Vicky Christina Barcelona
1979
1993
1991
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Television as a Dominant Leisure Activity

• Impacts on children and youth
• Cartoons, violent series soap opera
• Impacts on society audience
• Programs such as
• Inside story, pearl report,
• Passionate eye
• The Oprah Winfrey Show (http//www.oprah.com/index
  ) the Jenny Jones Show
• Channel V
• etc.
• Video games computer pursuits
• Literary forms of leisure
• Diversified roles of bookstores, libraries
  museums

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Other Leisure Pursuits

• Hobbies
• Pet ownership
• Sociability as leisure
• Clubs based on shared interests, age groups, or
  special needs
• Commercially provided settings for casual
  contacts social fun
• Mass events that bring people together for
  relatively anonymous participation, e.g,
• Berlin Love Parade
• Remote or distant relationships making use of
  technology
• Internet dating service, etc,

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Pillar of the leisure industryDiscuss issues
regarding culture commodification in leisure
and recreation
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Examples of commodification in leisure

• One-on-one fitness training nutritional
  counselling in fitness clubs
• Video games, karakoke sessions, etc.
• dinner theatre, etc offered in restaurants
  http//en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dinner_theatre
• etc. ???

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Negative effects of commodifying leisure

• Morally marginal leisure as addictive behaviour
• Applies to those kinds of leisure experiences
  that have been generally disapproved by society
  in the past
• But that today have a degree of social approval
  and acceptance
• Often their status depends on the region in which
  they are offered, the age of those participating,
  and even whether government itself is the sponsor
  as opposed to a private party
• In some cases, an activity is acceptable to a
  certain point-as in drinking-but regarded as an
  illness when carried beyond that

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• Gambling as leisure pursuit
• Social economic impact of gambling
• Substance abuse and leisure
• Alcohol advertising
• Commercialised sex
• Pornography
• Technologys role in commodifying leisure