Chapter 4

Folk and Popular Culture

Victoria Alapo, InstructorGeog 1050

An Introduction to Human GeographyThe Cultural Landscape, 9e

James M. Rubenstein

Folk and Popular Culture

Definitions:• Folk cultures are those that preserve traditions; in

other words, “Traditional” culture that has existed in certain regions for 100s or 1000s of years.

• Popular Culture – represents the culture of people who embrace innovation and conform to changing norms.

• The keyword in Pop Culture is “rapid change”.

• Also, popular culture is synonymous with Westernization.

Folk Cultures

• Influence of the physical environment– Distinctive food preferences e.g. African yams,

rice, fish in Asia, and non-pork countries in the Middle East.

– Clothing styles (climate)– Folk housing in many countries, including U.S. folk

house forms

Hog Production and Food Cultures

Annual hog production is influenced by religious taboos against pork consumption in Islamic

and Jewish religions. The highest production is in China, which is largely Buddhist and

Communist (no religion). Although Buddhists, supposedly, shouldn’t KILL anything.

Home Locations in Southeast Asia

Houses and sleeping positions are oriented according to local customs among theLao in northern Laos (left) and the Yuan and Shan in northern Thailand (right).

House Types in Western China

Four communities in western China all have distinctive house types.

Diffusion of House Types in U.S.

Distinct house types originated in three main source areas in the U.S. and then diffused into the interior as migrants moved west.

Diffusion of New England House Types

Four main New England house types of the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries diffused westward as settlers migrated.

An example of Folk Culture: Origin of Country Music

U.S. country music has four main hearths, or regions of origin: southern Appalachia,central Tennessee and Kentucky, the Ozark-Ouachita uplands, and north-central Texas.

Diffusion of Folk and Popular Cultures

• Diffusion of folk and popular cultures via:– Ancient Travel & Trade e.g. Chinese and East

Africans; the Arabian Trans-Saharan Trade; the great old civilizations of Mesopotamia, etc

– Wars (conquering of native cultures, colonization)– Immigration e.g. U.S.– Internet, TV, etc

Popular culture

• Popular culture is characterized by rapid diffusion and “Mass Culture”

– E.g. food, clothing, items that are mass produced– “Mass taste” = loss of individuality. – The U.S. is the world’s largest homogenous

consumer market (very much unlike traditional cultures).

• Marketing of popular culture – very aggressive. Not just within, but without (e.g. see Bhutan video).

Wide Dispersion of Popular Culture

• Diffusion of popular housing, clothing, and food– Popular housing styles– Rapid diffusion of clothing styles– Popular food customs. E.g.?

• Television and diffusion of popular culture (sometimes called Media Imperialism)– Diffusion of television– Diffusion of the internet– Government control of television

Diffusion of TV, 1954–1999

Television has diffused widely since the 1950s, but some areas still have low numbers of TVs per population.

Distribution of Internet Hosts

The U.S. had two-thirds of the world’s 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 (How?).

Impacts of the Globalization of Popular Culture

• Threats to folk culture– Loss of traditional values– Foreign media dominance

• Environmental impacts of popular culture– Uniform landscapes. E.g.?– Negative environmental impact (things we now

use) E.g.?– Modifying nature E.g.?