folk culture - el camino college

FOLK CULTURE

Isolation preserves Folk CulturesInfluenced by physical environment

Food preferencesFolk housing

Folk Cultures

Visible ObjectsFoodClothing

Material Culture

Musical InstrumentsArtTools

Material Culture

ArchitectureMaterialsFloor PlanExterior Appearance

Material Culture

SongDance FolkloreSuperstitionsGestures

Non-Material Culture

Amish Folk

Culture

Amish – U.S.A.

AmishUSA

Amish – USA SettlementsMost in Midwest…

OhioIndianaWisconsin

AppalachiansKentuckyTennessee

Scotch-IrishCorn Whisky“Moonshine”

Southern Uplands

Folk MusicBalladsFiddle, MandolinEvolved into forms of Pop Music…• Bluegrass Music

–Country/Western

Southern Uplands

Origin often unknownLittle or No DiffusionFolk Group – Isolated

Little Contagious Diffusion from outside

Diffusion of Folk Culture

Oral tradition between generationsProvides info about Daily Activities…

FarmingLife Events…• Birth• Dating & Marriage• Death

Folk Songs & Stories

Mysterious Events…• Storms• Earthquakes

Little Outside Interaction…Self-SufficientClose ties to Environment

Depends on Natural Environment…FoodMedicinesHousing…• Building Materials from Environment

Ecology of Folk Culture

Housing – Bamboo Tropical Rainforests

Southeast AsiaAmazonPanama

Sun-Dried MudDry Regions

US SouthwestSahara

Housing – Adobe

Housing – StoneRocky Areas w/o Trees

Around the Mediterranean

Housing – Stone Andes

Machu Picchu

Housing – WoodEastern U.S.A.

Plymouth MA

GrasslandsGreat Plains U.S.A.Ukraine

Housing – Sod

POPULAR CULTURE

Japan

Brunei

Constantly Changing

Popular Culture

Mainly in Industrialized SocietiesContact between Distant Places & People

Minor variations geographically

Popular Culture

Major Variations over Time

1990

Popular Culture

Small Pop. + HomogeneousRural + Non-industrialSubsistence Economy + Hand-made GoodsFamily & Religion central to lifeTraditional Lifestyle

Resistant to change

Large Pop. + HeterogeneousUrban + IndustrialCommercial Econ. + Mass ProductionIndividualism

Less tradition-bound

Frequent change

Folk vs. Popular

IsolatedPoor Communication

Major Geographical Variation

Navajo vs. Pygmy

Little Change over Time

1900 = 2000 ???

Good CommunicationMuch Interaction

Minor Geographical Variation

LA vs. Paris vs. Rio

Major Change over Time

Pop Music…• 1930, 1970, 2010

Folk vs. Popular

Snack Nuts

Cigarettes

Pop Culture Regions

Highest?

Lowest?

Beer Drinking

Where is most?Fast Food

Fig. 4-6: Annual hog production is influenced by religious taboos against pork consumption in Islam and other religions. The highest production is in China, which is largely Buddhist.

Middle East

Pork Beef (India)

Insects (USA)

Cultural Food Taboos

Pigs

Usually Known OriginatorWalt DisneyThe BeatlesCalvin Klein

Rap ???

Pop Culture – Origins

Sometimes starts as Folk CultureThen Gets Commercialized

Moonshine WhiskyRodeo…• Initially a Folk Skill• Now Professional Rodeo

Pop Culture – Origins

Rapid Spread...Pop Culture – Diffusion

Coca ColaPoland

1. Good Communication Systems Widespread Advertising

2. Good Transportation Systems EZ Distribution of Pop Culture ProductsTravel is EZ…Spreads Pop Culture

3. Industrialization Mass Produced Goods• Coke, Marlboro, Levis…

Pop Culture – Diffusion

Pop Culture – Diffusion4. Wealthy Population

Can afford latest Pop Culture• Cabbage Patch Dolls, Beanie Babies

Folk Music OriginAdapted to taste & technologyKnown Composer vs. ...Geographical Diffusion Westward

Southern Appalachian Highlands…Arkansas-OklahomaBakersfield

Country Music

Diffusion over time…Radio & Records• WW 2

TelevisionInternet

English = Language of Pop Music

Popular Music – Diffusion

Roots in Slave-Era MusicBluesJazz, Rhythm & Blues

• Soul• Motown• Hip-Hop

Rock & Roll• Electronica & Techno

Pop Music – African Roots

Folk Clothing, based on…ClimateAvailable Material

Clothing in Pop Culture, based on…Income and…

Clothing – Folk vs. Pop

TV GrowthPop Culture influenced by Media

TVInternet

TV related to Income…

First in MDCs…Later in LDCs

InternetAlso related to IncomeSpread more quickly than TV

Convergence Hypothesis…Differences are lesseningTowards a Universal Culture“Placelessness”

Cultural Interaction

“Sense of Place”“Where are you?”Characteristics that define a Place

Cultural Landscape

London

TransportationLandmarks

Hong Kong

ArchitectureTransportationSigns

Amsterdam

Economic ActivitiesArchitecture

PathwaysStreets

EdgesBeach

NodesDel Amo Mall

DistrictsSanta Monica

LandmarksStaples Center

Mental Maps

1. Leisure LandscapesAmusement ParksLas VegasTheaters

Pop Culture Landscapes

2. Elitist LandscapesPop Culture Landscapes

3. Landscapes of ConsumptionPop Culture Landscapes

4. Landscapes of ConveniencePop Culture Landscapes

5. “Cult of Bigness”Big things are admiredGrabs attention

Pop Culture Landscapes

Cult of Bigness

6. Emphasis on Uniqueness

Asserts IndividualityUnique Businesses noticed

Pop Culture Landscapes

Unique Landscapes