Chapter 4 Folk/Popular CultureKovacs

Gaining some context…• The study of people’s lifestyles, their creations, and their

relationships to the Earth and the supernatural• CULTURAL GEOGRAPHY

• HOW and WHY culture is expressed in different ways in different places

• Material [tangible artifacts that can be left behind]• Non-material [thoughts, religions]• The physical imprint a culture makes on the environment;

buildings, artwork, music• CULTURAL LANDSCAPE• “A cultures unique ‘fingerprint’ on their space on the Earth’”-Carl

Sauer

Culture• Collection of social customs; repetitive acts of

groups• What are some of your habits; repetitive acts

• 2 categories of material culture:• Folk and Popular

• Origins:• Diffusion:• Distribution:

Differ.

Hearths…Folk

• Anonymous• Multiple• Independent

• Ex) Sarong-Malaysia• Hawaiian Shirt• Environmental• SW Asia/N Europe –No “westernized”

clothes religious reasons• No SW Asia/N African in Europe bc

equal status not second class in govt eyes

• Little contact with others

Pop• Traceable

• Music- WWII soldiers• Detroit-Techno• Hip Hop- NYC

• Widespread

Distribution issues: access to material…Lack of income

Folk vs. Popular Culture• Homogenous groups- isolated rural areas- spread-migration

“Vary Place to Place @ given time”Example

• Heterogeneous societies- share habits despite differences- spread- technology• “consisting of dissimilar or diverse ingredients or constituents :

mixed”• Synonyms • assorted, eclectic, miscellaneous, indiscriminate,

kitchen-sink, magpie, mixed, promiscuous, ragtag, varied“Vary time to time @ given place”

Example

• Amish Article• Skill- highlighting text

Krampus/Fasching

Vietnam- Water puppets (unitedstreaming)• Navajo- leisure activity

• Improv EVERYWHERE!• What is our class project?

Pop Culture Trends

Clothing in pop culture reflects…?Income, social norms, jobPop culture clothes die if not produced fast enough-sweatshopsFolk clothing –previous-agriculture/climate-today-memory and tourismJeans “Imperialism” [travel/media diffusion]Symbolism of “authority” and “leadership” [Africa/Asia-Western]Memoirs of a GeishaMiddle East- Suits vs. Fundamentalist MuslimsRoles of women folk vs. popular [Human trafficking article]

Food• Produced, grown, imported locally…ex?• KY bourbon• In Arizona/Texas, southwest?• Tequila• Who avoids alcohol?• Christians, Hindus, Muslims• Wine based on • Climate, topography, soil

The meaning of food…• http://www.pbs.org/opb/meaningoffood/• Taboo…Yucky + Hawaii• Examples of Taboo foods…?• Hebrews vs Jews vs Muslims vs Hindu

Culture, Customs, Habits!• Repetitive act that a particular individual performs• Repetitive act a group performed to the extent

that it becomes characteristic of the group such as many students wearing jeans to class

• A groups material traits, beliefs, social forms

• Answers:• Habit• Custom• culture

To Ponder• Intellectual stimulation arises from differences

in background. Today the WORLD wears skinny jeans, youtubes, facebooks, tweets. Is the world becoming dumb? Use geographic vocabulary in your analysis.

Culture of religious paintings…• Buddhists: painting

divine figures (Monks, Saints- inhospitable environments)

• Hindus: Everyday life (deity in domestic scene-extreme climate conditions)

• Muslims: beautiful plants/flowers No religious allowed

• Animists paint symbols derived from religion not environment

Join a group you are interested in…• In your group use

the cellular device to locate 1) Buddhist

• 2) Hindus• 3) Muslim• 4) animists

Music!!Folk

Chinese Legend-Emperor-cut bamboo-sounds like Phoenix birdStory of life cycle (birth, death, marriage

Agricultural/climate issues

Live performance important

PopularIndividual purpose-For audience

appeal to a variety of people across Earth although references can be made to specific places/eventsRecording more important than live performance

Your Turn…• Pandora playlist of folk songs• Pop songs

• 1 folk lyrics- identify the qualities that make it a folk song

• 1 pop lyrics

Sports! Pay for the privilege of watching• Soccer- England• How did it expand from Britain to the world?• Imperialism• Baseball-N America to…• Japan WWII• Lacrosse-NE USA and Canada to…• Native Americans-European explorers to East

Coast USA• Martial Arts- China

Section 2…Environmental determinism?• What is environmental determinism• Environment causes social customs. Is that true?• Isolation promotes diversity

• Limited technology• Agricultural economy (food, clothing, shelter)

• NOT ALL PEOPLE IN CLIMATE CONDITIONS WEAR THE SAME

• So is environmental determinism correct?• No. why?

2 contrasting ideas…• Wade Davis on the worldwide web of ritual Culture

http://www.ted.com/talks/wade_davis_on_the_worldwide_web_of_belief_and_ritual.html

• Phil Borges on endangered cultures Culture http://www.ted.com/talks/phil_borges_on_endangered_cultures.html

Housing…• Building materials =

resources available• USA SW, Mexico, N.

China and Middle east use what material?

• Brick• Europe and South

America traditionally use stone

• Why is this important?

• Evidence in your writing pieces…

• New England housing

• Mid Atlantic “I” shape 2 stories

• Lower Chesapeake- 1 story steep roofTODAY: there are still regional distinctions except

pop culture has decreased those…due to rapid communication, transportation and mass production construction companies

Housing-Modern Style 1945-

1960• Minimal traditional• Ranch• Split level• Contemporary• Shed

• Assignment: you are to find 2 different housing styles, snap a photo on your cellular devise, classify them and explain why. Bring into class.

Neo Eclectic• Mansard• Neo Tudor• Neo French• Neo colonial

Housing

Foreign Media Imperialism• Define imperialism• “a policy of extending a

country's power and influence through diplomacy or military force.”

• TV most popular leisure activity in MDC• LDC lack of income, electricity,

service

Knowledge of pop culture diffused (faster + further)

• Threatens LCD’s independence

• Domination• USA-Latin

America/Europe• Japan- S/E/ Asia• UK- Africa

• Western TV idolizes:• Social mobility,

women's freedom, glorification of youth, stylized violence

The answer to Foreign Media Imperialism is…• Western Media only

covers sensationalized news anyway rather than domestic stories (birth control, health care innovations, construction)

• Censorship

• Asia- China, Singapore notorious + Saudi Arabia

• George Orwell predicted TV would be used by governments to control people

• Satellites defy those thoughts to an extent

• What kind of region does a TV signal reflect? [formal, functional, perceptual]

CNN reporters in China! • http://www.cnn.co

m/video/?/video/world/2014/01/22/lok-mckenzie-china-xu-trial-media-crackdown.cnn&hpt=hp_t2&from_homepage=yes&video_referrer=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.cnn.com%2F#/video/world/2014/01/22/lok-mckenzie-china-xu-trial-media-crackdown.cnn

• Writing prompt

• Fun Fact: India is the 2nd largest Twitter Users…Internet:

Facebook around the world article

Pop culture varies ______ more than place• Time• Threatens the survival of folk culture• Materialistic, western perspectives over societal

values• Is not “Green”- what do I mean by that?

Environment- Pop Culture• Depletion of scarce natural resources• Pollution (folk pollutes too :0( )

• Examples:Golf courses- why?“Product Recognition”

Assignment: Find a partner – product recognition w map/local with location

• MUST COMITT TIME AND $$$$ to CONTROL DAMAGE!• Curbside, drop off centers, buy back centers (aluminum),

deposit programs

RECAP

Amish wrap up…• What type of culture?• Folk• Pull factors to the USA?• Lower land prices from Switzerland, France,

Germany in PA,USA• Push factor from Pennsylvania?• Expensive land, gawking tourists

Origins and Diffusion of Folk & Popular Cultures• Origin of folk and popular cultures

• Origin of folk music• Origin of popular music

• Diffusion of folk and popular cultures• The Amish: Relocation diffusion of folk culture• Sports: Hierarchical diffusion of popular culture

UNESCO http://whc.unesco.org/en/list

New Zealand-the haka• https://

www.youtube.com/watch?v=56Hb632BCCw

Tin Pan Alley & Popular Music

Fig. 4-1: Writers and publishers of popular music were clustered in Tin Pan Alley in New York in the early 20th c. The area later moved north from 28th St to Times Square.

Clustering of Folk Cultures• Isolation promotes cultural diversity

• Himalayan Art

• Influence of the physical environment• Distinctive food preferences• Folk housing• U.S. folk house forms

Himalayan Folk Cultural Regions

Fig. 4-4: Cultural geographers have identified four distinct culture regions based on predominant religions in the Himalaya Mountains.

House Types in Western China

Fig. 4-8: Four communities in western China all have distinctive house types.

Wide Dispersion of Popular Culture

• Diffusion of popular housing, clothing, & food• Popular housing styles• Rapid diffusion of clothing styles• Popular food customs

• Television and diffusion of popular culture• Diffusion of television• Diffusion of the internet• Government control of television

Internet shop, India

Internet Use by Food Seller in China

Impacts of the Globalization of Popular Culture• Threats to folk culture

• Loss of traditional values• Foreign media dominance

• Environmental impacts of popular culture• Modifying nature• Uniform landscapes• Negative environmental impact

McDonald’s in Beijing, China

Ted Talks• Wade Davis on endangered cultures Culture

http://www.ted.com/talks/wade_davis_on_endangered_cultures.html