Why is Popular Culture Widely Distributed?

Objectives

• Diffusion of Popular Housing, Clothing, and Food

• Electronic Diffusion of Popular Culture

Diffusion of Popular Housing, Clothing, and Food

• WHY is popular culture widely distributed?

• Money, technology, & time allow for people to adopt popular culture

• Slight regional differences in MDC’s. WALMARTIZATION

• Regional differences are due to variation of resources (Food Franchises)

• Amount consumed is also based on beliefs, income, and advertisement.

Coke, Soda, or Pop?

Wine: case study

• Spatial distribution of wine = environment (soil/climate)

• Also influenced/ diffused by particular cultural values (European hearth/ Christianity)

Rapid Diffusion of Clothing Style

• MDC countries’ fashion typically reflect social group, occupation & income rather than environmental

• Communication and mass distribution from designer to manufacturer to consumer result in rapid diffusion of fashion.

Jeans

• Associated with low-status manual laborer and farmer.

• 1960’s they symbolized cool, youthful, western, independence.

• Highly prized in foreign markets (USSR = banned)

Popular Housing Styles

• Change more rapidly with time than in place (3 periods)

• Pre-1940: Folk• 1945 – 1960: Modern• Post- 1960: Neo Eclectic

Modern House Style 1945 – 1960)• Tudor-style (one story) target

young families and veterans WWII.

• Ranch House: One story, long side parallel to street, one story, larger

• Split Level: garage, intro of “new” family room. 2nd level bedrooms.

• Contemporary: flat or low pitched roofs

• Shed: high pitched shed roofs (geometric)

Neo Eclectic (since 1960)

• Mansard: shingle covered 2nd story walls sloped inward and merged into the roof

• Neo Tudor: steep-pitched front facing gables.

• Neo French: dormer windows, rounded tops, high hipped roofs

• Neo Colonial: large central great room (combined family and living room)

Electronic Diffusion of Popular Culture

• Television: diffusion of popular culture

• 1954: US contained 86% of TV’s

• 1955 - 1970: spread to Europe & Japan

• 1970 - 2005: ownership rates to that of US. LDC rapid increase.

Diffusion of Internet

• More rapid diffusion than television

• 1995: 62% of world market

• By 2000: 31% of world market

• By 2008: 14% of world market

The End

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