Unit 3 Notes: Folk and Pop Culture

Key Issues Discussed
1. Where do folk and popular cultures originate and diffuse? 2. Why is folk culture clustered? 3. Why is popular culture widely distributed? 4. Why does globalization of popular culture cause problems?

Habit: A repetitive act that a particular individual performs.
Custom: A repetitive act that a particular group performs.
Folk Culture:
- Defined as culture traditionally practiced primarily by small, homogeneous groups living in isolated rural areas.
Popular Culture:
- Defined as culture found in large, heterogeneous societies that share certain habits despite differences in other personal characteristics.
Material Culture:
- The physical objects produced by a culture to meet its material needs such as food, clothing, shelter, arts, and recreation.
- Influenced by Carl Sauer (Berkeley, 1930s – 1970s).
Social Custom:
- Originates at a hearth, a center of innovation.
Folk Customs:
- Tend to have anonymous sources, from unknown dates, through multiple hearths.
Popular Culture:
  - Generally has a known originator, usually from More Developed Countries (MDCs), arising as a result of more leisure time and capital.
  - Example of folk music: Tells stories or conveys information, such as "Swing Low Sweet Chariot".
  - Example of popular music: Composed by specific individuals for commercial gain, e.g. 50 Cent, Lady Gaga.
Diffusion Differences:
  - Folk Customs:
    - Diffuse slowly and primarily through physical relocation of individuals.
  - Popular Customs:
    - Diffuse rapidly and primarily through hierarchical diffusion from nodes, with some trends diffusing contagiously.

Isolation:
- Promotes cultural diversity as unique customs develop over centuries.
Cultural Variation:
- Folk culture varies widely from place to place.
- Physical environment significantly impacts culture.
Current State of Folk Culture:
- Rapidly changing or disappearing in many parts of the world.
- Examples include Turkish Camel Markets and Guatemalan Markets.
Folk Communities:
- Typically farmers growing their own food with hand tools and/or animal power. - Local food preferences form a core aspect of folk customs dependent on regional factors, including religious, social, or economic influences.
Food Culture and Religion:
- Religious taboos greatly influence food consumption.
- Example: Annual hog production heavily influenced by Islam's pork consumption restrictions, with the highest production in China (largely Buddhist).

Factors Influencing Popular Culture:
- Widely distributed due to variation over time and significant wealth enabling material acquisition.
- Requires economic means and leisure time for enjoyment and engagement.
Housing Trends (1940s Onward):
- Less dependent on regional appropriateness; instead more influenced by dominant architectural trends.
Clothing as Pop Culture Symbol:
- Blue jeans as a global symbol of youth and “westernization”, often acquired at a high personal cost by consumers worldwide.
Food Preferences in Pop Culture:
- Dependent on income and national advertising; harder to explain spatial distribution. - Regional Consumption of Wine:
- Generally prevalent where vineyards flourish and wealth exists; restricted by religious taboos outside Christian-dominant locales.
Beverage Consumption in the U.S.:
- Statistics from 1995 on Coca-Cola and Pepsi buying patterns in U.S. market analyzed via sources like Mediamark Research Inc.

Dominance of Western Perspectives:
- MDCs (U.S., U.K., Japan) largely control media, with unequal representation in LDCs (Less Developed Countries).
- Local news often sensationalized due to reliance on Western narratives and ownership.
Environmental Impact:
- Popular culture modifies environments for product enhancement, leading to resource depletion and increased pollution. - Example: Golf courses requiring modification of natural landscapes.
Impact on Folk Culture:
- Popular culture undermines folk cultures, leading to their preservation as museum pieces or tourism gimmicks (e.g., Mexican Mariachis, Polynesian navigators).
Place Uniformity:
- Popular culture promotes homogenous landscapes resulting in a “placeless” environment characterized by similar commercial architectures and planned gated communities.
Disconnect with Local Landscapes:
- Examples include indoor swimming pools and desert surfing, raising questions about roots to local geographical context.
Environmental Resource Use:
- Over-consumption and aggressive consumerism observed in Western media, affecting food sources and exacerbating pollution challenges.
Globalization Benefits:
- Examined are economic opportunities, higher standards of living, increased consumer choice, and discussions around political and social freedom, leaving open the question of whether globalization is beneficial or detrimental to societies.