Folk and Popular Culture

1. Folk and Popular Culture

2. Origins and Diffusion of Folk and Popular Cultures • Origin of folk and popular cultures • Origin of folk music • Anonymous hearths, transmitted orally • About everyday life, things that are familiar to group • Country music hearts-Upper south • Origin of popular music • Mass electronic production • Tin Pan Alley and Hip Hop in New York • Diffusion of folk and popular cultures • The Amish: Relocation diffusion of folk culture • Sports: Hierarchical diffusion of popular culture

3. Tin Pan Alley and Popular Music Fig. 4-2: Writers and publishers of popular music were clustered in Tin Pan Alley in New York City in the early twentieth century. The area later moved north from 28th Street to Times Square.

4. Diffusion of folk and popular cultures • Popular culture is spread by hierarchical diffusion (Hollywood, New York) • Folk culture is spread by relocation diffusion Examples • The Amish: Relocation diffusion of folk culture • 70,000, 17 states • Migrated from Switzerland, France and Germany because of low land prices • Sports: Hierarchical diffusion of Soccer • 11th century in England, spread outward because of increased leisure time • Each country has preferred sports (Cricket, Hockey, Martial Arts and Lacrosse) • T.V. and internet allow global spectators

5. Clustering of Folk Cultures • Isolation promotes cultural diversity • Himalayan art styles that show differences among geographically close culture groups • Tibet, Nepal, Hindus and Animist art styles • Influence of the physical environment on food • People hold on to old food habits after assimilating • People adapt their food preferences based on environment • Soybeans, quick frying and stewing/roasting • Certain foods are avoided or desired • Bulls, mandrake, otters, potatoes, or goats • Transylvanian food diversity • Romanians, Jews, Armenians and Hungarians

6. Himalayan Folk Cultural Regions Fig. 4-5: Cultural geographers have identified four distinct culture regions based on predominant religions in the Himalaya Mountains.

7. Folk Housing is a product of both cultural traditions and environmental conditions • Houses are made from nearby materials and influenced by social factors • Environment influences floor plans based on climate • Social conditions affect the floor plan of houses • Fiji, China, Middle East, India, Africa, Madagascar, Java • U.S. Folk House Forms • 3 hearths-New England, Mid Atlantic, Lower Chesapeake • New England-Saltbox, Two-Chimney, Cape Cod and Front Gable & wing • Middle Atlantic- “I” house • Lower Chesapeake- steep roof and chimneys

8. House Types in Western China

9. Diffusion of New England House Types Fig. 4-10: Four main New England house types of the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries diffused westward as settlers migrated.

10. U.S. House Types by Region Fig. 4-1-1: Small towns in different regions of the eastern U.S. have different combinations of five main house types.

11. Wide Dispersion of Popular Culture • Diffusion of popular housing, clothing, and food • Popular housing styles • Transition from space to time, housing reflects fashion • Rapid diffusion of clothing styles • Clothing reflects occupation and income • Popular food customs • Alcohol and snacks

12. U.S. House Types, 1945–1990 Fig. 4-11: Several variations of the “modern style” were dominant from the 1940s into the 1970s. Since then, “neo-eclectic” styles have become the dominant type of house construction in the U.S.

13. Television and diffusion of popular culture • Diffusion of television • Introduced in the 1930s • By 1950 ¾ of homes had a TV • 4 major categories of countries • Diffusion of the internet • Highest number of internet hosts are in MDCs • Will diffuse faster than TV • Government control of television • People turned on the TV and watched what the government wanted them to see • Singapore banned satellites but wants MTV and HBO to have their Asian headquarters there • Satellites hastened the fall of the Communism

14. Distribution of Internet Hosts Fig. 4-15: 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.

15. Impacts of the Globalization of Popular Culture • Threats to folk culture • Loss of traditional values • Wearing clothing from an MDC is controversial • Fundamentalist Muslims oppose western clothing • Threatens subservient role of women • Foreign media dominance • MDCs new form of Imperialism • Environmental impacts of popular culture • Modifying nature-golf courses • Uniform landscapes-every town looks the same • Negative environmental impact • Increased demand of natural resources and pollution