FOLK and POPULAR CULTURE Popular Culture

1. FOLK and POPULAR CULTUREPopular Culture AP HG Mr. Hensley SRMHS

2. The Passing of Folk Culture • Folk culture is rural, farm based, centered on original hearths • City growth and rise of automobile in 20th Century weakened connections to original hearths • Mass production and distribution outcompeted material folk culture

3. Popular Culture • The result of mass production and mass distribution is a homogeneous material culture • Mass media results in a homogeneous non-material culture • Popular culture is urban and innovative – it is always changing (trends)

4. Forces that Support Uniformity • Mass media – everyone gets the same message (1950 to 1980 – only four national TV networks) • Mass production – everyone gets the same things made the same way • Mass distribution – everyone gets the same stuff quickly • Urbanization – breaks the hearth connection

5. “Placelessness” • How is Charlotte different from Atlanta? • Popular culture is seen by some as destroying traditional (better?) ways • “There is no there there” • How is a Wal-Mart connected to its environment? • Alienation, anomie

6. Sports and Popular Culture • Note the connection between the rise of professional sports and the rise of mass media • NFL games are platforms to show over 100 commercials • Soccer is the world’s most popular sport (TV audience of 2 billion) • Many pop culture institutions began as folk culture institutions

7. Chain Stores and Popular Culture • Chain stores represent mass production and mass distribution • Railroads and Sears • Automobiles and department stores • Drones and Amazon? • Not just goods but also services (hotels and restaurants) • Franchise model

8. The Media and Popular Culture • 106 million people simultaneously watched the M*A*S*H finale in 1983 • Does media shape the culture – or does culture shape the media? • Ever-increasing numbers of gay characters, situations on TV in the 1990’s • Ellen (1997) then Will and Grace (1998)

9. Regional Distinctions • Old folk hearths allow for regional differences in popular culture • Music and cuisine (ex: Tejano music, Cajun food – note that both are mass distributed) • Neolocalism refers to the creation of a new place identity as a rejection of mass culture (ex: SXSW or microbreweries in AVL)

11. Fads and Trends • Both fads and trends are collective behaviors that are quickly adopted by members of a culture • Trends are long-term and are driven by a functional purpose (ex: frozen dinners) • Fads are driven by emotion and have an expiration date (ex: Silly Bands) • Memetics studies the growth, transmission and evolution of memes

12. Trends: Men’s Hats • Men’s hats (fedoras) were ubiquitous in the mid-20th Century • 1960: John F. Kennedy is 1st President not to consistently wear a hat • By 1970, men rarely wear hats – why? What functional purpose drove the trend? • Is Kennedy a trend setter?

13. Famous Fads • 1920’s: pole sitting • 1930’s: decoder rings • 1940’s: comic books • 1950’s: poodle skirts • 1960’s: Lava lamps • 1970’s: Pet Rocks • 1980’s: Parachute pants • 1990’s: Beanie Babies • 2000’s: Memes!

14. Case Study: Manga and Anime • Unique Japanese animation style known as anime • Unique Japanese comic book style known as manga • Both enter the US in the 1980’s (Robotech in 1985, Lone Wolf and Cub in 1987) • Example of cultural diffusion and globalization • Requires networks of mass distribution (this is easier since 1980’s – why?)