Chapter 4

Folk and Popular Culture

Origins and Diffusion of Folk & Popular CulturesWhat is culture?- a collection of social customs

A custom- is a habit (individual repetitive act) that is shared by a group of people.

Origin of folk and popular culturesOrigin of folk culture- often have anonymous hearths,

dates, and creators. Example: Home on the Range

Origin of popular culture- often have been tracked since origin and can be known and understood all around the world

Diffusion of folk and popular culturesThe Amish: Relocation diffusion of folk cultureSports: Hierarchical diffusion of popular culture- soccer

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.

A Mental Map of Hip Hop

Fig. 4-2: This mental map places major hip hop performers near other similar performers and in the portion of the country where they performed.

Amish Settlements in the U.S.

Fig. 4-3: Amish settlements are distributed through the northeast U.S.

World Cup Fans

French, German, and Italian fans at 2006 World Cup (eventually won by Italy).

Clustering of Folk CulturesIsolation promotes cultural diversity

Himalayan Art- very different from group to group and divided by the mountains in between them.

Influence of the physical environmentDistinctive food preferences- Terroir- sum

of the effects of the local environment on a food item

Folk housingU.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.

Traditional Vegetable Garden, Istanbul

-How does this compare with a garden in Indiana?

Hog Production & Food Cultures

Fig. 4-6: Annual hog production is influenced by religious taboos against pork consumption in Islam and other religions. The highest production is in China, which is largely Buddhist.

Home Locations in Southeast Asia

Fig. 4-7: Houses and sleeping positions are oriented according to local customs among the Lao in northern Laos (left) and the Yuan and Shan in northern Thailand (right).

House Types in Western China

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

Diffusion of House Types in U.S.

Fig. 4-9: Distinct house types originated in three main source areas in the U.S. and then diffused into the interior as migrants moved west.

Diffusion of New England House Types

Fig. 4-10: Four main New England house types of the 18th & 19th centuries diffused westward as settlers migrated.

Wide Dispersion of Popular Culture Diffusion of popular housing, clothing, & food

Popular housing stylesRapid diffusion of clothing styles- diffusion of

jeans (Levi Straus started out selling jeans to miners in California during the gold rush)

Popular food customs- potato chips in north, pork rinds south- Bourbon upper south, Canadian whisky in north, rum on east coast

Television and diffusion of popular cultureDiffusion of television- from 1 mill in 1949 to

10 mill in 1951, to 50 mill in 1959Diffusion of the internetGovernment control of television

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.

Alcohol Preferences in the U.S.

Fig. 4-12: Per capita consumption of Canadian whiskey (left) and tequila (right) show different source areas and histories of diffusion.

Wine Production per year

Fig. 4-13: The distribution of wine production shows the joint impact of the physical environment and social customs.

Diffusion of TV1954 - 2003

Fig. 4-14: Television has diffused widely since the 1950s, but some areas still have low numbers of TVs per population.

Distribution of Internet Users, 1995 - 2003

Fig. 4-15: Internet users per 1000 population. Diffusion of internet service is following the pattern of TV diffusion in the 20th century, but at a much faster rate.

Liz Lewis:1995-2004

Internet Use by Food Seller in China

Impacts of the Globalization of Popular CultureThreats to folk culture

Loss of traditional valuesForeign media dominance- perspectives are not

localized and could be hostile to the country in question

Environmental impacts of popular cultureModifying nature- diffusion of golf (a scottish past

time)Uniform landscapes-signs, symbols, and languages are

the same (McDonalds, Gas Stations, Starbucks, BMW)Negative environmental impact- Natural resources

strained, pollution, elimination of biodiversity

Golf Courses in Metropolitan Areas

Fig. 4-16: The 50 best-served and worst-served metropolitan areas in terms of golf holes per capita, and areas that are above and below average.

McDonald’s in Beijing, China