Folk and Popular Culture Insanely Rad Scot, with Kilt and Three-Fin Thruster Woman with Oxcart, Myanmar

The Forbidden City Beijing, China 2004

Beijing, China 2004

culture (social science definition) Specialized behavioral patterns, understandings, adaptations, and social systems that summarize a group of people’s learned way of life

culture is….. Learned, not biological Transmitted within a society to next generations by imitation, tradition, instruction

culture provides…. a “general framework” each individual learns & adheres to general rules also to specific sub-groups: age, sex, status, occupation, nationality

Joined by common traditions, behaviors, loyalties, beliefs Subcultures co-exist Masculine / feminine Rural / rural Different ethnicities Joined by common traditions, behaviors, loyalties, beliefs Christmas Church attendance on Sunday

culture is dynamic…. External influences Cultural exchange Generational Technology Environmental HIV/AIDS Global warming

cultural variables.. micro-macro 1. Cultural traits – most elementary Expression of culture, the smallest distinctions Behavior Object Beliefs Attitudes these “building blocks” = a culture complex

culture complex Individual cultural traits that are functionally interrelated Masai of Kenya – cultural traits centered on cattle American football – sports culture

culture region Portion of the Earth’s surface occupied by populations sharing recognizable distinctive cultural characteristics Political organizations/boundaries Religions Economy type

cultural realm A set of cultural regions showing related cultural complexes and landscapes Large region that has assumed fundamental uniformity in its cultural characteristics and showing significant differences from surrounding realms

culture realms

cultural hearths

Culture The combination of three things: Material objects (artifacts) Values Material artifacts Political institutions Material objects (artifacts) Interpersonal relations (sociofacts) Ideas and beliefs (mentifacts) Each element has a spatial distribution

Material Culture Two basic categories: folk and popular culture Folk culture Traditionally practiced by small, isolated, homogeneous groups in rural areas Popular culture Characterized by large, heterogeneous groups of people who share common habits despite differences in other personal characteristics Geographers are interested in two aspects of culture: Where cultures are located in space How cultures interact with the environment

Important Terminology Material Culture – the physical objects produced by a culture in order to meet its material needs (Carl Sauer - Berkeley, 1930s – 1970s): Food Clothing Shelter Arts Recreation

Important Terms Custom – frequent repetition of an act until it becomes characteristic of a group of people.. Taboo – a restriction on behavior imposed by social custom. Habit – repetitive act performed by an individual.

Folk Culture – rapidly changing and/or disappearing throughout much of the world. Guatemalan Market Portuguese Fishing Boat Turkish Camel Market

Folk Culture Stable and close knit Usually a rural community Tradition controls Resistance to change Buildings erected without architect or blueprint using locally available building materials anonymous origins, diffuses slowly through migration. Develops over time. Clustered distributions: isolation/lack of interaction breed uniqueness and ties to physical environment.

FOLK ARCHITECTURE

FOLK ARCHITECTURE Effects on Landscape: usually of limited scale and scope. Agricultural: fields, terraces, grain storage Dwellings: historically created from local materials: wood, brick, stone, skins; often uniquely and traditionally arranged; always functionally tied to physical environment.

Maladaptive Diffusion Diffusion in which image takes place over precedence over practicality OR Diffusion of an idea or innovation that is not suitable for the environment in which it diffused into (e.g., New England-style homes in Hawaii, or Ranch-style homes in northeast US).

Folk Culture Stable and close knit Usually a rural community Tradition controls Resistant to change Buildings erected without architect or blueprint using locally available building materials anonymous origins, diffuses slowly through migration. Develops over time. Clustered distributions: isolation/lack of interaction breed uniqueness and ties to physical environment.

FOLK FOOD How did such differences develop?

Hog Production and 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.

Distribution of Amish Figure 4-4

Hearths of House Types Folk-housing: building styles that are particular to the culture of the people who have long inhabited the area; there are three distinct folk-housing regions in the United States (by way of Europe): -New England: dating back to colonial times is of wood-frame and diffused past Wisconsin. -Mid Atlantic: style originated as a one-room log cabin with a chimney at one end diffusing into Missouri, Arkansas, and Mississippi. -Southern (Tidewater South): style was originally smaller, only one story, and a porch that diffused southward into Georgia. They were often built on a raised platform to reduce heat.

Hearths of House Types Figure 4-12

U.S. House Types (1945–1990) Figure 4-16

U.S. House Types by Region Small towns in different regions of the eastern U.S. have different combinations of five main traditional house types.

Nebraska Syria Dominican Republic Newfoundland

North American Folk Culture Regions

Food Taboos: Jews – can’t eat animals that chew cud, that have cloven feet; can’t mix meat and milk, or eat fish lacking fins or scales; Muslims – no pork; Hindus – no cows (used for oxen during monsoon) Washing Cow in Ganges

Popular Culture Clothing: Jeans, for example, and have become valuable status symbols in many regions including Asia and Russia despite longstanding folk traditions.

Popular Culture Wide Distribution: differences from place to place uncommon, more likely differences at one place over time. Housing: only small regional variations, more generally there are trends over time Food: franchises, cargo planes, superhighways and freezer trucks have eliminated much local variation. Limited variations in choice regionally, esp. with alcohol and snacks. Substantial variations by ethnicity.

A Mental Map of Hip Hop Fig. 4-3: This mental map places major hip hop performers near other similar performers and in the portion of the country where they performed.

Diffusion of TV, 1954–1999 Television has diffused widely since the 1950s, but some areas still have low numbers of TVs per population. Much media is still state-controlled. Ten Most Censored Countries: North Korea Myanmar (Burma) Turkmenistan Equatorial Guinea Libya Eritrea Cuba Uzbekistan Syria Belarus Source: The Committee to Protect Journalists. www.cpj.org.

Internet Connections The Internet is diffusing today, but access varies widely.

Internet Connections The Internet is diffusing today, but access varies widely. Some countries censor the Internet, but this is much harder to do.

Popular Culture Effects on Landscape: creates homogenous, “placeless” (Relph, 1976), landscape Complex network of roads and highways Commercial Structures tend towards ‘boxes’ Dwellings may be aesthetically suggestive of older folk traditions Planned and Gated Communities more and more common

Are places still tied to local landscapes? Surfing at Disney’s Orlando Typhoon Lagoon Are places still tied to local landscapes? Disconnect with landscape: indoor swimming pools? desert surfing?

Dubai’s Indoor Ski Resort Swimming Pool, West Edmonton Mall, Canada

Muslim Women in Traditional Dress at Indoor Ski Resort

Problems with the Globalization of Culture Often Destroys Folk Culture – or preserves traditions as museum pieces or tourism gimmicks. Mexican Mariachis; Polynesian Navigators; Cruise Line Simulations Change in Traditional Roles and Values; Polynesian weight problems Satellite Television, Baja California

Problems with the Globalization of Popular Culture Western Media Imperialism? U.S., Britain, and Japan dominate worldwide media. Glorified consumerism, violence, sexuality, and militarism? U.S. (Networks and CNN) and British (BBC) news media provide/control the dissemination of information worldwide. These networks are unlikely to focus or provide third world perspective on issues important in the LDCs.

Environmental Problems with Cultural Globalization Accelerated Resource Use through Accelerated Consumption Furs: minx, lynx, jaguar, kangaroo, whale, sea otters (18th Century Russians) fed early fashion trends. Consumerism evident in most Western Media fashions, including hip hop and rock and roll. Inefficient over-consumption of Meats (10:1), Poultry (3:1), even Fish (fed other fish and chicken) by meat-eating pop cultures Mineral Extraction for Machines, Plastics and Fuel New larger housing desires and associated energy and water use. Golf courses use valuable water and destroy habitat worldwide. Pollution: waste from fuel generation and discarded products, plastics, marketing and packaging materials

Beijing, China Palm Springs, CA

Marlboro Man in Egypt

Forbes Hip Hop Cash Kings, 2007

Fiji

Suburban Sprawl, Arizona

“Progress?”