1. Human Geography
Ch. 4.3
Explain the diffusion of popular culture and culture traits through space and time.

2. Time-Space Compression
The sense that the world is getting smaller as a result of recent innovations in transportation and communication technology.
Ideas, goods, and people can travel further is less time that at any time in human history

3. Time-Space Compression
Travel times compared to the past
Past Present
Walking (20-30 miles/day) Car (70 mph)
Horse (50 miles/day) Bullet train (125 mph)
Crossing Atlantic by sailboat (8-12 weeks) - By cargo ship (7 days) Jet (650 mph)
Letter across USA by Pony Express (10 days) - FedEx (24 hrs)

4. Diffusion of Popular Culture
Hierarchical Diffusion - ideas/innovations diffuse from the hearth to the most connected people and places
Think fashion:
Who adopts a fashion first? Last?
What places lead in fashion? What places lag behind?
Does everyone adopt the same fashion?

5. Law of Diffusion

6. Law of Diffusion Innovators: Originators of idea/innovation
Early Adopter: Most connected and can afford
Early Majority: Not as connected; can only afford as costs decline
Late Majority: Less connected or can’t afford until costs decline
Laggards: Least connected (small towns, rural areas) or can’t afford to cost declines sharply

7. Law of Diffusion - Fashion
Innovators: Fashion designers
Early Adopter: Celebrities, wealthy, popular (Giorgio Armani)
Early Majority: Average person (Anne Taylor)
Late Majority: Average person (J.C. Penney)
Laggards: Least afford or least connected (Walmart, TJ Maxx)

8. Hearths of Popular Culture
Can be places, businesses, and people
More developed countries (USA, Japan, UK, France)
Major Corporations (Time-Warner, Disney, Viacom)
Major Cities
Internet (Social Media, YouTube)

9. Hearths of Popular Culture - USA
New York City
Los Angeles
Nashville
Miami
???????

10. Hearths of Popular Culture - World Cities
NYC
London
Tokyo
Paris
Milan

11. What determines connectedness?
Size of populations
Travel between location
Economic activity (trade, business activity)
Proximity (how close to each other)
Level of development

12. The Gravity Model
Explains the level of connectedness between population centers
The shorter the distance and the greater the population, the greater the gravitational pull

13. The Gravity Model
The greater the gravitational pull, the higher the levels of travel,, trade, and communication between the two.
More connected = greater diffusion of popular culture

14. Manufacturing Popular Culture
What is “popular” can be manufactured and then sold to the population, thus making an idea, or fashion, or song popular.
Music companies that promote a song or artist over others
Media corporations that decide which movies, celebrities, merchandise to promote
Fashion houses that decide on the next year’s fashions
Businesses that target segments of population with commercials/advertisements
Individuals that create online videos/blogs that attract large numbers of followers

15. Manufacturing Popular Culture
Popular culture can be created by corporations or individuals.
For example....what is cool?
Dress, music, media, food, slang
Often created in order to “sell” a product

16. Manufacturing Popular Culture
Michelle Phan
Ninja

17. Reterritorialization
When people of a place take an aspect of popular culture and modify to fit their own cultural context, thus making it their own (kind of like stimulus diffusion)

18. Reterritorialization - Hip Hop

19. Most Popular Sports - USA

20. Most Popular Sports - USA

21. Most Popular Sports - World

22. Most Popular TV Shows - USA