Constantly changing Based in large, heterogeneous groups of people Based mainly in urban areas Material goods mass-produced by machines in

factories Prevailing money economy More numerous individual relationships, but

less personal Weaker family structure Considerable leisure time available to most

people Police, army, and courts take the place of

family and church in maintaining order

If a single hallmark of popular culture exists, it is change › Words such as growth, progress, fad, and

trend crop up frequently in newspapers and conversations

› Some people unable to cope with fast change

› Vast majority of people in developed countries belong to the popular culture

If a single hallmark of popular culture exists, it is change › We profited greatly in material terms through this

transition› Disadvantages become apparent as one moves

toward the popular end of the continuum We forfeited much in discarding folkways Popular culture is not superior We weaken both family structure and interpersonal

relationships The prominent cultural geographer has said of

popular culture “only two (things) would I dislike to give up: inside plumbing and medical advances.”

If a single hallmark of popular culture exists, it is change › Contributions to the spread of popular

culture Industrialization Urbanization Rise of formal education Resultant increase in leisure time

› All the reasons popular culture spread caused folk culture to retreat

Often Destroys Folk Culture› preserves traditions as museum

pieces or tourism gimmicks. Mexican Mariachis

Swimming Pool, West Edmonton Mall, Canada

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.

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; 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

Without the sign, we would not know if these were houses, apartments, or condos.

Their style is no style; a sense of sameness pervades.

Nothing sets these structures apart as being in a particular place; this is placelessness

James Kunstler speaks of “geography of nowhere” in describing America› One place become much like another, robbed of its

geographical essence› Pervasive influence of a continental or worldwide popular

culture

Most effective device for popular culture diffusion

Commercial advertising of retail products bombards us visually and orally

Using psychology, we are sold products we do not need

Popular culture is equipped with the most potent devices and techniques of diff usion ever perfected

Modern advertising is very place-conscious› Products and services are linked to popular,

admired places› Example of the “Marlboro Man” and the

romanticized American West› Remarkably such techniques work in

countries as far away as Egypt

Advertising plays a key role in the diffusion of popular culture.

Symbols are important marketing tools and companies aim to get instant recognition for their products.

Here a row of former Chinese shop houses has been renovated as a “strip mall.”

The signs are international status symbols meaning “American.”

American pop culture is becoming increasingly popular in Asia to the dismay of many traditional parents.

How do you think these young Malaysians learn about American products and why are they so much in demand?

Where do you think they are manufactured?

What signs do you recognize?

Popular cultures of North America, Europe, and Australia have become similar and in constant contact› Americans lineup to hear touring British rock

musicians› Rocky Mountain ski resorts are built in Alpine-

Swiss architecture› Latest Paris fashions appear in American

department stores› Fast-food franchises of McDonalds and

Kentucky Fried Chicken diffused to Russia › Motel chains such as Holiday Inn took root in

Tibet and other countries

Television has become to popular culture, worldwide, what fire is to folk culture

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:1. North Korea2. Myanmar (Burma)3. Turkmenistan4. Equatorial Guinea5. Libya6. Eritrea7. Cuba8. Uzbekistan9. Syria10. BelarusSource: The Committee to Protect

Journalists. www.cpj.org.

Perhaps the personal computer and Internet access have created another new type of place

Certain words we use imply it has a geography—”Cyberspace”

The information superhighway connects not two points, but all points, creating a new sort of place

Does cyberspace contain a geography at all?› Place, as understood by geographers, cannot be

created on the net› “Virtual places” lack a cultural landscape and a

cultural ecology› Human diversity is poorly portrayed in cyberspace

Old people, poor people, the illiterate, and the continent of Africa are not represented

On the net, users end up “meeting” people like themselves

The breath and spirit of place cannot exist in cyberspace

› These are not real places and never can be

Still, cyberspace possesses some geographical qualities› Enhances opportunities for communication

over long distances› Allows access to rare data banks› Encourages and speeds cultural diffusion› The Internet helps heighten regional

contrasts› Uneven spatial distribution of Internet

connections creates a new way people differ

The Internet is diffusing today, but access varies widely.

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

http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/pages/frontline/video/flv/generic.html?s=frow03pe6

The country of Bhutan should have government control on TV to preserve it’s folk culture.