folk and popular culture. threat to folk culture: rising incomes often fuel demand for popular...

Folk and Popular Culture


Threat to Folk Culture:

Rising incomes often fuel demand for popular culture possessions

Turning to popular culture may cause a shift away from a society’s traditional values

May lead to the dominance of Western perspectives


In clothing, the Western business suit has been associated with business success and social status

-has become the ‘world uniform’ for business execs

South KoreaBrazil


In the Middle East, rulers who wear business suits show that they are trying to form closer relations with the U.S. and Western European countries

Saudi Arabia delegates at UN


Fundamentalist Muslim leaders oppose widespread adoption of Western clothes

-urban women are encouraged to wear a chadors (is a combination head covering and veil)


1997 Iranian Presidential Election:

Ali Akbar Nateq-Nauri favored banning Western culture

-supported by religious and military leaders

Mohammad Khatami favored a more tolerant attitude toward Western cultural influences

-supported by the young peopleKhatami won


The spread of popular culture threatens the subservient role of women to men that is found in many folk cultures

Taliban Afghanistan (late 1990s):

-women were prohibited from attending school, working outside the home, seeking health care (including during child birth), and from driving a car

-the women could only leave the home if fully covered by clothing and escorted by a male relative

-women who did not follow these rules were often beaten, shot, or stoned to death


MDCs have created opportunities for women to have economic and social opportunities outside of the home

Taliban slide show: (from http://www.phrusa.org/campaigns/afghanistan/af_phgl.htm)

A young girl, pushing her paraplegic and blind father on the streets of Kabul, begs for money. The father lost his legs and vision in a landmine accident a few years ago. Her mother could not work due to Taliban policies.


A 12-year-old boy, working as a shopkeeper`s assistant and supporting his three younger siblings and parents, started to cry when he expressed his concerns about the rising costs of wheat flour, oil, and other cooking essentials. He was also traumatized after having attended a public execution in the Kabul sports stadium.


Not permitted to enter NGO buildings and talk to foreign aid workers, Afghan women wait outside for hours hoping to obtain humanitarian assistance.


Children often play near a destroyed residential area contaminated with mines and UXOs (unexploded ordnances).

A portion of an unexploded ordnance (UXO) protruding from a house in a residential area of western Kabul.


Women from all walks of life are forced to conceal themselves in public with a shroud-like burqa, or else face beatings. These women were waiting to be examined in a women's clinic. Those without a burqa have no such opportunity for health care.

"First, I lost my husband, then the Taliban took my job: now, like a professional beggar I have my own spot on the side of the road," said a young widow. For many women, begging has become the only means of survival under the Taliban's restrictions for women.


Threat of Foreign Media Imperialism:

LDCs fear that popular culture is a threat to their independence

-popular customs often replace cultural traditions

LDCs fear news-gathering media

The U.S., Great Britain, and Japan dominate television programming in LDCs


Many American television shows present American beliefs and social reforms

•Upward social mobility

•Freedom for women

•Glorification of youth

•Stylized violence

Many LDCs ban American programming


Environmental Impact of Popular Culture:

Popular culture usually spreads without considering physical features

Popular culture can significantly modify and control the environment

-whereas folk customs usually begin as a result of the physical environment

The Diffusion of Golf

http://www.koreus.com/media/backkom-golf.html


Golf is an example of popular culture imposing the environment

Typical golf courses are about 200 acres in size

More than 200 new golf courses built in U.S. during last 20 years

-more retired people

-younger people with more flexible work schedules


Golf course distribution is not even across the U.S.

There are more golf courses per person in Upper Midwest and Great Lakes states

-rapid population growth in South and West

-little land available in Mid-Atlantic states

-there are areas in Arizona, South Carolina, and Florida that have high concentrations of golf courses


Uniform Landscapes:

The spread of popular culture tends to produce more uniform landscapes

Fast-food Restaurants

-attractive due to convenience and low-cost

American fast-food restaurants and hotels have opened in other countries

-they appeal to travelers

-locals are curious to try these things that they see on TV


Other examples of Worldwide Diffusion of Pop Culture:

Toyota


Two Ways Diffusion of Pop Culture Has Negative Environmental Impacts:

1. Depletion of scarce natural resources

-minerals, petroleum

-popular furs hurt animal populations

Although folk cultures also encourage using certain animal skins,

demand is far less


The depletion of natural resources from pop culture can also strain an economy

-pop culture is often less efficient and uses more resources

For example, if humans ate grains directly, they could acquire the calories they need to survive 90% faster than they do

Instead, humans raise animals which is much less efficient

-to produce one kg of beef, nearly 10 kg of grain must be consumed by the animal


2. Pollution

-popular culture generates a high volume of waste

(solids, liquids, and gas)

-the environment is forced to absorb this waste

Most visible: solids (cans, old cars, paper, plastics…)

A commitment of time and money must be made to control the damage of pollution

folk and popular culture. threat to folk culture: rising incomes often fuel demand for popular...

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