Monday, December 6, 2010

Pop Culture vs. Folk Culture

First Off, Happy St. Nick Day! (see one of my previous posts)

Many may think of culture just as one general term, but in fact there are two types that are often confused. These are popular culture and folk culture. Popular culture is constantly changing and specific to a certain place and time. It is determined by the media, film, newspapers and is seen globally. Popular culture is seen all around us, everyday. Some say that it is the contemporary culture that is practiced by "ordinary people. Examples would be things such as Bugs Bunny, McDonalds, Brittany Spears. It is defined by objects, images, books, and music. Folk Culture on the other hand, refers to the lifestyle of a culture. It is often handed down through word of mouth and through generations. If folk culture is moved to a new place, its origin is still very apparent. Examples that were used in previous posts of mine were the Native American Tipis, Hawaiian Hula, or Shaker furniture.

What are some examples of folk culture or pop culture that you can now put into these categories?

2 comments:

  1. I just learned about this subject in my human geography class. I also learned that folk cultures can become pop cultures overtime. For example, sushi was once only consumed by a small group of people, but now you don't one person that doesn't enjoy the occasional sushi roll.

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  2. I have to agree with S, I too learned this in Human Geography. Also found it interesting how something are pop culture and there aren't and there's a thin line between things sometime. Like music.

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