key question #3: how is popular culture diffused? (3...

KEY QUESTION #3: HOW IS POPULAR

CULTURE DIFFUSED? (3 slides)

KQ #3: HOW IS POPULAR CULTURE DIFFUSED?

• The pace of diffusion has sped up at an exponential rate – Took 100,000 years for agricultural innovations to

spread

– Took 100 years for the printing press

– Now things can defuse in a year, a month, a week, a day or even shorter

• Geographer David Harvey defends this argument with his “time-space compression” model – Goes against the distance decay model

– Implies that the more interlinked two places are, the faster innovations diffuse

With Distance Decay, the

likelihood of diffusion decreases

as time and distance from the

hearth increases.

With Time-Space Compression,

the likelihood of diffusion

depends upon the

connectedness among places.

TV Distribution, 1954

Internet Users, 1995 per 1000 population

Internet shop, India

Internet Use by Food Seller in China

Geisha Kyoto, Japan


• To understand cultural diffusion, one must begin with determining what the hearth of that cultural trait is – This isn’t always easy to do

• Many argue that the more a trait diffuses, the less it becomes like the original trait – Great analogy is one person telling something to

another, who tells something to another and so on

– By the end of the story, the story is usually quite different

• This happens with all aspects of culture(especially popular culture)


• As diffusion becomes globalized, homogeneity dies

• To some, this is a good thing to be so diverse…to others, not so much

– Today the U.S., Western Europe & Japan have the greatest impact on global popular culture

•To maintain its identity, some countries take measures---a good example is France

–At least 40% of things on TV must be in French

–On the radio, at least 40% of songs played must be by French artists(and at least half must be new artists)

KEY QUESTION #4: HOW CAN LOCAL &

POPULAR CULTURES BE SEEN IN THE CULTURAL

LANDSCAPE? (6 slides)

KQ 4: HOW CAN LOCAL & POPULAR CULTURES BE SEEN IN THE CULTURAL LANDSCAPE?

• Cultural landscape

– Visible imprint of human activity on the landscape

– Includes everything from how people have changed & shaped the environment to the buildings, signs, fences & statues people erect

– Reflects the norms, values and aesthetics of a culture

• Today, placelessness is at an all-time high

– The loss of uniqueness in the cultural landscape so that one place looks like the next


• The convergence of cultural landscapes can be seen in three ways

–Architectural forms & planning ideas have diffused globally

–Individual businesses & products have become so widespread that they now leave an effect on far-flung places

–The borrowing of landscape images promotes a blurring of place distinctiveness


• Signs & businesses in places are a great example of this phenomenon

–Blockbuster & Pizza Hut signs are in Rome

–Sam’s signs are in Mexico

–Prague has Dunkin’ Donuts & McDonald’s

–In Munich, a Hard Rock Café is right next to the famous Hofbrauhaus beer garden


• The Las Vegas Strip is another great example

–City has been built to borrow landscape images from major world cities

•Today, skyscrapers can be found all throughout the world(again, a reflection of placelessness) –Look at the maps on pages 118-119


• Types of homes/housing in another great example---used to be very regionalized(now, not as much)

– Eastern U.S. is great example

•New England homes were of wood-frame construction, fireplace in the center of the house

•Mid-Atlantic homes had fireplaces on an end; homes were typically built & then expansions made(not seen in New England homes)

•Southern homes were one story and typically elevated off the ground on a raised platform(to reduce heating)

House Types


• Originally, these types of homes reflected folk culture

• Eventually they diffused westward(see map on p. 122)

• Consequently, western-style homes diffused eastward

• Today, modern architecture sacrifices tradition for practicality & efficiency

– Today its more about technology & automation than style

key question #3: how is popular culture diffused? (3...

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