PHILIPPINE POPULAR CULTURE

Module 2:
THEORIES AND APPROACHES TO
POPULAR CULTURE
(Week 3-4)

LEARNING OBJECTIVES

m
• Explain theories and approaches of popular culture

er as
• Critically analyze the importance of popular culture in society

co
eH w
o.
QUICK RECAP OF MODULE 1
rs e
ou urc
o
aC s
vi y re
ed d
ar stu
is
Th

Bakit mas sikat ang mga

sh

pelikula nina Bossing Vic

Sotto at ni Vice Ganda
kaysa sa mga pelikula ng
mga director na sina
Brilliante Mendoza at
Lav Diaz?

1|Page
This study source was downloaded by 100000775211290 from CourseHero.com on 09-28-2021 08:44:16 GMT -05:00

https://www.coursehero.com/file/91105585/MODULE-2-Philippine-Popular-Culturepdf/
 THEORIES OF POPULAR CULTURE

We make sense of popular culture through theories. There are usually two elements to
the study of any popular culture:
• the perspective of the creators of culture (e.g., media companies, directors, artists)
• the perspective of the consumers (you, me and other audiences)

Sociologists look at this issue from both standpoints and somewhere in between. Do
articles of clothing, musical notes and camerawork convey meaning embedded within them?
Or do we obtain meaning and interpret them based on our own experiences, backgrounds and
selves?

These theories see popular culture in different lenses:

1. Critical Theory

m
er as
This approach takes its cue from Karl Marx and Conflict Theory (see box below).

co
eH w
Critical theorists assert that mass media is an industry and designed to indoctrinate and
subordinate the masses (audiences) into passivity and acceptance of the capitalist mode

o.
of consumption through our popular culture consumption.
• rs e
Why challenge the normative order when you’ve got a smart phone to
ou urc
appease your discontent? Yes, unemployment rate is high and those in the
middle and lower social classes are experiencing the economic effects of the
pandemic, but at least we have Youtube, Tiktok, and the like.
o

• The critical theorists argue that we literally buy into our own domination
aC s

through the popular culture we consume which ultimately supports the status
vi y re

quo and capitalism itself.

ed d
ar stu

Conflict theory, developed by Karl Marx, states that due

to society’s unending competition for limited resources,
it will always be in a state of conflict. Tensions arise
is

when aside from resources, status and power are

Th

unevenly distributed between groups in society. Power

can be understood as control of material resources and
amassed wealth, control of politics and the institutions
that comprise society, and one's social status relative to
sh

others. This dynamic means there is a constant struggle

between the rich and the poor.
Karl Marx.
From brittanica.com

2|Page
This study source was downloaded by 100000775211290 from CourseHero.com on 09-28-2021 08:44:16 GMT -05:00

https://www.coursehero.com/file/91105585/MODULE-2-Philippine-Popular-Culturepdf/
 Sabi ng Critical Theory, ang mass media na pangunahing
pinanggagalingan ng pop culture ay dinisenyo para maging passive
ang masa at tanggapin ang sistema ng mga kapitalista at paraan
Ano raw nila ng consumption. Remember that one of the definitions of pop
Ma’am?? culture is that it is commercialized and for profit. Nakakalimutan ng
masa ang struggle nila sa buhay kasi masaya naman magconsume
ng pop culture. In the end, ang kapitalista pa rin ang nakikinabang
at ang pagkonsumo ng pop culture ay pagsuporta sa kapitalismo.
Para sa critical theorists, naka-embed ang meaning ng pop culture
mula sa mga gumawa nito.

2. Functionalism

m
On the other hand, functionalists see the purpose or function of popular culture

er as
as not so sinister and self-serving after all. Instead, they maintain that popular culture

co
provides the same purpose culture has always provided in societies: it is the social glue

eH w
that binds together members of that social group and creates feeling of solidarity and

o.
group cohesion.
• rs e
In societies where the numbers were low, the
ou urc
division of labor was less complicated and the
focus culturally was already on the society, this
so-called mechanical solidarity (named by a
o

French sociologist Émile Durkheim) was easy.

aC s

• It is also a useful explanation in illustrating the

vi y re

way big, diverse and heterogeneous societies

like ours are held together. Think about the way
present-day shared rituals serve to build
ed d

emotional bonds of recognition, identity, and trust

ar stu

within social groups and communities. Examples

are high school athletic meets, school parades or
foundation day celebrations.
is

• It is through these events that we establish and

Th

re-establish our connections to one another. Émile Durkheim.

From http://perrin.socsci.unc.edu
Sharing the same popular culture allows /stuff/durkheim1-slides.pdf
strangers to communicate with one another in
public. Have you ever struck up a conversation with a stranger simply because
sh

they were wearing an Azkals shirt which is your favorite team? Or your favorite
band’s logo on a t-shirt? Knowing the same logos and sharing the same norms
allow us to feel connected to strangers and creating a unifying feeling amongst
those who know.

3|Page
This study source was downloaded by 100000775211290 from CourseHero.com on 09-28-2021 08:44:16 GMT -05:00

https://www.coursehero.com/file/91105585/MODULE-2-Philippine-Popular-Culturepdf/
 • This feeling of emotional connectedness to others shows in what sociologists
call emotional energy. This is that warm and fuzzy feeling you get when you
hang out with good friends or you engage in a stimulating conversation with
your classmates or professors. This is one of the reasons we maintain
relationships with others, including imagined others who also enjoy the same
popular culture we do.
• This strong form of emotional energy can only come from large groups of
people with a shared focus (the athletes participating, the singer singing, for
example) and it is what
Durkheim called
collective effervescence.
Collective effervescence
is the reason why we pay
money to hear music we
already have or attend

m
the game we can watch

er as
for free on tv. Like all

co
popular culture, it is

eH w
inherently social and its

o.
meaning comes from
rs e
others, not embedded
ou urc
magically in movies we PBA Game.
From https://www.spin.ph/basketball/pba/san-miguel-brings-a-game-
watch or the music we to-outclass-ginebra-and-move-on-verge-of-finals-return-trip
listen to.
o
aC s
vi y re

Sabi ng Functionalism, ang silbi ng pop culture ay katulad ng silbi

ng kultura sa isang lipunan, para pag-isahin at mapagbuklod ang
mga myembro ng grupo. Sa mga events sa school halimbawa, mas
Ano raw
ed d

nakakapag-connect tayo sa kapwa natin classmates and

Ma’am??
ar stu

schoolmates. Or pagdating sa pop culture, kapag meron tayong

makilala na kapareho ng hilig, we feel connected. Kapag may nakita
kang nakasuot ng t-shirt ng paborito mong grupo na Ex Batallion,
is

crush mo na yung may suot. Kapag nanood ka ng live game ng

Th

Ginebra, ramdam mo na kaisa mo yung mga fans ng Ginebra sa

stadium. Para sa functionalists, likas na social ang pop culture, ang
meaning nito ay nagmumula sa iba, hindi nakatanim sa produkto.
sh

4|Page
This study source was downloaded by 100000775211290 from CourseHero.com on 09-28-2021 08:44:16 GMT -05:00

https://www.coursehero.com/file/91105585/MODULE-2-Philippine-Popular-Culturepdf/
 3. Interactionism

The interactionists focus on the way that we use popular culture to make sense
of ourselves but also emphasize how others shape our tastes, values and ultimately
identity.
• Have you ever noticed that your friends tend to like similar music, sports and
tv shows as you do? Interactionists would argue that this is not merely a
coincidence but it is the evidence of the interaction between our individual
tastes and the tastes of our peers.
• Do you ever wonder why your parents chose your birth name? It may be due
to the popularity of your name when you were born, but what exactly
influenced your parents when they named you? It is likely that those around
your parents shaped your parents' attitudes towards specific names and away
from others. We call these groups of people that tend to interpret, understand
and enjoy popular culture in similar ways as interpretive communities.

m
er as
co
eH w
o.
rs e
ou urc
o
aC s
vi y re
ed d
ar stu
is
Th
sh

Excerpt from Philippine Statistics Authority Infographic. From

https://psa.gov.ph/system/files/baby%20names%202018.pdf?width=950&height=700&iframe=true
5|Page
This study source was downloaded by 100000775211290 from CourseHero.com on 09-28-2021 08:44:16 GMT -05:00

https://www.coursehero.com/file/91105585/MODULE-2-Philippine-Popular-Culturepdf/
 • Interpretive communities are consumers whose common social identities and
cultural backgrounds (whether organized on the basis of nationality, race,
ethnicity, gender, sexuality, religion, or age) inform their shared
understandings of culture in patterned and predictable ways.
• One of the most significant ways interpretive communities play out in daily life
is in determining taste and consumption.
• Taste can be defined as a preference for particular movies, music, fashion,
etc. Though we think taste, and thus 'good taste' is universal, it is far from it.
There are diverse beliefs about what is fashionable and what is not, or what
'good music' is and what it isn't, depending on which interpretive community
we come from.
• What we prefer then determines in part our consumption, or how we receive
and make sense of popular culture. What we consume has more to do with
what is available to us and what those around us consume, e.g., your favorite
foods are likely foods that you grew up eating or your friends eat. We are
heavily influenced by those around us.

m
er as
co
eH w
Several decades ago, the French sociologist
Pierre Bourdieu analyzed French culture in

o.
terms of how important distinction from other
rs e social classes was. Since then sociologists
ou urc
have used this analysis to understand social
class and popular culture in America. In the
early days of the United States, there wasn't
o

much distinction between people in terms of

aC s

their social class. Indeed, since the U.S. was

vi y re

so new there wasn't yet an entrenched upper

class and there was certainly no aristocracy
like in Europe. No, these Americans mostly
immigrated with little to their names. But it
ed d

wasn't long before entrepreneurs and robber

barons began to accumulate wealth, they also
ar stu

Pierre Bourdieu.
From https://sites.google.com/site/ sought ways to distinguish themselves from
narrativetime/bourdieu-s-habitus the lower social classes.
This process is called boundary maintenance and it serves as a method to keep
is

lower classes out and maintain the exclusivity of the upper classes. As would
Th

come to define the U.S. in the twentieth century and beyond, the main course
this took was purchasing goods and services that those without money could
simply not afford. Buying things to show that you can afford to spend money
came to be known as conspicuous consumption (status displays that show off
sh

one’s wealth through the flagrant consumption of goods and services,

particularly those considered wasteful or otherwise lacking in obvious utility).
Sometimes this meant purchasing a large mansion with a large guest house for
the servants even though you had a family of four. Whatever form it took, its
purpose was not utilitarian but rather status oriented.

6|Page
This study source was downloaded by 100000775211290 from CourseHero.com on 09-28-2021 08:44:16 GMT -05:00

https://www.coursehero.com/file/91105585/MODULE-2-Philippine-Popular-Culturepdf/
 • As we’ve read in Pierre Bourdieu’s analysis, the habits, tastes and values of
a certain social class become entrenched as cultural capital. Cultural capital
is one’s store of knowledge and proficiency with artistic and cultural styles that
are valued by society, and confer prestige and honor upon those associated
with them. These are non-financial social assets that promote social mobility
beyond economic means, such as education, intellect, style of speech, dress,
and even physical appearance. This knowledge is passed down
generationally and learned through socialization. Each social class develops
skills and values that help their members survive in society.

The interesting part about conspicuous consumption was that the upper classes
took great pains to dissociate themselves from the lower classes while the lower
classes tried desperately to emulate the wealthy through their buying patterns.
For a brief time, average Americans came close to having similar standards of
living as the upper classes. Fueled by television commercials extolling the virtues
of consumption of commodity items to indicate status this could only last so long.

m
The upper classes with their considerably larger bank accounts were able to

er as
afford things the middle and working

co
classes could not. The financial sector

eH w
had the answer to this newfound dilemma
in the form of consumer credit and credit

o.
rs e
cards. Consumerism became our way of
life during the twentieth century fueled by
ou urc
easy access to credit so much so that by
2011, consumer debt had ballooned to $2.43 trillion and the average household
carried an average credit card debt of $15,79911.
o
aC s
vi y re

Sabi ng Interactionism, ang paraan natin ng paggamit ng popular

culture ay para mabigyan natin ng kabuluhan ang ating mga sarili.
Ano raw Binibigyang diin din nito kung paano nahuhubog ang ating pagkagusto
ed d

Ma’am?? sa mga bagay, ang ating mga values pati na rin ang ating identity. Dahil
ar stu

sa pakikisalamuha natin sa iba, nadedevelop ang tastes natin sa

music, movies, fashion, at iba pa. Halimbawa, ang ate mo ay mahilig sa
Korean fashion at beauty products, nahilig ka na rin dahil lagi mo siya
is

nakikitang nag-aayos. Ang kuya mo o mga kabarkada mo ay mahilig sa

Th

rock music, nagustuhan mo na rin ang rock music. Mahilig kumain ng

maanghang sa bahay ninyo, kaya type na type mo ang fire noodle 5x
spicy ramen challenge extreme.
sh

May mga kanya-kanya tayong interpretive communities base sa mga pagkakatulad natin
ng mga hilig. Isa ito sa humuhubog ng ating tastes and consumption. May kinalaman din
ang interactionism sa cultural capital na nakabase sa social class o sa kung ano ang
pinahahalagahan ng lipunan. Para sa interactionists, ang meaning ng pop culture ay
nagmumula sa iyong karanasan, pinanggalingan at pagkakakilala sa sarili.

7|Page
This study source was downloaded by 100000775211290 from CourseHero.com on 09-28-2021 08:44:16 GMT -05:00

https://www.coursehero.com/file/91105585/MODULE-2-Philippine-Popular-Culturepdf/
 PHILOSOPHICAL AND SOCIAL RELEVANCE OF
POPULAR CULTURE

In the 1960s, philosophy has come to a standstill, and pop culture has dominated the
world. Pop culture is now the primary medium for the expression of ideas on a mass scale. This
explains why, if it’s to survive, philosophy must study pop culture.

• Pop culture teaches us about appeal and charisma, the way celebrated pop songs
are spectacularly charming in the manner which they get their messages across. Pop
culture is the most seductive force the world has ever known. It’s more deeply loved,
trusted and a more stable companion in our joys and sorrows than other artforms.
• Pop culture achieves what Pericles, Lincoln, Dickens, and Proust were attempting
and dramatically exceeds all of them.

m
er as
co
eH w
o.
rs e
ou urc
o

Pericles Abraham Lincoln Charles Dickens Marcel Proust

aC s

Patron of the arts in Athens aka Honest Abe or the Great English writer and social critic French novelist, critic, and
vi y re

during his time, among many Emancipator, 16th US essayist

things President, spokesman of
democracy

• Philosophy today, uses popular culture to attract people and produce something that
ed d

is meaningful to life.
ar stu

• Pop culture on the other hand, should learn quite a bit from philosophy as well. Pop
culture presently touches on the big themes, but doesn’t properly engage yet in many
of the opportunities that lie its way.
• In the future, we also need pop artists, for
is

example, to take up the challenge of

Th

examining the deepest truths and what are

behind transformative concepts, and making
these into songs we’ll sing in the karaoke so
that they become a background sound our
sh

private lives. A redemptive synthesis

between philosophy and pop culture is
something to look forward to.
WATCH:
• In terms of the social aspect, pop culture can https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9ypg71Aixwc
indeed contribute in the development of an
individual, group and a community we are in. Pop culture provides an inclusionary
role in society as it unites the masses on ideals of acceptable forms of behavior.
8|Page
This study source was downloaded by 100000775211290 from CourseHero.com on 09-28-2021 08:44:16 GMT -05:00

https://www.coursehero.com/file/91105585/MODULE-2-Philippine-Popular-Culturepdf/
 MODULE 2 ASSESSMENT

Student Name: Natalie Alcantara

Course, Year and Section: BSEd 2 English
Instructor: Jarmaine Samonte
Subject: Philippine Pop Culture
Module: Module 2: Theories and Approaches to Popular Culture

Instruction: Compare and contrast the three theories of popular culture, provide examples of
the different theories, and state your opinion on what theory for you explains popular culture the
best with regard to our current times. Justify your opinion.

• First part of your essay: What are the similarities of the three theories

m
• Second part of your essay: What are their differences, including in terms of the elements

er as
of the study of popular culture

co
• Third part of your essay: Provide your own relevant, ample examples of the three

eH w
theories of popular culture

o.
• Fourth part of your essay: State your opinion on what theory explains popular culture the
rs e
best with regard to our current times. Justify your opinion.
ou urc
Reminder: Submit your word file in the following format (edit the file name):
YourName_PPCModule2_Course&Section (Surname first), e.g.
o

AlcantaraNatalie_PPCModule2_BSEd2English
aC s
vi y re
ed d
ar stu
is
Th
sh

9|Page
This study source was downloaded by 100000775211290 from CourseHero.com on 09-28-2021 08:44:16 GMT -05:00

https://www.coursehero.com/file/91105585/MODULE-2-Philippine-Popular-Culturepdf/
Powered by TCPDF (www.tcpdf.org)