Module I: Understanding of Popular Culture

Unit 1: a. History of Popular Culture

b. History of Philippine Pop Culture

Introduction:
Welcome to the first module in your course! This module introduces you to what popular culture
is all about. You will also get to know the characteristics of pop culture and learn about its history. You
will also read about folk culture and how it differs from popular culture. Now we are ready to embark on
our journey into popular culture. Enjoy!

TOPIC LEARNING OUTCOMES

Determine the events that relate to the history of popular

culture
Create a historical timeline of the events that relate with
the history of popular culture.
culture

Engage

POP CULTURE IN ME

Popular Culture in Me

Instruction: Design or dress the image showing your own identity. Use the guide questions in designing
the image.
a. What outfit and accessories do you usually wear?
b. What products do you usually use and apply in your body in your preparation going to school
or town?
c. What are the things that you usually put in your bag?

For male:
 Retrieved from: https://previews.123rf.com/images/arlatis/arlatis1607/arlatis160700040/61969999-fashion-man-full-length-outlined-template-figure-
silhouette-with-marked-body-s-sizes-lines-front-vie.jpg

For female:
Retrieved from https://www.google.com/search?q=image+of+figure+of+lady&tbm=isch&ved=2ahUKEwjKq8KRx4rrAhX_xYsBHa8CAnIQ2-
cCegQIABAA&oq=image+of+figure+of+lady&gs_lcp=CgNpbWcQA1DxpQFY8a4BYIWyAWgAcAB4AIABAIgBAJIBAJgBAKABAaoBC2d3cy13aXotaW1nwA
EB&sclient=img&ei=SA0uX8rnIv-Lr7wPr4WIkAc&bih=657&biw=1366#imgrc=oo5DZktbJAiPuM

Explore
 Popular Culture plays a big part in our lives. We see popular culture in music, media, food,
clothing, and other things.

What is popular culture?

There are several definitions of popular culture. Some books mentioned that there is no
exact definition of popular culture but still there are several authors who gave
descriptions of what popular culture is. Some of the definitions of popular culture are:

1. According to Rets, I. (2016)

a. A social phenomenon, differentiation, of modern culture that includes ideas,
values, activities, products appealing to a large audience

2. According to Tisdell and Thompson (2016)

a. An entertainment media that serves as a medium for knowledge construction
about one’s own and other’s identities.

3. According to Storey, J. (2015)

a. culture which is widely favored by the or well-liked by many people;
b. the culture which is left over after we have decided what is high culture
c. popular culture is mass culture
d. originates from the people
e. site of struggle between the resistance of subordinate groups in society and
the forces of incorporation operating in the interest of dominant groups in
society
f. one informed by recent thinking around the debate on postmodernism

4. According to Storey, J. (2003) as cited by Wiana, W. (2013)

a. The view of life, work and practice of intellectual, spiritual, and aesthetic
communities, or groups within a certain period, many people enjoy,
dominant, comes from general public, do not meet the requirements of high
culture, mass produced and has a commercial value

5. According to Benet, T. (1982) as cited by Wiana, W. (2013)

a. Pop culture is a culture derived from “the people”. He raised this issue
through an approach that popular culture is applied to “the people”. Pop
culture is a culture of authentic “folk”. Popular culture as well as the local
culture of the people for the people. Pop definition in this case is linked with
the concept of working class culture romance then interpreted as a major
source of symbolic protest in contemporary capitalism.

Why do we need to study popular culture?

1. We are immersed in popular culture.
2. We are confused about popular culture.
 3. Popular culture is interdisciplinary.
4. Studying pop culture requires complex thought.
5. Shape thoughts
6. Reflects heart and soul of the society
7. Learn more about the culture
8. Navigate daily lives
9. Wide scope of awareness
10. Emphasis on the roles of profession like nursing profession
11. Understand thyself

How do we generate the general meaning of popular culture?

4 meanings of “popular”
1. Inferior due to its availability
2. Intentionally seeking attention
3. Liked by a lot of people
4. Because of skills and talent

2 general kinds of culture

1. Highly valued representations of a people’s culture. E.g. The pyramids
2. The traditions, artifacts, and perceptions created by a people who generally
share a geographic region in the world. Popular culture pulls all of these together which
makes it hard to fully understand.

In this unit of module 1 you will understand that the characteristics of folk culture differ
from that of popular culture. The differences are usually based on the following categories. Try to
decipher the characteristics of folk culture and popular culture based on the following categories:

CATEGORY FOLK CULTURE POPULAR CULTURE

Locations Small isolated communities Cover large areas and multiple
communities or societies

Origins Has a hearth, but no recorded reason for
where, when or why a tradition is formed
Diffusion (spread) Relocation diffusion
-resistant to diffusion from outside
sources
-meaning: spread of an idea through
physical movement of people from one
place to another like spreading
Christianity
Almost always documented
beginning, event or people that
started a tradition
Hierarchical diffusion
-meaning: spread of an idea from
persons or nodes of authority or
power to other persons of places
-ex. Fashion trends, music genres
like rap, hip hop etc, types of dance

People -Unique and easy to distinguish form People have some sorts of activities
people from other places. and occupations are connected
-Connect to family, tribe, traditions
Psychology -People know their place and role in
society.
-Feel free inside their traditions
-coming of age ceremonies
Sociology People are committed to the health of tribe
or community
Clothing and fashion Styles were passed down from one
generation to another generation
Food Unique and related to what can be grown
in the physical environment
CATEGORY FOLK CULTURE
Locations Small isolated communities
Origins Has a hearth, but no recorded reason for
where, when or why a tradition is formed
Diffusion (spread) Relocation diffusion
-resistant to diffusion from outside
sources
-meaning: spread of an idea through
physical movement of people from one
place to another like spreading
Christianity
People -Unique and easy to distinguish form
people from other places.
-Connect to family, tribe, traditions
Psychology -People know their place and role in
society.
-Feel free inside their traditions
-coming of age ceremonies
-people have to find their role
-engage in “voyage of discovery”
-feel free in ability to shake off the
past
(people in pop culture are easily
persuaded, reject tradition, thus look
for something to believe in)
-People are committed to own
wellbeing.
-focused on the youth
-created entertainment
-high degree or professional
expertise
-probably focused on love
-Multiple sources of ingredients
-many different kinds of ingredients.
-food tends to be blander/tasteless
POPULAR CULTURE
Cover large areas and multiple
communities or societies
Almost always documented
beginning, event or people that
started a tradition
Hierarchical diffusion
-meaning: spread of an idea from
persons or nodes of authority or
power to other persons of places
-ex. Fashion trends, music genres
like rap, hip hop etc, types of dance
People have some sorts of activities
and occupations are connected
-people have to find their role
-engage in “voyage of discovery”
-feel free in ability to shake off the
past
(people in pop culture are easily
persuaded, reject tradition, thus look
for something to believe in)
Sociology People are committed to the health of tribe
or community
Clothing and fashion Styles were passed down from one
generation to another generation
Food Unique and related to what can be grown
in the physical environment
-People are committed to own
wellbeing.
-focused on the youth
-created entertainment
-high degree or professional
expertise
-probably focused on love
-Multiple sources of ingredients
-many different kinds of ingredients.
-food tends to be blander/tasteless

CATEGORY FOLK CULTURE POPULAR CULTURE

Food taboos many
Housing -materials are restricted to local
environment
-design is distinctive, limited styles
and easier to build
-adapted to local environment
- many have a religious influence
-probably built by home owner
Few (not to eat exotic)
-many styles, created in mass, less
connected to local building materials
and local environment
-may have engineered design and be
built by professionals

Category Folk culture Popular culture

How does each influence each Popular Culture tends to Folk culture provides sources for
other? overwhelm and destroy folk popular culture to draw constantly
cultures changing ideas.
(Popular culture loses sources to
draw ideas from as it destroys folk.)

You will now understand that the characteristics of popular culture is different from folk
culture.

The characteristics of popular culture are the following:

1. Produced by cultural industries (e.g. Disney corporations produces movies, cartoons,
amusement park, and merchandise);
 2. differs from folk culture because folk culture is not financially driven;
3. it is everywhere (tv, movies, radio, commercials as examples of resources of popular
culture);
4. fills a social function (it serves as a cultural form like friends and
family asks about your reaction to a new movie or show;
5. consists of artefacts, events, and products – material goods mass
produced by machines in factories;
6. reflects audience beliefs and values - shapes audience beliefs
and values;
7. often imitative (of itself)
8. commercialized – prevailing money economy
9. trendy – constantly changing
10. dependent upon the taste of age like ages 14-26 years old –
based in the large heterogenous (diverse) groups of people
11. based mainly in the urban areas
So, we already mentioned about the characteristics of popular culture, we will now try to
navigate on how the popular culture has been developed.

History or development of Popular culture

1. The Genesis of Popular Culture

Sociologists consider culture as the formation of traditions and trends that link humans in
a common group. Therefore, human culture existed even in prehistoric societies;
however, those prehistoric societies’ tradition and arts, things that are created, such as
cave paintings and decorated pottery are generally considered as folk art and folkways.
Popular culture, by definition, requires that the masses be engaged in practicing and
consuming it, thereby making it popular.

2. Shakespeare the Superstar

William Shakespeare as the Western world’s first pop culture “superstar” was probably
William Shakespeare. His theater plays are timeless classics, but he wrote them for a
mass audience, thus fulfilling pop culture’s requirement of art that is meant to be enjoyed
by the masses.

3. Popular Culture Becomes Global

Popular culture did not require satellite, television, and the Internet to become
global. When the first explorers took to the seas or traveled overland routes to distant
places, they were influenced by, and returned with, examples of other cultures’ popular
art, artifacts, and customs, such as drinking coffee. If that had not caught on, Starbucks
would be stuck trying to sell cups of hot, frothy milk for three bucks a pop. The masses
were usually not the first to experience exotic forms of popular culture, but they were
exposed to them over time.

4. The Age of Industrialization: Relax, Enjoy

In the case of popular arts especially theater, dance, music
and more recently movies and television, the masses must have sufficient time and
resources to enjoy these arts.

5. Technology and Pop Culture

The sewing machine provided new fashions for everyone. Technology also
created new kinds of arts and items and made them available to everyone, not just the
 wealthy elite. Obvious examples that changed society significantly enough to alter the
course of history are radio, television, motion pictures, amplified music, computers, and
the Internet.

Explain

To understand and value more on the about the importance of pop culture, watch the YouTube video that
is entitled Why Pop Culture?: Alexandre O. Philippe sent with your module.

Elaborate

Kindly watch the additional presentations and additional articles that will enhance more
your understanding about popular culture.

Evaluate:

My FAV Activity

Directions:

1. Research on the history of the given topic (most favorite food/ most favorite cosmetic/ most favorite
toy/ most favorite style of fashion)
2. Use one short bond paper, 1.5 spacing, no margins, any font size, no cover page, landscape or
portrait.
 3. Photo your favorite item (this will see the origin of that particular item), if not available you can draw
or get an image that is closest to the image of your favorite item.
4. Write your honest reflection within 5 sentences explaining about your feelings and learning in doing
the research. Do not forget your sources.
5. Answer the question: How does globalization affect your identity in connection with your favorite
item or product? Write your answer in 5 sentences only.
6. You may follow the example below.

Name:
Schedule: History:
Date:

image Reflection:

Answer: