d:\pb48633\geo201\chap4-98  GEOG 201

CHAPTER 4

FOLK AND POPULAR CULTURE

STUDY NOTES

 

 

 

I. Defining terms; Customs, Folk and Popular

 

  • A. Custom -- Frequent repetition of some act to the extent that it becomes characteristic of the group of people preforming the act
  • 1. Example, Japanese bowing for greeting

    2. Note that custom is one small subdivision of culture, a much more complex and difficult area to discuss.

    • B. Focus of this chapter the method of diffusion of customs across the landscape, the resulting patterns, and the impacts

    C. Divide customs into a dichotomy

  • FOLK ----------------------- POPULAR

    for each will provide a definition, and discuss their origin, spread, interaction, and purpose.

    1. Definition

  • a. Folk (vernacular) customs -- customs traditionally practiced by small homogeneous (many times rural) groups living in relative isolation (spatially and/or socially)

    b. Popular (international) customs -- found in large heterogeneous societies that share certain habits despite differences in other personal characteristics

    •

    • 2. Origin

  • a. Folk tend to be Anonymous

    - unknown person

    - unknown time

    - although often a general location for origin can be estimated

      

  • 1) Example the song "La Bamba" -- many know this as older popular song in the US that initially was recorded by members of the Hispanic community in the 1960s and revived in the late 1980s, in fact La Bamba comes from a dance that entered Mexico along with African slaves perhaps as early as the 16th century
    •

    • b. Popular are products of industrial societies and result from a combination of:

    - more leisure time (results in demand for new activities)

    - more disposable income

    - industrial technology to enable reproduction

  • 1) Since popular customs are usually reproduced for the purpose of commercial sale origin in time and place is crucial to protect Copyrights and Patents

    2) Many times reproduction of outputs require skills that are not readily available to general public (i.e. can't be easily pirated)

    3) Examples -- Hollywood movies, Rock videos to M-TV

    •

    • 3. Spread and Interaction

  • a. Folk
  • 1) Primarily spread through relocation diffusion, result is slow spread and limited area of exposure

    2) Usually limited interaction outside of originating group

    •

    • b. Popular

  • 1) Primarily spread through contagious or hierarchical diffusion assisted by mass media communication and modern transportation

    2) Spread tends to be very rapid and over extensive area

    3) Highly desirable to interact across cultures, countries, continents... (this is especially true for commercial customs)

    •

    • c. Example -- La Bamba started as a folk custom in Africa and only came to the America's with the relocation of people (slaves) and then remained only among the black migrants. It eventually spreads to other groups in Mexico based on face to face contact and eventually is brought to the US with Hispanic migration into the US. In the 1960's it becomes a commercial hit (i.e. becomes a popular rather than folk custom) and then is rapidly spread to every household in the country via radio.

    Note that this example also indicates that folk customs can be commercialized and become popular customs.

    d. Second example -- rock videos, a popular custom, are rapidly diffused via M-TV, are available simultaneously everywhere in the world due to satellites, and are designed to appeal to a world audience.

    •

    • 4. Purpose

  • a. Folk
  • 1) Usually arise out of necessities of life; food, shelter, clothing, maintenance of society,... although leisure can also be included (even in Third World countries people have some leisure time)

    2) Rubenstien provides a Vietnamese folk song example instructing people when to plant crops; An additional example is Fairy Tales which have moral instructions in them

    •

    • b. Popular

  • 1) Revolve more heavily around leisure, although may still address basic needs although at perhaps a higher cost than absolutely necessary

    2) Generally have a commercial purpose -- making money for the originators and distributors

    •

    • II. Ford, Larry. 1971. Origin, evolution, and diffusion of rock and roll music.

     

  • A. Main conclusions
  • 1. Basically Rock emerged as a combination of:

    -Black Rhythms and Blues

    -White Country and Western

    2. Its formation represented a revolt by the provinces against the old cultural capital, NYC, because NYC wasn't filling local needs

    •

    • B. Concepts

  • 1. Ford deals with a series of concepts or tools very similar in definition to ones we used in exploring language and religion

    -Cultural hearth area

    -Process of diffusion (spread)

    -Patterns of:

    -acceptance

    -rejection

    2. Hearth area (review Rubenstien chapter 1), the question that Ford wishes pursue here is:

  • Why did a particular trait start at a given point and not some other -- what was present there that enabled a critical mass
    •

    • 3. Spread & Diffusion (again review Rubenstien chap 1), realize that Ford's use of these concepts varies slightly from Rubenstien's but that they are basically the same

  • a. Personal Contact

    b. Relocation of individuals

    c. Objectification for easy transmittal

    •

    • 4. Acceptance & Rejection

  • a. Satisfaction -- if an origin area is already satisfied then it may not desire to change the status quo:
  • for example, the Buddha was an Indian Hindu but Buddhism no longer exists in India.
    •

    • What about Jesus??? Did all Jews become Christian?

    b. Barriers -- local conditions can prevent acceptance or don't provide necessary conditions to cause components to come together

    -South, racial segregation prevented groups from interacting

  • -South, also had lower urbanization rates, leads to more conservative outlook and greater social control
    •

    • 5. Final note -- study concentrates on verbal (vocal) aspect of Rock's evolution

    •

    • C. White Country & Western Music -- History & Development

  • 1. What is the major ethnic group of the Appalachian region?

    Where did they come from?

    What is their musical heritage?

  • Historically, what instrument did they use? How did this change over time?
    •

    • Does Isolation play a role in this musical type? Explain.

    2. Exposure to change -- early 20th century

    What caused this exposure?

    Why/how is it continued?

    3. Need for a center as demand increases (Nashville, TN)

    How does the hearth area develop?

    What created the critical mass?

    What kinds of diffusion were important and how did they interact?

    Be sure to locate the primary hearth area on a map.

    Did this folk custom evolve in a pop custom at this time? Explain.

    4. Market area

    How extensive is the market area in the 1920s and 30s?

    5. Western music

    What can be concluded about the ethnic background of this group? Think about yodeling.

    6. North -- Rejection

    What did the North think? Why?

    •

    • D. Black Music -- Gospel & Blues

  • 1. Gospel -- mainly from southern Baptist and Methodist churches
  • a. Why were African-Americans Christianized during the slave period? What kind of religions were they permitted to join? If this is stated as the interaction of a dominate culture with a non-dominate one which one dominated and what is the process being identified here?

    b. Gospel music arises, and due to the post-Civil War split of the Baptist and also Methodist churches, plus the establishment of all black congregations in the South, this evolves under social isolation

    •

    • 2. Blues -- mainly from "field holler" and chant work songs

  • a. What is the historical origin of this music? What was its original purpose? Musical techniques maintained until the present include: statement by individual followed by response from chorus or call and response; falsetto breaks and vocal twists and snaps; and the inclusion of the blue note (flatted third and seventh note to mimic African scale more closely)

    b. What is the "blue note"? What was its purpose?

    c. Why is the Mississippi delta so important in the development of Blues? Where is the Mississippi delta (locate it on a map)?

    d. Who was W.C. Handy and why was he important? First African-American to create sheet music using blue note style.

    e. How does Memphis fit into this entire development? Beale Street becomes Blue's hearth area for first the sheet music, then later record industry. These records by blacks were referred to as "Race" records.

    f. Why was the spread of blues so slow in the south? Is there a term that Rubenstien might have used to describe this situation?

    g. What was White reaction to blues?

    •

    • E. New York City

  • 1. Rubenstein details musical development in NYC, where and what occurs here?

    2. What is the nation's general reaction to pre-1950 NYC tin pan alley music? Indifferent acceptance.

    •

    • F. The Midwest Industrial Heartland

  • 1. What brings Country & Western and Blues into the Midwest?

    2. What differences occur in the Midwest that hadn't occurred in the South?

    •

    • G. Birth of Rock and Roll

  • 1. Who was Alan Freed and why is he important? Why was the term "Rock and Roll" coined?

    2. How does race and mass communication fit into the development of Rock?

    3. Finally, early on why didn't Rock take hold in the South? Why didn't it originally develop in the South?

    4. What was the reaction of the older generation of the middle class to Rock? Does this sound familiar? What will happen when you turn middle aged?

    •

    • Additional Notes