Week 2-4.1. Popular Culture. An Overview1

Name of Student: Year/Section:
Week No. Date:

EAH 3: Philippine Popular Culture
2-4
Topic No. and Title: Topic 1- Popular Culture: An Overview
Intended Learning Outcomes

At the end of this module, the learner can:
LO1. Define and understand the concept of Pop Culture.
LO2. Identify the Sources of Pop Culture.
LO3. Differentiate Pop Culture from Folk Culture and High Culture.
Contents
INFORMATION SHEET No. 1
Definition, Example, Sources and Formation and Pillars of Pop Culture
What is Popular Culture?
'Popular culture' has several connotations depending on who defines it and the context in
which it is used. It is typically understood to be the vernacular or people's culture that plays a
central role in a civilization at any one moment.
Popular culture involves the aspects of social life most actively involved in public
(Brummett).
As the ‘culture of people’, popular culture is determined by the interactions between people
in everyday activities: styles of dress, the use of slang, greeting rituals and the foods that
people eat.
Popular culture is informed by media.
Popular Culture is the everyday world around us: mass media, entertainments, diversions,
heroes, icons- out total life in the picture.
Popular culture is he set of practices, beliefs, and objects that embody the most broadly
shared meanings of a social system. It includes media objects, entertainment and leisure,
fashion and trends, and linguistic conventions, among other things (Dustin Kidd).
Popular culture encompasses the most immediate and contemporary aspects of our lives.
Popular culture are the products and forms of expression and identity that are frequently
encountered or widely accepted, commonly liked or approved, and characteristic of a
particular society.
RAY D. BROWN – founder of the academic study of popular culture in the United States
 In his essay “Folklore to Populore” he said that popular culture consists of the aspects of
attitudes, behaviors, beliefs, customs, and tastes that define the people of any society.
A diverse group of people who embrace cultural qualities such as music, dancing, clothes,
and cuisine preferences that change frequently and are omnipresent on the cultural
landscape, and who stretch between identities and throughout the globe.
Most importantly, the popular culture of a country is the voice of the people – their likes
and dislikes, the lifeblood of daily existence, their way of life.
Examples of Popular Culture
Examples of popular culture come from a wide

array of genres, including popular music, print,
cyber culture, sports, entertainment, leisure, fads,
advertising and television. Sports and television are
arguably two of the most widely consumed examples
of popular culture, and they also represent two
examples of popular culture with great staying
power.
Sources of Popular Culture
There are numerous sources of popular culture. As implied above, a primary source is the
mass media, especially popular music, film, television, radio, video games, books and the
internet.
In addition, advances in communication allows for

the greater transmission of ideas by word of mouth,
especially via cell phones.
 Many TV programs, such as American Idol and

the Last Comic Standing, provide viewers with a phone
number so that they can vote for a contestant. This
combining of pop culture sources represents a novel
way of increasing public interest, and further fuels the
mass production of commodities.
Popular culture is also influenced by

professional entities that provide the public with information. These sources include the news
media, scientific and scholarly publications, and ‘expert’ opinion from people considered an
authority in their field.
For example, a news station reporting on a specific topic, say the effects of playing violent video
games, will seek a noted psychologist or sociologist who has published in this area.
This strategy is a useful way of influencing the public and may shape their collective opinions on a
particular subject.
At the very least, it provides a starting point for public discourse and differing opinions. News
stations often allow viewers to call or email in their opinions, which may be shared with the public.
A seemingly contradictory source of popular culture is individualism. Urban culture has not
only provided a common ground for the masses, it has inspired ideals of individualistic
aspirations. In the United States, a society formed on the premise of individual rights, there are
theoretically no limitations to what an individual might accomplish. An individual may choose to
participate in all that is ‘popular’ for popularity’s sake; or they may choose a course of action off the
beaten track. At times, these ‘pathfinders’ affect popular culture by their individuality. Of course,
once a unique style becomes adopted by others, it ceases to be unique. It becomes, popular.
Formation of Popular Culture
Through most of human history, the masses were influenced by dogmatic forms of rule and
traditions dictated by local folk culture. Most people were spread throughout small cities and rural
areas – conditions that were not conducive to a ‘popular’ culture. With the beginning of the
Industrial era (late eighteenth century), the rural masses began to migrate to cities, leading to the
urbanization of most Western societies.
Urbanization is a key ingredient in the formation of popular culture. People who once lived
in homogeneous small villages or farms found themselves in crowded cities marked by great
cultural diversity. These diverse people would come to see themselves as a ‘collectivity’ as a result
of common, or popular, forms of expression. Thus, many scholars trace the beginning of the
popular culture phenomenon to the rise of the middle class brought on by the Industrial
Revolution.
Industrialization also brought with it mass production; developments in transportation,

such as the steam locomotive and the steamship; advancements in building technology; increased
literacy; improvements in education and public health; and the emergence of efficient forms of
commercial printing, representing the first step in the formation of a mass media (eg the penny
press, magazines, and pamphlets). All of these factors contributed to the blossoming of popular
culture.
By the start of the twentieth century, the print industry mass-produced illustrated
newspapers and periodicals, as well as serialized novels and detective stories.
Newspapers served as the best source of information for a public with a growing interest in
social and economic affairs.
The ideas expressed in print provided a starting point for popular discourse on all sorts of
topics.
Fueled by further technological growth, popular culture was greatly impacted by the
emerging forms of mass media throughout the twentieth century.
Films, broadcast radio and television all had a profound influence on culture.
So urbanization, industrialization, the mass media and the continuous growth in

technology since the late 1700s, have all been significant factors in the formation of popular
culture. These continue to be factors shaping pop culture today.
Three Pillars of Popular Culture
1. Pop Culture Identifies Us

2. Pop Culture Challenges Us
3. Pop Culture Unites Us
Knowledge and Comprehension Check
Answer Enhancement Activity 1 and Quiz No. 1 using the QSU EARAL.
References
 Pop Culture: An Overview http://philosophynow.org/issues/64/Pop-Culture_An_Overview
Image credits:
 https://www.shutterstock.com/image-vector/cartoon-light-bulb-68166706
 https://hci-ems-media.weebly.com/popular-culture.html

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Name of Student: Year/Section:

Week No. Date:

Topic No. and Title: Topic 1- Popular Culture: An Overview

Intended Learning Outcomes

What is Popular Culture?

Popular culture is informed by media.

Examples of popular culture come from a wide

Sources of Popular Culture

In addition, advances in communication allows for

 Many TV programs, such as American Idol and

Popular culture is also influenced by

Formation of Popular Culture

Industrialization also brought with it mass production; developments in transportation,

So urbanization, industrialization, the mass media and the continuous growth in

Three Pillars of Popular Culture

1. Pop Culture Identifies Us

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