CENTRAL PHILIPPINE UNIVERSITY

COLLEGE OF ARTS AND SCIENCES

Department of Languages, Mass Communication and Humanities
Philippine Popular Culture

Module 2

Popular Culture in Contrast to High Culture and Folk Culture

Prompt: Aside from being born in the Philippines, what makes you a Filipino?

Popular Culture vs. High Culture

Popular Culture is widely understood to be culture defined by the masses, as opposed to the "educated
elite". This is usually in reference to Western culture, from the 19th Century to present. Popular Culture
is often seen as trivial, superficial, sensationalist and even corrupt, given its "throwaway" nature that
can often be seen as "dumbed down" for the masses. It is often understood as the culture of the mass of
people or of subordinate classes. With the rise of social media this immediacy is only increasing.

High Culture

Is understood as the culture of the elite. Up until the early 1970s, there were disctinct assumption
between popular and high culture

Popular High
• Trivial • Serious
• Uneducated • Educated
• Passive • Demanding
• Commercialized • Uncommercial
• Fake • Authentic

Her openness to the public is a central feature of mainstream culture. It is people's history, after all. On
the other hand, high-culture is not produced by nature, nor is it intended for mass consumption. This
belongs to the social elite; the higher socioeconomic classes associate the performing arts, music,
theatre, and high intellectualism. High-culture objects also require significant expertise, preparation or
contemplation to be appreciated. These things rarely extend to the realm of pop culture. Consequently,
as opposed to the sophistication of high culture, popular culture is typically viewed (down) as shallow.
(This does not mean that the social classes are not interested in mainstream culture, or that leaders of
the people are not active in high culture.)

However, as education and politics became more accessible to women and the working classes, the line
between "popular" culture and "high" culture becomes increasingly hard to define.

Traditionally, Popular Culture has been associated with poor education and the lower classes, so
defining elements of culture as "high" and "low" cultural forms can be seen by critics as a result of
cultural snobbery. Both are equally as important to understand modern society.
For example, cultural snobbery can include seeing opera as having more cultural value than rap music.
However, the rich history of rap music, its mass appeal, appropriation into different cultures, and
influence on fashion, the arts etc, as well as its grassroots beginnings all add up to something that
reflects society and has an extremely high cultural value.

Discuss: What is considered high culture in the Philippines?

1. _______________________________________________________________________
2. _______________________________________________________________________
3. _______________________________________________________________________
4. _______________________________________________________________________
5. _______________________________________________________________________

Folk Culture vs. Popular Culture

Common culture is typically distinguished from traditional culture and from high culture. Folk culture is
similar to pop culture in several respects, because of the presence of mass participation. Nevertheless,
folk culture stands for the conventional way of doing things. As a result, transition is not as modifiable,
and is much more stagnant than popular culture.

Folk Culture

Folk culture is a simpler lifestyle, which is typically traditional, predominantly self-sufficient, and mostly
reflective of rural life. Commonly, disruptive creativity is discouraged. Group participants are required to
comply with standard group styles of behaviour. Folk culture is focused locally, and non-commercially. In
short, folk culture promises continuity, while mainstream culture typically seeks something new or
fresh. Popular culture therefore also poses an interference and a threat to traditional culture. Folk
culture, on the other hand, seldom interfers with popular culture. Often certain elements of folk culture
(e.g., Turkish rugs, GE 6222 / Philippine Popular Culture Defining Popular Culture 3 Course Module
Mexican blankets and Irish fairy tales) find their way into the pop culture world. Typically, as the popular
culture appropriates and markets objects of folk culture, the folk objects slowly lose their original shape.

How are social customs related to the cultural landscape? Social customs originate at a hearth (center of
innovation). Folk culture is traditionally practiced by a small, homogeneous, rural group living in relative
isolation from other groups. The hearths of folk customs are often unknown (who, when, and where).
Folk culture is transmitted more slowly thru relocation diffusion (product of migration)

Discuss: What is considered folk culture in the Philippines?

1. _______________________________________________________________________
2. _______________________________________________________________________
3. _______________________________________________________________________
4. _______________________________________________________________________
5. _______________________________________________________________________
The issue of popular culture with folk culture.

1. Threatens the survival of folk culture

a. Loss of Traditional Values
 Urban people in many African and Asian countries have adopted Western clothing. It
has been adopted a sign of success. It has caused problems in many Middle Eastern
countries who do not want Western influence
 Diffusion of pop. Culture also threatens the survival of some customs important to
cultures. Local languages or mother tongues can be unsed.
 Pop. Culture has brought ideas of legal equality and economic and social opportunities
to many LDCs.
b. Threat of Foreign Media Imperialism
 Leaders of many LDCs (least-developed countries) view influx of pop culture as a threat
to independence. The mass media plays a big role in this, especially news-gathering
organizations.
c. Western Control of the News Media
 Diffusion of information to newspapers around the world are dominated by the
Associated Press (AP) and Reuters. Stories that other countries get focus more on news
of MDCs
 Many African and Asian gov.’s criticize the idea of freedom of the press. However this
can be a release for the oppressed citizens.

2. Pop culture may be less responsive to the diversity of local environments and consequently
may generate adverse environmental impacts
a. Environmental Impact of Popular Culture
 Pop. Culture can significantly modify or control the environment. We often modify
environments to increase leisure. For example, golf courses avg. about 200 acres.
 Depletion of farmland to subdivisions.
b. Uniform Landscapes
 Distribution of pop. culture around the world leads to more uniform landscapes.
Promoters of pop. culture want a uniform appearance to generate “product
recognition. ” For example, there is a diffusion of fast food restaurants They Look
similar around the world so travelers can easily identify them. Gas stations,
supermarkets, and hotels follow a similar pattern
 In 1970s American, European, and Japanese cars all looked very different.Today they
look more similar than different
c. Negative Environmental Impact
 Depletion of scarce natural resources
 pollution - Pop culture demands a large amount of natural resources to manufacture
certain goods. Minerals can be over mined and animals can become endangered in the
name of pop culture
 Pop culture generates a high volume of waste—solids, liquids, and gases. Solid waste is
particularly problematic
In relation to Studying Popular Culture

In the recent years, there is increased sociological interest in forms of popular culture, often
accompanied by positive evaluations. Sociological studies of television and rock music have, becomes
branches of the discipline in their own right.High culture, folk culture, and popular culture are all
important to understand the present society.

Theories of Popular culture can be ranged along a continuum: at one end, it supports a dominant
ideology and discourages critical thinking. Popular culture reinforces conventional stereotypes and
produces passive audiences. At the other end, it is a creative expression of popular sentiments that
appeals to an audience that is far from passive and is capable of critical thought.

Pop Culture is not a dumbing down of Ideas. It is not less educational or less anything.

"While print was the primary medium for intellectual content, such verbal and analytic
definitions of intelligence made sense, but in an environment in which networked information
systems deliver new media in increasing proportion to text, this narrow definition of intelligence
is increasingly inadequate to describe how people think and learn."

-Critical information literacy: implications for instructional practice by James Elmborg. The
Journal of Academic Librarianship, vol. 32 number 2, pages 192-199.

"If we simply consider popular culture as banality, it certainly seems meaningless ... even
potentially destructive. However, if instead we recognize that it is simply an expression of our
collective experiences, its importance becomes more clear."

-Lawrence Rubin

References:

1. https://prezi.com/6sdseprjaufe/high-culture-vs-popular-culture/
2. https://slideplayer.com/slide/14252049/
3. Jim, T. (2009, December 8). Popular Culture: We Are What We Consume. Psychologytoday.
https://www.psychologytoday.com/us/blog/the-power-prime/200912/popular-culture-we-are-
what-we-consume
4. ch4folkpopculture.ppt (live.com)
5. Philosophy Now; https://philosophynow.org/issues/64/Pop_Culture_An_Overview; March 26,
2020