Geography Reference
In-Depth Information
Summary
Advances in transportation and communications technology help popular culture dif-
fuse at record speeds around the world today. Popular culture changes quickly, offering
new music, foods, fashions, and sports. Popular culture envelopes and infi ltrates local
cultures, presenting constant challenges to members of local cultures. Some members
of local cultures have accepted popular culture, others have rejected it, and still others
have forged a balance between the two.
Customs from local cultures are often commodifi ed, propelling them into popular
culture. The search for an “authentic” local culture custom generally ends up promot-
ing a stereotyped local culture or glorifying a single aspect of that local culture. Local
culture, like popular culture, is dynamic, and the pursuit of authenticity disregards the
complexity and fl uidity of cultures.
Geographic Concepts
culture
folk culture
popular culture
local culture
material culture
nonmaterial culture
hierarchical diffusion
hearth
assimilation
custom
cultural appropriation
neolocalism
ethnic neighborhood
commodifi cation
authenticity
distance decay
time-space compression
reterritorialization
cultural landscape
placelessness
global-local continuum
glocalization
Learn More Online
About the Irish Pub Company
www.irishpubcompany.com
About the Makah Tribe
www.makah.com
About the City of Lindsborg
www.lindsborg.org
About the Hutterites
www.hutterites.org
Watch It Online
Merchants of Cool
www.pbs.org/wgbh/pages/frontline/shows/cool/
The Way the Music Died
www.pbs.org/wgbh/pages/frontline/shows/music
