Nonverbal communication and culture. Identity, stereotypes and prejudices, страница 77

-  There are four important characteristics of popular culture: (1) popular culture is produced by culture industries; (2) it is distinct from folk culture; (3) we find it everywhere; and (4) it serves social functions.

-  Individuals and groups can determine the extent to which they are influenced by popular culture. That is, we may consume or resist the messages of popular culture. Our cultural identities are significant in how we negotiate our interaction with popular culture.

-  Popular culture is an important force in the way we understand other cultural groups. We tend to rely more heavily on media images when we consider cultural groups with which we have little or no personal experience. However, we need to be aware of stereotypes as we try to understand intercultural communication interaction.

-  Despite the importance of popular culture, many people find important aspects of their cultural identities enacted through folk culture. The holidays we celebrate, how we celebrate them, the foods we prepare and eat, the clothes we wear for those holidays, the decorations we make, and so on reflect the significance of folk culture.

-  Folk culture is not produced by large corporations for profit; hence, many folk rituals remain local. Sometimes, though, the distinction between popular culture and folk culture is blurred when folk culture serves the needs of popular culture. For example, folk culture is often used in popular culture products to create a sense of uniqueness.

-  A great deal of popular culture is produced in the United States and circulates globally. The imbalance between the exchange of U.S. popular culture and other popular culture texts has raised concerns about cultural imperialism.

1. Why do people select some popular culture forms over others?

2. How do the choices you make about what forms of popular culture to consume influence the formation of your cultural identity?

3. What factors influence cultural industries to portray cultural groups as they do?

4. How does the portrayal of different cultural groups by the media influence intercultural interactions with those groups?

5. What stereotypes are perpetuated by U.S. popular culture that are exported to other countries?

6. How do our social roles affect our consumption of popular culture?

7. What strategies can people apply to resist popular culture?

                              REFERENCES

             Bronner, S.J. American Folklore Studies: An Intellectual History. – Lawrence: University Press of Kansas, 1986.

             Guback, T., Varis, T. Transnational Communication and Cultural Industries. – Paris: Unesco, 1982.

             Lipsitz, G. Time Passages: Collective Memory and American Popular Culture. – Minneapolis: University of Minnesota Press, 1990.

             O’Barr, W. Culture and the Add: Exploring Otherness in the World of Advertising. – Boulder, CO: Westview Press, 1994.

             Rosenzweig, I. The I Hate Madonna Handbook. – New York: St.Martin’s Press, 1994.

             Tomlinson, J. Cultural Imperialism. – Baltimore: Johns Hopkins University Press, 1991.