Popular culture

The popular culture is the Culture Peuple, in opposition to a élitiste Culture which would touch only one part easy and educated of the population. This concept is before a a whole erudite category.

One can also mention that the popular culture, contrary to a form of culture considered to be élitiste, wants to be accessible to all and, even if it does not deprive oneself for all that more or less explicit references to many other works (running in the emissions and televised series, for example), remains comprehensible and appreciable on several levels, without requiring necessarily thorough cultural knowledge as a preliminary.

History

The popular Culture in the European rural world

The popular traditions of the rural world were generally described under the term of Folklore, erudite term in the beginning, passed since in the language running, with a strong connotation of contempt or devalorization. Thus the museums which give this Culture to the honor generally speak about " traditions populaires" and hardly of " folklore".

The year is rythmée by the rural calendar, in particular the harvests (Moisson (agriculture)). The great events are the Foire S, the Religious holidays and the Mariage S. With the daily newspaper, taken care are the place of transmission of a oral Culture of Conte S and Légende S.

These tales and popular Mythes will be collected and transcribed in all the Europe and in particular by

Industrialization

As from the XVIIIe century, the Industrialization of the Western countries brings the birth of a working Culture , whose solidarity is a strong component. Certain leisures are encouraged by the Paternalisme of the time: Sports, Pigeon fancying, working Gardens, Brass band S in order to divert the workman of the frequentation of the Bar. The Syndicalisme develops, entering sometimes in opposition with always strong religious traditions.

Industrialization is also the occasion of a mixing of Culture S, due to migratory flux towards the industrial areas requiring of labor, like with the development of the railroads.

Elimination of illiteracy

During the XIXe century, the majority of the Western countries begin in the Alphabétisation of the population. It a little earlier spreads in the countries of Protestant religion , where each one must be able to read the Bible.

In France, in 1881, the laws Ferry institute the free and obligatory school, which will give access of all the written Culture. This school also institutes the French like single language, prohibiting the use of the regional languages.

The movements of popular education take their rise, militant for a dissemination of the information to the greatest number in order to make it possible each one to open out and find the place of citizen who returns to him.

The Mass culture

At the beginning of the 20th century, the rights to the Paid vacations are acquired in Germany, then in France and Belgium, allowing an increasing share population to leave in Vacances.

With the rise in the standard of living, in the Années 1960 appears the concept of civilization of the Loisir S.

With XIXe and XXe centuries, the popular Culture evolved/moved considerably in Occident, then in the whole world with the development of the Written press, sound recording, the invention of the Cinéma, the radio and finally of the Télévision, which made it possible to the populations to reach a Culture very rich in Image S, texts and various Information S. Since the Years 1990, the diffusion and the marketing of a Mass culture still developed with the network Internet or the numerical success of supports such as the audio CD or DVD. In 2004, one estimates that 40% of the world commerce are Numérique. the number of new Film S, delivers S does nothing but increase each year. In the same way the multiplication of the television channels gives a choice increasingly broader and varied to the Consommateur Culturel.

For as much the expression of " culture of masse" revêt, as well as that of " culture populaire" a connotation too often pejorative. It thus is assimilated, in a more or less implicit way, with a form of culture " facile" , americanized, governed by great multinationals, surmediatized and overall lower than the " true culture" , more difficult of access. For as much, this qualitative devalorization is relatively not very justifiable, although omnipresent, when it is known that many artists such as Elvis Presley or the Beatles can completely be attached to a form of mass culture, when one knows the importance of their mediatization at their respective times, mediatization which for as much never harmed artistic excellence their productions, and which resounds as a proof that the quality of cultural works does not depend of anything of their accessibility near the public.

Recovery a posteriori of the Popular culture

One observes a recovery more and more a posteriori works being able to be attached to the popular culture by an easy class of the population, in particular the Middle-class man-Bohemian . The best example remains the Blues, formerly songs of American black slaves and today music " savante". One can also to quote of many artists resulting from different fields and very popular in their time such as Charlie Chaplin, Janis Joplin or many graffeurs which, if they preserve many people among the popular layers, succeeded in converting a new public (which often were hostile for him at the time), composed easier people and half-compartment of the people in a strict sense.

fields Cultural S

Popular songs

  • regional Songs

  • National anthems
  • Popular markets

Popular music

oral Culture

Oral tradition:

  • Tale S
  • Counting rhymes
  • Proverbs

Popular literature

  • Romance popular

  • Romance Mawkish novel serials
  • Pulps
  • (Love story)
  • Fanfic S
  • Literature of Fantastic station
  • Science fiction and
  • See Kinds and literary forms

Popular art

Knowledge-to make

Festivals and spectacles

  • Festival of the Music

  • Football world cup

Plays

Critical

The popular Culture is often regarded as lower, including by those who are the agents.

Same manner, often sees one the popular culture like " Beauf " and/or politically committed with right. According to the defenders of the popular culture, this impression emerges in major part of a certain correct snobbery Politiquement diffused by a Middle-class man-Bohemian elite generalizing and engaged with the Center-left of the political chessboard but also by the Television channels, radio stations and undertaken committed politically on the right, such as TF1 or RTL, which makes of advantage the good share to the artists, politicians and organizers of right-hand side.

Thus, when the popular culture is evoked, one will think initially of people like Patrick Sebastien, Michel Sardou or Johnny Hallyday more than with Elvis Presley, NTM or Edith Piaf, all however voted by plebiscite by the popular layers of the population in their respective times.

According to Pierre Bourdieu, “ the worship of the popular culture is, very often, only one verbal inversion and without effect, therefore wrongfully revolutionary, of the racism of class which reduces the popular practices to cruelty or vulgarity: as certain celebrations of femininity do nothing but reinforce the male domination, this manner ultimately very comfortable to respect the “people”, which, under the appearance of the exalter, contribute to lock up it or insert it in what it is by converting the deprivation into choice or elective achievement, gets all the profits of an ostentation of subversive and paradoxical generosity, while leaving the things in the state, the ones with their Culture or them (language) really cultivated and able to absorb its own distinguished subversion, the others with their Culture or them Langue deprived of any statutory value or prone to brutal devaluations which one fictitiously rehabilitates by a simple forgery in theoretical writing. ”

It is actually a criticism, not of the Popular culture strictly speaking, but rather of the mania of the elites to divide, via semantics, the culture in two unequal parts, the first " noble" , the second " Popular " , one " really cultivated and able to absorb its own subversion distinguée" and the other " deprived of any value statutory or prone to brutal dévaluations". He sees thus in name " Popular culture " (and especially in its very pejorative connotation today) a factor of qualitative devaluation of the culture accessible to the popular Layers.

Random links:Ounce More with Feeling | Burden with the McCormick factories | Christiane Durand | List stations of the métrobus of Quebec | Octopus (album) | 1953_Prix_grand_belge