Cultural Geography – Popular Culture As Global Culture Except as noted, all photos by Dale Lightfoot Dale Lightfoot's Cultural Landscapes From Around The.

Cultural Geography – Popular Culture As Global Culture

Except as noted, all photos by Dale Lightfoot

Dale Lightfoot's Cultural Landscapes

From Around The World

Oklahoma State University

Geography Department

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Globalization

• Popular customs are found in large, heterogeneous societies that share certain habits despite differences in personal characteristics. Popular customs are based on global interaction and modern technology, and are most often a product of economically developed countries. As the world family draws ever closer through instant communications and rapid transportation, popular culture increasingly welds itself into an evolving global culture.

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Hong Kong (China)

• Pac-man in Hong Kong.

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South Korea

• Baseball has become more popular in Korea than in the United States, where the game originated.

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China

• Playing "Chinese checkers" in...China (how do you think the game got its name?).

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China

• You can use your American Express card for an acupuncture session in China.

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Hong Kong (China)

• An automatic teller machine (ATM) disbursing cash in Kowloon, Hong Kong. Are there glazed pigs hanging next to your local ATM?

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South Korea

• A Korean Buddhist monk walking in the comfort of Reebok shoes. This is clearly non-traditional monk-wear, but Reeboks are manufactured in South Korea and quite inexpensive there. Notice that he wears a traditional coat.

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Armenia

• Increasingly throughout the developing world, folk dress has given way to a western-inspired form of homogenized global dress. These young women in Armenia are typical of the younger generation around the world who dress in the same fashion as their North America and European peers (preferably with English writing visibly displayed).

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South Korea

• Stylish doghouses in Kyongju, South Korea, with roofs patterned after local Buddhist architecture.

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Israel

• A contemporary store in Jerusalem, capitalizing on this central location of religious activity and pilgrimage; in the birthplace of Judaism, Christianity, and Islam.

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Morocco

• A familiar feature on the landscape of any urban area (telephone booth), though the "telephone" script may vary (Tangier, Morocco).

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Mexico

• The satellite dish -- both cause and consequence of a merging global culture -- may be found in any urban or remote rural area of the world. This one is tuned into American programs coming across the border from Boquillas del Carmen, Mexico.

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Jordan

• "Microsoft...working for the Arab world," and ANY world that is computer literate (Amman, Jordan).

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Yemen

• Carrying a chicken home for lunch. While (fortunately) not exactly a global culture, the trade in modern weapons in a less regulated environment -- such as Yemen (shown here) -- has spawned open markets for guns and a culture that wears the Kalashnikov as outwear.

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Yemen

• Weapon stall at the open-air arms Souk (market), north of Saada, Yemen.

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Israel

• An odd combination of food culture, unless you live in Tiberias, Israel and enjoy Chinese food.

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Honduras

• Forget generic animals and geometric shapes; Barney and Pocahontas are now among the most popular piñata figures in Tegucigalpa, Honduras. (Bart Simpson reigns supreme in Mexico!).

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Guatemala

• Garfield and Mickey Mouse adorn an exterior wall of this store in San Pedro village, Guatemala.

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Jordan

• Giant Safeway store, Amman, Jordan.

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South Korea

• Del Monte logo, Chinhae, South Korea. Many brands and products found in American supermarkets are also found all over the world.

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China

• Kodak billboard in Guangzhou, China.

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Egypt

• A Marlboro billboard provides shady relief from the sun for gellabiya-clad men waiting for a bus along the Red Sea coastal highway, Egypt.

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Russia

• Basken Robins "31 flavors" ice cream store, Moscow, Russia.

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Guatemala

• Judging by the various products being advertised, this scene could have come from a typical American city. This is actually the main shopping district of downtown Guatemala City, Guatemala.

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Germany

• "Our world in not for sale". Not everyone is happy with the homogenization of world culture and the influence of global companies and capital. This anti-globalization rally in Berlin, Germany is one of many such protests held around the world in recent years.