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Distinctions Between High and Popular Cultures Essay

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Distinctions Between High and Popular Cultures

Culture, in sociology, is the beliefs, behaviour, language, and entire way of life of a particular group of people at a particular time. Culture includes traditions, ceremonies, and works of art, inventions, technology, and habits.

Culture distinguishes human beings from other animals, in that humans are able to make patterns of behaviour for themselves, and are able to transmit these from person to person and through generations.

Sociologists are interested in how cultures emerge and develop, looking into the social conditions behind different cultures, and in doing so they examine the way standards and values operate as guides to behaviour. …show more content…

Due to the technological developments in transportation and telecommunications, popular culture is, to an extent, a function of the commercialisation of modernity. The modern producer of popular culture is able to target a market place much smaller than a producer prior to the beginning of these technologies. Popular culture is governed by the needs of the market place and reproduces the desires of the self. Commodities are imposed upon the popular culture, taking away freedom of choice and individuality. Instead of being linked to one another as members of a community, the relation is formed with a system of industrial production, which is something intangible and untouchable.

In a way popular culture encourages impatience as most things rely on instant accessibility. For example, fast food chains allow us to have satisfying, however unhealthy, food instantly. Some may argue that flat pack furniture is of the popular culture industry as it is all mass produced. Whereas, the high culture population would prefer an original, unique or antique piece of furniture. It is made clear from studying the high culture that they focus on the timeless.

H Hawkins (1990) believed that high and popular cultures do often share similar themes. For example a particular piece of music could be seen as high culture at one point, and popular culture at

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