1.

Define culture
Culture is described as the shared patterns of behaviors and interactions, cognitive frameworks,
and affective understanding acquired through socialization. These shared patterns identify
individuals of one culture group while separating them from those of another.
Most social scientists now consider culture to be primarily composed of the symbolic, ideational,
and intangible characteristics of human civilizations. The core of a culture is not found in its
objects, tools, or other tangible cultural elements, but in how the group interprets, uses, and
perceives them. In civilized communities, it is the ideals, symbols, interpretations, and
viewpoints that distinguish one people from another, rather than material items and other
tangible features of human society. People within a culture frequently interpret symbols,
artifacts, and behaviors in the same or similar manner.

2. Describe the characteristics of Popular Culture.

- Associated with commercial products and paraphernalia
Demands develops and expands due to media, marketing and dissemination processes
All popular culture is associated with commercial products. These can include accessories
paraphernalia (CDs, t-shirts, posters, books, mugs, lunch boxes etc.) This is because profit is
the key motive in the perpetuation of popular culture. Commercial products serve a dual
purpose. They enable more profit to be earned and they serve as a method to further
promote and advertise the popular culture they are associated with. Think about a new
LEGO set. A parent purchases a new set for their child, who then plays with the new set with
their friends. The friends have now been exposed to the popular culture
- Develops from a local to a global level
Experiences global acceptance with the progression and integration of technologies
Popular culture need to start somewhere. Typically they need to achieve success on a small
or local (micro/meso level) scale, before moving to a national and finally international level
(macro level). However, with the increasing ubiquity of the internet and globalization
blurring national cultural boundaries, popular culture can spread more directly from
small/local to widespread/international i.e. from micro to meso to macro levels. At every
level, consumers with similar cultural norms to help guarantee the rising popularity of the
product. The popular culture finally realizes its potential at a global level, driven by profit
motivations. Translational corporations with subsidiary companies around the world are
able to adapt a popular culture to a local audience while at the same time facilitating its
global spread. Global media coverage on a range of different channels including
newspapers, radio, magazine, and social media ensure more people are aware of and can
access popular cultures.
- Achieves widespread success
Broad access is assisted by media and communication technologies
This is a key defining point of a popular culture: if only a small segment of the population
accesses it, it is not popular culture. Access to a particular popular culture is dependent on
the social, physical and to a lesser extent, the psychological environment. Developed nations
have easier to most popular cultures due to greater affluence, which provides the
populations with the ability to meet the costs of accessing the particular culture. Urban
 centres often have greater access than rural/remote areas as well due to limitations on
access to the physical paraphernalia of popular culture. Radio, cassettes, CD’s, DVD’s, mobile
phones, computers, and the internet all contribute to access of popular culture. As these
products have become increasingly portable and cheaper, barriers to access of popular
culture have decreased and the speed by which popular cultures spread has increased.
- Is constantly changing and evolving
Experiences continuity and change. Popular Culture influences society while simultaneously
society influences the popular culture. Popular cultures need to adapt to meet consumer
needs as trends change in a boarder social and cultural context. The producers of the
culture need to create new interest and the need to keep consuming and therefore
generate more profit. Because popular simultaneously influences society and is influenced
by it, as society changes, so too will popular cultural.
3. Identify some local pop icons in the field of sports, music, visual arts, fashion, food, fashion
and social events, among others. Illustrate how these aspects of pop culture influence the
behavior of the society.
- Sports (Hidilyn Diaz, Manny Pacquiao, Alyssa Valdez
- Music (Eraserheads, Sarah Geronimo, Ben&Ben,
- Visual Arts
- Fashion (
- Food Adobo
Siningang na baboy
Lechon
Sisig
Balut
Isaw
Sorbetes
Halo-halo
Puto bumbong
Bibingka
- Social Events

4. Account the different elements of culture

Symbols
Every culture is filled with symbols, or things that stand for something else and that often evoke
various reactions and emotions. Some symbols are actually types of nonverbal communication,
while other symbols are in fact material objects.
Language
Perhaps our most important set of symbols is language. In English, the word chair means
something we sit on. In Spanish, the word silla means the same thing. As long as we agree how
to interpret these words, a shared language and thus society are possible. By the same token,
differences in languages can make it quite difficult to communicate. For example, imagine you
are in a foreign country where you do not know the language and the country’s citizens do not
know yours.
Norms
Cultures differ widely in their norms, or standards and expectations for behaving. We already
saw that the nature of drunken behavior depends on society’s expectations of how people
should behave when drunk. Norms of drunken behavior influence how we behave when we
drink too much.
•Norms are the formal and informal rules regarding what kinds of behavior are acceptable and
appropriate within a culture.
Values
Values are another important element of culture and involve judgments of what is good or bad
and desirable or undesirable. A culture’s values shape its norms. In Japan, for example, a central
value is group harmony. The Japanese place great emphasis on harmonious social relationships
and dislike interpersonal conflict. Individuals are fairly unassertive by American standards, lest
they be perceived as trying to force their will on others (Schneider & Silverman, 2010). When
interpersonal disputes do arise, Japanese do their best to minimize conflict by trying to resolve
the disputes amicably. Lawsuits are thus uncommon; in one case involving disease and death
from a mercury-polluted river, some Japanese who dared to sue the company responsible for
the mercury poisoning were considered bad citizens (Upham, 1976).

Artifacts

The last element of culture is the artifacts, or material objects, that constitute a society’s
material culture. In the most simple societies, artifacts are largely limited to a few tools, the huts
people live in, and the clothing they wear. One of the most important inventions in the
evolution of society was the wheel.