Philippine Popular Culture

An Introduction

Prepared by: Christopher Tauna

Objectives:
1. Discuss what culture is and how it has been
defined or described
2. Differentiate the Material and Immaterial
culture
3. Examine the structures of Culture
4. Expound the Characteristic of a culture.
 What is culture?
What is your own understanding or idea when
you hear a word “culture”
 Culture
One of the earliest definitions of culture was from
British anthropologist Edward Burnett Tylor in 1871:
“Culture, or civilization, is that complex whole
which includes knowledge, belief, art, law, morals,
custom, and any other capabilities and habits
acquired by man as a member of society.” He
asserted that culture is complex which includes
intangible qualities acquired through learning
because we belong to a society. Tylor equated
culture to civilization. A society becomes civilized if
they have culture.
 Culture
is a broad concept that refers to the customs,
values, beliefs, and practices of a group of
people. It incorporates family roles, rituals,
communication styles, emotional expression,
social interactions, and learned behavior. Culture
also refers to a shared way of life that includes
social norms, rules, beliefs, and values that are
transmitted across generations (Hill, McBride-
Murry, and Anderson 2005, 23).
The Material and Immaterial culture

Abstract Physical
Beliefs
Mode of Dressing
Norms
cuisine
Laws

Values Crafts
Ideas Arts
Customs Sports
Traditions
 Structures of Culture
• Superstructure: This is a culture’s worldview,
such as morals and values, oftentimes
grounded in religion. It involves the belief
systems of a given society. People understand
their very existence in relation to other
members of the society by observing their
cultural belief systems
 Structures of Culture
Social Structure: This is rule-governed
relationships, including rights and obligations,
that hold members of a society together.
Households, families, associations, and power
relations, as well as politics are part of this
structure.
 Structures of Culture
Infrastructure: This is the economic foundation
of a society, including its subsistence practices
and the material tools used to make a living. It
refers to the livelihood of the people in the
society.
 CHARACTERISTICS OF CULTURE
Culture is learned. Culture is not biological; we
do not inherit culture. We learn culture from
families, peers, institutions, and media. Much of
learning culture is unconscious. The process of
learning culture is known as enculturation.
 CHARACTERISTICS OF CULTURE
Culture is shared. Because we share culture with
other members of our group, we are able to
behave in socially acceptable ways. We are
likewise able to predict how others will act.
However, culture being shared doesn’t
meanculture is homogenous. There are other
subgroups subdividing the whole group, with
their own subcultures.
 Structures of Culture

Culture is based on symbols. A symbol is something

that stands for something else. Symbols are arbitrary
and differ cross-culturally. They only gain meaning
when the people in a culture agree on their use.
Examples of symbols are language and money, with
language being the most important symbolic element
of culture. Symbols may not have the same meaning
with different groups.
 Structures of Culture
• Culture is dynamic. This means that cultures
interact and change. Various culturesexchange
ideas and symbols, because most cultures are
in contact with one another.Because cultures
are integrated, if one part in the system
changes, it is expected forthe whole system to
adjust
 IMPORTANCE OF CULTURE
Culture distinguishes man from animals. It is
the culture that makes the human animals man.
Culture regulates man’s conduct and prepares
him for group life. The norms set by the
community guide man’s actions and behaviors.
He conforms to what is accepted in the group
where he belongs.
 IMPORTANCE OF CULTURE
Culture provides solution for complicated
situations. Culture imparts to people a setof
behaviors for complex situations. Without
culture, man would have been perplexedat even
the most basic situations. An individual can
adapt the systems and routineshe observes in a
community.
 IMPORTANCE OF CULTURE
• Improved learning and valuable skills for the
future
In children and youth, participation in culture
helps develop thinking skills, builds self-esteem,
and improves resilience, all of which enhance
education outcomes.
 IMPORTANCE OF CULTURE
• Economic benefits of culture
• The culture sector helps support the economy
through direct and indirect job creation. It also
helps spur innovation in other sectors in the
form of productivity advancements, regional
development, community branding, and
increased local tourism.
 IMPORTANCE OF CULTURE
• Vibrant communities
• The benefits of culture for individuals can spill
over to society as a whole.
• Culture helps build social capital, the glue that
holds communities together. By bringing people
together, cultural activities such as festivals, fairs,
or classes create social solidarity and cohesion,
fostering social inclusion, community
empowerment, and capacity-building, and
enhancing confidence, civic pride, and tolerance
 IMPORTANCE OF CULTURE
• Contribution to job creation
• Economic opportunities created by culture have
taken on greater importance as economies
transition from the industrial model, and work
based on physical labour, to a new model in
which knowledge and creativity drive productivity
and growth. Knowledge-based economies favour
ideas to stimulate innovation, and they develop
specialized services and highly customized
products to create value.
 IMPORTANCE OF CULTURE
• Contribution to tourism
Culture makes a significant contribution to the
tourism industry
References:
§ Abigail Gilmore, “Raising our quality of life: The importance of investment in arts and culture” (Centre for
Labour and Social Studies, November 2014)
§ https://www.coursehero.com/file/91105612/MODULE-1-Philippine-Pop-Culturepdf/
§ https://wtcs.pressbooks.pub/infanttoddlerdev/chapter/chapter-12-the-importance-of-culture/