LESSON 1: DEFINING

POPULAR CULTURE
WHAT IS CULTURE?

- The customs, arts, social

institutions, and achievements of
a particular nation, people, or
other social group
- The “way of life” of groups of
people, meaning the way they do
things.
POPULAR
-regarded with
favor, approval, or
affection by people
on general
 CULTURAL SUBSETS:

• Folk Culture
• High Culture
• Popular Culture
Popular Culture:
-the set of habits, beliefs, and objects that express
a social system’s most commonly held meanings
is known as popular culture. It encompasses,
among other things, media items, amusement and
leisure, fashion and trends and linguistic
conventions. (Kidd,2021)
-sometimes called mass culture.
-it is widely known as the vernacular or culture of
people at one point in time predominating in a
society.
-popular culture, as the 'culture of the people,' is
defined by the interactions between people in their
daily activities: clothing styles, the use of slang,
greeting routines, and the food that people
consume are all examples of popular culture. The
mass media also keeps popular culture updated.
 EXAMPLE OF POPULAR CULTURE
Examples of mainstream culture come from a range
of genres including popular music, print media,
cyber culture, sports, entertainment, leisure, fads,
advertisement, and television.
POPULAR MUSIC
PRINT MEDIA
Cyberculture is the culture that has emerged from the use of
computer networks for communication, entertainment and
business.
 Bidyohi ko! You’re not allowed!
Saksi mo ha? Mapriso ka! Aguy! Oy!
Oy!
Present Popular
Culture
• Here are some examples of the
present popular culture in the
Philippines:
Hugot- “hugot is life”
Hugot is basically the deep lingering emotions brought about by a person’s
circumstances and experiences, usually from heartbreak and adulting. The
term evolved into the practice of coming up with the saddest lines out of
mundane that evokes a particular experiences.
Milk tea- is the new coffee.
The milk tea fad for instance became
widespread, thanks to social media
plenty of shops have been operating
but it’s only recently that they
gained so much popularity.
Milk tea entrepreneurs also come up
with the catchiest name to stand out.
Teleserye- The daily dose of teleserye or
prime time tv series are often criticized
for their seemingly endless story lines.
Example: “Ang probinsyano”
THE DECADE-ENDER ISSUE: 10
YEARS OF FILIPINO POP CULTURE

Last December 2019, Manila CNN

Philippines Life released a decade-ender
issue that brought out a summary of the pop
culture for the past decade. They gave a
highlight reel of highlight reels as they tried to
look back at the best moments, trends, and
work of art, literature, film, and music that
defined the 2010s.
 Filipino Films of the Decade
We’ll always look back at this decade as a transformative era for
Philippine cinema. Though one may argue that this current “Third
Golden Age” (the first two being the ‘50s and the mid-’70s to ‘80s) was
ushered in the 2000s — the frequent signpost being Auraeus Solito’s
2005 “Ang Pagdadalaga ni Maximo Oliveros” — it was in the 2010’s
that we saw, arguably, the current peak of Philippine cinema. In this
decade, we witnessed how these small budget movies moved from being
shot with consumer digital cameras to some of the most high-end
cameras in the industry, providing some of the most arresting visuals
on screen. In this decade, we saw how a niche, arthouse interest
became “eventized,” a tradition larger audience would dabble in and
flock towards to — to an extent — in the context of Cinemalaya.
 Filipino Songs of the 2010s
Digital and streaming culture forever changed the way we consume
music.
CD sales have dipped to frustrating numbers, radio no longer dictates the
fate of a hit single, and mp3s are slowly fading in the background as
the go-to music format. People are living in an era that makes it
easier to get rid of songs. Yes, there’s plenty of music to choose from.
But how do you stand out in a decade of endless possibilities and never-
ending options?
There are tracks that push the envelope in terms of production and
songwriting, giving Filipino’s an entirely new lane that could be further
explored in the years to come and then, there are modern protest anthems
that reflect harsh social realities, club bangers that champion queer
experiences, new R&B joints that feel personal yet universal, and indie
rock songs that surprisingly topped the local streaming charts, thanks
to newfound fans and strategic DIY promotions from independent
labels.
Despite the new technological advancements that proved to be
sustainable for few artists, we have underrated gems and modern classics
that not only defined the decade. They shaped it as it is: #woke and more
 A Decade of Filipino
When it comes to food, Filipinos used to have two
Foodsis delicious, people spread the
rules: if something
word, or if it's not, most keep quiet (or subtly
convey criticism) until it gets better.The rules today
are less black-and-white: obsessions with food go
through lulls and peaks (think milk tea) or
sometimes what people love isn't the food at all,
but what it represents. Sometimes what they've
always loved is suddenly out there, revered in
Instagram and food blogs as the new food 'trend' — a
term problematic in itself, if used in the context of a
cuisine (i.e., Filipino cuisine) that has always quietly
existed in fiestas, family gatherings, your mother's
kitchen, and your lola's heirloom recipes, even before
curious food writers and critics began weighing in.Food
obsessions come and go, as people saw not only this
year but in the past 10 years. But there is always room
for new things, it seems, some of which are here to
In this context, CNN Philippines Life noted some of
the things we loved (and continue to love) about
food the past decade, knowing that when it comes
to food, the conversation is never really over (or
definite), and trends or fads are merely the proverbial
icing on the cake.
The people who eat for the ‘gram and those who don’t.
There’s the rise of Korean grilling joints where you
cook unlimited pieces of pork. Together with the rise
of the samgyeopsal joints is the seemingly gold
rush of the milk tea industry, where the culture’s
love for sweet tooth and a seemingly healthier drink
collide. There is also the surge on the inclination
for brunch and the fuss over desserts in the face
of doughnuts and cookins. The buzz around these
trends also brought upon the rise of the food delivery
services, where one’s cravings could be satisfied in
a blink of an eye and without the need of stepping a
step outside of their homes.
 Filipino Art
“The Philippine Pavilion returns to the Venice Biennale”
For 51 years, there was no Philippine Pavilion at the Venice Biennale, considered the
“Olympics of the Art World.” Our last participation in 1964 suffered with little funding and no
government support.
In 2013, after visiting the biennale, Senator Loren Legarda planned a comeback for the
Philippines. We were invited back to participate for the 2015 biennale, and after a call for
project proposals, curator Patrick Flores would be given the opportunity to mount “Tie A
String Around the World.” An exhibition that brings to the fore questions of worldmaking
from a past of colonization to a present of West Philippine Sea aggression.
Moments that defined Pinoy Pop Culture

It’s not easy to decide which among the many

Pinoy pop culture moments and milestones that
happened in the 2010s can be classified as
“decade-defining.” But a clear trend came to light
when you consider pop culture’s most important
moments this decade: the blurring of lines
between entertainment and politics, and the power
of the audience to shape how we create,
consume, and evaluate entertainment. New
trends and paradigms also came to light this
decade, thanks to social media and streaming.
How these will affect entertainment in the future
is unclear. But these changes have also made pop
culture very exciting.
Vice Ganda becomes the Filipino
actor with the greatest number of
top grossing films at the Filipino
box office record. This
straightened the notion that it’s
possible for an openly gay
comedian to attain a high level of
success in an industry where straight
actors are often discouraged or
criticized for doing gay roles;
helped normalize “gay” movies
and the playing of gay roles.
“That Thing Called Tadhana” got a wide theatrical release – and
changed the Pinoy romance forever. There isn’t anything particularly new
about it on the surface; it’s a movie about a guy and a girl navigating
through their past heartbreaks, the audience hoping the couple on
the screen will end up together. But it is also very different from the
popular Pinoy romance movies that came before it. It’s a movie about
love without the usual baggage. To be more specific: it stays away
from the tropes popularized by mainstream rom coms. There are no
characters with daddy issues or illnesses, no third wheels threatening to
steal the girl away from the boy, no side characters. It’s basically
just two people talking about love, and the audience loved it.
The four-year (and counting) run
of FPJ’s “Ang Probinsyano”. Its
popularity is emblematic of how our
entertainment cannot be separated
from our politics; Where people were
wondering whether it was an
indirect endorsement of a political
candidate.
Eat Bulaga ‘accidentally’ creates AlDub, the decade’s most
phenomenal love team. Its appeal is rooted in its authenticity.
Several elements used in the ‘kalyeserye’ — the split screen
romance, Maine fainting during an important scene, Maine and
Alden not talking to each other off screen until after their
characters finally met — stemmed from real life. Audiences felt
they were witnessing a real love story. But it is still very much part of
a T.V. show; it’s a soap opera within a segment of a noontime. Its
popularity is also fueled by fans and, most notably, their use of
social media. The Alden and Maine tandem is perhaps the first love
team in the Philippines to have been created not by network
executives or talent management companies, but by the clamor of
fans, specifically on Twitter. AlDub was huge. It turned Alden and
Maine into superstars. More importantly, the success of AlDub
revealed that fans have the power to dictate the zeitgeist. They
can choose not to listen and follow what the powers-that-be want
them to follow and consume. In the AlDub phenomenon, the fans
are the culture.
The meme-ification of pop culture.
The beauty of meme culture is that it
can be made by everyone; it’s a
matter of creating something new
out of an existing product and
making it funnier or more entertaining
than before. And it doesn't even have
to do more than take a screencap
of something and put something
funny over it.
The rise of vlogging and the gradual decline
of middleman. This is partly due to a
multitude of media streaming services where
one can watch everything. But a greater
part of the decline can be mainly attributed
to Youtube and vloggers. The rise of vloggers
isn’t a trend that’s exclusive to the Philippines.
But, vlogging has democratized how we
consume and create content locally. You don’t
need to have conventional movie star good
looks in order to become popular and have
an audience of millions. You don’t even
need the backing of a T.V. network or a talent
management company. On the flipside, you
don’t need a T.V. or a movie ticket to watch
“content.” At its most basic, all you need to
consume or create “content” is a
smartphone and a stable internet connection.
Raffy Tulfo and our search for a hero.
Relevance in pop culture is more than his
popularity. He uses public service as a form of
entertainment. This is not a new format, but it
tapped into the Filipino’s need for a hero. A
hero, we should add, that is within reach of
everyone. In the 1990s and the 2000s, that
medium is television and radio. In the 2010s,
nothing makes something seem within the reach of
everyone like the internet. In short: Raffy Tulfo
tapped into Filipino’s need for a hero by providing
quick justice in these turbulent times, amplifying
it with the use of social media. This isn’t an
endorsement of Raffy Tulfo, whose methods of
helping people via his radio program could be
problematic. But, even in pop culture, we look
for a hero who is representative of the time we live
in. This is why, during the mid to late 2000s, one of
our most popular T.V. personalities, is noontime
show host Willie Revillame. During the early to
mid-2010s, it was Kris Aquino. Today, for better or
for worse, that hero is Raffy Tulfo.
FOLK AND HIGH
CULTURE
Common culture is typically distinguished from traditional
culture and from high culture.
Folk culture is similar to pop culture in several aspects, because
of the presence of mass participation.
Nevertheless, folk culture stands for the conventional way of
doing things. As a result, transition is not as modifiable, and is
much more stagnant than popular culture.
Folk culture is a simpler lifestyle, which is typically traditional,
predominantly self-sufficient, and mostly reflective of rural life.
Commonly, disruptive creativity is discouraged.
Group participants are required to comply with standard group
styles of behaviour. Folk culture is focused locally, and non-
commercially.
In short, folk culture promises continuity, while mainstream
culture typically seeks something new or fresh.
FOLK CULTURE
EXAMPLE
Popular culture therefore also poses an interference and a
threat to traditional culture. Typically, as the popular culture
appropriates and markets objects of folk culture, the folk
objects slowly lose their original shape.
On the other hand, high-culture is not produced by nature,
nor is it intended for mass consumption. This belongs to the
social elite; the higher socioeconomic classes associate the
performing arts, music, theatre, and high intellectualism.
High-culture objects also require significant expertise,
preparation or contemplation to be appreciated. These
things rarely extend to the realm of pop culture.
In the Philippines an example of high culture is attending a
classical music or renaissance art.
HIGH CULTURE
EXAMPLE
 The Formation of Popular Culture
Industrial revolution (late 18th century)
-The rural masses started to move to towns, leading to most Western communities
becoming urbanised.
Urbanisation is a central component of mainstream culture creation. In crowded
cities marked by great cultural diversity, people who once lived in homogeneous
small villages or farms found themselves. As a result of common, or mainstream,
forms of speech, these diverse people will come to see themselves as
'collectivity.'And several historians trace the beginning of the emergence of mass
culture to the rise of the middle class brought on by the Industrial Revolution.

Industrialization has also introduced mass production; innovations in

transport, such as steam locomotives and steamships; advances in
construction technology; expanded literacy; changes in education and public
health; and the advent of effective types of commercial printing, which is the first
step in the establishment of mass media (eg the penny press, magazines, and
Penny press newspapers were cheap, tabloid-style newspapers
mass-produced in the United States from the 1830s onwards.
 A pamphlet, by definition, is a
small, unbound booklet that is used
to advertise or provide information
on a single subject.
 THANK YOU FOR
LISTENING!

PREPARED BY: MS. MICA MARIE FONTANILLA