Society is made up of socially learned and shared ideas, behaviors, and material components. Commonly referred to as culture, aspects of it permeate our lives in ways far beyond what we imagine. Sometimes, culture is mundane, such as a Bic pen or a potato chip. On the other hand, culture can also be imaginative and even spiritual. We use culture and revere culture, yet we also tend to take it for granted. A few recent stories in the news highlight the breadth and depth of what is considered culture. With this in mind, let’s consider Stanley Tumblers, French baguettes, and the war in Ukraine.
The 40 oz Stanley tumbler first came out in 2016. Named “The Quencher,” this product has sold over 10 million units at $50 each and helped the manufacturer, PMI Worldwide, reach 2023 sales of over $750 million. Consumer interest in The Quencher rose to meteoric heights when a TikTok video was posted by a woman named Danielle whose car caught fire and her Stanley Tumbler survived with the ice in it still cold. Stanley Tumblers are a prime example of material culture because they are physical artifacts representing components of society. One can easily argue that they are now part of popular culture, cultural characteristics the masses adopted, imitated, and idolized. This popularity is not only in the U.S. but around the world with the TikTok hashtag #stanleyquencher garnering over 232 million views. In particular, the pink Quenchers, which are reminiscent of the Barbie movie phenomena of 2023, are selling for as high as $300 each on eBay. The global popularity of Stanley Tumblers perfectly illustrates global diffusion, the spread of norms, values, knowledge, symbols, and material components from one society to another. In this instance, physical culture, aided by technology, has allowed the popularity of Stanley products to grow exponentially.
While Stanley Tumblers are rather new to the world stage, French baguettes are not. First invented in 1839, estimates are that 300 of the crunchy loaves are sold every second. That comes out to 27 million per day and 10 billion per year. All in France alone. Of course, French baguettes are now sold around the world, but arguably the ones sold at Walmart in the U.S. don’t necessarily meet the exacting standards of only containing flour, water, salt, and yeast. The post-Revolutionary government of France went so far as to specify laws, formal and legal rules enforced by the state, around how the bread should be made. Bakers who violated these specifications faced imprisonment. While the French baguettes are a form of material culture, the society has created explicit norms, established guidelines, behaviors, and expectations, around how it is to be produced and sold. When an idea or object has a shared meaning to groups of people, sociologists will say that it is a symbol or has a symbolic meaning. This is so true for the French that in 2022 the United Nations recognized the baguette as an integral part of the cultural heritage of France.
Bread isn’t the only form of cultural heritage. A system of spoken and written words, or verbal language, is often foundational to the culture of a society. Our spoken and written words help us express and understand our beliefs, ideas generally held to be true within society, and our values, collective ideas about what is desirable and undesirable in society. The Russo-Ukrainian War includes not only the loss of human and animal life but also the destruction of cultural institutions, such as libraries and museums. Estimates are that over 500 such institutions have been destroyed. This is not unique to Ukraine. Sadly, one can find such destruction in any of the armed conflicts around the world. These losses aren’t limited to art, books, and music and encompass nonmaterial culture, the ideas and symbols representing components of society. This means that languages, customs, philosophies, morals, and knowledge representing the culture may be lost forever.
We live our lives aspiring to ideal culture, the ideals and values that a society professes to believe, yet often settle for real culture, the actual behavior of members of society. The fact that we often fall short of the ideal doesn’t make culture any less valuable. It simply means that our definition of culture is broader than we ever imagined.
Thompson is a co-owner of UITAC Publishing. UITAC’s mission is to provide high-quality, affordable, and socially responsible online course materials.
Images used in this blog:
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- “Drinking Water Fountain” by Mark Buckawicki is licensed under CC0 1.0. This image has not been altered.
- “Baguettes, Paris, France” by Nick Thweatt is licensed under CC BY-SA 3.0. This image has not been altered.
- “Ukraine regions map” by Peter Fitzgerald is licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0. This image has not been altered.
