Aspects of historic popular culture you find interesting.

[rousseau]

As I read more and more history I find myself gradually honing in on the social side of things. I like knowing what the people of different periods did with their time, how they lived, and so on. Without getting into a big spiel about it at this time:

What aspects of popular culture throughout the last few millennia do you find the most interesting?

 

[rousseau]

I don't know if I can name anything in particular at this time but lately I'm becoming more interested in person's activities in the middle ages as well as the nineteenth century. At this time I'm starting to learn more about what kinds of things people did during those periods.

I find the middle ages interesting because they're like a massive pre-cursor to the modern period. In a sense they set the tone in a primitive way for what our societies look like now, but they were so basic and primitive that it was still a different world. How the people acted and lived seems like fantasy to me.

The nineteenth century is interesting to me because in a sense it was very modern and very scientific, but still not *modern*. It was like the people knew the answers were out there, but nobody knew what the hell they were yet. You had modernish people living in an old world.

 

[Bomb#20]

... I find the middle ages interesting because they're like a massive pre-cursor to the modern period. In a sense they set the tone in a primitive way for what our societies look like now, but they were so basic and primitive that it was still a different world. How the people acted and lived seems like fantasy to me. ...

Then you'd probably enjoy one of my favorite historian's books, "A Distant Mirror: The Calamitous 14th Century".

 

[NobleSavage]

... I find the middle ages interesting because they're like a massive pre-cursor to the modern period. In a sense they set the tone in a primitive way for what our societies look like now, but they were so basic and primitive that it was still a different world. How the people acted and lived seems like fantasy to me. ...

Then you'd probably enjoy one of my favorite historian's books, "A Distant Mirror: The Calamitous 14th Century".

Added to my Amazon wish list. Thanks.

 

[dystopian]

I used to run a longstanding online RPG game set in Amsterdam; to create the setting I did a lot of constant research, including history. I found a bunch of really interesting stuff about what people used to do back in the day, especially the 17th century since there's so much information on it. It's weird to find paintings of large crowds of 17th century people skating on ice, and playing a sport on it that's been said to be a precursor to golf. The upper class of the city used to join militia groups that didn't really do anything but have parties where you could make political connections. People bought yachts in droves and held races; some of the rich even outfitted them with cannons and held mock battles with each other. There's contemporary accounts of young people gathering in certain spots in the evening and listening to musicians. And I just read about an early 17th century book meant for young lovers called (translated): Of the entertainment of young hearts. Apparently it was specifically meant to give them a way of entertaining themselves and written in a way to make their parents think it was about Jesus and virtue; it required a certain reading for its meaning to become clear. In the second half of the 17th century, outright pornographic literature became popular.

So basically for the most part it wasn't that different; except for the technology involved.

 

[Tom Sawyer]

I find the notion of gladiators, and the institution of slavery in ancient Rome in general, to be exceptionally interesting.

 

[Sarpedon]

I would love to learn about music as it existed before musical notation.

 

[Draconis]

I find the notion of gladiators, and the institution of slavery in ancient Rome in general, to be exceptionally interesting.

Have you read "Invisible Romans" by Robert Knapp? It's about prostitutes, slaves, gladiators etc. One of my favourite snippets from that is that it was possible to buy mini gladiator helmets engraved with the names of particularly successful gladiators as souvenirs. How little things change.

 

[rousseau]

... I find the middle ages interesting because they're like a massive pre-cursor to the modern period. In a sense they set the tone in a primitive way for what our societies look like now, but they were so basic and primitive that it was still a different world. How the people acted and lived seems like fantasy to me. ...

Then you'd probably enjoy one of my favorite historian's books, "A Distant Mirror: The Calamitous 14th Century".

I finally got my hands on this book. It's real good.

 

[ideologyhunter]

Fascinating to me: the 'race record' market as it existed in the 1920's and 30's, especially the country blues records that sold to a black record-buying public at 35 cents to 75 cents a disc ( in today's money, $4 to $8, roughly) for about 6 minutes of music -- but it was true black culture and, along with the early jazz records, about the only authentic expression of black culture that most of its audience could find on the marketplace. The originals fetch four or five thousand dollars today, in some cases -- compelling music and vibrant folk culture.

 

[Mageth]

Fascinating to me: the 'race record' market as it existed in the 1920's and 30's, especially the country blues records that sold to a black record-buying public at 35 cents to 75 cents a disc ( in today's money, $4 to $8, roughly) for about 6 minutes of music -- but it was true black culture and, along with the early jazz records, about the only authentic expression of black culture that most of its audience could find on the marketplace. The originals fetch four or five thousand dollars today, in some cases -- compelling music and vibrant folk culture.

I heard a short report on NPR / public radio about black market music in the USSR...records were cut on used X-Ray film, IIRC.

Aaah, here we are...they were called "Ribs" ...



http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ribs_(recordings)

http://www.bbc.com/news/entertainment-arts-19827438