Based on papers presented at the East-West Communication Institute conferences and seminars in Hawaii between 1973 and 1975, these five essays focus on intercultural communication, emphasizing that popular culture existed with great diversity for centuries before modern media and that popular cultures have importance and impact on the everyday life of the common people in all cultures. The essays discuss the effects of global communication, particularly through radio and television, on the popular cultures of developing countries; the factors involved in popular culture research that distinguish it from communication research; an illustrated analysis of a revolutionary Japanese comic strip; the role of stimulants (tea, coffee, and tobacco) in effecting self-change and their use in the communication process of various cultures; and the place of stereotypical images in intercultural communication. (MAI)