Cultural Industries Blog Tasks

 1) What does the term 'Cultural Industries' actually refer to?

The term ‘cultural industry’ refers to the creation, production, and distribution of products of a cultural or artistic nature.

2) What does Hesmondhalgh identify regarding the societies in which the cultural industries are highly profitable?

Hesmondhalgh identifies that the societies in which the cultural industries are highly profitable tend to be societies that support the conditions where large companies, and their political allies, make money. These conditions being: constant demand for new products; minimal regulation outside of general competition law; relative political and economic stability; workforces that are willing to work hard.

3) Why do some media products offer ideologies that challenge capitalism or inequalities in society?

This happens because the cultural industry companies need to continuously compete with each other to secure audience members. As such, companies outdo each other to try and satisfy audience desires for the shocking, profane or rebellious. There are also longstanding social expectations about what art and entertainment should do, and challenging the various institutions of society is one of those expectations.

4) Look at page 2 of the factsheet. What are the problems that Hesmondhalgh identifies with regards to the cultural industries?

-Risky business

-Creativity vs Commerce 

-High production costs and low reproduction costs 

-Semi - public goods: the need to create scarcity 

5) Why are so many cultural industries a 'risky business' for the companies involved?

Risk stems from consumption and is made worse by 2 factors: firstly, limited autonomy granted to symbol creators in the hope that they will create something original and distinctive; secondly, the cultural industry company is reliant on other cultural industry companies to make audiences aware of the existence of a new product or of the uses and pleasure that they might get from experiencing the product. Companies cannot completely control the publicity a product will receive, as judgments and reactions of audiences, critics and journalists etc. cannot accurately be predicted.

6) What is your opinion on the creativity v commerce debate? Should the media be all about profit or are media products a form of artistic expression that play an important role in society?

In my opinion, I feel as if it's a bit of both. In order for the media to fully thrive and evolve, money and finances have to be involved in some way otherwise there is no room for said evolution. HOWEVER, Thats not all they should be limited to. at it's core, the media is all about creativity and finding new things to showcase, and said creativity should never be taken away.

7) How do cultural industry companies minimise their risks and maximise their profits? (Clue: your work on Industries - Ownership and control will help here) 

Cultural industry companies can minimise their risks and maximise their profits by using a lot of financial techniques:

Horizontal integration: buying up companies in the same sector to reduce the competition for audience and audience time.

Vertical integration: buying up companies involved in different stages of the process of production and circulation. Companies might by ‘downstream’ such as when a company involved in making films buys a DVD distributor, of ‘upstream’ which is when a company involved in distribution and transmission buys a programmer-maker.

Multisector and multimedia integration: buying into other related areas of cultural industry production to ensure cross-promotion.

Formatting: stars, genre, serials

• Star system: associating the names of star writer, performers with a text. This involves considerable marketing efforts to break a new star or writer, or to continue to maintain the star’s aura. As this is costly, it is reserved for those cultural texts that are hoped to be big hits
• Genre: genre terms operate as labels that indicate to the audience what to expect from the text. Many cultural productions are promoted through the use of genre, as audiences will be familiar with the pleasures they can expect.
• Serial: the reliance on sequels and prequels – Hollywood is highly reliant on serials, the creation of a world or universe that can be revisited repeatedly, in the hope for continued hits.

8) Do you agree that the way the cultural industries operate reflects the inequalities and injustices of wider society? Should the content creators, the creative minds behind media products, be better rewarded for their work?

I agree with this statement heavily, as in most cases, the creative minds behind successful media are usually overshadowed by big names and in rare cases, have to unwillingly give credits to said big names. In addition, If all industries could do this it would help minimalise problems such as the writers strike.

9) Listen and read the transcript to the opening 9 minutes of the Freakonomics podcast - No Hollywood Ending for the Visual-Effects Industry. Why has the visual effects industry suffered despite the huge budgets for most Hollywood movies?

The visual effects industry has suffered because of tax incentives, outside economical and political forces. 

10) What is commodification? 

Commodification is the transforming of objects and services into commodities, it involves producing things not only for use, but also for exchange. 

11) Do you agree with the argument that while there are a huge number of media texts created, they fail to reflect the diversity of people or opinion in wider society?

I agree with this as certain media products present people of different ethnics negatively compared to British, white people. For example, media products presented Megan Markle in such a negative light even though she has done nothing wrong. 

12) How does Hesmondhalgh suggest the cultural industries have changed? Identify the three most significant developments and explain why you think they are the most important.

Hesmondhalgh suggested that the cultural industries have changed due to multiple reasons. One of the most significant developments is digitalisation as the internet and mobile phones have multiplied the ways audience can gain access to cultural content. Another significant development is that Cultural products can now be shared across national borders which increased the adaptation, reinvention and hybridity of genres and products. A third significant development is that there has been a huge increase in the amount companies spend on advertising which has helped to fuel the growth of the cultural industries.