Cultural Industries
1) What does the term 'Cultural Industries' actually refer to?
The term Cultural industries refers to the creation, production and distribution of products of a cultural or artistic nature. Cultural industries include television and film production, publishing music and crafts and design.
2) What does Hesmondhalgh identify regarding the societies in which the cultural industries are highly profitable?
Cultural industries are seen as adding value to society and people and as they are often focused on intellectual property, the cultural industries are very knowledge based and require a large number of people in their production.
3) Why do some media products offer ideologies that challenge capitalism or inequalities in society?
Industries are always developing new media products that challenge ideas relating to capitalism to continue to gain more of an audience. These are challenged by giving different outlooks subverting ideas relating to capitalism, inequalities and stereotypes.
4) Look at page 2 of the factsheet. What are the problems that Hesmondhalgh identifies with regards to the cultural industries?
The problems Hesmondhalgh identifies are as follows
-Risky business
-Creativity versus commerce
-High production costs and low reproduction costs
-Semi public goods; tight control of distribution and marketing
5) Why are so many cultural industries a 'risky business' for the companies involved?
This is because risk derives from the fact that audiences use cultural commodities in highly volatile and unpredictable ways to express that they are different from other people. Risk comes from consumption as is worsened 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 uses and pleasure that they may get from experiencing the product. The publicity an product receives cannot be controlled as judgements of the audience cannot 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?
I believe that profit is an important part of media as money needs to be made or else whatever is created is pretty much a failure but you need to also think about the creativity that comes with it or else it'll just be an empty product with nothing else behind it.
7) How do cultural industry companies minimise their risks and maximise their profits? (Clue: your work on Industries - Ownership and control will help here)
One way on how cultural industry companies minimise risks and maximise profits is by using different forms of integration. Vertical integration and diversification means they buy multiple companies that can be involved in stages of production which reduces costs because of the fact that they can control the spread of their products.
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 believe that the cultural industries reflect the inequalities of society as there is such a substantial difference in the amount of profit workers get for producing a product as most film stars these days earn a huge amount more than the production team or the directors even though the directors and production team are really the brains behind the whole thing most of the time.
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 many different factors, some of which being: Financial difficulties and Political forces.
10) What is commodification?
When Hesmondhalgh evaluates the changing social significance of the cultural industries he considers Commodification which involves the transforming of objects.
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 believe that they producers that make media texts always press on to make their products reflect the diverse opinions in society but many media texts aren't diverse when trying to portray different people and stereotypes.
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.
The three most significant developments are in the Cultural Industry are: Digitisation, Development of cultural texts and Ownership being broader. Digitisation is important because of how technology has evolved so much as it is much more easier for consumers to access cultural content. Cultural texts developing is important as media texts are continuously growing more diverse. Ownership being broader is important as cultural industries are able to be utilised across a larger range of platforms.
The term Cultural industries refers to the creation, production and distribution of products of a cultural or artistic nature. Cultural industries include television and film production, publishing music and crafts and design.
2) What does Hesmondhalgh identify regarding the societies in which the cultural industries are highly profitable?
Cultural industries are seen as adding value to society and people and as they are often focused on intellectual property, the cultural industries are very knowledge based and require a large number of people in their production.
3) Why do some media products offer ideologies that challenge capitalism or inequalities in society?
Industries are always developing new media products that challenge ideas relating to capitalism to continue to gain more of an audience. These are challenged by giving different outlooks subverting ideas relating to capitalism, inequalities and stereotypes.
4) Look at page 2 of the factsheet. What are the problems that Hesmondhalgh identifies with regards to the cultural industries?
The problems Hesmondhalgh identifies are as follows
-Risky business
-Creativity versus commerce
-High production costs and low reproduction costs
-Semi public goods; tight control of distribution and marketing
5) Why are so many cultural industries a 'risky business' for the companies involved?
This is because risk derives from the fact that audiences use cultural commodities in highly volatile and unpredictable ways to express that they are different from other people. Risk comes from consumption as is worsened 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 uses and pleasure that they may get from experiencing the product. The publicity an product receives cannot be controlled as judgements of the audience cannot 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?
I believe that profit is an important part of media as money needs to be made or else whatever is created is pretty much a failure but you need to also think about the creativity that comes with it or else it'll just be an empty product with nothing else behind it.
7) How do cultural industry companies minimise their risks and maximise their profits? (Clue: your work on Industries - Ownership and control will help here)
One way on how cultural industry companies minimise risks and maximise profits is by using different forms of integration. Vertical integration and diversification means they buy multiple companies that can be involved in stages of production which reduces costs because of the fact that they can control the spread of their products.
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 believe that the cultural industries reflect the inequalities of society as there is such a substantial difference in the amount of profit workers get for producing a product as most film stars these days earn a huge amount more than the production team or the directors even though the directors and production team are really the brains behind the whole thing most of the time.
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 many different factors, some of which being: Financial difficulties and Political forces.
10) What is commodification?
When Hesmondhalgh evaluates the changing social significance of the cultural industries he considers Commodification which involves the transforming of objects.
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 believe that they producers that make media texts always press on to make their products reflect the diverse opinions in society but many media texts aren't diverse when trying to portray different people and stereotypes.
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.
The three most significant developments are in the Cultural Industry are: Digitisation, Development of cultural texts and Ownership being broader. Digitisation is important because of how technology has evolved so much as it is much more easier for consumers to access cultural content. Cultural texts developing is important as media texts are continuously growing more diverse. Ownership being broader is important as cultural industries are able to be utilised across a larger range of platforms.
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