The Cultural industries
Read the Fact sheet and complete the following questions/tasks:
1) What does the term 'Cultural Industries' actually refer to?
Cultural Industries
The term ‘cultural industry’ refers to the creation, production, and distribution of products of a cultural or artistic nature. Cultural industries include television and film production, publishing, music, as well as crafts and design. Cultural industries are seen as adding value to society and individuals.
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. How ever, he identifies that in contemporary societies the cultural industries often produce texts that do not support these conditions. Cultural companies need to continuously compete with each other to secure audience members and make sure theirs do not get stolen away from them.
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 fact sheet. What are the problems that Hesmondhalgh identifies with regards to the cultural industries?
5) Why are so many cultural industries a 'risky business' for the companies involved?
1) What does the term 'Cultural Industries' actually refer to?
Cultural Industries
The term ‘cultural industry’ refers to the creation, production, and distribution of products of a cultural or artistic nature. Cultural industries include television and film production, publishing, music, as well as crafts and design. Cultural industries are seen as adding value to society and individuals.
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. How ever, he identifies that in contemporary societies the cultural industries often produce texts that do not support these conditions. Cultural companies need to continuously compete with each other to secure audience members and make sure theirs do not get stolen away from them.
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 fact sheet. What are the problems that Hesmondhalgh identifies with regards to the cultural industries?
- Risky business
- Creativity versus 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?
Cultural industries can be highly profitable in spite of high levels of risk, but it may be difficult to achieve high levels of profit for independent or individual companies. Risks come from the fact that audiences use cultural commodities in unpredictable ways often to express their views which are different to others.
6) What is your opinion on the creativity vs 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?
Media shouldn't be all about profit as they should consider the consumers views and think about what the consumer wants to see. I think the media plays a part in both, it is in-between as the media is a way to present artistic expressions because it is what the consumers want to see.
7) How do cultural industry companies minimise their risks and maximise their profits? (Clue: your work on Industries - Ownership and control will help here)
Businesses use vertical integration where they have control of all aspects including the production and distribution process which helps maximise profits. They also use diversification where they expand to different platforms in order to maximise control and profits but also to reduce their costs.
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 think that the content creators and the creative minds behind media products should be rewarded for their work because if it weren't for them then there would be no product for the consumers. This reflects the inequalities of society because certain people who work are no rewarded the amount they should get where people who don't really do much are acknowledged more which is not fair for the people who work hard.
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?
Some factors that explain why visual effects industry suffered include: political factors and several financial difficulties.
10) What is commodification?
When Hesmondhalgh evaluates the changing social significance of the cultural industries, he considers commodification. This involves the transforming of objects and services into commodities. There is a problem on the consumption side that commodification spreads the idea that owning something or holding the property gives you the right to exclude others. This then leads to inequality and exclusion of certain people, this could create rifts between groups and disturb the behaviours of people for common good.
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?
To some extent I agree but I think that media products still do not reflect the diversity of people fully. Media products may now consider what people's opinions are but do not reflect the people themselves.
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.
I think that Digitalisation is important because over time the way consumers access media products has changed significantly and businesses need to ensure that they are up to date with their promotion and distribution strategies in order to maximise profits but also to widen their target audience.
Also the fact that audiences have a larger impact on what sort of products are produced is significant because the businesses want to make sure that there product is market orientated.
Ownership is much broader now which means that cultural industries are able to operate over a range of platforms which is significant because their content will be accessible to everyone.
6) What is your opinion on the creativity vs 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?
Media shouldn't be all about profit as they should consider the consumers views and think about what the consumer wants to see. I think the media plays a part in both, it is in-between as the media is a way to present artistic expressions because it is what the consumers want to see.
7) How do cultural industry companies minimise their risks and maximise their profits? (Clue: your work on Industries - Ownership and control will help here)
Businesses use vertical integration where they have control of all aspects including the production and distribution process which helps maximise profits. They also use diversification where they expand to different platforms in order to maximise control and profits but also to reduce their costs.
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 think that the content creators and the creative minds behind media products should be rewarded for their work because if it weren't for them then there would be no product for the consumers. This reflects the inequalities of society because certain people who work are no rewarded the amount they should get where people who don't really do much are acknowledged more which is not fair for the people who work hard.
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?
Some factors that explain why visual effects industry suffered include: political factors and several financial difficulties.
10) What is commodification?
When Hesmondhalgh evaluates the changing social significance of the cultural industries, he considers commodification. This involves the transforming of objects and services into commodities. There is a problem on the consumption side that commodification spreads the idea that owning something or holding the property gives you the right to exclude others. This then leads to inequality and exclusion of certain people, this could create rifts between groups and disturb the behaviours of people for common good.
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?
To some extent I agree but I think that media products still do not reflect the diversity of people fully. Media products may now consider what people's opinions are but do not reflect the people themselves.
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.
I think that Digitalisation is important because over time the way consumers access media products has changed significantly and businesses need to ensure that they are up to date with their promotion and distribution strategies in order to maximise profits but also to widen their target audience.
Also the fact that audiences have a larger impact on what sort of products are produced is significant because the businesses want to make sure that there product is market orientated.
Ownership is much broader now which means that cultural industries are able to operate over a range of platforms which is significant because their content will be accessible to everyone.
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