Cultural Industries

 CULTURAL INDUSTRIES:


→What does the term 'Cultural Industries' actually refer to?

those activities which deal primarily in symbolic goods – goods whose primary economic value is derived from their cultural value.

→What does Hesmondhalgh identify regarding the societies in which the cultural industries are highly profitable?
dominated by large companies, have minimal government regulation and significant inequality between rich and poor.

→Why do some media products offer ideologies that challenge capitalism or inequalities in society?
they provide explanations for the facts and problems of the social life, so enabling individuals and groups to orientate themselves in society.

→Look at page 2 of the factsheet. What are the problems that Hesmondhalgh identifies with regards to the cultural industries?
difficulty in predicting success, high production costs, low reproduction costs and the fact that media products are 'public goods.

→Why are so many cultural industries a 'risky business' for the companies involved?
There's no guarantee of success.

→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 media can be both for profit and artistic expressions as they both have meanings behind them.

→How do cultural industry companies minimise their risks and maximise their profits? (Clue: your work on Industries - Ownership and control will help here) 
through vertical and horizontal integration, and by formatting their cultural products (e.g. through the use of stars, genres, and serials).

→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?
Content creators should be more inclusive in the things they review and more honest with the audience instead of taking money from the sponsors.

→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?

→What is commodification? 
the action or process of treating something as a mere commodity.

→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 to the full extent, there are many communities that are under represented in media and it is a big issue.

→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 discusses commodification in the cultural industries (turning everything into something that can be bought or sold). He suggests this creates problems on both the consumption and production side.

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