Cultural Industries: blog task

 Cultural Industries: blog task


Go to our Media Factsheet archive and open Factsheet 168: David Hesmondhalgh’s ‘The Cultural Industries’. Our Media Factsheet archive is on the Media Shared drive: M:\Resources\A Level\Media Factsheets or you can access it online here using your Greenford Google login. 

Read the Factsheet and complete the following questions/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?

According to Hesmondhalgh, cultures with very profitable cultural industries tend to be societies that foster conditions that allow huge corporations and their political supporters to prosper.

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

To have loyal audiences you need to compete with others to maintain the audiences.

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

Creativity versus commerce, High production costs and low reproduction costs, not guaranteed.

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

To make audiences aware of the availability of a new product, the cultural industry company relies on other cultural industry companies. 

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, media ought to be an outlet for artistic expression and creativity, with producers and artists having the freedom to direct their own work and getting paid by their viewers.

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

Diversification - Media businesses will diversify and look into emerging industries.

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 those with creative brains ought to be paid more for the art they create for audiences and the excellent material they create for entertainment or informational purposes.

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?

10) What is commodification? 

The belief that you have the right to exclude others only because you own something or own property in it is propagated via commodification.

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 the media downplays or ignores the viewpoints of its viewers and only discusses contentious or uncomfortable subjects.

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.

Ownership of the cultural industries is much better as most of the small companies get the credit needed.

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