Cultural industries blog task

 CULTURAL INDUSTRIES 

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

Cultural industry refers to the creation, production and distribution of products of a cultural or artistic nature. These relate to film production and television.

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 individuals

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

 Instead, texts tend to offer ideologies which challenge capitalism or the inequalities of gender and racism in society. This happens because the cultural industry companies need to continuously compete with each other to secure audience members.

4) Look at page 2 of the factsheet. 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?

 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.

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 think that the media is now less about artistic expression and is tactfully used in order to maximise profits.
7) 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 integration as it minimises risk because their in the same chain and it allows companies to reduce costs and increase profits. 

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 creative minds behind the products should be better rewarded for their work as they've put their hard work into the product and it's only fair that they get recognised for it. 

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?

Outside political and economical forces.

10) What is commodification? 

 the action or process of treating something as a mere commodity.

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 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. 

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.

 • Cultural industries are no longer seen as second to the ‘real’ economy. Some are actually vast global businesses.

• Ownership and organisation of cultural industries is now much broader - the largest cultural companies now operate across a range of cultural industries (for example, TV, publishing and film).

• These large conglomerates are now connected in complex ways however there are also many small and medium sized companies who create cultural products. These companies are becoming increasingly connected with other medium and large cultural industries.