Cultural Industries



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

 It refers to the creation,production and distribution of products of a cultural or artistic nature. Including television, film production and music.

 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.

 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 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?
Risk derives from the fact that audiences use cultural commodities in highly volatile and unpredictable ways – often in order to express the view that they are different from other people.

 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 cultural industries should focus more on creativity rather than commerce as there are many other low risk businesses to go into for commerce. But media products are at the full potential when they are creative.

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

Vertical integration is a way that companies minimise cost as and risk  as the distribution is the same and audiences are loyal tot the company.

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 disagree as the cultural industries reflects the inequalities in society in a negative light, for example people on benefits are often attacked by newspaper headings and the media.

 10) What is commodification? 

This involves the transforming of objects and services into commodities.

 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 that media texts do not reflect the diversity of the wider society and if they do try to reflect a minority society it is usually portrayed negatively. 

 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
Digitalisation, the internet and mobile phones have multiplied the ways audience can gain access to cultural content.

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