Media Theory - Power & Media Industries By Curran And Seaton Flashcards
Who made the Theory of Power & Media Industries?
Curran and Seaton
Explain the Theory of Power & Media Industries by Curran and Seaton.
This is the idea that the media are controlled by a small number of companies primarily driven by the logic of profit and power. The general trend in media industries is towards greater concentration of ownership.
Black Panther’s much celebrated diversity challenged Curran and Seaton’s which idea?
That domination by a small number of media institutions limits creativity and variety.
How is the above statement true?
Black Panther is not just another superhero film about a young white male with an alter ego.
Black panther challenges norms and stereotypes, the character is an older black non-american hero, who is also king of a small nation, with a very public identity.
The supporting cast is predominantly black, featuring only two white established actors.
The conglomerate model (Marvel as a separate brand to Disney) offers a more complex pattern of ownership than Curran and Seaton describes, as Disney provides minimal interference to the decisions made in the production of its media formats, allowing them to operate and produce with relative autonomy from its parent organization.
This is also the case with many other Disney on the subsidiaries such as Pixar and Lucasfilm as well.
Why are smaller or independent film companies at risk of producing superhero films?
However, the dominance of Marvel in the sci-fi / superhero genre does somewhat limit the opportunities for alternative, riskier independent films in these genres, as audiences have come to expect and find the comfort in some of the more conventional approaches and larger budgets associated with these films which Marvel produces.
What are some of the alternative or independent films which generate smaller profits and unfavourable reviews?
Super (2010), Hellboy (2019), Brightburn (2019)
What are some of the independent films that have had breakout successes?
Chronicle (2012), The Crow (1994)
Why have Marvel’s main rival DC, being unable to compete commercially and critically?
Even massively budgeted films based on Marvel’s closest superhero rival DC (owned by Warner Bros), have suffered by comparison to the Marvel formula of careful and considerate world building.
Man of Steel ( 2013) , Batman VS Superman (2016), Suicide Squad (2016) and Justice League (2017) were all heavily criticized and suffered poorer than expected box office returns due to their darker reimagining of classic superhero tales.
Subsequently, future expansions of the DC universe were curtailed significantly. E.g. Batgirl
