Midterm Flashcards
1
Q
Social Capital
A
- Using cultural capital (knowledge, status, gender, etc.) to position yourself in the market
- social capital = economic capital
- Pierre Bordeaux: social capital is cultural capital
2
Q
Pseudo-individualism
A
- People become just as standardized as the art, entertainment, and products they consume
3
Q
“Creative Class”
A
- Posited by Richard Florida
- Key motivators of economic development
- Creative professionals, skilled workers, bohemians, gays.. used as indexes
4
Q
Above-the-line vs. Below-the-line
A
- Above: those involved in the development phase of a film, before money is in place
- Below: other skilled craftspeople who work behind the scenes once production begins and well into post-production
5
Q
Film studios vs Clearinghouses
A
- Studio: concerned with the creative aspect of the production
- Clearinghouse: concerned with the financial and economic aspects of the production
6
Q
Tent-pole film
A
- Films that generally lack specific cultural references in order to reach a global, more universal market and make as much profit as possible for the least risk.
7
Q
1915 Supreme Court ruling about film industry
A
- “film is entertainment… thus not protected under the 1st amendment”
- led to local govt. being allowed to censor film
8
Q
House Un-American Activites Committee
A
- 1950’s Red Scare; fears of communists infiltrating Hollywood.
- Hollywood complied; people (especially Jewsish-Americans) felt their american identity threatened by this witch hunt.
- Complied in order to affirm their own “american-ness” and point fingers at the “other.”
9
Q
Cultural Diplomacy
A
- A political tactic of promoting your own country in a very specific way through culture (propaganda)
- Rests in the culture, values, and policy of a country in order to improve diplomatic relations
10
Q
National Endowment for the Arts
A
- Established in 1965 by the Fed to distribute funds across cultural industries
- Channeled the political energy and upheaval at the time in order to maintain social control
11
Q
Visual Artists Rights Act
A
- Passed in 1990 and gave artists the “moral right” to own their own style
12
Q
Creative vs. Cultural Industries
A
- Cultural Industry: all culture is industry in the service of efficiency and automation. Propaganda machine; makes culture in order to pacify us. Standardization.
- Creative Industry: emerges with Neoliberalism; all becomes economized and monetized; humans are market actors and disposable. Embrace capital logistic for art and culture in favor of deregulating and privatizing the arts. Believe the commodification of creativity promulgates it further.
13
Q
Horkheimer & Adorno’s “Culture Industry” argument
A
- Culture Industry: all culture is produced by corporations as products for purchase; secures profits and power hierarchy; culture appears to be unique; can only produce more and more.
- Commodity Fetishism: ascribing symbolic meaning and value that it doesn’t actually have; all massed produced commodities are fetishized because they have no intrinsic value; leads to art being commercialized and used as distraction.
- Art as Distraction: Helps us “forget” the suffering of the capitalist system by exploiting our affection for art.
- Pseudo-Individualism: We become just as standardized as the art, entertainment, and products we consume.
14
Q
Political Influence in Hollywood
A
- Four domains: official censorship, unofficial censorship, considerations of display and circulation, and relationships w/consultants and liaison offices.
15
Q
Official vs. Unofficial Censorship
A
- Official: began in 1915 with SC court ruling; 1924 Hayes Office established to monitor filmmaking: 1944 war era, used to villainise the enemy and propagate nationalism (propaganda); established Motion Picture Bureau, a branch of the Office of War Information; 1950’s Red Scare and communism; 1960’s OFI and Hayes Office close down, official censorship ends.
- Unofficial: Govt. controlling film industry through the corporate parents that own the studio; Federal Communications Commission can put pressure on things they are allowed to control but cannot directly control the film industry.
16
Q
Lawrence Lessing & “Free Culture”
A
- Argues economics and concept of “property” have diluted the virtue of art; culture has been increasingly made into a private good, which makes it vulnerable to control, regulation, and privatization.
- Suggests a “sensible patent system” in which copyrights are still in effect, but distribution rules change; more flexibility surrounding copyright.
17
Q
State Dept’s first efforts at Cultural Diplomacy
A
- Logic: public diplomacy = soft power = obtaining ends through attraction rather than coercion.
- Began in 1954 under Eisenhower; established the Emergency Fund or Int’l providing $2.5million to State Dept. for promotion of American dance, sport, music, and culture; sponsored them to tour internationally on condition that performances would be about promoting American democracy; PUBLIC DIPLOMACY BECAME CULTURAL DIPLOMACY.
- National Endowment for the Arts (1965) funded by the Fed to distribute funds across cultural industries.
- These came under attack in 1980’s; conservative right was opposed to funding the “gay agenda;” withdrew funding and gave us NEOLIBERALISM; forced arts to seek commercial funding/private donations, etc.
18
Q
“The Riddle of the Artist”
A
- Ernst Kris & Otto Kurz rendered the artist as alienated from “normal” civil society; romanticized stereotypes of tragedy, mental illness, substance abuse, early death, etc.
- Originates in Renaissance; art dealers emerged to aid visual artists in consolidating a lasting role in society; their purpose was to sever the artist from the point of transaction; artists income increased greatly through work on commission; dealers made pieces appear rare and unique; positioned dealers as gatekeepers.
- Artist biographies helped consolidate the paradigmatic image of artists; eccentricity meant talent and thus justified the whole value of art; IMAGE OF ARTISTS COMES FROM DEALERS AND THOSE WHO MANIPULATE THE ART MARKET ECONOMY.
- 3 artist figures: the gentleman artist, the Bohemian, and the Mad Genius (most enduring); women are forced to fit these male-dominated identities.
19
Q
The Branded Artist
A
- Artists have become the products themselves; Xiyin Tang and the “cult of authenticity”
- Brand = longevity and location, must be able to be recognized any place and time; have the privilege to live outside their brand (unless a woman or a person of color)
