FORMING CONSUMERISM AND THE CONSUMERS AFFINITY TOWARDS PRODUCTS OF THE CULTURAL INDUSTRIES

- FOCUS ON FILM INDUSTRY –*
 

- WHOLE RESEARCH FOR THIS EXPERTISE WAS DONE WITHIN THE DEPARTMENT OF COMMUNICATIONS AT THE SOUTH-EAST EUROPEAN UNIVERSITY IN TETOVO –

- Dean of the department: Prof .Michel Bourse

- Author :Igor Pop Trajkov, Assistant Professor at SEEU, MA and PhD candidate at European University Institute in Florence

If we take a precise overview in the film industry, from it’s forming till nowadays, we can clearly see the characteristic that not only the products of the so-called entertainment sector are dominant. This fact is particularly obvious if we focus on the box-office successes, throwout years. That’s how we can actually see that not always the traditional blockbusters were something that the audiences liked to see mostly. Here I would like to point that this text focuses on the consumer’s affinities in Europe and USA, as the most lucrative markets for the so-called cultural industries.

IS THE FILM INDUSTRY CULTURAL INDUSTRY?

Particularly film industry is a cultural industry, which is very evident if we analyse consumerist approach and cultural influence that was done by the silent movies in USA and Europe. The argumentation will be towards the analysis of the works of Griffith and Giovanni Pastrone.

1. Cultural influence of the movies of Griffith can most clearly be seen thru the influence of “Intolerance” and “The Birth of the Nation”. “The Birth of the Nation” opened some very controversial questions of racism and its ambiguousness as screened in the cinemas. Although no one ever doubted the artistic values of this masterpiece of the silent era, even now the controversies concerning its message are very much alive. Weather the author wanted to say that there were victims of the racism on the American south, and on which side was he? Was he on the side of Ku Klux Klan, as it is more than obvious that its followers are shown as protectors of the suffocated white population? Or his sympathies are on the side of the poor and non-educated Afro-Americans- and this is according to most of the analyses less possible. This is one of the most éclat ant examples how one movie can cause positive or negative weavings in the society, which actually is classification for the term of cultural industry. Namely, the premiere of this movie, according to many social analytics is considered to be the cause of the re-birthing the racist disarrays at the first half of the 20^th century at the South of USA.

On the other hand, the case of the movie “Intolerance” with its influence in the societies in Europe and USA is very different. As the influence of the first movie was more to focus the consumers, the viewers on the social aspect of the movie, “Intolerance” was focusing people more on the artistic aspect of the movie. So to speak- after the viewing of the movie “Birth of the Nation” people were stimulated to talk about its social position, while after the movie “Intolerance” about the artistic values of the movie (cinematography, set-design, acting etc.). More or less this tendency is very accurate amongst the consumers of the film industry till nowadays. Still, I would like to point that I don’t want to promote the differentiallity of the whole film-production in this two groups, or that the reaction of the consumers can be predicted in any way. Simply- weather some movie will cause social or aesthetical polemics amongst the consumers it doesn’t depend on the film itself, but from the wider social, time, even the aesthetical context in which the movie is released.

2. As an example how a movie meant to be first of all to satisfy the aesthetical desires of the European audiences at the beginning of the 20^th century, and than caused wider social discussion, I will take Giovanni Pastrones “Kabirija” from 1914. This movie was one of the most influential ones in forming the so-called new film language- at that time. Actually a synthesis of the theatre mizanscene with the new technical possibilities of the new media. Although financed as a purely commercial hit, movie made an average box-office success. But it developed the polemics amongst consumers about the film aesthetics more than ever before.

SOCIALLY CULTURAL AND ECONOMIC CIRCUMSTANCES FOR DEVELOPING THE CONSUMERIST CRITERIA; CENSORSHIP AND SELF-CENSORSHIP

The previous part of my text was to point that the commercial success of the so-called art-movies, and those that are in the group of the commercial hits, from its beginnings was much determined from what was offered at the market and what that market, in that particular time was. Actually, the actual social and economic mosaic in which the movie is shown forms the experiencing and reacting of the consumers on some movie. Nobody could predict the reactions that “Birth of the Nation” did. However those reactions in a way opened the Pandora’s Box, and gave birth to certain classifications, even for the censorship in the film production as the most normal, even a democratic segment. From those reasons big part of the art movies that could gain any commercial success were censored or there copies were put on the shells at the film hangars. Here I would like to say, that historically, this was not the case only with the societies from the ex-eastern European block. In the democratic world this censorship and selection attributed more sophisticated form, penetrating directly in the creative process of the film authors. Making them cores themselves to something that is called- self-censorship. Many film authors that are in the group of the so to speak- serious film authors, now confess that try years they were victims of self-censorship and adjustment. Living in the western systems, where the rules of the game are too precise, film authors were practically forced to begin their film productions with the large amounts of makijavelism. And enter the cultural industries that were controlling their creativity rigorously.

As an illustration for this I will use the system of classification in USA, which is popularly named after its founder- Valenti. With classification of films in certain groups (usually age groups), a social classification of the film production was done. With that the consumers were stimulated always mostly to choose the classification for the lowest age limit as possible. That it is really so, proof is the statistics of the box office successes in USA. Consumers were forming there criteria, in a big part, according to the classifications that were done by the Valet’s commission, that was gathered of people that have little to do with the art of filmmaking or that had a really bad professional reputation amongst there colleagues. Many studies show that with this kind of measures we are decreasing the consumers’ criteria; and that’s how many generations were formed to be unable to enjoy and understand artistic values in the films. Considering the social segment, the subscriber of these lines is likely to believe that even if children watch arty-movies on TV, they can not harm there development, if there are the parents to teach them that that’s fiction, not reality. That’s how more people that are able to enjoy art will be formed.

This is the segment which I would like to enlighten the most, and that is that the criteria amongst the consumers are formed the best, if are formed independently. That is obvious even if we analyse (in a time or geographic frame), the origin or the geographical percentage of certain art movies at the market of the cultural industries. The most éclat ant example of that is the situation in Europe in the sixties, where it was more than clear that that the movies of the film-makers that had purely an artistic value, were numerous ones. Commercially most successful movies from this time were the movies with a director’s sign in them, not the traditional blockbusters.

INFLUENCE OF EDUCATIONAL SYSTEMS IN FORMING THE CONSUMERIST TASTE

Education is one of the most important segments in forming the consumerist taste. That this is really so are showing the results achieved in other art areas- literature, fine arts etc. Countries that in their primary and secondary education force the students’ interest towards fine arts have more consumers for them. Unfortunately there is no serious evidence or study what is the case with this with the seventh art. However it is logical to expect the same- that where people from there earlier age are stimulated to show interest in art movies, there will be more consumers.

TRADITION AND TREATMENT OF THE ARTISTS

Tradition also plays a very important role in expanding the circle of consumers for art movies. In the countries where due to their tradition there is a collective habit of consuming works of art from the highest level, there are more consumers for the art movies. The same is for other way round. Where due to the tradition is believed that people prefer commercial entertainment products- there are fewer consumers for anything that is arty.

Within the tradition is the wider attitude towards artists. In some places artists are very respectful citizens, in some less respectful, and in some they are even rejected. Social circumstances for realising works of art are under the strong influence of the social attitude towards artists. Usually the numbers of artists and consumers are proportionally related to the cultural environment and its tradition.

WHAT IS OFFERED IS WHAT IS CONSUMED

According to the research done at SEEU we can say that large part of the population, especially intellectuals and young people, have a need of greater offer of art movies. The results of the questionnaire show that most of the students think that what is offered in the cinemas is of low artistic and professional value, belonging to the group of blockbusters. Asked why they don’t like these films, they all say the same; because whenever some movie hit occurs, immediately they make copies, and every next copy is paler from its previous. Obviously these young consumers want to say that in the movie industry there is serious lack of creativity. Also they are expressing their need for serious art movies, and the offer for that in the local cinemas and video stores is decreasing.

It is normal to expect that the offer for this social segment is to be formed or influenced from the numerous social institutions such as: institutes or art counsels. But these institutions have small influence, or they don’t want to have bigger influence. If we carefully observe what has been done for expanding the market for art movies, there are few individual cases. Or more precisely, exceptions from the established rule. In European cinemas number of co-productions is insignificant. Mentioned institutions are more concerned in solving problems in there own country, than opening new markets.

Other interesting result of this research is that the percentage of art movies in cinemas and video stores should be increased, but not with new laws or regulations.

GENERATION GAP!?

Not-so obvious result of analysing this research was that young population (the one till age of 36) is the one that is forcing popularisation of art movies mostly. Older is somehow showing insignificance in what is screened in the cinemas or television.

Strategies in connecting distribution of art movies try cinemas and televisions are very much connected with the so-called generation gap. This is something that is again very influenced by the system of Valenti. Many European countries accept the rules of this classification system. So the distribution of the art movies is very much determined by these two factors. And when the distribution of art movies is small, there financing is so too.