Hollywood in the Information Age: Chapter One

Wasko, Janet. Hollywood in the Information Age. Austin, TX: University of Texas Press, 1995, c1994. BL-MAIN PN1993.5.U6 W379 1995

Chapter One: Introduction: Hollywood and the Culture Industry.

This early information age book is interesting in several respects. It embraces the notion that we are using computers and digitial formats for entertainment, while in the past, these tools were used primarily for information or education purposes. It reputes the notion of media as not being a "serious business." Wasko states that the "media industries distribute important ideological and cultural products, with significance for the representation and reproduction of social norms and values."

With that in mind, Wasko promotes the idea of the media business (TV/film/radio/videos/etc) as major players in the American economic system. [But they had been ever since the Victrola and talkie anyways]. Wasko presciently points out that the latest computer and video techniques are used for motion pictures; and that distribution streams have changed--it's not just the major motion picture studios, and 3-4 broadcast networks anymore. She talks about how much the way movies are made have changed (at least by 1995), but how the same systems, strucutres, and policies of the movie business have really have not. [I have a recent article from Wired (2005) which details which aspects of the movie are done digitally, that I'll blog about later this week].

So in her summary in chapter 1, she makes the following points:

1) The major Hollywood companies have been interested and involved historically in a variety of media and other commodity forms beyond film.

2) Hollywood as an industry means more than film production, distribution, and exhibition: it also has incorporated promotion, merchandising, theme parks, and other media forms, such as television, cable, home video, etc. In other words, Hollywood does not merely represent the film industry, but crosses over traditional industrial boundaries and engages in transindustrial activities.

3) The changes and continuity in Hollywood must be understood in light of the general economic and political contexts, i.e. deregulation of media sectors such as cable, privatization and commercialization tendencies in global markets, etc.

and

4) Hollywood's relationship to new technologies must be seen in light of these other contexts.

Even though this is a relatively old book for the field, I think it is worthy of more study. More to come on Chapter Two: "The Way We Were: An Historical Look at Hollywood and Technology."