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MediaCultureasaPartofGlobalizationProcesses
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Mediacorporations-includingtheirexecutivesandindividualproducers-stillhold
more‘power’thanmediaaudiences,nomatterifwetalkaboutindividualconsu-
mersormuchlargeraudiencesegments.Takingintoaccountthesefacts,wehaveto
payattentiontonewcontextsinordertore-considerour‘traditional’understanding
oftherelationshipsbetweenemergingcommunicationtechnologies,changingprac-
ticesofthemediaindustry,re-definedsegmentsofthemediamarkets,newmedia
genres,aswellasdiverseaudiencetypes.
ProductsofGlobalizedMediaCulture:FormsandContent
Globaldistributionofaudiovisualculturalartefactsviatransmedianarratives,
multimediaplatformsandproductsthatalsofunctionasmaterialelementsoflifestyle
(e.g.books,videogames,televisionproduction,music,fashion,themeparks,toys,
andcollectibles)ensuresmultipleaccumulationsofprofitsgainedbymediaprodu-
cers.Particularsegmentsofmediaproduction,suchasfilmindustry,aretherefore
closelyintertwined,positionedasintegratedpartsofthemediaindustry.Ifweuse
filmproductionasanexample,wemaysaythatmovies,duetotheiraudiovisual
andspectacularnature,areproductsoftheglobalbusinessofculturethataimsto
offertheiraudiencesentertainmentbasedonspectacularvisuals.Moreover,eco-
nomicaspectsoffilmproductionnecessarilyrefertoglobalflowofcapital,goods,
services,culturalvaluesandamusement[Radošinská2014:15].
‘Spectacularmediaculture’combinescontinuousandrefinedperfectionofvisual
aspectsofmediaproducts(form)andinevitablecontentchangesrelatedtooverwhel-
mingtherecipientsbyattractiveimages.Everydaylivesofmediaaudiencesaretherefo-
refullofparadoxes.Theircontactswithartefactsofmediacultureare,ontheonehand,
ordinaryeverydayactivitiesbut-ontheotherhand-thesemediaproductsconstantly
‘encourage’theseaudiencesto‘escape’.Escapisttendenciesofmediacultureareappe-
aling,entertainingand,mostimportantly,commerciallyprofitable.Forinstance,many
Hollywoodblockbusters,productsofglobalmediaculture,arecreatedanddistributedto
attracttheaudiencesallovertheworld.HanaPravdováremarksthatfascinationrelated
tomediaentertainmenthasbecomeoneofthecharacteristicaspectsofcontemporary
latemodernsocieties.Internationaltrendsinproductionofentertainingmediacontent
outlinedominantpositionoftheUSAwithinthesphereofglobalmediaproduction.The
so-called“Americanisationofculture”appliedmostlybyinternationalmediaconcerns
isbasedonspreadingmaterialvaluesandconsumerlifestyle[Pravdová2011:13].
AlthoughAmericanpopularcultureisgloballydominant,thesesrelatedto
“Americanisation”(or“McDonaldization”)ofthesocietyasaprocessofdis-
seminatinghomogenous,unified,consumer-basedculturalaspects[e.g.Ritzer
2003:18-19]cannotbefullyconfirmedanduniversallyaccepted.Globalizationof
mediacultureisratheracollisionbetween‘global’and‘local’basedondiversifi-
cation,fragmentation,aswellasinnovationandlookingfornewtargetaudiences
andmarkets.Glocalizationprocessesdefinedaslocalizedimplementationsof