The Role of Hollywood in Global Film Markets - Essay Example

The Role of Hollywood in Global Film Markets Executive summary The role of the media in the society is to inform, entertain, and educate. The society uses movies to figures out historical events. Hollywood filmmakers have contributed a lot in promoting the function of the media in America and abroad. Hollywood movies form most of the programs in local television stations and international television stations. Hollywood movies contribute a lot to the economy of United States. Need for entertainment locally and internationally has contributed to development of film industry in Hollywood. Film industry in Hollywood utilizes the demands in the local markets and global markets to produce and market their products. This promotes the work of artist and celebrities who rely in film industry to earn a living. Each year the number of celebrities that stream into the corridors of Hollywood increases. This has led to the growth of the American society. Film production enhances the entertainment industry. Many people like streaming into the movie houses or cinema halls to watch movies as a means to spending their leisure time. Hollywood movies influence the global film market by influencing prices and trends adopted by the film industry. Hollywood production has benefited the American society because of the income the government is able to earn from the film and media industry. Employment opportunity that Hollywood movie industry offers shapes lives of many people (Hesmondhalgh, 2007:176). Hollywood movies are a threat to social structures of the society. The movies influence the social lives of individual who watch them. Many people tend to immolate and practice social scenes that they view in the movies. This paper explores the role of Hollywood in global film market. Introduction Movie industry helps the society to figure historical events or possible events in the society. Actors take their time to act in movies, which portrays the state of the society. In America, the media industry contributes a lot to the economy of the nation because of movie productions in Hollywood. Hollywood movie industry is renowned for it sparkling productions, which have drawn the attention of many people worldwide. Celebrities and moviemakers find their ways to Hollywood because of the reputation that it has. Hollywood movies flood the global market and many people feel that Hollywood command a greater share of the global market. History records that the first film studio in Hollywood was in 1911. That studio belonged to Nestor Company. The demand for movies and film by the people led to the group of Hollywood film industry. Today filmmaking is a career that employs thousands of people. Many people like going to cinemas and theatre halls for refreshment, or spend their leisure time. The role of media in the society has contributed to revelation of historical facts and events, which, the society would forget. Media activities in the United States rely on the work of Hollywood filmmakers (Garnham, 1990:145). Many soap operas and other programs in television channels spring from movies acted in Hollywood. These productions have economic benefit to the American society and the world. The government and the society raise income from the filmmaking. Notably, the advancement in technology is a factor that has led to growth in the film industry. It is important to note, the media industry is competitive, and Hollywood is viewed as a destination, which shapes the future of the society. Film Making in Hollywood The film making industry in Hollywood has lasted for more than a decade. Moviemakers have shot different kinds of movies to illustrate to the society different social events. Hollywood is a town where the main business is the moviemaking. It attracts celebrates from different parts of the world. Many movie writers, directors, and produce visit this venture for the production purposes. Since the main business in the city is movie making, Hollywood dictate the trends in the film industry. Innovative approach taking by filmmakers in Hollywood affect the production of movies in other parts of the world. Notably, filmmakers and consultants in communication take time to come up with a new hit that would rock the society. Hollywood films take much of the airtime both in local and global television stations. Argument against this notion indicates that acquisition of movies from Hollywood is cheap and has several hours of content entertainment. The products that television stations present influence the choice of television channel that an individual would like to watch. Most people prefer watching channels, which present relevant items to their needs. Hollywood production caters for a wide range of community needs. The films produced in Hollywood cater for young children, adult and those that are sick. This variety of productions makes Hollywood movies to attract attention of people in local and global market. Hollywood movies generate income to the economy of the nation. Movies produced earn revenue in local and global market. International and local television stations buy movie products produced in Hollywood. These products bring income to the economy of the country. Research indicates that distributors and content writers have numerous opportunities that enhance movie industry. Products from movie industry could be used several times because of their nature. According Albarran (2009:104), movie product could be packed and be sold several times after a single production. This makes it worthwhile industry to the economy of the country. Cultural practices dictate the sale of movie products. Cultural diversity influences the choice of movie that an individual would be willing to buy in the market. Some movies talk about a culture of a particular people thus influencing their marketing. Structural reasons lead to the preference of Hollywood movies over other movies. The research reveals that in 2001, imported movies took less than 1% of the movies that shown by American television channels. Arguments against the growing trend of preference to Hollywood film indicates that the independence of the movie industry in the united states of America contributes a lot to the shaping of the movie industry in the world. Moviemakers have the independence of writing and producing a movie that would meet the preference of the society. The moviemakers read the need of the society before coming up with a movie. Study shows that Hollywood rose as a filmmaking industry after world war I. According to Moul, (ed). (2005:215) self-regulation that companies in America assumed has contributed greatly in making Hollywood movies dominate the market. Commanding a large market share is a strategic approach that many film firms would wish to acquire. The government system in the United States of America has promoted an environment, which promote the movie industry. Freedom of the media and the movie industry in the United States of America provides a glamorous opportunity for the moviemaker to produce their film. Hollywood movies promote American products in the global market (Doyle, 2002: 102). The society watch the movies and products presented in the media to choose the kind of life they would like to leave. Movies shape the choices that an individual would make when buying an item. For example, research indicates that American fashions dominated the global market because of the Hollywood movies that most television channels presented to their viewers. Advertisements made by many media houses like taking spectacular movies in order to woo the audience. Since Hollywood, movies dominate the market; the features presented by the television channels would borrow parts of the movies while presenting the advertisements. Apart from promotion of American products in the global market, Hollywood movies are a market driver of the United States economy. Research indicates that sales that the country gets from the film industry contribute to the welfare of many people who are working in this field. For example, it is evident that movie writers, directors, actors, and producers earn their lives from the Hollywood movie industry. The international sales of Hollywood movie products earn foreign exchange to the country. The media industry employ very many individuals who rely on movies produced from Hollywood. Since Hollywood, movies command a large a share of the international market, it leads to promotion of media industry in the united states, which in turn affect the economy of the nation ((Klein, 2004). Hollywood movies promote globalization. Research indicates that many people are able to make changes according to the movies they watch. The global movie market contain large share of Hollywood movies. These movies help in promoting globalization because they present the latest civilization to different destinations in the world. Media channel pass information from one region to the other. Each country work towards regulating media content presented to the public. The advent of internet technology provides a means through which many people are able to acquire information from other countries. This has been advantageous to Hollywood movie markers because they are able to dictate the global market. Criticism of Hollywood movies Hollywood movies have promoted social problems in the society. Hollywood produces movies that posed disturbing changes to lives of many youths. Since the growth and development human beings depend on the environmental influence, many youths who view the movies take both positive and negative teachings from the movies. For example, many youths wish to emulate what the view in the movies. This is very dangerous because some actions presented in the movies may not be real. Regulating movie contents in Hollywood has not been easy. Many movies markers come up with script that present strong feeling to the social lives of many people in the society. Moralists have argued that the Hollywood movie industry promotes decadence in moral standards of the society. Research indicates that the rise in moral decadence and juvenile delinquency resulted from Hollywood movies. Renowned psychiatrist, Fredric Wertham argued that comic movies and articles have pernicious influence to the society. He made a particular observation on youths and argued that racism, sexism and fascism results from the movies that the youths watch. To some extent, this argument is true; many people often practice what they see. What an individual observes tend to stick to the mind than what an individual hears. Hollywood movies have led to visual culture. Many people who watch the Hollywood movies tend to adopt the cultures of the movies their watch. This effect has an influence in the social practices of the society. Global markets seem to adopt new trends borrowed from Hollywood. Regulation of the media activities has an impact in the movie industry. Repugnant measures may affect the growth of media industry. Research indicates that governments, which regulate most of the media activities, may hamper media economy (Garnham, 1990:178). Some regulation would lead to low sales because of restrictions behind the sale of certain movie products. The need to regulate the movies presented by television stations would help to regulate the exposure of youths to movies, which are above their ages. Conclusion and Recommendation Hollywood commands large market share in the global film market thus influencing the trends adopted in the film industry. Hollywood productions are cheap and easily accessible due to the independence of the media industry in the United States. Hollywood productions influence the economy of the media industry. Many television stations rely on Hollywood movie production for their programs. This has influence on the sale of the American products in the global market. Film industries influence the global economy by providing employment opportunities to players in the industry. Moralist argues that Hollywood productions influence the social structures in the global market. Hollywood movies are cheap thus attracting the attention of many people in the market. Largely, many media houses buy Hollywood movies because of the prices and demand in the market. The economy of the media industry rely Hollywood movies because of the influence they have in the media industry. Hollywood movies have shaped the media industry by influencing advertisement strategies adopted by many television stations. This research recommends regulation of media products because of the social influence they have to the society. The decadence in moral standards in the society is a clear indication of the influence of unregulated movies in the society. The approach adopted to regulate media industry should aim at addressing issues that influence societal structures. Bibliography Albarran, B. Alan., 2009, The Media Economy. New York: Taylor & Francis Doyle, G., 2002, Understanding Media Economics. London: Sage. Garnham, N., 1990, Capitalism and Communication. London: Sage. Hesmondhalgh, D.,2007, The Cultural Industries. London: Sage. Klein, C., 2004, A new generation of foreign films that combine Hollywood and art-house conventions has stymied American distributors, Retrieved on 21/11/2011 from http://yaleglobal.yale.edu/content/why-does-hollywood-dominate-us-cinemas Levy, C., 2010, Visitors Up at Hollywood's Big Film Market; Strong Use of Social Marketing, Retrieved on 21/11/2011from http://www.expoweb.com/article/visitors-hollywoods-big-film-market-strong-use-social-marketing Moul, C. (ed).,2005, A Concise Handbook of Movie Industry Economics. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. Read More