A multi-author discussion of the creative industries in the digital age
Labor and movement are intricately connected–people move for their jobs, or in some cases leave the country when work is no longer available. Austerity, civil war, and economic recession are just a few of the reasons why people may leave home to seek work. People want the fulfillment of labor–I am reminded of this heartbreaking […]
Earlier in the semester, Talitha asked our seminar if anyone would be wiling to work as a Production Assistant for $2 an hour. Some people said yes, others said no. Our discussion turned to how this would ruin the market for everyone–if there are people willing to work for $2, who truly have the choice and […]
While reading No Collar by Andrew Ross I was struck by the language used to describe New Economy workplaces–language I recognized from dystopian novels such as We by Yevgeny Zamyatin and Brave New World by Aldous Huxley. The New Economy workplaces seemed to be striving towards a utopia in which the worker’s identity is tied inextricably to their job. […]
In the creative economy, ideas are power. Workers want offices that are compelling and environments that allow them to produce their best work. It has been said that workers are willing to sacrifice pay for flexibility, but this statement ignores the fact that some people simply cannot afford to make that trade. I want to […]
“Our strategy should be not only to confront empire, but to lay siege to it. To deprive it of oxygen. To shame it. To mock it. With our art, our music, our literature, our stubbornness, our joy, our brilliance, our sheer relentlessness – and our ability to tell our own stories. Stories that are different […]
Independent cinema emerged in 1989-90 outside of the studio system. As indie films gained success, the studio system attempted to capitalize on this by launching indie division with “‘indie-style,’ target marketed films.” (Schatz 29) This raises important questions– what is ‘indie style?’ Can a film really be ‘indie’ with the backing of a major studio? Studios […]
In the Hollywood star system, actors and actresses were products, and films were the vehicle for them to sell themselves. This has important and complicated ethical implications for labor, and we must question the dangers of reducing a person to a product. Stars became a product onto which our deepest cultural fears and desires were […]
Job instability concerns many people seeking careers in the creative industries. Creative workers must adapt quickly to changing markets. As new media disrupts traditional workplaces, new problems arise, as well as new solutions. An overview of the creative industries shows that unionization has a stronger influence in some spheres than others– the Screen Actor’s Guild being a […]
To say the internet has changed the way we consume media would be an understatement. News organizations have apps that will send push notifications so we are never behind on breaking news. Twitter has rallied to make sure media organizations don’t ignore the stories of marginalized people. And yet, for all the advantages new media […]
The innovation of the creative industries has disrupted traditional workplace hierarchies and spawned new workplace norms. Many of these changes are positive–Davies and Sigthorsson interview bosses who care about their workers’ happiness, and entrepreneurs who have been able to better control which projects they want to work on by starting their own production companies. Sigthorson […]
