Day after day, hundreds of thousands of people watch dozens of movies, most of which are made in the USA, mainly in Hollywood. The way society uses cinema affects it on a much larger scale than the average person can imagine. From political economy’s viewpoint, it is interesting to observe the influence of a particular film on various socio-economic forces and moods in society.
If one imagines the release of a Hollywood blockbuster with such world-famous actors as Jennifer Lawrence, Jackie Chan, and The Rock, they can safely assume that there will likely be some social changes. Those changes do not have to be immediately evident and transparent. They can grow over time, feeding into new products in the media space. Thus, the US has tremendous soft power, being one of the leading media providers (Douglas and Meenakshi 29). This is due to the ability and legislative framework that has helped the country easily popularize, legitimize and internationally disseminate the American culture.
In general, as a political economist, I would be particularly interested in analyzing the role of technology in distributing a Hollywood blockbuster. Clearly, today’s political economy engages a massive portion of dominant technologies, especially digital ones (Mosco 23). The choice of a platform for streaming, advertising channels can say a lot about the preferences of the audience to which the film is targeted (Douglas and Meenakshi 27). Thus, a new Hollywood movie can demonstrate a lot about social and political trends, the power of the media, and technological change.
Works Cited
Douglas, M. K., and G. D. Meenakshi. “Political Economy and Globalization.” Media and Cultural Studies, Keyworks, 2006, pp. 26–31.
Mosco, V. “What Is Political Economy? Definitions and Characteristics.” The Political Economy of Communication, 2nd ed., SAGE, 2009, pp. 21–30.