Placing International Media Production

Abstract

Abstract:Studies of contemporary media production have to grapple with the empirical, methodological, and theoretical challenges of internationalization. While cultural imperialism and the new international division of cultural labor theories have highlighted important power differentials internationally, they often lack empirical depth and focus on large traditional media companies and national, particularly Western, countries. In this short essay I consider how "spatialization" and the social production of space might provide a useful theoretical approach for studying international contemporary media production practices. I illustrate my argument by contrasting findings from empirical research on the factors shaping the spatialization of the digital games and broadcast animation industries: one an emerging industry struggling to legitimate its cultural standing and build international networks of production; the other a well-established cultural industry tied into national cultural policies and networks of production. An industry focus and relational approach to space allows us to capture the dynamic tension between international flows (of ideas, products, services, workers, and money) and the practices (policy, regulation, institutions, markets, technology, and content) that attempt to capture these flows in particular places. Keywords: Gaming, Globalization, Labor, Production, Political Economy Understanding Space and PlaceWhile much of the globalization literature talks of deterritorialization, transnationalism, and global flows, we are seeing at the same time more locational competition and attention being paid to aspects of place and/or space. When I use these terms, it is not in any absolute sense. Rather it is relational and, in terms of cultural production, it means that we need to investigate how and in what ways industries, companies, workers, texts, and users get embedded in particular spaces while simultaneously being involved in global flows. It is to question why a company has located in X or moved its production to Y and if and, in what ways, are the company and their products localized and particular. It is also to note that space and place are experienced both objectively and subjectively-thus companies and workers in the same industry and located in the same city may experience that city quite differently.

Autonomy, Integration, and the Work of Cultural Intermediation in Indie Games

“…Similarly, co-working space director Lee and festival organizer Viktor maintain active relationships with government and arts agencies as a means of mediating between developers and potential sources of funding beyond investors, loans, and other market-oriented models emphasized in the game industry, in doing so influencing how governments "define and place" games as a medium and a business. 28 Mobilizing their expertise, social connections, and cultural capital as a "third who translates," each of these intermediaries uses their position to bridge across seemingly disparate cultural worlds. 29 Qualifying and adding value to cultural objects is a well-established function for cultural intermediaries, and several strategies for tastemaking and highlighting certain games among the chaff of a crowded indie market were discussed by participants involved in festival curation and event organizing.…”

Latin American contraflow in global entertainment media:Kingdom Rushseries andZambo Dendeas de-localised media products

“…On the one hand, we want to understand the decision-making processes and the strategies developed by the content producers to insert their products into a global marketplace. On the other hand, we seek to advance research that follows Kerr’s (2014) call ‘to investigate how and in what ways industries, companies, workers, texts, and users get embedded in particular spaces while simultaneously being involved in global flows’ (p. 27).…”

Small, Middle, Test: Rescaling Peripheral Media Markets

“…Ramon Lobato recently observed that the incredibly large catalogues of Netflix offerings in "small" countries such as Guadeloupe and Martinique likely result from the fact that many Caribbean countries were lumped together with the USA when rights deals were negotiated(Lobato 2017: 246). Such tendencies are also present in other media sectors, such as those which lump together Europe, the Middle East and Africa for video game coding(Kerr 2014). 2 Small, Middle, Test: Rescaling Peripheral Media Markets…”