The Political Economy of Communication

Filtered Violence: Propaganda Model and Political Economy of the Indian Film Industry

“…Hence, the film industry filtered its content in consonance with the government policies and especially supported the foreign policy to avoid flak from government, citizens, and pressure groups. Mosco (2009) also supported this view by arguing that "political economy of communication has always contained an important international dimension" (40). Bettig and Hall (2012) argued that films sponsored and distributed by commercial and political interests were rarely independent.…”

“…Consequently, pressure of government's ideological position and a fear of loosing audiences turns media docile and filters the content in a direction deemed desirable by the policymakers. Herman and Chomsky's propaganda model (2002) advances an understanding of the pressures on media and reluctance of the mainstream media to criticize foreign policy issues because of their political and economic interests (Bagdikian, 2004;Bettig and Hall, 2012;McChesney, 2008;Mosco, 2009;Zelizer and Allan, 2011). The Indian government actively promoted the film industry as a soft power, and an important tool to achieve foreign policy agendas.…”

“…The policymakers used cultural products to further foreign policy agenda, and Bollywood filtered content of the films in line with the policy of the government. The political economy of mass media approach identifies close patterns of cooperation between media and the governments as mutual political and economic interests force both parties to coexist (Mosco, 2009;Herman and Chomsky, 2002). Film being a culture industry, is dependent on the state organs due to reasons discussed in the preceding lines, and cannot deviate from the officially sanctioned external policy in many parts of the world (Prindle, 1993).…”

“…The first content filter is outlined as the size, ownership concentration and owners' wealth, and profit-driven operations of media conglomerates. Recent decades have witnessed momentous changes in the structure of media industry, and there is a growing trend towards conglomeration through joint operations, mergers, interlocking directorships, and large investments (Altschull, 1995;Bagdikian, 2004;Herman and Chomsky, 2002;Mosco, 2009). For example, five major corporations control flow of information and entertainment content in the United States (Bagdikian, 2004).…”

“…For example, five major corporations control flow of information and entertainment content in the United States (Bagdikian, 2004). These organizations generate huge profits through advertising and other commercial ventures, hire lobbying firms to cajole politicians to relax regulations in their favor, and increase their size and wealth at the expense of local and minority media organizations (Mosco, 2009). Herman and Chomsky (2002) argue that advertising, the primary source of revenue for the media, works as the second filter.…”