On Topic Sources

Scholarly Sources:

1. Davis, Darrell William. “Marketization, Hollywood, Global China.” Modern Chinese Literature and Culture, vol. 26, no. 1, 2014, pp. 191–241. JSTOR, http://www.jstor.org/stable/42940476. Accessed 9 Mar. 2020.

This article talks about the modernization and commercialization of China’s film industry and how it competes with the United States.

This source sheds light on the ever-growing film industry in China and how it competes and interacts with other film industries around the world, such as Hollywood. China, being the most populated country in the world, therefore contains the biggest market and potentially, the highest number of box-office sales. According to the article (written in 2014), China’s industry is expected to surpass the USA’s by 2020, due to the expansion and marketization of its film industry. I think this source can be very interesting to use in my article, as Hollywood has often been accused of censoring their own films in hopes of appeasing the Chinese governments strict rules on what can and cannot be shown in movies. Hollywood cuts out details that will not pass Chinese censors in order to access the huge Chinese market and make as much money as possible. This relates to feature story, in which I will mainly talk about the ethics surrounding the handling of money in the film industry, and how people are willing to sacrifice their artistic liberties in the pursuit of more box-office dollars.

2. Perren, Alisa. “A Big Fat Indie Success Story? Press Discourses Surrounding the Making and Marketing of a ‘Hollywood’ Movie.” Journal of Film and Video, vol. 56, no. 2, 2004, pp. 18–31. JSTOR, http://www.jstor.org/stable/20688451. Accessed 9 Mar. 2020.

This essay challenges the claims that My Big Fat Greek Wedding was in indie success story, and not simply deceptive marketing in order to sell the film.

This essay details the arguments put forward by the writer challenge the claim that My Big Fat Greek Wedding was an indie-film success story, becoming the most profitable indie film ever. The writer puts forward research gathered about the production and marketing behind the film, showing that it was not necessarily as “indie” as it claimed. The film was given millions from Gold Circle Films and HBO, two companies that are not directly affiliated with Hollywood, but have strong ties and are big enough for the film to not necessarily qualify as truly independent. I think this is an interesting example of how certain deceptive tactics are used when marketing films in order to make them more appealing, and I think it could benefit my feature story.

Non-Scholarly Sources:

1. Pevere, Geoff. “Hollywood’s sordid love story with greed and capitalism.” The Globe and Mail, published 27 September 2012, updated 5 May 2018.

This article details the history of Hollywood’s greed, and it’s potential origins.

I think this article will be of great use to my feature story, as it talks in detail about the history of Hollywood’s greed and the effects it has had. It poses an interesting and perhaps difficult idea that, as much as one may disagree with the greed and corruption in Hollywood, we would not have many iconic and brilliant films without it. As terrible as greed can be, it has also been a huge motivator in the creation of many great films, that we would perhaps not have had it not been for the constant desire to make more money. I think that this is a very interesting point and can provide some good counter arguments to the main points of my feature story, and will hopefully get the reader to think about both sides of the story.

2. Akbar, Arifa. “Moore on greed: US film-maker has rounded on his Hollywood backers.” The Independent, published 6 September 2009.

This article talks about how Michael Moore called out his Hollywood backers for being willing to fund a film that directly opposed them in order to make money.

I found this article to be very insightful and it gave a glimpse into how far Hollywood executives will go to make a quick buck. Michael Moore received financial backing by Hollywood to make a documentary in which he called out capitalism and openly criticized those who funded him. He found that these Hollywood executives were perfectly willing to support his film not because they agreed with the message, but because they knew it would make them money. I think that this can be a good insight to include in my feature, as it shows the lengths that some people are willing to go to in order to make money, and they will often throw away all morals to do so.

Cultural or Artistic Artifact:

1. Michael Moore’s documentary Capitalism: A Love Story is a good example of how Hollywood’s greed has gotten to a point where they will gladly be openly ridiculed and criticized as long as it will make them richer. The documentary talks about various financial crises in American history as well as the huge difference between the top 1% richest people vs. the bottom 99%.

Experiential Research:

1. Both on the internet as well as in real life, we are constantly being bombarded with advertisements. No matter where we are, there is always someone trying to sell us something. This can be very annoying, and it is one of my biggest pet peeves in life. One type of advertising that I see particularly often is advertisements for films. Full movie trailers will often play as ads before Youtube videos, and you are forced to watch 15-30 seconds before you can skip them. Very rarely do I ever sit through and watch whatever garbage, run-of-the-mill trailer is being peddled my way and, if anything, it often makes me not want to go see the film just to spite the companies that are constantly trying to shove it down my throat. One of the recent trailers that I have seen multiple times is for the horror film Brahms: The Boy II, a film which currently sits at a dismal 10% rating on Rotten Tomatoes. Despite how little I care about this film, I must have seen the ad about a million times in the pat month, and with each 15 second viewing, I wish to see it less and less. Although advertising certainly works on many, and I am definitely not immune to its manipulation, I often wonder about how many people are turned off by militant advertising, directly opposing the intention of such tactics. I think that this may be and interesting point to explore in my feature story.