Blockbusters and Trade Wars: Popular Culture in a Globalized World

by Peter S. Grant, Chris Wood

The unparalleled global distribution of books, television programs and other cultural products would seem to augur well for the diversity of ideas and creative expression. Yet ever more of this flow is concentrated in the hands of fewer giant corporations, significantly American controlled, whose agenda is not pluralism but profit. Clearly written, impeccably researched and passionately argued, Blockbusters and Trade Wars focuses upon the market dynamics that drive ever-greater audiences to "blockbuster" films, TV programs, books and recording artists-at the expense of independent, alternative and increasingly necessary national voices.

Genres: History, Film

464 pages, Paperback

First published June 1, 2004

Reviews

[Samantha · Rating 4 out of 5]

I liked this book a lot, especially learning about how hard it is to get a project developed in Hollywood, the sheer volume of U.S. culture that's exported elsewhere and what various countries are doing to combat it. I particularly liked the section about public broadcasters. I had it on my shelf for years and I wish I'd read it sooner.