Brokerage and Production in the American and French Entertainment Industries. Invisible Hands in Cultural Markets, Edited by Violaine Roussel and Denise Bielby

Brokerage and Production in the American and French Entertainment Industries

Invisible Hands in Cultural Markets

Edited by 
Violaine Roussel and Denise Bielby 
Lexington Books
2015

Présentation de l'éditeur

Invisible Hands in Cultural Markets shines unprecedented light on the activity of talent representatives and production professionals in the American and French film and television industries. Agents and other talent brokers, studio executives, independent producers, casting directors, and film offices—all operate and interact behind the scenes in ways that are consequential to the making of artistic careers and cultural products. But even as these professionals play a crucial role in the entertainment industry, their activity is usually invisible and relatively unknown. This collection of empirically grounded contributions by established and up-and-coming American and French scholars reveals their day-to-day reality. It presents how entertainment industry professionals work and what they experience, demonstrates the ways in which they build relationships with artists and other counterparts, and examines the role they play in shaping the content of film and television projects. Taken together, the chapters put the brokerage of talent and content in comparative perspective. They also challenge taken-for-granted approaches to the study of cultural industries and explore the complex intertwining between commercial and artistic logics.

Violaine Roussel is professor of sociology at the University of Paris VIII. Denise Bielby is professor of sociology at the University of California, Santa Barbara.

 

Owen Jones, Chavs. The Demonization of the Working Class (2nd Revised edition )

Owen Jones
Chavs
The Demonization of the Working Class 
(2nd Revised edition )
Verso
2012

Présentation de l'éditeur

In modern Britain, the working class has become an object of fear and ridicule. From Little Britain's Vicky Pollard to the demonization of Jade Goody, media and politicians alike dismiss as feckless, criminalized and ignorant a vast, underprivileged swathe of society whose members have become stereotyped by one, hate-filled word: chavs.

In this acclaimed investigation, Owen Jones explores how the working class has gone from “salt of the earth” to “scum of the earth.” Exposing the ignorance and prejudice at the heart of the chav caricature, he portrays a far more complex reality. The chav stereotype, he argues, is used by governments as a convenient figleaf to avoid genuine engagement with social and economic problems and to justify widening inequality. Based on a wealth of original research, Chavs is a damning indictment of the media and political establishment and an illuminating, disturbing portrait of inequality and class hatred in modern Britain. This updated edition includes a new chapter exploring the causes and consequences of the UK riots in the summer of 2011.

Owen Jones is a writer, commentator and activist. He writes frequently for the Guardian, Independent and New Statesman, and has worked in Parliament as a trade union lobbyist and parliamentary researcher, helping Labour plan backbench rebellions on issues ranging from civil liberties to workers' rights. He lives in London.