Distribution Revolution? The circulation of film and cultural capital
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Date
2019-05
DOI
Open Access Location
Authors
Journal Title
Journal ISSN
Volume Title
Publisher
Department of Theatre Film and Television Studies University of Wales
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Abstract
Online methods of film distribution, both legal and illegal, have been positioned as a disruptive force, altering the dynamics of the film industry and patterns of viewing
behaviour. Consideration of the relationship between these new methods and power relations between the socio-demographic groups using them has been somewhat limited though. This article focuses centrally upon these power relations via an examination of the
relationship between patterns of film consumption in New Zealand and the circulation of cultural capital. Using quantitative analysis of survey data, the article considers the extent to which Bourdieusian social/cultural hierarchies can be mapped onto the use of particular
methods of film consumption and the viewing of particular types of film (by genre and nationality). It also considers what these patterns reveal about the circulation of more pluralised notions of cultural capital, and whether the power of particular groups may reside
in their omnivorousness. The article ultimately finds that the potential contribution of online methods of film distribution to the disruption of social/cultural hierarchies is fairly minimal. This is due to the extent to which their use is, in part, structured by these hierarchies and the unequal distribution of economic and cultural capital.
Description
Keywords
Cultural Capital, Online Film Distribution, Bourdieu, Film Audiences, Film Exhibition, New Zealand
Citation
Participations: journal of audience and reception studies, 2019, May 2019, 16 (1), pp. 70 - 89