Media Studies Chapter 6


Part 2: The future of the Korean and Japanese film industries

A What is the present situation of the two film industries?

Japan

Please investigate the film company I have given you. What is its financial situation? Are its profits and productivity rising or falling? Has it recently won any domestic or international film awards? (And so on.) Do you think that there are strong arguments in favor of government subsidies?

Shochiku
Toei
Toho
Kadokawa Pictures
Ghibli?

Korea?
Please choose a Korean film company and investigate its financial situation. Are its profits and productivity rising or falling? Has it recently won any domestic or international film awards? (And so on.) Do you think that there are strong arguments in favor of government subsidies?

B Arguments for and against protectionism

I had difficulty in finding straightforward information about the situation in France. "Global Crossing, Part One: The Movies" looks at the arguments for and against protectionism in the movies, and mentions the Korean film industry as well as the French one. Unfortunately the links to the article do not work, but I managed to find the one about France, "French resistance".

I would like _____ to read both these articles looking for reasons in favor of protectionism, while ____ should read them to find reasons against protectionism. How convincing are the arguments you have found?

In class we will use the evidence you have found to discuss the arguments for and against providing the Korean and Japanese film industries with subsidies.

Part 1: Comparing the film industries of the U.S., Korea, and Japan


Each student will be given two years and either a country or the Cannes Film Festival or Venice Film Festival for that year.
If you are given a country: Which was the top box office film made in that country, and which was the top box office foreign film? What were there overall box office ranks? (For example, if your country is Japan, "the top box office film made in that country" will be a Japanese film, and "the top box office foreign film" will be a film made in another country, such as the U.S. The top box office film made in Japan might also be the overall top box office film, or it may be 2nd or even lower.)
What were the genres of those films? How much money did they make? (Give the money in yen.)
If you are given the Cannes Festival: Which film won the Palme d'Or? What country did it come from? What was its genre?
If you are given the Venice Film Festival: Which film won the Golden Lion? What country did it come from? What was its genre?

In the class, we will put the information together to see what it tells us about the wealth, popularity, and international reputations of different film industries.