CREATIVE INDUSTRIES IN CHINA

Value that creative industries generate in China



Value that creative industries generate in China

Introduction

In China cultural value is frequently locked into national cultural and folkloric contexts. Long cultural histories mean that creation of products for the marketplace is both constrained and aided by tradition. A great number of cultural products fail to connect with contemporary markets, or remain as heritage items appealing to tourists and collectors. Tensions between culture and commodity persist. Commercialisation of traditional culture requires sensitivity to authenticity—as well as protection of IP—so that value is maximised and the marketplace is not inundated with cheap imitations, spin-offs, and fakes.

Commercialisation of tradition is not a new development and it does not necessarily entail the modern media. Heritage has long served as a vehicle for the generation of economic impacts. Value exists wherever there are flows of tourists willing to pay for mementos of their experience. What is new is the manner in which commercialisation occurs and the many forms it can take, from authentic craft replications of artefacts where value flows back to the creator through to cheap exploitative imitations that reduce the value of the marketplace by driving prices lower. Theme parks, cultural renovation, and the re-discovery of heritage are all ways of attracting capital.

Commercialisation of tradition is an economic development option in regions where economies have suffered the vicissitudes of modernisation. Regions are turning to culture as a resource due to downturns in local industries, changes in world commodity prices, and increases in tourism flows (Yúdice, 2003). Tim Oakes has written about the proclivity of towns in rural China to exploit the theme park model as vindication of some historical cultural legacy (Oakes, 1998). The contemporary Asian theme park buffet now ranges from authentic reconstruction and preservation to hyper-real imitation. The Dutch architect, Rem Koolhaas, has written that '… Asia has become a kind of immense theme park. Asians themselves have become tourists in Asia' (Koolhaas in Chung et al., p. 32, cited in Buruma, 2003 and Chung et al., 2001). Nevertheless, there are some inherent problems, such as a tendency for impoverished regions to see the heritage industry solution as a cure for economic decline. How many theme parks can a region offer before the cultural tourism experience is devalued?

Finance in creative industries in developing countries

While elite and popular cultures exist as critical discourses, research into consumption patterns shows that high culture users are increasingly eclectic in their tastes, becoming 'cultural omnivores'—that is, they consume both commercial and subsidized forms (O'Regan, 2002). Cultural consumption is not confined to the cinema, the museum or the art gallery. In contrast to a conservative predisposition to argue that there is not enough elite culture, or too much popular/commercial culture, there is a view that culture is ubiquitous and value-adding. In fact, culture is a vital element of economic value chains and it constitutes a way of life.

This brings us to the issue of how finance is provided in low-value ...