54. Clearly, most popular films and television shows are superficial and/or include a ; O- e! r# O7 @: N6 c) z
certain amount of violence or obscenity. Just as clearly, popularity leads to commercial
4 N! Y- K( o9 f5 ? m: Zsuccess. But can we conclude that these productions are overly influenced by 4 ]( t, Y' |! N8 _1 X
commercial interests? Perhaps not, since some popular films and television shows are
9 N- S6 A6 i* h5 M8 X2 Jneither superficial, obscene, nor violent. Closer scrutiny, however, reveals that most ! Y* L6 ~# X+ G1 n& R% I
such productions actually support, not disprove, the thesis that commercial interests 3 U; e m. n% J" N' t
dictate movie and television content.0 x; B& J' D7 ?' d# i; V
One would-be threat to the thesis can be found in lower-budget independent films,
8 W6 f/ V' \0 w& nwhich tend to focus more on character development and topical social issues than on 4 K2 R! X: I4 h( E' w
sensationalism. Recently, a few such films have supplanted Hollywood's major studio % R5 f! f$ b7 n: {- |1 u% p1 k9 b
productions as top box-office hits. Does this mean that profit potential no longer dictates
/ Y( R- {3 I/ b# ] @the content of films. No; it simply suggests that the tastes and preferences of the movie-
* q+ ?$ w G/ v9 X+ b9 F# \going public are shifting.
: `# G( M/ \/ _6 V. F) d) F" e A second ostensible challenge to the thesis can be found in companies such as 7 Q$ U- r7 J7 H. h$ y: }4 b' y
Disney, whose productions continue to achieve great popularity and commercial success, 2 ?: z* b; ?% [8 ?4 f5 B& V+ \
without "resort to an appeal to baser interests. Yet it is because these productions are
' T( K. ]5 e% [commercially successful that they proliferate.$ W0 Q1 a$ C2 P
The only cogent challenge to the thesis is found in perennial television favorites ! t& v6 Q: ^ _
such as "Nova." a public television show that is neither commercially supported nor
6 P6 W( g, x* H# @9 [. W" |influenced. However, such shows are more in the nature of education than entertainment, ) U a; P$ ^, n/ b& y! j+ x
and for every one program like "Nova" there are several equally popular—and highly j6 }$ ~: A3 Y9 q( Q$ o
superficial—programs.
6 T2 ~: S0 G/ R% b( P" y With few exceptions, then, commercial success of certain films and television & p* f4 U/ d* c. N$ ^7 T0 V/ M
shows is no accidental byproduct of popularity; it is the intentional result of producers' m. R! T( K8 @8 }0 q; }
efforts to maximize profits. |