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cultural forms
realm of special effects, and is now an increasingly integral part of film produc-
tion Among other things, these new working cyborgs who now populate the
world of entertainment labour have profound consequences for something that is
very rarely considered in studies of media production the welfare of media
workers. The increasing deployment of digital characters in mainstream films
(such as The Lord of the Rings) may be creating new animation work but, according
to Burston, it is likely to affect very adversely the livelihoods and prospects of
jobbing actors in an already insecure industry.
Both Janet Harbord and Des Freedman take issue with the view that new tech-
nology is transforming the media. In the case of the cinema, argues Harbord,
digitisation is contributing an incremental cultural shift. It is facilitating the devel-
opment of cinema cultures as being different from one another by enabling
distinctive production innovations, from storytelling in 4/4 time in independent
films to spectacular special effects in Hollywood epics. It is also contributing to an
expansion of cinema sites (including improved home viewing) as well as viewing
practices. In short, it is advancing a gradual process of pluralisation rather than
inaugurating an apocalyptic transformation (whether for good or bad).
Similarly Des Freedman argues that, although the Internet offers much that is
valuable and has had a significant impact on traditional media (most notably on
recorded music and publishing), it has not been the transformative force that many
analysts anticipated. The Internet has been held back by its inability to generate a
large income, as well as by technical and access problems. People also tend to visit
a narrow range of websites rather than take full advantage of the nets diversity.
Old media still command mass audiences, while television remains the main
source of news. Indeed, the Internet has come to supplement rather than replace
traditional media and thus cannot be argued to adequately offset the continuing
shortcomings of established and still-powerful systems of the old media.
References
Lister, M., Dovey, J., Giddings, S., Grant, I. and Kelly, K. (2003) New Media: A Critical
Introduction, London: Routledge.
McLuhan, M. (1964) Understanding Media, London: Routledge & Kegan Paul.
Williams, R. (1974) Television,Technology and Cultural Form, London: Fontana.