The hegemony of Hollywood?

Question

I'm doing a final project on Hollywood's purported control/dominance over foreign cinema markets.
Could anyone direct me to resources on the web or provide some information (with sources please :) ).
I would truly appreciate this.
-Carolina

Answer 1

The market has spoken, and the bottom line is that Hollywood simply makes better movies - at least insofar as people living in other countries prefer Hollywood films to those made in their own countries. Some nations (e.g. France) have even passed laws to limit U.S. films, to try to force their people to watch local productions, but it hasn't worked very well. The fact is that Hollywood is very good at what it does, namely, giving the people what they want. The end product may or may not be of the highest artistic merit, but it certainly sells. And that's especially true of large-scale adventure films, animated films, physical comedies, and horror films - genres that don't depend on the audience understanding the subtleties of language. I think one must also consider the value of "the happy ending", a tradition American producers have usually opted to uphold, while foreign producers have often opted for to paint a more bleak, realistic (but less commercially viable) picture of life.