Labour power and aesthetic labour in film and television in Britain

Chanan, Michael

doi:10.1177/016344378000200202

Cited by 4 publications

(3 citation statements)

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“…Michael Chanan (1976;1983) and Bill Ryan (1992) trace a lineage from art and artistic practice to labour in the commercialized cultural industries, drawing on Marx to outline a conception of aesthetic labour -forms of labour in which, unlike in other commodity production, it is difficult to completely separate the author from her work. As artistic practice is brought under the logic of capitalist commodity production, the "art-capital contradiction" emerges, defined as a source of conflict inherent to the transformation of culture into capital (Ryan 1992, 34).…”

Section: Labour Process Theory and Cultural Workmentioning

confidence: 99%

Cultural Work as a Site of Struggle: Freelancers and Exploitation

Cohen

2012

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This paper argues that Marxist political economy is a useful framework for understanding contemporary conditions of cultural work. Drawing on Karl Marx’s foundational concepts, labour process theory, and a case study of freelance writers, I argue that the debate over autonomy and control in cultural work ignores exploitation in labour-capital relationships, which is a crucial process shaping cultural work. To demonstrate the benefits of this approach, I discuss two methods media firms use to extract surplus value from freelance writers: exploitation of unpaid labour time and exploitation of intellectual property through aggressive copyright regimes. I argue that a Marxist perspective can uncover the dynamics that are transforming cultural industries and workers’ experiences. From this perspective, cultural work is understood as a site of struggle.

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Section: Labour Process Theory and Cultural Workmentioning

confidence: 99%

Cultural Work as a Site of Struggle: Freelancers and Exploitation

Cohen

2012

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“…While actors were, straightforwardly, members of Equity, permanent behind-the-scenes BBC staff tended to be members of the in-house Association of Broadcasting and Allied Staff (ABS) union; any who also worked at ITV would have been members of the ACTT, which operated a closed-shop there. It has been noted (Chanan, 1980: 122) that members of the ACTT perceived themselves as ‘industrial workers’ in contrast to members of the BBC’s trade union the ABS, who saw themselves more as public servants, above the practice of making commodities. The BBC has been seen as a ‘QUANGO’ and a ‘social-industrial complex’ with those at the top feeling responsible for retaining a ‘moral order’ (Burns, 1977).…”

Section: Bbc Workplace Experiences Itv and Trade Unionsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Poorly paid, but proud to work in teams producing ‘quality’: An oral history of women’s experiences working in BBC drama

May

2022

Critical Studies in Television

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This article presents a range of hitherto unheard women’s testimonies of their experiences working in the BBC Drama Plays department during the 1970s and 1980s. It incorporates the subjective interview testimony of nine women who all worked on BBC1’s prestigious strand of one-off dramas, Play for Today (1970-84) to reveal commonalities and differences in their gendered work experiences. This incorporates topics such as discrimination, pay, working conditions, emotional labour and trade unionism. There is attention to what made working for the BBC unique, compared to ITV or independent production companies. It is discerned that BBC women workers generally saw the BBC as a meritocracy, but also that some regret the decline in the strength of television trade unions, which they saw as leading to a situation of pervasive exploitation in television today.

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Section: Labour Process Theory and Cultural Workmentioning

confidence: 99%

Cultural Work as a Site of Struggle: Freelancers and Exploitation

Cohen

2012

tripleC

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

This paper argues that Marxist political economy is a useful framework for understanding contemporary conditions of cultural work. Drawing on Karl Marx's foundational concepts, labour process theory, and a case study of freelance writers, I argue that the debate over autonomy and control in cultural work ignores exploitation in labour-capital relationships, which is a crucial process shaping cultural work. To demonstrate the benefits of this approach, I discuss two methods media firms use to extract surplus value from freelance writers: exploitation of unpaid labour time and exploitation of intellectual property through aggressive copyright regimes. I argue that a Marxist perspective can uncover the dynamics that are transforming cultural industries and workers' experiences. From this perspective, cultural work is understood as a site of struggle.

show abstract

Labour power and aesthetic labour in film and television in Britain

Cited by 4 publications

References 0 publications

Cultural Work as a Site of Struggle: Freelancers and Exploitation

Cultural Work as a Site of Struggle: Freelancers and Exploitation

Poorly paid, but proud to work in teams producing ‘quality’: An oral history of women’s experiences working in BBC drama

Cultural Work as a Site of Struggle: Freelancers and Exploitation

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