Culture in times of cholera

Abstract

Today there is a need to coordinate laws and policies on the national, regional and global level in order to encourage and realise cultural diversity. In the field of cinema, that exemplified the issues and solutions at stake for the purposes of this paper, market mechanisms have so far failed to preserve and promote cultural diversity. Cultural diversity can be considered as both a public good and a prerequisite of the freedom of expression and opinion. As consequence, many States and supranational bodies such as the European Union and the Council of Europe intervene today in the audiovisual sector by way of subsidies and other forms of public support. At the same time, the United States, driven by the oligopoly of the Hollywood Majors, seek to remove, or at least to reduce to a minimum, such intervention within the WTO, arguing that public aid distorts competition. In reality, however, one can argue that there is no level playing field in the audiovisual sector between the Majors’ motion pictures and the ones from other cultural origins. Overwhelming distribution and marketing power by these corporations drives most competitors out of business. Since consequent subsidies for cultural industries are out of reach for the majority of the countries, legislators should focus their attention on complementary or alternative means to pursue public policies aimed at preserving and promoting cultural diversity. To achieve this goal, we recommend considering competition and intellectual property laws and policies as well as the implementation of a legal system inspired by the international trading system that would promote cultural diversity by prohibiting cultural discrimination.