Ties that Bind or Free? Core-Periphery Collaboration and Identity Shifting in US Film, 1985-2016

Abstract

A theme of networks research is that stronger relationships, including competitive ones, promote the stability of a system and its members. We argue that relationships, especially those involving exchange, are not necessarily stabilizing. This is because exchange introduces objects and elements that have the potential to disrupt the existing social order. Through an analysis of U.S. filmmaking, we find that collaborations between the core and periphery lead to core members taking on more distinctive identities within the network while pushing peripheral members further into the margins. These collaborations free core members to exhibit more unique identities, which results in the expansion of the market core. This encroachment reduces the viability of peripheral members, but also stimulates expansion of the creative frontier in search of less-mainstream ideas.