The Political Economy of Cultural Diversity in Film and Television

Abstract

Two related global trends have had a serious impact on the world’s cultural diversity. These trends are—first, the gradual but relentless reduction in barriers to international trade and second, the increasing popularity of neoliberal economic policies in much of both the developed and developing worlds. When combined with new innovations in technology, the fears that many countries expressed in the 2005 UNESCO Convention on the Protection and Promotion of the Diversity of Cultural Expressions are well on their way to being realized.