

Hollywood’s Role in Innovation … and SOPA - mattrichardson
http://techcrunch.com/2012/03/12/hollywoods-role-in-innovation/

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CodeMage
This is total bullshit. The argument is that Hollywood and Silicon Valley have
a "symbiotic relationship" because Hollywood "inspires" techies to innovate
and invent new things. The article and the video reference cult sci-fi movies
and series as the source of inspiration and then proceed to grossly exaggerate
the importance of that "contribution" to Silicon Valley.

First of all, Hollywood is _not_ the entity responsible for this inspiration.
The source of inspiration are artists who came up with that stuff, not
Hollywood. As a matter of fact, almost all of the stuff you see in Hollywood
sci-fi movies is taken from one or more books. Whether the desire to innovate
is something innate or not is a discussion beyond the scope of a simple
comment. But the influence of Hollywood as such is greatly exaggerated:
Hollywood does not equate art.

Second, a lot of true innovations were done quite differently from what you
see in Hollywood movies. Ironically, the article points this out: "Captain
Kirk’s communicators didn’t receive emails, browse the web, or play music",
unlike iPhone. With all due respect, Gene Rodenberry's contribution to our
geek subculture is undeniably substantial, but he's far from being a Jules
Verne.

Third, the whole thing about the music being "the first social network" is
crap. Social networks _form_ around personal tastes -- among other things --
but that doesn't make music itself a social network.

One thing the article got right is that Hollywood and Silicon Valley have a
"market" relationship: one produces the tech the other needs. Now that's a
"symbiotic relationship" I can believe in.

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jonnathanson
Good article.

I've said it before and I'll say it again: we need to stop thinking of
"Hollywood" as a monolothic, homogenous organization bent on a single agenda.
We do ourselves a great disservice to view the entertainment and media
industries in those terms. In truth, "Hollywood" comprises thousands of
companies, millions of individuals, and just as many agendas, business models,
goals, and products. We can no more speak of "Hollywood" as having a single
org structure or driving agenda than we can speak of "America" as a unified
political and cultural mass. Just as not all Americans wanted to invade Iraq,
not everyone in Los Angeles and New York wanted to push SOPA and PIPA
legislation. (In fact, I'd bet that a majority in the entertainment business
are personally opposed to SOPA and PIPA; I know I am).

Within Hollywood, there is a large and growing segment of content creators,
producers, actors, writers, and directors who'd just as soon develop for
technology ecosystems as they would for major movie studios and TV networks.
And I believe technology firms are leading the way. Netflix is attempting to
develop original programming. Microsoft is rumored to be doing the same.
Apple's iTunes and App Stores represent entertainment ecosystems just waiting
to be filled with direct-to-consumer content from Hollywood's best creators
and production companies. Kickstarter offers an appealing platform for
marketing and funding independent content. A major shift in production and
consumption of entertainment isn't going to happen overnight; nor will it
progress in linear fashion. More likely than not, a few big breakthroughs will
inspire others. I am very optimistic that, sometime within the next two years,
we'll be speaking of the first "Hollywood" series released directly -- and
successfully -- to a tech platform. Once that happens, the floodgates will
open in earnest. And, perhaps selfishly speaking, I am crossing my fingers
that the new season of direct-to-Netflix "Arrested Development" finds a bigger
audience than it did on TV.

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cafard
Upvoted CodeMage. Also,

"Try remembering when you heard a special song for the first time. You won’t
be able to, but you’ll sure remember the circumstances—the point being that
the art is essential for technology innovation. You won’t be able to, but
you’ll sure remember the circumstances—the point being that the art is
essential for technology innovation"

First, I don't even slightly understand the inference in the last sentence.
Second, don't the circumstances include the time?

