And what do you call this global economic meltdown? What do you call Hollywood's gobbling up the Hong Kong and Mexico markets?
Every country is experiencing the global recession. But nowhere near the calamity of a WW II.
Mexico is so much like the Philippines. More than half their population wants to own green cards. And because of its proximity to the land of milk and honey, most of their local stars and directors got their wishes. You have Mexican Holywood stars like Ramon Novaro, Lupe Velez, Cantinflas, Dolores del Rio, Gilbert Roland, Ricardo Montalban, Gael García Bernal, Diego Luna, Salma Hayek, to mention some. And great directors who landed hollywood jobs or had workls distributed worldwide to commercial success like Alfonso Cuaron (Y Tu Mama Tambian, Children of Men, Harry Potter PA), Guillermo del Toro (Pan's Labyrinth, Hellboy, Blade II). Alejandro González Iñárritu (Babel, 21 Grams). They probably don't need protectionism as much as we do. Mexico could have invoked GATT exemption. But it's interesting to note that AFAIK no Latin American country ever took advantage of the cultural exception in the GATT. Not that it matters to us, but I can understand their indifference to the idea.
Hongkong cinema is a bit more complicated with its integration into mainland China so that any distinction between the two has increasingly blurred over the years. The main factor in its decline include an increasingly sophisticated population that found Hollywood movies more acceptable to their taste than the local films that have spiraled down in terms of quality. The Asian financial crisis of the 97 was the final straw that broke the mighty private sector that has been financing movies eversince. Most of these entrepreneurial producers found themselves financially bankrupt to further make movies the way they used to. Hongkong cinema is unique as it's the only Asian cinema that never got a single cent from government incentives and yet really stood on its own against Hollywood in the international market for the years before its decline in the 90s. Local hongkong market is just too small to support local cinema which promptly embarked on world audiences as its markets. It's no different from the history of its flag carrier Cathay Pacific which could not have survived with no domestic market if not for its international operation. Hongkong cinema's decline is almost inevitable with a confluence of socio-economic and political factors that now subsume the industry into the larger mainland China cinema especially with China already making international quality films.
Yeah. Check recent South Korean history--they imposed their latest quotas in the 90s, after Hollywood brought down their industry.
Yeah and all their films had been been funded by the government. With the exception of some from the private sector like Samsung.
They had their quotas revised 20 years ago. A good 5 years before the spread of internet popularity, 10 years before the spread of piracy. And they were only able to produce their first landmark hit Shiri in 1999.
If South Korea had done it 9 years after, what makes you think embarking on protectionism at this late stage right in the presence of torrents and pirated moves would benefit local cinema. It won't Your best bet is for those new breed of directors winning internal film fests to be tapped by hollywood to make films for international distribution. That is, if local producers won't tap them.
And that's what I'm calling for--a start. Turn down that volume, and let's start.
I'm sure Bong Revilla has his sights on the Presidency. If ever he becomes President, you'll get what you want.
Besides, I have the impression we're already taking the cultural exception in GATT. We have tax rebates on movies. Congress has a pending legislation on exempting local GP and PG13 movies from the 30% amusement tax and the 12% VAT for movie making equipment.
They still have a quota.
Of course, once you have it, why give it up. The French had it for the last 70 years and they still won't give it up.
It's all about money, folks. Hollywood has money, we don't. We do, however, have the power to legislate. That's the function of government.
There are already legislative action pending in congress short of making quotas to help the movie industry. These are considered subsidies that are already in violation of GATT unless we have invoked the cultural exception principle. And since we're on the topic of legislation, why not ask the government for funding as well, like what South Korea had done?
The cinema is just like any industry where you need investments for it to really flourish. Attracting investments won't happen if new businessmen don't find the industry lucrative enough. The problem is the small domestic market. You can only squeeze out so much from a local market. Protectionsim is a local market solution as it enables local producers to maximize revenues from a market that has little choices. But there's never a guarantee you'll be able to churn out products with a global world class appeal. There's a higher chance that because producers would be making more profit with mediocre films under a protected industry, they'd be content with it and not risk venturing out into world class quality products that cost more to make.
Like I said, it's too late in the age of internet and piracy. You stand a much better chance of attracting people who watch Titanic to watch Iskul Bukol if you had started protectionism as late as the 80s. Marcos should have done it with his MIFF. And coupled with the great films created at that time like Scorpio Nights and Oro, that could have really ignited a lasting golden age of our cinema with an international flavour. The benefits of movie protectionism would have been felt in the next generation of movie goers who would not have been weaned with Hollywood crap. And more importantly, local producers would have been well exposed to global competitiveness to rise above mediocrity. I have little quarrel with partially closing your market to foreign products, but only if you couple that with sustained drive towards world-class product excellence. And timing is of the essence.
But now, forget it. What makes you think the people who watch Harry Potter or Transformers can be weaned away to movie houses showing Wapakman and Shake Rattle and Roll. With protectionism, they'll just download the Hollywood torrents and watch happily their Hollywood crap in the comfort of their homes. Or go to their nearest tiangge to buy pirated copies. Cheaper besides. With unabated piracy and torrents with home increasingly getting their hands on cheaper PCs, the next generation of movie goers will still be exposed to them.
Nope, whatever promise a protectionist economy model has is now forever lost in the overarching presence of the internet and an unyielding global intellectual piracy. Sure, South Korea et al, still have it. But like I said, they won't give that up and it's just another remnant of an old world order when economies were more fragmented.
Your real hope lies in having those new breed of directors we have to get noticed by Hollywood filmmakers to make movies for international marketing and distribution. Or any businessman who are avid film enthusiasts. Like Samsung in Korea. Unfortunately we don't have anything similar to Samsung. Perhaps if Gokongwei, Lucio Tan, Henry Sy or the Ayalas and Ortigas can be persuaded to finance some of these good directors, we might get there faster. The real advantage of Korea is their highly evolved nationalistic psyche which has made them what they are. But that's another topic.
