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1 Taking it to the streets Space, labour and resistance in the Vancouver and Paris film industries from 1970 to 2005 by Christopher Bodnar, B.A., M.A. A thesis submitted to the Faculty of Graduate Studies and Research in partial fulfilment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy Department of Mass Communication Carleton University Ottawa, Ontario 9 January 2008 © 2008, Christopher Bodnar Library and Bibliotheque et 1*1 Archives Canada Archives Canada Published Heritage Direction du Branch Patrimoine de I'edition 395 Wellington Street 395, rue Wellington Ottawa ON K1A0N4 Ottawa ON K1A0N4 Canada Canada Your file Votre reference ISBN: 978-0-494-36778-0 Our file Notre reference ISBN: 978-0-494-36778-0 NOTICE: AVIS: The author has granted a non L'auteur a accorde une licence non exclusive exclusive license allowing Library permettant a la Bibliotheque et Archives and Archives Canada to reproduce, Canada de reproduire, publier, archiver, publish, archive, preserve, conserve, sauvegarder, conserver, transmettre au public communicate to the public by par telecommunication ou par Nnternet, preter, telecommunication or on the Internet, distribuer et vendre des theses partout dans loan, distribute and sell theses le monde, a des fins commerciales ou autres, worldwide, for commercial or non sur support microforme, papier, electronique commercial purposes, in microform, et/ou autres formats. paper, electronic and/or any other formats. The author retains copyright L'auteur conserve la propriete du droit d'auteur ownership and moral rights in et des droits moraux qui protege cette these. this thesis. Neither the thesis Ni la these ni des extraits substantiels de nor substantial extracts from it celle-ci ne doivent etre imprimes ou autrement may be printed or otherwise reproduits sans son autorisation. reproduced without the author's permission. In compliance with the Canadian Conformement a la loi canadienne Privacy Act some supporting sur la protection de la vie privee, forms may have been removed quelques formulaires secondaires from this thesis. ont ete enleves de cette these. While these forms may be included Bien que ces formulaires in the document page count, aient inclus dans la pagination, their removal does not represent il n'y aura aucun contenu manquant. any loss of content from the thesis. Canada Ill Abstract This dissertation uses the film industries of Vancouver and Paris between 1970 and 2005 to examine the relationship between space, visuality and labour in one "image sector" of the contemporary communication industry. By engaging a spatial perspective in this work, I propose a means of understanding the city as a medium of communication that moves analysis away from a functional transmission view of communications to one based on social practices. Otherwise stated, I argue that research conducted to date has largely failed to provide a sustained analysis of the social construction of space. Given the prominence of urbanism in contemporary policy debates and visual markets in cultural industries, understanding the relationship betweeen these two areas is crucial in assessing the contemporary political economy of communication in a spatial sense. I address this shortcoming by drawing from urban, geographic, film and communication literature to construct a framework for recognizing the interaction of the visual production sector in global markets. My research involves developing a political economy of the film location shooting trend in the "culturally authentic" city, investigating the role of labour in spatial dynamics of visual production and conducting a textual reading of visual products against the sites of their production. I find that the communicative function of the city, present through symbolic capital and perceived by its inhabitants compared to the film industry's engagement of urban space opens the door to a fertile ground for conflict and resistance. The spaces of the local neighbourhood become sites of production and interpretation of social meaning. IV Acknowledgements No work is ever the exclusive creation of one individual isolated from community or society. I owe a significant gratitude to many people for their support and help throughout the research and writing of this dissertation project. Nancy Peden at the Carleton University Library has been a treasure to many graduate students over the years and deserves much more credit that the notation she receives in so many dissertation and thesis acknowledgements. The staff of a number of other libraries also aided my work over the past number of years. Most notable are the Bibliotheque du Film in Paris and the Special Collections branch of the University of British Columbia Library. A number of industry organizations were helpful in providing information and tracking down data amidst their many other (and more important) queries and tasks in a hectic industry. For this I would like to thank the staff of the Mission Cinema in Paris, the Ile-de-France Film Commission, the BC Film Commission and the City of Vancouver Film Office. My student colleagues have provided support and friendship. In addition, we have all had the opportunity to learn from and to teach each other. Special thanks to Enda Brophy, Ian Nagy, Melissa Fritz, Patricia Mazepa, Sandra Smeltzer, Charlene Elliot, Faiza Hirji and James Missen. I owe many thanks to the many individuals in CUPE 4600 who worked together both in the classroom and at the negotiating table in the hope that public education might remain accessible and of a high standard. I extend special thanks to the union's business agent Stuart Ryan. Many professors have supported my work throughout my stay at university. Of particular note include four mentors: Leslie Regan Shade, Catherine McKercher, Vincent Mosco and Robert Babe. My intellectual development owes each of these individuals great thanks. I am very appreciative to Simon Dalby and Rianne Mahon who sat on my committee, providing invaluable advice and comments at key points of my research and writing process. I owe a significant debt of gratitude to my supervisor, Michele Martin. Throughout the process of research and writing, Michele provided a critical eye to my work and a constant encouragement. Through her arrangements with I'lnstitute Francais du Presse, I was able to begin research in Paris. Without this opportunity, my dissertation would have taken a different trajectory, certainly at a loss, and I would have missed an incredible opportunity. Through the conferences I attended over the past years I learned that Canadians are fortunate to maintain a public system of post-secondary education, despite the attacks it has faced over the past decade. The Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council and the Ontario Graduate Scholarship program allowed me to pursue my studies with minimal financial hardship. The Dean of Graduate Studies, the Dean of the Faculty of Public Affairs and Management and the School of Journalism and Mass Communication at Carleton University all provided travel funding relating to my research and conference participation. Finally, my family has supported me throughout, even when they have not understood what I am doing or why. My parents have always been my greatest supporters. Paige has been a steady companion. Clara is my new muse as I look toward future endeavours. V Table of Contents INTRODUCTION 1 CHAPTER 1: DEFINING VISUAL TERRAINS OF PRODUCTION: CINEMA AND THE CITY IN CONTEMPORARY WRITING 14 "FLEXIBLE SPECIALIZATION" AND THE QUESTION OF CAPITALIST DEVELOPMENT 16 INFORMATION, COMMUNICATION AND SOCIAL ORGANIZATION 22 Flexible specialization and the question of capitalism's organization 27 LINKING PRODUCTION AND CONSUMPTION 36 Labour and flexibility in the film industry 39 Flexibility as oppression of labour. 46 THE CITY AND VISUAL COMMUNICATION 52 Defining cinema and the city 63 BRIDGING CULTURAL AND POLITICAL ECONOMY STUDIES WITH SOCIAL ANALYSIS 66 CHAPTER 2: SPACE AND THE URBAN CONDITION: ORGANIZING PRODUCTION AND CONSUMPTION OF SYMBOLIC CAPITAL IN THE ENTREPRENEURIAL CITY 70 NORTH AMERICAN COMMUNICATION THEORY 72 HUMAN PERCEPTION AND THE DIALECTIC OF EXPERIENCE 76 CONSIDERING THE SPATIAL: NEW DIRECTIONS FOR SOCIAL THEORY 84 Ritual, culture and ideology 87 Cultural Capital and social relations 91 UNDERSTANDING THE CITY 97 RITUAL COMMUNICATION AND SPACES OF MEMORY 101 LABOUR AND THE ROLE OF CREATIVITY IN SPATIAL PRODUCTION 106 VISUALITY IN CONTEMPORARY CULTURAL SECTORS 114 METHODOLOGY 127 CHAPTER 3: CRISIS, SYMBOLIC CAPITAL AND TWO ENTREPRENEURIAL CITIES: A POLITICAL ECONOMY OF PARIS AND VANCOUVER 135 THE STATE OF THE INDUSTRY: 1970S AND FILM PRODUCTION IN PARIS AND VANCOUVER 139 URBAN RETROFITS: NEW CITIES IN OLD CLOTHING 143 PARIS AND VANCOUVER IN THE POST-FORDIST ECONOMY 149 REGIONAL PRODUCTION, MEDIA OWNERSHIP AND OWNERSHIP CONSOLIDATION 155 Location production 160 British Columbia and the adoption of the Film Commission model 162 Beyond the film commission: Industry infrastructure 168 Municipal film office 169 Studios 170 Tax incentives 172 Paris and the location shoot 173 Economic crises and the emergence of Paris' new film policy 180 SYMBOLIC CAPITAL AND THE NECESSITY OF TASTE IN IMAGE MARKETS 185 Cultural capital and the reality of conflict 190 ABSTRACTION AND STRIATION OF URBAN SPACE 193 THE CITY, LABOUR AND PRECARITY OF THE WORKFORCE 195 CHAPTER 4: LAST TANGO IN PARIS? CULTURAL LABOUR IN THE "AUTHENTIC" CITY 197 LABOUR PW THE CONTEXT OF HISTORICAL ANALYSIS 200 The Limits of Labour: Entrepreneurial and