Raider of the Lost Art - What Kind of a Product is Film? Marketing Master's thesis Niklas Rinne 2013 Department of Marketing Aalto University School of Business Powered by TCPDF (www.tcpdf.org) Abstract Purpose of this study Film is a complex product that can be used in many different ways. The age of the digitalization has affected not only the product itself, but the way we consume it as well. If once film could be seen as a magical experience, then nowadays it reminds more of a disposable product. New innovations give us the freedom of enjoying it whenever and wherever. My objective in this research is to reveal the current value of film. How do we perceive films nowadays, how do we watch them and in the end what kind of a product film is in 2013? Methodology The theoretical framework discussed the literature relating to postmodernism, consumer culture theory, hedonic consumption, and downloading. The empirical part of the study is of the qualitative manner. The long interviews (McCracken, 1988) were used as data collection for the study. The ten participants all had a different approach to film, some worked with film and some studied film. Through these discussions I found ten different perceptions of film and ways of using film. The discussions revealed not only interesting ideas and concepts about the format of art itself. The question “how we use film “eventually lead to a much more fascinating question “why is it that we use film in that specific way”… Findings Every time an individual puts a film on, he/she has a goal. Sometimes it is related to the film itself, sometimes it is not. The film watching experience is always unique. The reasons for watching a film are endless and quite often they do not treat the product as art. Art vs. entertainment, individual experience vs. social experience, theatre vs. laptop, these are all examples of the decisions we as viewers need to make. Though we can be criticized of not using the format properly, it is the richness of the format that in the end makes it so personal for us. Keywords Film, Postmodernism, Consumer Culture, Hedonic Consumption, Downloading, Piracy 2 Table of Contents 1. INTRODUCTION .....................................................................................................................................................3 1.1 THE RESEARCH BACKGROUND.............................................................................................................................................. 3 2. POSTMODERN DAYS.............................................................................................................................................8 2.1 THE BIRTH OF THE POSTMODERNIST AGE ......................................................................................................................... 8 2.2 THE 50 SHADES OF POSTMODERNISM ............................................................................................................................. 10 2.3 THE POSTMODERN CONSUMER.......................................................................................................................................... 12 2.4 THE POSTMODERN MARKETING........................................................................................................................................ 14 3. CONSUMER CULTURE THEORY...................................................................................................................... 18 4. AT THE MOVIES: THE ONCE HEDONIC AND ENCHANTING EXPERIENCE ......................................... 22 5. THE FASCINATING HISTORY OF MOVIE PIRACY IN BRIEF.................................................................... 28 5.1 THE BACKGROUND ............................................................................................................................................................... 29 5.2 THE EVOLUTION OF THE DOWNLOADER.......................................................................................................................... 30 5.3 THE GLUE THAT HOLDS THE COMMUNITY TOGETHER ................................................................................................. 33 6. THE METHODOLOGY......................................................................................................................................... 40 6.1 THE DATA COLLECTION ...................................................................................................................................................... 41 6.2 THE LONG INTERVIEW......................................................................................................................................................... 41 6.3 CONDUCTING THE INTERVIEWS ......................................................................................................................................... 42 6.4 THE PARTICIPANTS .............................................................................................................................................................. 43 7. THE FINDINGS ..................................................................................................................................................... 47 7.1 THE WAY WE USE FILM...................................................................................................................................................... 47 7.1.1 Looking for the Escape Route from Reality ....................................................................................................... 48 7.1.2 Finding Emotions.......................................................................................................................................................... 50 7.1.3 Filling the Void ............................................................................................................................................................... 52 7.1.4 Travelling Back Time .................................................................................................................................................. 54 7.1.5 Bringing People Together ......................................................................................................................................... 56 7.1.6 Looking for the Magic................................................................................................................................................. 58 7.1.7 The Role of Film ............................................................................................................................................................. 59 7.2 THE DIFFERENT ASPECTS OF THE EVOLUTION OF FILM............................................................................................... 61 7.2.1 Digital Distribution ...................................................................................................................................................... 61 7.2.2 Owning the Film ............................................................................................................................................................ 64 7.2.3 The Piracy......................................................................................................................................................................... 66 7.2.4 The Theatre ..................................................................................................................................................................... 68 7.2.5 Special Effects and 3D................................................................................................................................................. 70 7.2.6 The Use of Film............................................................................................................................................................... 73 7.3 A FILM, THE PRODUCT......................................................................................................................................................... 75 7.3.1 The Purpose of Film ..................................................................................................................................................... 77 7.3.2 The Body of Film............................................................................................................................................................ 79 8. DISCUSSION.......................................................................................................................................................... 85 REFERENCES............................................................................................................................................................. 92 APPENDICES ...........................................................................................................................................................101 APPENDIX A: MANAGERIAL IMPLICATIONS ..........................................................................................................................101 Important Content Is Worth the Buck ..........................................................................................................................101 You Buy Access to Entertainment, Not Entertainment .........................................................................................102 3 1. Introduction 1.1 The Research Background The history of cinema dates back to the late 19th century, and although the showing of Louis Lumière’s “La sortie des usines Lumière” in