This week was a continuation of thinking about the film industry, and the effects of filming in small communities.
We started talking about communities, and all the different types of people that can be affected by film tourism. The point was raised that non-residents are still an important part of a community and can be affected by impacts just as much as those who live there. That's a thought I kinda never considered, that the people who regularly visit or stay in a place are going to be affected by change too. That made me think of a place that my family goes every single year over the Christmas holidays... It's the most beautiful caravan park on the beach that is hidden away from everything, so much that only people researching that very area for places to stay would find out about it. Personally, I would hate it if suddenly the area became highlighted by a movie or tv series, and start to change in atmosphere and population.
I think the copyright issue is also an interesting one. It just seems so greedy of film companies to not allow some towns to use the name or develop their own merchandise to roll off the popularity of whatever movie or show was filmed there. As was talked about, I think it's much more important for small towns and communities to be able benefit in some way from their region being used for mass media.... If they want to. I think this is more of an issue than we have talked about. I mean, some places would absolutely love to have more visitors and their town showed on a national or international scale, but what about the places that don't want more people to come visiting? Are they the ones who refuse to allow film companies to shoot in their region? Is that something they can control, or can studios go over a local council to get approval from a higher governance if they really want to? Maybe this is where the social responsibility comes in. I'm guessing film companies are always very careful to make sure nothing bad about them comes out in the media, so maybe they would just accept if a town refuses them permission to film there.
In regards to community support from tv and film companies, for those regions being negatively impacted on by film-induced tourism, I think that the studios need to understand that they are the reason for the increased tourism. They are the influence for people to visit in the first place, and so need to provide ongoing community support, long after they have finished filming and started on the next project.
This seminar definitely highlighted the real importance of tv and film companies promoting corporate social responsibility, and providing support for communities that may not be able to handle film-induced tourism. I think in the long run, if these multi-billion dollar companies are seen to be helping not just themselves, but also those places that have helped them become so successful, then people will have a positive feeling towards them and the film or tv product that they create.
