American Culture Industrial Policy And Its Enlightenment To China's Cultural Construction

The systematic research about American cultural industry policy is still in theblank in China.“Cultural industry policy” is not a commonly accepted term in theUnited States，although actually the cultural industry policy does exist there. A furtherstudy on American cultural industry policy can help to obtain much valuableexperience from US，the cultural power. Especially in the age of globalization and inour great efforts to be a cultural power，the research is of much theoretical andrealistic significance for the cultural construction of China.This thesis consists of five chapters besides the introduction. The first chapteranalyses the history and the present situation of the American culture industry. On theone hand，it introduces different branches of American cultural industry respectively，such as publishing industry，motion picture industry，broadcasting industry，networkcontent industry，performing arts industry，libraries and museums etc. On the otherhand，the chapter describes the development of the cultural industry in the US history.The course can be divided into three stages: the first stage starts from the1920s to theSecond World War; the second phase is from the end of World WarⅡto the end ofthe Cold War; the third stage is from the early1990s till now. In addition，this chaptersums up the characteristics and the advantages of the US cultural industry.The second chapter discusses the formation and the development of the UScultural industry policy. Besides, it analyses the causes of the formation and thedevelopment. As the development of the US cultural industry policy is closely relatedto that of American culture industry，this thesis divides the American culture industrydevelopment course into three corresponding stages. The first stage is from the1920sto the Second World War when the American culture industry took shape anddeveloped independently. And also in this period did American cultural industrypolicy come into being initially. The second stage is from the Second World War to the end of the Cold War when the American culture industry developed rapidly anddominated in the world. In this stage，two factors played a critical role in makingAmerican cultural industry policy: the Cold War and the revival of neoliberalism.From the collapse of the Soviet union in the early1990s till now is the third stagewhich can be characterized by three keywords: globalization, diversity and network.The three features have a profound impact on US cultural industry policy.Chapter Three expounds the American cultural industry policy from two aspects.On the one hand，it points out the starting point，the goals and the principles of the UScultural industry policy. On the other hand，it elaborates its components and contents.The starting point of American cultural industry policy is the US national interest.Besides the interests of the state，the cultural industry policy has its economic，political and cultural policy goals. In addition，this chapter summarizes five importantprinciples of the US cultural industry policy. They are limited governmentalintervention principle， institutionalized management principle， intellectual propertyprotection principle，diversifying investment channels principle and conforming toeconomic globalization principle. This chapter classifies the US cultural industrypolicy into three categories. The first one is the US Constitution; the second one refersto those laws specific to the cultural industry，such as the National Arts andHumanities Cause Funds Act and the Copyright Act; the third one refers to other lawsclosely related to the cultural industry，such as the federal tax law and the contractlaw.The fourth chapter discusses the formulation and the implementation of thecultural industry policy in US. In the discussion about the policy formulation，twoissues should be analysed carefully: who make the policy? And how do they make thepolicy? The separation of powers is the most important feature for American politicalsystem. Three equal and independent branches are entitled to national powers by theConstitution: the legislative branch，the executive branch and the judicial branch. Andthe legislative power belongs to the Congress. But in reality，separation of powers isnot absolute. Therefore as to the cultural industry policy formulation in the United States， participants are not only the Congress，but also the presidency，theSupreme Court，the cultural enterprises，the industry associations, practitionersassociations and consumers. Moreover, the implementation of cultural policy is notonly related to government agencies, but also to many unofficial organizations in US.Offical, quasi-official and non-official agencies work together to participate in the theimplementation of cultural policy is one of the most important characteristics of theUS cultural industry.The fifth chapter summarizes what is learnt from the research about the UScultural industry policy. First，the chapter talks about the author’s observation aboutthe American cultural industry policy. Second，it makes a comparative analysis of theUS and Chinese cultural industry policy from the angles of the policy formulation andimplementation respectively. Third，it presents the authors reflections about Chinesecultural industry policy. It indicates that Chinese government should encourage theresearch and the improvement of cultural industry policies. In addition，it puts forwardsome essential issues in the field of cultural industry policy which must be attachedmuch importance to currently and in the near future.