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I know artists and entertainers have been struggling, but this method seems more effective to me than the government deciding which artists get money. Let indiv

I know artists and entertainers have been struggling, but this method seems more effective to me than the government deciding which artists get money. Let individuals, not institutions, decide what culture they value.

seibelj 5y ago
But then what would hundreds of thousands of bureaucrats do all day?
gumby 5y ago
There should be a mix -- government should be able to take the long view; this only addresses things at the very end (e.g. once the exhibition has been mounted)
- thatguy0900 5y ago
  Maybe some government sponsored patreon?
throwaway0a5e 5y ago
You're assuming that they haven't found some backhanded way to restrict the money to approved culture or high culture expenditures only. I'd be very surprised if you could use this pass to attend whatever entertainment/sporting events the French consider low class. Either you're too naive or I'm too cynical. But at least one of our assumptions is wrong. I hope I'm wrong.
- sofixa 5y ago
  As a sibling commentor pointed out, you can use it for everything and you are indeed too cynical.
- tomcooks 5y ago
  What does this have to do with class? Its a public project, for everyone, for whatever each person considers cultural.
moviuro 5y ago
I was about to say that to spend the "Pass Culture" someplace, that place will have to register and be accepted by the government. However it looks like the cultural sector is actually very broadly defined! [0] > You can propose your activities and cultural goods on the "Pass Culture". Only condition: be present on French territory. That's awesome. [0] https://pass.culture.fr/espace-acteurs-culturels/ https://pass.culture.fr/espace-acteurs-culturels/
burkaman 5y ago
Think of it like scientific research. Individuals fund short term research by buying products they want, governments fund long term research that nobody else will.
908B64B197 5y ago
It's one of the many arguments against welfare for the media industry: let the consumer decides what's worth watching.
oboes 5y ago
Problem is that it might be the case that this culture pass will only be spendable on government-subsidized venues. In my country there already exists culture pass programs for young/poor people, but you can only use them in big/subsidized concert venues, art galleries, cinemas and museums. You can't use it in more "underground" venues/events which are too small or focused to get government grants, and in my opinion those are very important to culture as well. Still better than nothing of course.
scyzoryk_xyz 5y ago
Well, this is a complex question and I must say that I disagree wholeheartedly. So I live in Poland and I’ve studied film production. We were thoroughly walked through how films are financed by our national film institute and from what I understand our system was modeled after everybody else in the EU, so it’s a good example. And other types of art are financed similarly albeit with differences. The way it works is that the film institute is financed each year with a legally mandatory payment made by media companies. I’m talking cable tv channels and the like. However as of late also VOD platforms such as Netflix must chip in (this is not taxpayer money!!!). This ball of money is then split and directed towards strengthening film culture - independent cinemas, festivals, film productions. Filmmaker-producers then petition for chunks of this money with applications in which they must demonstrate that they have found funding from other sources (usually half), as well as acquiring preliminary interest from distributors. The institute runs this process by employing veteran filmmakers, artists, as well as academia and curators - people who have a proven track record. These committees decide, in a transparent process of deliberation, which productions from the ones submitted, they believe, are the most promising artistically and are most feasible. This creates an ecosystem in which artists and producers are incentivized to focus on impressing those who know something about art and on ideas which have real potential in winning festival awards, not just box-office results. It’s bureaucratic, yes, but it works. The flip side is that when individuals are the only ones to decide what culture they value, only the most idiotic super-productions from abroad will win. And money spent on those will be literally siphoned off to California - this is the real reason why Hollywood became so strong after WWII - total domination of foreign film markets. Actually, for a period of time this allowed the U.S. to culturally colonize large parts of the world, and continues today with SV. As you would imagine in a longer term this slowly strangles the local film environment. If everyone just wants to see Star Wars, producers back out of financing riskier local projects and cinema owners turn risk down for fear of upsetting Mickey. Now, I agree with this idea of giving people a culture allowance - culture should absolutely not be only decided by crusty veterans and “experts”. And 19 year olds often might not normally have the money to vote at the box office. Being a cinema-goer is an identity, a habit, something that has to be fostered and encouraged to exist early on. And it positively affects people’s mental well-being. These kinds of incentives are great to hear about. But also France already has an incredibly strong ecosystem for financing art and a resilient culture of embracing domestic creators. When I compare all this to the barren “free-market” corporate wasteland in the US I’m just saddened. An average family has to pay through the nose for an extremely limited selection, to then be bombarded with product advertising. It’s just monopoly power at it’s worst and it’s culturally debilitating. And when you visit a European Fest, especially one of the big five it just blows your mind that in fact, literally thousands of amazing films are made, but they’re simply locked out of mainstream distribution. The thing about art is that often you might not even know you will like it before being exposed to it. Customer doesn’t always know what’s best, and blindly following audience desires creates a shallow culture.

seibelj 5y ago

But then what would hundreds of thousands of bureaucrats do all day?

gumby 5y ago

There should be a mix -- government should be able to take the long view; this only addresses things at the very end (e.g. once the exhibition has been mounted)

thatguy0900 5y ago
Maybe some government sponsored patreon?

throwaway0a5e 5y ago

You're assuming that they haven't found some backhanded way to restrict the money to approved culture or high culture expenditures only. I'd be very surprised if you could use this pass to attend whatever entertainment/sporting events the French consider low class. Either you're too naive or I'm too cynical. But at least one of our assumptions is wrong. I hope I'm wrong.

sofixa 5y ago
As a sibling commentor pointed out, you can use it for everything and you are indeed too cynical.
tomcooks 5y ago
What does this have to do with class? Its a public project, for everyone, for whatever each person considers cultural.

moviuro 5y ago

I was about to say that to spend the "Pass Culture" someplace, that place will have to register and be accepted by the government. However it looks like the cultural sector is actually very broadly defined! [0] > You can propose your activities and cultural goods on the "Pass Culture". Only condition: be present on French territory. That's awesome. [0] https://pass.culture.fr/espace-acteurs-culturels/ https://pass.culture.fr/espace-acteurs-culturels/

burkaman 5y ago

Think of it like scientific research. Individuals fund short term research by buying products they want, governments fund long term research that nobody else will.

908B64B197 5y ago

It's one of the many arguments against welfare for the media industry: let the consumer decides what's worth watching.

oboes 5y ago

Problem is that it might be the case that this culture pass will only be spendable on government-subsidized venues. In my country there already exists culture pass programs for young/poor people, but you can only use them in big/subsidized concert venues, art galleries, cinemas and museums. You can't use it in more "underground" venues/events which are too small or focused to get government grants, and in my opinion those are very important to culture as well. Still better than nothing of course.

scyzoryk_xyz 5y ago

Well, this is a complex question and I must say that I disagree wholeheartedly. So I live in Poland and I’ve studied film production. We were thoroughly walked through how films are financed by our national film institute and from what I understand our system was modeled after everybody else in the EU, so it’s a good example. And other types of art are financed similarly albeit with differences. The way it works is that the film institute is financed each year with a legally mandatory payment made by media companies. I’m talking cable tv channels and the like. However as of late also VOD platforms such as Netflix must chip in (this is not taxpayer money!!!). This ball of money is then split and directed towards strengthening film culture - independent cinemas, festivals, film productions. Filmmaker-producers then petition for chunks of this money with applications in which they must demonstrate that they have found funding from other sources (usually half), as well as acquiring preliminary interest from distributors. The institute runs this process by employing veteran filmmakers, artists, as well as academia and curators - people who have a proven track record. These committees decide, in a transparent process of deliberation, which productions from the ones submitted, they believe, are the most promising artistically and are most feasible. This creates an ecosystem in which artists and producers are incentivized to focus on impressing those who know something about art and on ideas which have real potential in winning festival awards, not just box-office results. It’s bureaucratic, yes, but it works. The flip side is that when individuals are the only ones to decide what culture they value, only the most idiotic super-productions from abroad will win. And money spent on those will be literally siphoned off to California - this is the real reason why Hollywood became so strong after WWII - total domination of foreign film markets. Actually, for a period of time this allowed the U.S. to culturally colonize large parts of the world, and continues today with SV. As you would imagine in a longer term this slowly strangles the local film environment. If everyone just wants to see Star Wars, producers back out of financing riskier local projects and cinema owners turn risk down for fear of upsetting Mickey. Now, I agree with this idea of giving people a culture allowance - culture should absolutely not be only decided by crusty veterans and “experts”. And 19 year olds often might not normally have the money to vote at the box office. Being a cinema-goer is an identity, a habit, something that has to be fostered and encouraged to exist early on. And it positively affects people’s mental well-being. These kinds of incentives are great to hear about. But also France already has an incredibly strong ecosystem for financing art and a resilient culture of embracing domestic creators. When I compare all this to the barren “free-market” corporate wasteland in the US I’m just saddened. An average family has to pay through the nose for an extremely limited selection, to then be bombarded with product advertising. It’s just monopoly power at it’s worst and it’s culturally debilitating. And when you visit a European Fest, especially one of the big five it just blows your mind that in fact, literally thousands of amazing films are made, but they’re simply locked out of mainstream distribution. The thing about art is that often you might not even know you will like it before being exposed to it. Customer doesn’t always know what’s best, and blindly following audience desires creates a shallow culture.