The End of the State Monopoly over Culture: Toward the Commodification of Cultural and Artistic Production
Abstract
Until recently, the state has been the main producer of cultural goods in Syria. However,with the mushrooming of the television drama industry over the past decade, new cultural entrepreneurs have challenged this monopoly. This article intends to map the transformation of the cultural field in Syria in light of the current devolution of state-run cultural production to private companies and individuals. More specifically, it scrutinizes the political stakes underlying these changes, drawing attention to the collusion between the private and public sectors; it also explores the consequences of the transforming cultural landscape on the contents of cultural products through case studies on TV series and cinema. The general argument is that a phenomenon of cultural commodification is emerging in Syria that gives way to new dominant and depoliticized cultural products.