Olsberguseda methodologyforassessingcultural
value developedby culturaltheoristJohn Holdenin 2004.
In an attemptto move beyondeconomicinstrumental-
ism, Holdenproposed understanding cultural value in
three categories:
- instrumental, in the senseof ‘directsocialor econ-
omic impacts’,such as definingAustralianidentity - institutional, taken to mean building‘the trust and es-
teem of the public’in governmentand other institutions - intrinsic, understoodas aestheticexcellence, such as
creating poignant stories and images.
Using these categories,Olsbergidentifiedkey cultural-value
outcomes,such as enhancingsocial understanding,‘shap-
ing the nationalconversation’,buildinginternational‘soft
power’,developing‘a positiveperceptionof Australiaand its
naturallandscape’,boostingtourism, developing Indigenous
storiesand educatingchildren.^26
The only criticalresponsespecificallyaddressingthe
ScreenCurrencyreport that I’ve been able to find is a 2017
articleby LaurenCarrollHarris,publishedinMetro; she
challengestheuseofquantitativemethodsandcommer-
cial indicatorsto assessculturalvalue, and raises questions
abouthowwewanttothinkaboutculturalvalueoutside
this framework.^27 One way to approachthese questions
is to open up a discussionaboutaestheticand affective
experiencesof cultureand how it is meaningfullyintegrated
into our societies.This topic is the focus of a broad body
of literaturethat exposessome of the gaps in the concep-
tual frameworkof the Olsbergreport.A recentdiscussion
by Julian Meyrick,RobertPhiddianand Tully Barnett,for
instance,explicitlychallengesgovernment‘evaluation
strategies’,which ‘aren’tgroundedin culturalexperience’,
as well as the ways in which cultureis ‘treatedas a func-
tion’: ‘Functionalismrules so completelythat cultureisn’t
consideredin any meaningfulway at all.’ The authors
claimthat,in thecurrenteconomic-rationalistenvironment,
‘culturalorganisationsare regardedas scaled-updelivery
mechanismsfor policyoutcomes,rather than as a serious
and nuancedecology’,and argue that we must ‘changethe
conversationaroundtheevaluationofculturein alldomains,
but especiallythe governmentone’.^28 Ratherthan exploring
that direction,however,I will tacklethe Olsbergapproach
on its own terms.While the researchI have cited addresses
arts and culturemore broadly,my primaryinterestis in cin-
ema, and I use this body of work with an assumptionthat it
can readilybe adaptedfor discussionsof the screensector.
Questionsof culturalvaluehavebeendebatedin Australia
for decades,drawingon a range of conceptualframeworks.
The responseto the specificconceptualfoundationsthat
underpinthe Olsbergreporthas been quite robustin con-
texts outsideAustralia,particularlythe UK and the European
Union.The most comprehensiveresponseI have found
dissectsthe assumptionsof the cultural-industriesmodel
and contestsit from the inside.In 2015, the UK Arts &
HumanitiesResearchCouncil(AHRC)fundeda large re-
searchproject,UnderstandingtheValueofArts& Culture,
to examinein depththe conceptof culturalvalue.^29 The
startingpoint for this project,led by scholarsGeoffrey
Crossickand PatrycjaKaszynska,was a critiqueof the
divisionofculturalvalueintotheinstrumental,institutional
and intrinsic silos proposed by Holden. They argue that the
instrumental–intrinsicdistinctionidentifiedis not sustain-
able.^30 I wanttohighlighta numberofkey arguments from
Crossick and Kaszynska’s research:- Theartsandculturalsectorshavefeltobligedtomake
their case for publicfundingin terms differentfrom those
of culturalexperienceitself. This ‘defensiveinstrumental-
ism’ seeks to explainthe value of art and culturein terms
of benefitsoutsidetheir own sphere,rangingfrom urban
regenerationandsocialinclusion,tocommunity,cohesion,
healthand tourism.^31 The paper suggeststhe importance
of ‘lookingat the actual experienceof cultureand the arts
ratherthan the ancillaryeffectsof this experience’,and
that we need to regardthe arts as ‘instrumentsof experi-
ence’ (in the wordsof academicKees Vuyk) becauseall
of these other benefits‘cascade’ from the nature and
qualityof this experience.^32 - Culturalvalue is incrediblycomplex:‘Cultureis an or-
ganismnot a mechanism;it is much messier and more
dynamicthan linear modelsallow.’^33 - Therehavebeenmanyargumentsmadeabouthowthe
creativityand creativethinkingthat developwithinthe
artisticand culturalspheresfeed into innovationacross
other sectorsof the economy.However,the authors
ask:Whataboutinnovationwithintheculturalindustries
themselves?Why aren’t we talking,for example, about
what gives rise to an innovativefilm sector? - Cultureis – to draw on Holden– not an economy;it is an
ecosystem,and it is made up not of parts but of incred-
ibly complex relationships.^34
Culture is not an economy but an ecosystem
Oneofthemostinterestinginvestigationscommissioned
under the umbrellaof the AHRC’scultural-valueprojectwas
headedby the same John Holdenwhose2004 framework
for definingculturalvalue was used by Olsberg.In this 2015
report,however,Holdenhas completelysupplantedthis ear-
liermodel,understandingculturalvaluethroughecological
terminology– interconnectivity,entanglement,intricatewebs
of connection,permeableboundaries,symbiosisand cross-
fertilisation.Relationshipsnow form the core of Holden’s
thesis on culturalvalue: ‘culturalecologyis intensivelyinter-
linked,with many feedbackloops and systemicstrengths’,
and ‘we are embeddedin [the ecosystem]– it makesus, at
the same time as we make it’.^35 ThreeofHolden’scoreargu-
mentsare usefulfor thinkingspecificallyabout the role of
film culture– in the form of film criticismand film education
especially – within a larger screen-sector ecology:- In ordertoregenerateitself,theculturalsectorneedsthe
flow of ideas, people,financeand products.Ideas are as
essentialto these networksas the other three elements. - Educationalinstitutionsplay a major part in trainingand
fosteringfilmmakers,but privilegingskills development
at the expenseof nurturingideas restrictsthe capacity
of educationto producethe complexfactorsthat enable
creativity.Holdencalls the focus on talent development
a ‘front-loaded’approach,which is only the ‘supply-side’
of culturalproduction;however,we must also look at the
demandside – as much as educationalinstitutionstrain
creative workers, they also educate and create audiences.
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