OECD Culture and Local Development.pdf - PACA

3. PROMOTING LOCAL DEVELOPMENT BY CREATING CULTURAL PRODUCTS
wearing 80 . Other examples can be found in the internal design and furnishings
of individual homes, such as the use of furniture that can be used either indoors
or out. Less well known is the example of the automotive design industry that
began to develop in Los Angeles in the early 1980s. Many automakers opened
design shops there in order to “bring the milieu into the product” 81 . The vice
president of Chrysler declared that his company, through its presence in
Southern California, was determined to tap into the local culture, to absorb even
the air it breathed 82 . One outcome was to equip cars so people could eat in them,
since this was already a long-standing practice in Southern California. Many of
the managers involved in this activity subsequently moved on to other industries
where they fulfilled other design functions.
• When it comes to industry in Los Angeles, moviemaking has played the central
role, and certainly the most visible one, in the emergence of new products. During
the 1990s, the Los Angeles Times ran a regular column commenting on, and
criticising, the way actors dressed on-screen (“Screen Style Column”). From its
beginnings, one of Hollywood’s key messages was delivered through clothing,
regardless of whether that message had a patriotic, a subversive or an erotic
thrust. The city was a major sounding board for fashion, a role that was enhanced
by the presence of population groups that varied widely in their income, their
social status and their ethnic origin, and this led to a vast array of labels and
designs and produced an industry with real economic clout. Jeans, suits, satin
dresses and sunglasses became some of the most important local industries.
The movie industry’s contribution to furniture is less visible, but nevertheless
important: while black-and-white movies stimulated the production of blackand-white
furniture, the major studios of today are constantly striking deals with
major furniture suppliers, as Universal has done with Brown Saltman. This
contribution is crucial for the toy industry (Disney) and for the cosmetic industry,
which was initially launched to produce makeup for the stars (Max Factor). This
synergy between moviemaking and the economy does not always work, however.
The French or even the Parisian clothing industry has never enjoyed such spinoffs
from the French cinema. But it may also be that French films were not looking
to such spin-offs.
• The city’s atmosphere contributes to this cross-fertilisation. The first Disneyland
was a great success in this regard. All its products had been tried out separately
in the local movie industry, and all the products sold in the park were already
made in Los Angeles, conveying to the park the “exuberant, warm, colourful
and optimistic” atmosphere of the city 83 . The guides and hosts working at the
park are actors and actresses, as is clear in the way they dress. Many of the
attractions relate to space travel and simulations, again one of the city’s core
activities. When Disney built “Celebration”, its experimental city in Florida, it
drew heavily on the LA lifestyle for its design and its operating approach.
102 CULTURE AND LOCAL DEVELOPMENT - ISBN 92-64-00990-6 - © OECD 2005