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A blockbuster on the beach

Picked your books for Christmas? If so, you’re bucking the trend

[Metrics]

Spreading out beneath a tree by the beach to appreciate the latest great read is regarded as one of those ‘essentially Kiwi’ Christmas holiday activities. Kick off the jandals and kick back under a pohutukawa, book in hand. During the silly season, one of the conversation starters with strangers has long been the titles of the books you take away to the beach or the boat or the camp—books that can be edifying, frivolous and everything in between. But the idea of the Kiwi summer holiday is washed in nostalgic colours and is the increasingly rare preserve of a fortunate few. The tide is going out on those readers under their trees, in more ways than one.

To start with, not many people nowadays can take the great three-weeks-off holiday. Diversified job markets, shifting schedules and constant industry demands have changed that holiday pattern, leaving the High and Holy Days high and dry. (The creative economy means many take their work with them, which is another story altogether.) While fewer people will be under those trees, those who are will be less likely to be reading and more likely to be watching a portable DVD player. The tide is going out on books.

Or, rather, books are losing ground to movies. The trends for household spending on ‘cultural goods’ show that film and video sales are closing in on the publishing industry. The switch from ‘active’ engagement such as reading to ‘passive’ observation like watching movies and DVDs is shown in the graph.

Household spending on cultural goods

This graph importantly shows parts of the ‘demand’ side of the creative industries—what people want and what they actually spend their money on, rather than what industry is producing. (The graph also shows a large increase in government activity spending on the cultural industries in the period between 1996 and 2001. This statistic includes cultural education and community cultural activities, which are policy-led initiatives but are counted as household spending.)

The growth trend for the film and video sector of household cultural spending is twice that of all other parts of spending. In real terms, this means our spending on film and video doubled from 2001 to 2004. While we are spending more at the theatre, on music—and, yes, on books—we’re spending lots more watching films.

Why? Here are some possible reasons:

• The rise of popular New Zealand-made films during the period of growth, including the first two instalments of The Lord of the Rings and Whale Rider.
• Technological advances with DVD players replacing VCRs in the home, and the advent of portable DVD players.
• Improved accessibility to cinemas, with more under construction, and the increasing diversity of movie titles on offer.

In this digital age, it’s unlikely that the forward-looking trends will be reversed. Books aren’t finished, but having stories told to us in film is where things appear to be headed. The tide is coming in for film. To predict just where this wave will carry us to in five or ten years from now is anybody’s guess—as difficult as trying to pin a wave on the sand.

Jason Smith is studying for a PhD at AUT University, focusing on the creative economy. He lives on the shore of the Kaipara Harbour where he spends his time chasing waves

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