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While memes spread across the Internet and conquered the world, the term ‘meme’ appeared long before the Internet. Richard Dawkins defined memes as informational pieces, ideas that are the basic unit of culture – a cultural gene.
Nurlan Taiganov.
Same as people may include genes of several ethnicities, they may consist of memes of several cultures. I am a Kazakh by ethnicity. I am a Kazakh by genetics. But by ‘memetics,’ culturally, I am partially Kazakh, partially Soviet, partially American, partially British, partially French, a bit Japanese, a bit Korean, and a bit Dutch. Because I watch movies and cartoons, listen to music and dance videos, read books, enjoy art and architecture, and play video games. I absorb memes from these cultures, and they construct my perception of the world. I am the same as you but in a different mix. It is the same as any person in the world. It seems to me (I think you also could notice) that more and more of Kazakhstan’s memes are spread in the ‘memetics’ of people from different countries. More and more products of Kazakhstan’s creative industries are recognized internationally.
Talks on the necessity of state support appear for all industries in Kazakhstan. Creative industries are not something special. To support or not to support the creative economy is the question that may crack any head and kill an eternity by discussion. In the article, I will not answer it either. However, I want to contribute by opening up some unobvious benefits that creative industries may bring to a state.
Some effects on tourism and merchandise production are evident. K-pop, for example, contributed almost $1 billion to South Korean exports in 2022 and boosted tourism to East Asia since K-pop stars give concerts across the region. The International Film Festival made the comparatively small Cannes one of the most popular destinations of the French Riviera, and the Glastonbury Music Festival put Somerset from South-East England on tourist maps.
Another noticeable effect is country recognition – a country’s brand affects how people trust their money to its economy by trading or investing. But there is also a subtle effect on the country’s image. While stars may seem untouchable and beloved, the government may show that their rule of law and institutional power is equal to every citizen. American stars may be fined or be indicted as any other individual. Korean pop stars are not freed from the obligation to serve in the military. Spanish football stars are subjects of tax evasion investigations.
One non-monetary effect of creative industries usually is underestimated. The popularity of media content encourages people to study the language. How many million people have started to study French, German, Korean, Japanese, or any other languages because they consume songs, films, and books by creators from these countries? Fans of Lord of the Rings even study fictional Elvish languages – people could be encouraged so hard. I guess that the success of Kazakhstan’s creative industries may bring enormous promotion to the Kazakh language.
Creative industries may be essential to the country’s soft power strategy. While some countries may have comparatively low military power, their influence may be significant, especially in such areas as sustainable development, human rights, social equality, and scientific collaboration. Stars become representatives of their nation, sharing stories and moral values, highlighting problems to be solved, and engaging people worldwide to assist nations in harsh times.
Creative industries may not just be a channel of communication, a focal point of international relationships, but they touch the hearts of people, raise their voices, and create such a level of empathy in other nations that their sharp politicians cannot ignore. The impact of soft power through creative industries extends the capabilities of conventional diplomacy by leveraging cultural assets into international partnerships. Sad but true that more ‘popular’ countries receive more humanitarian aid.
Creative industries include music and cinema, paintings, sculpture, sports, video games, jewelry, architecture, graphic design, haute couture, literature, and many other sub-industries. And creativity capabilities go infinitely and beyond. Therefore, the potential effect is boundless. Maybe I was not creative enough to name more effects of creative industries, but there are more.
The best thing about creative industries is that there is no need for special equipment, logistic channels, technological advancement, a Master’s or PhD degree, political support, infrastructure, a complex financial system with a stock market and many other things that other industries may require. It is the hardest industry to compete in because it is the easiest to enter.
In a modern world, you need a laptop, an Internet connection, and a bunch of luck that your creativity will hype the globe. More and more stars spread their music from their bedrooms. Kazakhstan has an example of success from a storeroom of a train station. But if something is too light to be able to fly, something is usually too soft and fragile. While people may argue if the state should support creative industries, I may say for sure that it needs state protection based on a proper legal framework ensuring intellectual property, freedom of expression and censorship, flexibility in legal forms for small businesses, and conditions of intangible capital movement.
The author is Nurlan Taiganov, a graduate student of the Nazarbayev University Graduate School of Public Policy.
Disclaimer: The views and opinions expressed in this article are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the position of The Astana Times.
