Houston Public Media: Over the next 10 years, $1.5 billion in film incentives will be up for grabs across Texas, marking the largest amount of funding in the state program’s history.
Film projects that begin after Sept. 1, when Senate Bill 22 goes into effect, will have the opportunity to apply for a grant rebate of up to 31% of the production’s qualified in-state spending.
5 comments:
By now we know that I am a Texan, and that although I am one, I am not very fond of the state. This film incentive package is really interesting to me as Texas is not nesserality known at all for their arts scene. Texas, as a state with terrifying politics does not readily invest in the arts, yet this incentive seems to have the arts on an up spin. However, if you read it closely the package will only approve material that it deems has proper “family values.” Which in Texas, you can guarantee means only conservative leaning projects. So despite Texas’s seemingly new investment into the arts it is limiting the art that is produced, which goes against the very notion of art as a place of free expression. Despite this “catch” the bill seems to be a good investment. In Texas the land is cheap, and there is a lot of it. I also like the idea that the arts scene, even if it is highly controlled, is growing, as if I really did want to stick to my Texas roots, then I’d have more opportunities to explore within the local area.
I'm not usually one to get political but It's incredibly disappointing to hear that this program is being used to create a falsified version of Texas history. Even more so effectively use movies as a form of promoting a falsified history. As these movies receiving funding must portray Texas in a "Good Light" It almost seems like they are trying to deliberately spread misinformation. However despite this it's still incredible that Texas is moving to fund movie production. There has been a similar incentive in my home state of Kentucky. 502 Film is one group based in Kentucky that is trying to bring the Movie Industry to Kentucky. It's great to see a greater access to getting into these production jobs as previously it was incredibly difficult to seek work in the film industry. Hopefully these investments will expand the film industry in the United States and provide more technical jobs for all of us pursing some sort of degree in this industry.
I read the title and thought that this whole incentive was great, especially because the film industry has been moving out of California and into Budapest, and I think it would be nice to keep the film industry alive within the United States, but then I read the first two paragraphs, and immediately became hesitant about the entire thing. The double whammy of this incentive only being applicable to films that portray specific “family values” (and it doesn’t say what those family values are…but we all know what that’s code for) and that the films cannot say anything negative about Texas immediately shows that this is not trying to encourage the development of a film industry in Texas (which would be awesome because Texas is a beautiful state), but instead, this incentive is just trying to fuel odd propaganda. That being said, maybe trying to encourage and grow a film/arts industry in Texas will hopefully turn into a non-controlled Texas film industry?
I read this article since I was excited to see someone incentivising the arts, finally! A little money going to the storytellers! But of course, that would be too good to be true. To incentivise art is one thing, but to incentivise exclusively art that portrays one set opinion is another. This bill tells artists all over the state that their artistic interpretation of Texas has restrictions. That it’s not worthy of incentive packages unless they portray a certain opinion. This promotes very biased work and devalues any ideas that question the state, or these unclear family values.
Reading this article reminded me of a topic I debated in a high school history class, whether or not it’s patriotic to critique the government. As a whole, my class of freshman had agreed that it was indeed patriotic, we agreed that practicing civic duties includes holding leadership accountable. This bill would have been quite the conversation for Mr Donnelley’s students four years ago. That way of thinking has always stuck with me; critique isn’t inherently bad. To create art depicting the government as unjust isn’t unruly, it’s necessary. To have the ability to understand both sides of an argument is important to forming individual opinions, and to reward those who depict Texas as flawless and not those who critique the system is a blatant message from the state that they do not care or intend to change.
At first, the headline excited me a bit. Supporting the arts is incredibly important, especially lately with its massive losses of funding from the current administration. I was skeptical, understanding that Texas wasn’t a state known for the arts, but instead very “traditional” values. When I read that they could refuse the grant based on, “inappropriate content” or “content that portrays Texas or Texans in a negative fashion,” I immediately saw what was going on. The Texas legislature wants to only incentivize filmmaking that promotes the state in a positive, Christian light. I found that extremely disappointing, as Texas has a long history that could make for some great art, but instead they want to cater to a false image that I think won’t do much for anyone. I doubt the film industry will see a significant gain from this, especially with the constraints given, and I don’t think Texas will suddenly have some sort of clean record or become a great tourist attraction of the US.
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