"}When Brody compares the phenomenon of \u201cindependent\u201d wealthy film \nproducers to the way that opera and classical music are funded, he \ntouches on exactly the point \u2014 the increasingly aristocratic nature of \npop-cultural production. Turning from a more chaotic, arbitrary, and \nof-the-moment mass market-driven production method, we\u2019ve entered an era\n where one side of the market, namely, Hollywood, is driven by five-year\n plans and endless franchise sequels, while the other relies on the \nwhims of benevolent aristocrats.
This is hardly a death sentence for art: Much of the history of \nWestern art is merely the reflection of the whims of benevolent \naristocrats. But it does mean the end of \u201cmass market\u201d cultural \nproduction.