GLOBAL ENTERTAINMENT + STRATEGY PRE-PROFESSIONAL
JAMISON COSTOLNICK
NICE TO MEET YOU :)
My name is Jamison Costolnick and I am currently in my last year at Belmont University pursuing an undergraduate degree in Creative Entertainment Industry Studies. Music has been a very large part of my life since a very young age — similar to most individuals in this industry. However, at the turn of 2021, its presence in my life shifted creating an insatiable curiosity for why I cared to consume so much entertainment media, and why I held my selection of what to lend my eyes and ears to so close to my heart.
So I set off to try and find an answer.. and no spoilers… but I haven’t found one. In fact, I’ve created a subconscious list of possible reasoning that grows each and every day as I interact with more of the world and art around me. Within my twenty-one years of life, from Central Jersey -> Nashville -> Seoul -> and now NYC… I have not only gained a deeper understanding of the world around me but, more importantly, of myself.
It is my hope that through this website I can begin to reach others and share my perspectives of how leaning into entertainment helped foster understanding and exercise my mind to consider all sides of an interaction. However, in our digital age, it is often having the world at our fingertips that restricts so many from diving in in the first place. This oversaturated media landscape is intimidating, but it’s important to remember that interaction with various songs, films, stories, and others will build out parts of yourself that you never intended to grow through such an act. In many ways it can be intentional escapism, but also intentional self development, it all starts with your awareness of what’s really going on when you lend an ear or eye.
I HAVE THIS IDEA…
“UNPLUG”: A PHRASE WE HAVE ALL BECOME AWARE OF.
THE ENTERTAINMENT INDUSTRY IS OVERSATURATED.
TRUE, BUT IT SHOULDN’T BE VIEWED AS AN ENTIRELY NEGATIVE. IF ANYTHING, OVERSATURATION LEAVES THE CONSUMER WITH THE POWER OF CHOICE. HOWEVER, AS THE ENTERTAINMENT INDUSTRY IS ONE OF THE HIGHEST-PERCEIVED INDUSTRIES IN THE WORLD WITH LITTLE TO NO TRANSPARENCY FOR HOW THINGS WORK/COME TO BE — WE AREN’T EXACTLY USED TO BEING ABLE TO ASK FOR SPECIFICS.
OVERSATURATION GIVES YOU THE ABILITY TO SIFT AND CHOOSE WHAT IS RIGHT FOR YOU. IN THE AGE OF CORPORATIONS, INDIE NICHES HAVE BECOME BREEDING GROUNDS OF COMMUNITY. THERE IS VALUE IN KNOWING WHAT YOU LIKE. AND THE MORE YOU CONSUME WITH INTENTION, AND CURIOSITY FOR WHERE YOUR FAVORITE MEDIA COMES FROM, THE MORE THE CONSUMER WILL BE INVOLVED IN THE MUCH NEEDED CHANGES IN THIS INDUSTRY.
WE MUST NOT UNDERESTIMATE THE VALUE OF A SKEPTICAL EYE.
THINK OF ALL THE INDUSTRIES THAT HAVE BENEFITTED FROM A CURIOUS CONSUMER. THE TEXTILE INDUSTRY AND THE RE-IMERGENCE OF SECOND-HAND CONSUMPTION + THRIFTING. THE AGRICULTURAL INDUSTRY AND THE DESIRE FOR ORGANIC + NON-PROCESSED FOODS. THERE IS A WAY FOR THE ENTERTAINMENT INDUSTRY AND ITS CONSUMERS TO REAP THESE SAME BENEFITS, BUT OUR RELATIONSHIP WITH MEDIA, FIRST AND FOREMOST, MUST HEAL.
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AS OF RIGHT NOW, THE ENTERTAINMENT INDUSTRY IS OVERSATURATED TO THE POINT OF CONSUMERS WANTING TO UNPLUG FROM AN INDUSTRY OF INFLUENCE MADE FOR SAID LEISURE IN THE FIRST PLACE. THE ENTERTAINMENT INDUSTRY IS THE INDUSTRY OF ESCAPISM… SO WHAT HAPPENS WHEN CONSUMERS ARE OVERSATURATED TO THE POINT OF WANTING TO ESCAPE THE VERY THING DESIGNED TO GIVE THEM A SLICE OF PEACE?
HIGHLY PERCEIVED BY MILLIONS WITH LITTLE TO NO TRANSPARENCY FOR HOW OR WHY THESE PRODUCTS COME TO BE, FROM THE MOMENT WE ARE BROUGHT INTO THIS WORLD WE ARE SURROUNDED BY ENTERTAINMENT. BUT RATHER THAN VIEWING MEDIA CONSUMPTION AS SOMETHING TO BE LESSENED, I’D LIKE TO PLACE FOCUS ON THE CURIOSITY THAT GUIDES WHAT, AND HOW MUCH OF SOMETHING, I CONSUME.
STUDYING CONSUMPTION VIA YOUR CURIOUS TENDENCIES CAN TEACH YOU MORE ABOUT YOURSELF AND YOUR HABITS THAN MANY CARE TO REALIZE.
AND THE MORE AWARE YOU ARE OF YOUR OWN CONSUMPTION. THE MORE YOU CAN UNDERSTAND OF THE WORLD AROUND YOU.