Shakespeare's Cultural Capital Conversion

• Main Author: Hults, Christopher S
• Format: Others
• Published: BYU ScholarsArchive 2019
• Subjects: William Shakespeare; Pierre Bourdieu; cultural capital; bardolatry; Shakespeareotics; bard branding; Shakespeare industry; Shakesaltation; box office poison; Arts and Humanities
• Online Access: https://scholarsarchive.byu.edu/etd/7736; https://scholarsarchive.byu.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=8736&context=etd

Shakespeare's vast cultural capital does not often translate easily to financial capital.Whether those who invest in Shakespeare seek financial, educational, or cultural gain, anunderstanding of capital conversion as it relates to Shakespeare industries can inform decisionsand clarify goals. After clarifying and delineating what we have and know of Shakespeare before1616 and what has been created by culture regarding him after 1616, we label the latterShakesaltation, then seek the key to converting his cultural capital to financial capital. ApplyingPierre Bourdieu's states of cultural capital to the Shakespeare industry illustrates why manyinvestments fail, few succeed, and why: cultural capital must be in its institutionalized state inorder to be convertible to profit. Juxtaposing three case studies of Shakespeare industries (Film,Cultural Destination Tourism, and the Bard Branding practice in various industries), analyzedusing Bourdieu, confirms that Shakesaltation — the ideals and myths that have been createdaround Shakespeare beyond his death — are the key to profiting from Shakespeare.