Anthony Fungthree aspects: the flow of cultural values; practitioners and the programs; and the aesthetic of the
shows. Iwabuchi (2001) argued that transnational transfer requires the removal of cultural odor
in order to suit the taste of the locals. The notion of cultural odor is the key to analyzing the
transnational cultural flow, in which the “odor” refers to the “cultural presence of a country of
origin and images or ideas of its way of life” (Iwabuchi 1998, 166). The transfer of people and
styles also demarcates the globalization of TV programs. Studying the transatlantic flow of TV
programs, Fickers and Johnson (2010) suggested that the mobility of program format, artists, and
production personnel brings creative value to the media text produced by their counterparts.
Bordercrossing programs mean that TV programs are consumed as they are, with fixed dis-
course and content. The bordercrossing flow contains information, ideologies, consumable
goods, popular images, and worldviews. The imaginations triggered by the programs are usu-
ally fixated, resulting in stigmatization, stereotypes, crystallization of images around events, and
internalization of global ideology. However, the consequence can also be emancipatory. In a
closed media system, where audiences are oppressed by state-dictated media, the concept of
bordercrossing could constitute cultural symbols for contestation and resistance. On one hand,
audiences draw upon the imported text to criticize and challenge the status quo. On the other
hand, such text can sustain the critical forces in a society by providing a public channel for
releasing their anger and grievances (Chan 2000). These dialectical processes may serve as a
driving force in self-remedying the faults of the system, but could also be hazardous, detrimental,
and revolutionary in the long run.
Local modification, marriage, and gender values
Fung (2007) showed that homologies in cultural values between Japan and Hong Kong facilitate
local modification in the region where Japanese dramas have been indigenized and adopted to
the local culture of Hong Kong. Such assimilation is boosted by the relative cultural proximity
of values, as well as similarities in social context and the patriarchal culture between Japan and
Hong Kong. Thus, Hong Kong dramas readily implant the gendered stereotypes and representa-
tions in Japanese dramas, especially in a work setting. Fung (2007) further noted that there are
similar gender values in Japanese and Hong Kong TV dramas, owing to local modification.
Japanese dramas usually present males as decisive and independent, dominating over females,
whereas females are supporters behind males. Take the example of Narita Rikkon, a Japanese
drama, in which a divorced spouse is unable to stop supporting her ex-husband (who is a lawyer)
behind the scene, by serving as his messenger at the court. Similarly, the Hong Kong TV drama
Till When Do Us Part, which is modified under a similar Japanese plot, tells the story about an
ex-wife helping her ex-husband do delivery chores. The message behind this is that romantic
relationship and marriage could be ruined if a woman fails to safeguard traditional values. The
common theme across Japanese and Hong Kong TV drama is that women are emotional and
powerless when facing an ideal male target.
Another example mentioned by Fung (2007) is the televised imagination of marriage adapted
by drama producers in Hong Kong from Japan. In With Love ( Japan) and Web of Love (Hong Kong),
females rely on males to overcome economic difficulties. A love relationship is temporarily estab-
lished by the couple’s effort towards marriage alongside an economic tie between the couple.
It follows that conflict erupts if males fail to make promises to shoulder responsibilities and
financial support. This is a set of pragmatic values of marriage, which means an aggregation of the
economic assets of two individuals and which strengthens the couple’s financial stability.
By the same logic, divorce could be seen as a violation of the contract under this capitalist
logic. Financial difficulty is presented as the major obstacle for females after divorce in Japanese