Critical approaches to East Asian popular cultureHesmondhalgh (2008) argues that global media conglomerates’ oligopolistic control over
copyright and intellectual property accounts for their current cultural domination. In addition
to noting the unfair distribution of profit, which exploits cultural labor at the bottom, Hes-
mondhalgh also argues that strengthening the view of culture as property raises questions con-
cerning cultural creativity and the cultural commons. Jeroen de Kloet and Yiu Fai Chow’s study
(Chapter 15) of artists based in Dafen, China, whose main job is to make imitation (shanzhai)
paintings of iconic Western artworks, responds to many of the issues raised above. By exploring
the artists’ aesthetics and aspirations, as well as the circulation of their works, Kloet and Chow
conclude that intellectual property is far from a stable global discourse.
In Chua Beng Huat’s chapter (16), the focus is on the twin forces of marketization and cul-
tural policy, particularly how Japan, South Korea, and China compete to further national goals
through the accumulation and exercise of soft power. Chua identifies state attempts—through
official policy pronouncements, preferential regulations, etc.—to ride on the regional success of
what began as media products for national consumption. Still, the fragmented nature of audi-
ences, the backlash against imported programs, and persistent historical tensions continue to
counter government attempts to use popular culture to further soft power.
Rumi Sakamoto’s study of the rise of cyber-nationalism in Japan (Chapter 17) is in direct
dialogue with Chua’s chapter. Created within the larger context of neo-nationalism and his-
torical revisionism, war representations in film and manga are contributing to the construction
of patriotic discourse. As particularly affective forms of media, film and manga are well suited
to accommodate multiple complex viewpoints and nuanced representations, yet the globaliza-
tion of popular media also facilitates the rapid circulation of nationalist popular culture across
national borders, which generates reactions and counterreactions, resulting in a vicious cycle of
nationalism and jingoism.
The substantial increase in the number of international cultural events such as film festivals
is another trend of cultural globalization that enables regional content creators and marketers to
share and envision projects. At the same time, film festivals offer opportunities for city and nation
branding. In Chapter 18, Soojeong Ahn uses the rise of the Busan International Film Festival
(BIFF) to illustrate the complex alliances of interests and identities that form in a cosmopolitan
trans-Asia film culture. The BIFF differs from other East Asian film festivals in that it actively
promotes itself as a center of regional production rather than as a venue for art-house screenings.
This branding process has transformed Busan from an industrial port city into a cultural hub
with corresponding economic gains. It was the BIFF’s Asianizing strategy that has led to its rapid
regional expansion.
In the final chapter, Iwabuchi reflects on the major hindrances to the advancement of trans–
East Asian commons and regional dialogue. The international governance of cultural connection
amplifies the voice of the nation, which tends to silence marginal voices within national borders.
It is often argued that while the nation is still important as a local unit of administration and reg-
ulation, the national framework is too big and too small to handle the complex matters of trans-
national flows of capital, media, and people in our age (Benhabib 2002, 180). Given that much
state cultural policy in East Asia is moving away from social democratization, researchers should
consider how to advance the dialogic and participative potential of media culture connections
across various divides. Iwabuchi proposes that, in order to achieve this, researchers must collab-
orate with social actors in various fields, including people from government agencies, media
industries, NGOs, and NPOs, as well as directly engaging with activists and ordinary citizens.
The purpose of this book is not to simply celebrate the busy media and cultural exchange in
East Asia. We wish to call attention to the potential and the limitations of popular culture flows
and inspire intellectual intervention based on our accumulated and collective cultural resources.