Closing the global gap in entertainment Viewers look for entertainment abroad as foreign productions gradually restart Brianna Cheng With the slowdown of the American film industry, plenty of consumers are turning towards international media, where the industry has not been as affected by the global pandemic. Some of the most popular shows being imported into the U.S. have been Asian dramas, particularly Korean and Chinese. One of the biggest proponents of this cross-cultural exchange is Netflix. According to CNN, Netflix has announced a push towards global content in 2021 to capture additional international users. What that means for users in the U.S. is that there will be an influx
Brianna Cheng
of international content, especially from Asia, where some of the most populous countries exist. According to the Wall Street Journal, Netflix has invested $500 million into the Korean film industry alone. With Korean content becoming more accessible to American audiences, people will be able to connect with a whole new culture from the comfort of their home. The Chinese film industry has also been slowly working its way into the American market. Actors such as Jackie Chan and Bruce Lee brought Chinese culture into the Hollywood mainstream, albeit in stereotypical roles such as kung-fu artists or mystical wisemen. In turn, Hollywood productions have been incorporating Chinese production companies and actors into their franchises, as investments from abroad come rolling in. However, Chinese content itself has never been able to cross the ocean. Limited distribution, spotty subtitling, and differences in culture have made it difficult for Americans to access such content; a lot of the most popular dramas are historical or fantasy, relying on the audience’s knowledge of the culture. Thus, Chinese dramas have been limited in popularity to mainland China, and a few other asian countries. The rise of Korean dramas is only a fraction of the larger importation of Korean culture to the international stage, also known as the Hallyu wave. This wave, starting around the 1980s, has only recently been gaining the attention of major news outlets, with the debut of Korean boy band BTS in America in 2017, and Parasite’s iconic Oscar Best Picture win in 2019. Some notable TV shows to come out of the Hallyu wave include Guardian: The Lonely and Great God (2016), Descendants of the Sun (2016), and Crash Landing on You
(2020). However, there are signs that this is starting to shift. According to an analysis by Carnegie Mellon University’s Arts Management and Technology Laboratory, the Chinese entertainment industry is expected to shift towards TV shows, as they require less time and preparation to be devoted towards production and distribution; TV shows can be consumed at home, instead of movie theaters which are subject to lockdowns. Japanese news site Nikkei reported that Chinese Netflix equivalent iQiyi was making moves to expand their international reach at the beginning of the year, partnering with other Asian media companies. This comes at an opportune time, as the app had just hit 100 million paid subscribers last year, comparable to Netflix’s 150 million around the same time. Especially during the pandemic where people are searching for new, highly-produced content with engaging stories, a push towards the west during this time might lead to a real foothold for Chinese media. Now more than ever, it’s important to get exposure to different stories and cultures. There are clearly reservations about engaging with global content, especially from countries where the government has a tight hold on the media. However, the benefits outweigh any “brain-washing” risks. Consuming entertainment does not mean accepting everything their news says is true, and seeing how people are represented in other countries can help us gain a better understanding of where those types of people fit into our own society. If eating Asian cuisine and learning Asian languages have already been normalized within our society, why not broaden our understanding of the world beyond the U.S. through entertainment? With the recent rise of anti-Asian sentiments, it’s more imperative to break down those barriers and showcase a new kind of representation, where Asians are a norm in society.
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