Read all confirmed presentation abstracts for the conference.
Please note that all abstracts are printed as submitted. Any errors, typographical or otherwise, are the authors’.
Gender Stereotypes as Portrayed in Sea Dayak Popular Song Lyrics
Esther Anak John Perry, Swinburne University of Technology Sarawak Campus, MalaysiaGender and sexuality have been the interest in the field of popular music studies. Numerous scholars have found that popular music plays a pivotal role in conveying messages about gender and sexuality and the ways these messages shape the audience’s perceptions of themselves as gendered and sexualized beings. This quantitative research study was carried out to illustrate the images of women and men in Sea Dayak or the Iban popular song lyrics. In the past few years, despite being the largest indigenous tribe in Malaysia, the Iban music industry has gone through many phases and it needs to keep in pace with the tremendous changes in the music industry today. As with the majority of other ethnicities, modernity has led to challenges for the socio-cultural development and the lifestyle of the Iban as well as their construction of gender and sexuality. This study content analyzed song lyrics in the past one decade. Results show that stereotypes emphasized on (1) physical characteristics of men and women (2) woman as a possession of men (3) male chauvinism. The findings are important to reflect how gender and sexuality have been constructed in the Iban community. It is hoped that the findings of this study shed insights into the future role of popular music in changing the ways ideas about gender and sexuality are conveyed in popular music.
You Fought Well: The Front Line, Cinematic Han and the Hope of Resilience
Niall McMahon, Curtin University, AustraliaDuring the twentieth century, South Korea faced numerous geopolitical conflicts that altered its socio-cultural climate. Including the Japanese Occupation of Korea, World War II, the Korean War, and the struggle for the nation’s Democracy, for close to a century, the South Korean people have faced many hardships that reached every level of their society. It is believed that through these conflicts, the Korean cultural concept of han emerged. Han is defined as an inherent sorrow and anger held within all Koreans and is said to be the soul of all Korean art, literature and film. Han can be analysed to manifest in the South Korean historical film as a unique cinematic aesthetic I have deemed cinematic han. This aesthetic is identifiable as six keys elements that formally depict Korea as a metaphorical prison where the population lacks agency under an oppressive, external agent. Cinematic han can be identified within many South Korean historical films regardless of what historical conflict it depicts, most notably within the films that depict twentieth century South Korean geopolitical conflict. However, integral to han is a sense of hope that offsets the cultural concept’s negative valences, highlighting the Korean people’s ability to resist and endure oppression without losing their cultural identity. Using the South Korean historical film The Front Line as a key text, this paper will analyse how cinematic han manifests within its depiction of the Korean War, emphasising how this representation of South Korea’s past is defined by its hope for a better future.
The Self on Instagram: A Study on How People With Different Hair Colors Use Instagram for Online Self-presentation
Donnalyn De Chavez, De La Salle University, PhilippinesThis study explores how women with different hair colors use Instagram for online self-presentation, considering how hair has been historically significant to identify a person’s status. Goffman’s framework of self-presentation was used in this study. Furthermore, he explains self-presentation through the concept of theater, in which a person performs different roles in front of an audience to influence their impressions. When Goffman conceptualized self-presentation, digital technology was unavailable. This study looks at how self-presentation is enabled by digital technology. In order to explore self-presentation in the context of digital technology, the researcher considered Instagram as the online self-presentation platform for this study. Made as a photo-sharing mobile application, the study looked at the top 10 most liked photos of the participants on their Instagram accounts. A mixture of qualitative and quantitative methods was used. The researcher used quantitative method to know the themes visible on the participants’ Instagram accounts; visual content analysis was used to examine and analyze the content of the participants’ photos along with in-depth interviews to learn about their online self-presentation. The results showed that the participants perform offline and online strategies, curating one’s self for their online self-presentation. Strategic online self-presentation paved the way for online self-branding where the participants get value from different companies and brands.
Perception of Impact of Binge Watching of US Drama in Emirates
Azza A. Ahmed, Zayed University, United Arab EmiratesBinge watching is a new TV-watching behavior; that is tremendously becoming very popular among young people in the Middle East, is expected to be one of the media imperialism indicators. Ahmed (2017) found that university students in the United Arab Emirates tend to binge watch non-Arab media content rather than the Arabic ones. The study examines the UAE youths’ perception of US drama’s possible negative effects on their own culture values versus the GCC youth’s cultural values. The purpose is to elaborate on the perception of UAE Arab residents of possible media imperialism influence on them versus others. The study examines both perceptual and behavioral components of the Third Person Effect theory of Davison 1983. Cultural background (Individualism and Collectivism) is studied as an intervening variable. A constructed online questionnaire; that has 19 questions using various types of measurements, was used to collect the data from 257 Arab residents of United Arab Emirates. The results showed that binge US Drama watchers tend to perceive the effect of it as positive on them, while it is negative on other people. In other words, binge US drama watchers tend to perceive the negative effect of US drama to be more on others than on themselves. Individualism and collectivism had no significant effect on the behavioral component of TPE while there was a significant correlation between cultural background and the perceptual component of TPE.
Film Festivals and Reunion of Humanity
Mariam Hamdy, Phillips University Marburg, GermanyFilm Festivals have played a crucial role in most of filmmakers’ career. For some artists film festivals are about the celebrations of their hard work and dedicated time to produce artistic work. For others these are occasions for presenting their work to a massive amount of audience and for their voices to be heard. While little attention was given to non-western films from the Arab world, western film festivals usually attract widespread global attention in marketing films and people for various reasons. Through selections of films of different regions in these big festivals attention is drawn to the complexity of global, political, historical and economic relationships. However, The Arab identity in film festival has been quite controversial for the various factors that are involved in the selection process in terms of appreciation or negligence . In this paper/conference, I would like to contribute and highlight how film festivals can contribute as a media organization in bridging gaps and building a positive future dialogue between various cultures.
Ingmar Bergman’s Portrayal of Death and Dreams in His Autobiographically Influenced Films Leading to a New Film Language
Mousumi Roy, St.Xavier's College, IndiaThis paper argues that the films of the Swedish director, Ingmar Bergman has been inspired from his early life. This autobiographical element in his art forms lead to the creation of unique masterpieces with stylistic techniques which are unprecedented thus giving rise to a completely new language of film. By analyzing four of his films:“Fanny and Alexander”(1982),“Cries and Whispers”(1972),“The Seventh Seal”(1957)and “Wild Strawberries”(1957);I have drawn attention to the way he focused on the metaphysical world unlike his contemporary film makers who made social and economic conditions after the World War II as the central themes of their work of art.The oppressive adult society which led him to create his own world of imagination as a child and escape reality through it gets translated into visual masterpieces through films later in his life.Dreams help to shape our inner psyche just like real experiences do.The unique portrayal of dreams permeating reality and acting as a means of self-realization is focused in the thesis.The realization of the real meaning of life upon confrontation with the timelessness of death plays a central role in many of his films.The thesis argues how Bergman’s films serve not only as an inspiration to other film-makers and as entertainment for the viewers but also takes the spectators on a journey to a parallel world of imagination and dreams rooted in reality,in turn leading to the creation of a new film language.
A Study on the Remake Trends of Korean Films in Indian Film Industry
Mingu Kang, Hankuk University of Foreign Studies, South KoreaKim Hyungrae, Hankuk University of Foreign Studies, South Korea
In the Indian film industry, there are many examples of remake of foreign films (US, UK, France, Hong Kong, Japan, Italy, Pakistan, Thailand, Korea). The remake process is a cultural translation process. The process of contextualization for India by producing remake films certainly reflects the characteristics that Indian society can sympathize with. So far, there have been 28 Korean movies remade in India. In this study, the cases that Korean original films have been remade in India are analyzed. Through the case analysis, it is figured out the tendency how the remake was done in India. For the analysis of the remake films, 3 elements of films are mainly dealt with, ‘Genre’, ‘Narrative structures’ and ‘Characters’. Genres determine the tone of the entire film. It is figured out which genres of films has been selected by India and how it has been converted in India compared to the original one.
Narrative structures and characters are the most important elements of stories. The narrative structures are analyzed in the structure of 'Introduction - Conclusion - Conclusion' through SAS formula of french philosopher, Gilles Deleuze, which is a useful semiotic analysis tool for analysis of narrative structure of stories. For the analysis of the relationship of the characters, Vladimir Propp’s character theory is used. It is meaningful to study the common aesthetic preference shared by both countries, India and Korea. The direction of film exchange between the two countries in the future could also be suggested.
Transforming Families in Chinese Melodrama Under the Influence of May Fourth
Yiyuan Zhang, Hong Kong Baptist University, Hong KongOne of the most important dates in twentieth- century Chinese history is May 4, 1919. May Fourth Movement is a lasting significant movement that is not just for political demands. It has long-lasting effects on Chinese cultural and intellectual activities up to the present day. Intellectuals in that time were not only asking for political reform, but also calling for culture reform in western style. The May Fourth Movement is broadly left-leaning in politics and advocate a strong cultural nationalism, its influences spread across cultural production from literature to film. In Chinese tradition, the family rather than individual or the state was the most important social unit, and it was against in the May Fourth Movement. In this paper, I will focus on several family melodramas from 1920s to 1930s, exam how they represent families during this transitional era. Then, I will exam the films today, to see their similarities and differences. What does a modern family look like in film, in visual representation, and how does it differ from literature's representation? I consider the liberal theory and feminist theory that were raised during May Fourth to examine whether these theories affect the representation of families, female and male characters in film, how these theories affect the representation of families, female and male characters in family melodrama. 2019 is the 100 anniversary of May Fourth. Through this comparison, I will exam whether the influence of May Fourth still exits, and how it and will impress the modern China.
Religious Doctrine Intolerance Among Universities Students in Kuwait
Hadi Ashkanani, Kuwait University, KuwaitThe aim of this study was to identify the level of religious intolerance among Kuwait Universities students. In addition, the study aims were to see the impact of social media (specifically Twitter) on students religious/ sectarian intolerance.
The study was conducted on five major Universities in Kuwait. A convenient sample of (532) subjects had to respond to a questionnaire which included demographic variables, hours spent on Twitter, religious intolerance, and being comfortable in life (Raha scale).
A T - statistical test showed that there was a significant difference between males and females; mean of (.120.35) and females (.114.36) in Raha scale which means males were more Raha (comfortable in life) than females.
There was also a significant difference between males with a mean of (62.01) and females ( 59.28 ) in intolerance scale which means males were more religiously intolerance than females. There was also a significant difference between males and females with a mean of (33.88 ) and females (31.35) in the (Using Twitter and religious intolerance scale) which means males who used twitter social media were more religiously intolerance than females.
The T-test also showed the difference between the Universities. The Gulf University (GUST) had a lower mean score ( 30.03 ) with a (9.42 SD) with the students who used Twitter. from other Kuwaiti Universities.
The Gulf University students also had a lower score of the religious intolerance scale (.55.61, SD 8.35).
Correlation: The more a student a twitter user (more hours) the more religiously intolerant (.169**). There was a positive correlation between Twitter students users (more hours) and the Religious Intolerance Scale (.268** ).
Social Media and the 2019 Presidential Election Campaign: Investigating a Political Agenda-setting in Indonesia
Akhmad Firmannamal, Queensland University of Technology, AustraliaConventionally, the news media has the power to determine the public agenda. However, along with the social media rising and news media adapting in the digital landscape by getting hints from social media, the dynamic of agenda-setting is also changing. The ability to influence each other is a test of its importance in today’s media landscape, especially during the presidential election campaign. To date, studies that investigate the agenda-setting relations between the promising social media phenomenon and mainstream news media in digital era during the presidential election are rare, especially in Indonesia context While there are a growing number of studies that discuss the contemporary agenda setting, most of them have focused on the “producer” or “customer” point of view and emphasised whether agenda setting is still relevant and applicable in the era of social media. Yet, there are little studies that investigate news utility in agenda setting during the campaign. Therefore, this study will argue that the Indonesian President who is social media savvy, Joko Widodo (also known as Jokowi) utilizes traditional news media and social media to construct an agenda to get re-elected for the 2019 election. This qualitative study will involve not only participants from Indonesia government institutions but also news media companies. It proposes a multi-method approach including semi-structured interviews, textual analysis, and thematic analysis method to ensure most of the perspectives are covered in this project.
From Policy to Curriculum: Analysing Digital and Media Literacy Initiatives in Asia-Pacific Region
Amalia Nurul Muthmainnah, Universitas 17 Agustus 1945 Surabaya, IndonesiaDigital media is the inextricable part of our future, a future which literally defined by the way the next generation is being educated. On the one hand, children and young people are commonly assumed as the “digital natives” –the generation who master the technology. Yet, when it comes to risks, they are considered as the vulnerable generation that is prone to the harmful activities afforded by digital media. Responding to this dilemma, most national governments all over the world are embracing digital literacy in its present and future policy development. With a qualitative approach, this research examines the policies concerning digital literacy for children and young people in Asia-Pacific region, through study cases of Indonesia, Singapore, Australia and New Zealand. The rationalities and strategies of promoting digital literacy in each country are being evaluated with a combination of document and stakeholder analysis, in which the analytical framework was mainly drawn from the research of Frau-Meigs, Velez & Flores Michel (2017) and UNESCO Media Information Literacy Policy and Strategy Guideline (2013). This research finds that neoliberalism still dominating the rationalities of most policymakers in developing digital literacy policies. Interestingly, strong emphasis on the social-emotional dimension of digital literacy was found in Singapore and Indonesia. In a positive light, inter-ministerial coordination emerged and there are extra supports for the digitally (and socially) excluded groups. The aspect that urgently needed to be improved is the evaluation tool of the policies, as its absence will affect the monitoring process and hampered its effectiveness.
Hybrid Spaces, Hybrid Audiences, Hybrid Identities: The Construction and Curation of Facebook Identities by International Students
Lin Malone, University of Western Australia, AustraliaIntegration is often seen as the ideal state for migrants, as a position from which they are seemingly able to engage with both home and host cultures (Berry, 1997). However, the concept of integration still comes to be problematic as it limits the complexities of migrant identities, especially given the globalised nature of today’s society. As a result of physical migration, multiple cultures are often introduced on the same social networking platform, collapsing the cultural contexts created, and converging audiences that are physically distinct in offline settings. Subsequently, migrants must navigate these hybridised spaces, constructing and curating hybridised identities through which to communicate with their hybridised audiences.
This research study examines the linkages between migration, social media usage and identity formation, through examining the construction and curation of identities by international students in Australia and Finland through a visual Internet ethnographic study. Focusing on Bhabha’s work on hybridity (1994), this study positions Facebook to represent a Third Space - an in-between position between home and host cultures, and examines how migrants utilise this space to navigate these cultures. This study presents a theoretical framework for hybrid identity construction on social media, examining how identity formation takes place in relation to multiple cultures and audiences within this Third Space. This will allow for understandings of how new media provides spaces that are tailored to the needs of its users, allowing migrants to create their own meanings and shape their identities, despite their often marginalised or isolated positions in host societies.
Experimental Research: The Country of Origin Effects on Advertising
Xianglin Su, Shenzhen University, ChinaWith the intensification of globalization, closing trade links between countries, and the country of origin is an inevitable factor in the process of promoting products. In this paper, we design the inter-group experimental of 2 (Chinese products, stateless products) × 2 (Chinese advertising model, stateless advertising model), to study the effect of nationality on advertising. The experimental research found that the country of origin product and the nationality of the advertising model have an interaction effect on the advertising effect; when the country of origin product does not match the nationality of the advertising model, the advertising effect is better. That is to say, if there is an inconsistency in the matching of Chinese product nationality information and stateless advertising models, it will have a greater impact on the effectiveness of advertising than the match situation.
Coverage of Various Communication Platforms: A Guide for Marketing Universities
Eloida Dagumboy, University of the East, PhilippinesThe digital era has ushered the rise in the utilization of alternative communication platforms in integrated marketing communications (IMC). These include the use by organizations of traditional media and newer online media. The sole or combined utilization is driven by the platform’s coverage, cost, contribution, commonality, complementarities, cross-effects, and conformability. The contemporary business environment necessitates employing the right communication platforms to help sustain and further an institution’s position in the industry. This research study was conducted to assess the effectiveness of the platforms employed by the university, with coverage as the pivotal criterion, in an integrated marketing communications strategy and to determine the right assortment of communication platforms. The paper devised a gauge termed coverage index (CI) to identify the most efficient communication platforms taking into consideration the preference of the target audience and those that actually reach them. Based on the online survey conducted, with net 303 valid responses from the university’s freshmen, initial results showed that the university has not optimized its communication options. Thus, there is a need to modify the university’s integrated communication strategy to ensure the better reach of its target market. Further, the study is anticipating to discover differences in the effective platforms based on the demographic and geographic characteristics of the respondents. Finally, this study will provide a reference to researchers and marketers in developing a strategy grounded on IMC in the academic domain and in other industries as well.
Marital Relationship on an Intersemiotic View: Adultery Explored in Literature and Cinema
Neuda Alves do Lago, Federal University of Goias, BrazilThe vast array of literary works translated into films has increased on a substantial scale, varying from the strict reproduction of dialogues and episodes to the free treatment of the topics raised, with deep changes in context, characters, and plot. Given the crucial role of literature in the Humanities courses, I understand that this paramount facet of today's world cannot be ignored since students and the general community are in constant contact with cinematic productions derived from literary sources. Bearing that in mind, in this paper, I present a comparative study of South African author Can Themba’s The Suit and its homonymous short movie, by director Jarryd Coetsee, giving special emphasis to the marital relation and its transgression. I used Peirce’s Semiotics as the theoretical framework for the study, with a focus on his most celebrated trichotomies, concerning the relationship between the sign and its object. I discuss, in this presentation, the ways in which the filmmaker transposed some marriage relations signs in the literary story to the cinematographic system. Grounded on the Peircean epistemology in the referred triads of concepts, the results evidence that the use of the cinema auditory elements as well as image-based resources and techniques shows that a new artistic work was constructed on the recreation of the same story. Therefore, the film adaptation exemplifies how the chosen representamens from the short story were resignified, rather than being merely translated into another system.
The Asian Comic Book Superhero and his Detrimental Influence on the Asian-American Male’s Social Mobility
Ramal Johnson, Norfolk State University, United StatesSeveral studies show that Asian-American males (more specifically, men who are American residents/citizens and ethnically Korean, Japanese, or Chinese) are habitually viewed as the paragon of ethical beings, however, these very traits they are encouraged to adopt by their ethnic groups, and encouraged to maintain by American media, are then used against them to deny them executive positions. In very specific situations, Asian-American males are more likely to gain executive positions, yet these situations are not favorable to them or to the team in which they are tasked with leading. This research study examines how American media incessantly goads Asian-American males to embrace characteristics that then become detrimental toward their social mobility and acceptance, and it examines how American media incessantly discourages Asian-American males from embracing characteristics that American society rewards other demographics for embracing. This phenomenon frequently, though obscurely, occurs with the aid of comic books and the popular superhero television and film genre. The study identifies and analyzes aspects of said circumstance by applying media theories and ethnographic and philosophical research, and it offers solutions using the same techniques in order to reclaim the future of media representation.
Learning Media Based on Local Culture Characteristics for Literacy Aspect
Susi Darihastining, STKIP PGRI Jombang, IndonesiaRatna Rintaningrum, Institut Teknologi Sepuluh Nopember Surabaya, Indonesia
The implementation of Local Culture in learning media stimulates the society in actualizing the culture and promoting it globally. Literacy can make students understand the language features and learn the parole in communication. The research problems are: (1) how can the language features in the listening aspect through VCD of characterized learning of local culture (2) how is the form of parole which is in the form of social values and education through VCD of characterized learning of local culture. The research aims are: (1) to classify the language feature in the listening aspect through VCD of characterized learning of local culture (2) to describe the form of parole in the social value and in education. This research is useful to enrich the finding in the literacy field with the color of local culture. This research uses qualitative method. The data source is the students in academic year 2018 in A class at STKIP PGRI Jombang. The data are: (1) language features in the listening aspect by using VCD of characterized learning of local culture (2) the form of parole which includes the social value and the educational value. The research findings are: (1) in the form of verbal classification, adjectival classification and also terms in the listening aspect through VCD of characterized learning of local culture (2) the form of parole which includes the social values in the aspect of cooperative learning, spirit and ideology.
Role of Information Technology on Women Rights in Kuwait
Salah Al-fadhli, AlAwlama Co., KuwaitThe condition of women in Kuwait witnessed a major improvement in Kuwait in the last few years. In 1960, only six women obtained a bachelor degree from Egypt and one woman earned a master degree from the US. Today, female students comprise (70%) of total students enrolled in Kuwait University. Regarding faculty members at Kuwait University, there are 286 (25.8%) faculty positions are held by women.
Although women rights’ movement in Kuwait has a long history, since the liberation of Kuwait in 1991, women demand for their social and political rights was intensified. Many scholars believe that ICT especially social networking tools such as Twitter and Facebook offered women new ways to raise their voices and address their tights to the public. There are many studies that investigated the impact of ICT on women human rights, but very few studies have addressed the impact of using ICT on promoting women’s rights in the context of Islamic Middle East countries. This study examines the impact of ICT on fostering women rights’ conditions in Kuwait. The findings show little evidence that ICT has a positive impact in this direction. Kuwait women do not suffer from a digital divide (Micro level) but have serious difficulties in Meso level (Awareness), and Macro level (practice social and political pressure).
Now Open?: Defining Sexual Liberation for Filipino Female Millennials on Twitter
Phoebe Dominique Adorable, University of the Philippines Diliman, PhilippinesFemale sexual liberation is being operationalized in a new, unique way with the advent of new media such as Twitter. Through this study, I describe the practice, exercise, and discourse surrounding sexual liberation of Filipino female millennials on Twitter, as well as the social context that surrounds them as a group and as individuals. I then theorize the concept and form a descriptive account of sexual liberation as understood, expressed and experienced by Filipino female millennials on Twitter and the social situation and features that characterize and complicate it. To do this, I employed multi-sited ethnography by conducting in-depth interviews and direct observation of online posts and made use of grounded theory and situational analysis to build upon these findings and come up with a viable descriptive account of sexual liberation for Filipino female millennials on Twitter. I found that in these women’s exercise of sexual liberation on Twitter, they are able to push boundaries and represent a much wider array of female sexualities like never before. However, it largely remains to be an individual movement, that still evidently panders to traditional structures. That said, freedom of sexual expression is an important aspect of female sexual liberation, and is a step towards the ideal of freedom of sexual choice for all women across the board.
Public Health Issue as Identity Politics: Hong Kong Netizens’ Reframing of the African Swine Fever Crisis News on Social Media
Ho Chun Wong, University College London, United KingdomPublic health from a policy perspective is political per se. Nevertheless, it can also be framed under the dimension of identity politics. This study discovered how Sino-HK identity confrontation and collective memory shaped Hong Kong netizens’ response to the news about African swine fever (ASF) crisis in 2019. The crisis unfolded when the government decided to kill 6000 pigs after test results shown positive for ASF in a slaughterhouse. Facebook posts created by prominent news media in Hong Kong and their comments are analyzed. Agenda setting, framing and reframing of news varied in different news outlets. Netizens’ comments not only provided direct observation of public opinion, but also demonstrated the reframing of news. Interconnectedness and the interactive nature on social media allow users to negotiate a news frame which could be more powerful than the original frame (Nee, Shen & Dozier, 2017). Using qualitative and quantitative content analysis, it is found the criticisms in comments extend beyond targeting the Hong Kong government. The Sino-HK political identity faultline fueled blaming and attacking on China. Collective memory in previous crisis added another layer of distrust and anger. SARS and Avian flu are cited as the symbol of haunting experiences. They exhibit similarities with the current ASF crisis for their connections to Mainland China. This memory further interacts with the anti-China sentiment. Public health crisis is reframed with a multi-layered political meaning when aligning with socio-political cleavage and triggering the bitter collective memory. Implications of social media on identity politics is further discussed.
A Stranger in his own (Digital) World: Understanding Heavy Twitter Use Among Digital Natives as Alienation
Dave Leland Pahila, University of the Philippines, PhilippinesThis study asks: how do social media sites produce users? Specifically, it looks at user identities and everyday experiences. In a technocapitalist setting that profits off users and imposes ideologies, how does the user think, feel, act, move, and cope? What happens to the user-laborer, and the self as a result? Guided by De Certeau’s phenomenology on everyday life and alienation theory that draws from Neo-Marxist ideas, I expose how users, including myself, are deeply fragmented in continuous use of Twitter. I uncovered how alienation is felt at an existential level, which is inherent to capitalism. Driven by external forces and pressures, results show that ordinary Twitter users are ridden with contradictions, unable to recognize motivations. First, I connect the app’s schemes to prosumption, which showed how users are simultaneously hyper-aware and unaware of their actions, while surrendering agency to the site. The user’s relationship to culture reveals that the site is unconducive to connection—urging commodification and competition. Finally, I investigated the user’s concept of self, which exhibited varying degrees of frustration and loneliness, born out of a gap between the genuine and ‘ideal’ self. This study used alienation theory to reveal how Twitter shapes its ideal users to benefit from their activity extensively, which degrades individuals and experiences. Hopefully, this opens the discussion on the race between new media technologies to capture attention and content for profit. I want to uncover the alien motivations in the role of the prosumer, as a path to resistance in a competitive system.
The Next Innovation in Immersive [Actuality] Media Isn’t Technology – It’s Storytelling
Michael R. Ogden, Zayed University, United Arab EmiratesThis paper explores the raison d’être for many documentarians and journalists; creating emotional connections with audiences and have them experience the story “as if they were there.” Until recently, mediated storytelling was far from being immersive. Audiences could be captivated by the story—even emotionally vested in the characters—but they were passive spectators, unengaged with the action viewed on cinema, television, or computer screens. Because enabling technologies for delivering an immersive experience have improved, become cheaper, smarter, and portable, these new media tools are being adopted as the next storytelling platform. Collectively referred to as “immersive media,” such technologies as 360-video, extended reality (XR), and volumetric capture are now becoming de rigueur. Initially, short 360º cinema vérité videos accompanied traditional storytelling, or were promoted as potential “empathy machines” capable of triggering a sense of connection between viewers and the people or events presented, immersive media held nascent promise for revitalizing actuality storytelling. However, difficulties with rationalizing journalistic-style to the new immersive media ecosystem, where participants can pay attention to and interact with whatever they choose within the scene, proved frustrating. It is hard to see how “cause-&-effect” storytelling envisioned by journalists or documentarians can unfold if participants can affect how they experience the story. Therefore, what is needed is a new storytelling ecology that is evolving with the new immersive media to combine aesthetics of “storyworld” immersion with content engagement that induces a state of “flow” in which participants are both immersed in and actively engaged with the storytelling.
Local News, Critical Thinking and the Agency of the Citizen: How Local Journalism Can Disrupt Global Trends Toward Nationalism
Wafa Unus, Fitchburg State University, United StatesNational news provides important information to the populace, but local news provides an irreplaceable service to the people – the ability to engage with their local communities in a way that fosters agency and engagement. In the United States, the closing and downsizing of local newspapers has impacted the way in which citizens vote. Citizens with limited access to local news sources often vote based solely on party line - motivated by partisan ties rather than critical analysis of issues. These citizens are also less able to differentiate between fact and opinion, disengaging them from the concept of usable and actionable information and instead fortifying information as a means not for engagement, but for argument. They also show lower levels of community involvement. In essence, a lack of local journalism is not merely a loss of local news, but a loss of community and civic autonomy. A stronger connection to one’s local community may foster the growth of a more autonomous and analytical citizen – one less easily swayed by broad, decontextualized nationalistic rhetoric. Based on data collected on local news deserts within the United States, this research investigates how local newspapers, both historically and presently, provide an opportunity to build community. It will evaluate the impact of the consumption of primarily national news as an instigator toward skewed nationalistic bent, and local journalism as a disrupter in an increasingly divisive and nationalistic global environment. This research seeks to evaluate how local journalism might disrupt global trends towards nationalism.
Entropy Media: The Representation of the New Media Era
Yan-xuan Xiao, National Chiao Tung University, TaiwanThis study emphasizes on the media communication theory with new characteristics. In this new media era with multimedia prevalence, the circumstances of information dissemination and the carriers of artistic aesthetics are constantly changing. With the deduction of civilization, the development of technology has affected the nature of media and facilitated the arrival of the Internet age. This has accelerated the transfer of technology and strengthened the influence of new media in the living territory of human beings. Therefore, according to McLuhan’s opposition theory of hot and cold media, it cannot summarize the representations of new media in contemporary times. The features of new media release completely distinct symbolic messages with operational logic and new forms. In other words, if "media" is seen as a kind of "object," the new structure of demand is closer to the characteristics of the "object" described in Baudrillard’s discussion, The System of Objects. It is not just cold or hot, but both cold and hot, which is called a "cool" status. The method was characterized by Media Modernology, and it was verified using cases and context study. In conclusion, the aim of this theory was to present a systematic framework for the vague situation of new media.
Evaluation of Philippine Broadcast Networks’ Implementation Practices on Program Standards
Efren Jr Gimoto, University of the East, Caloocan City, PhilippinesRossanna V. Mendoza, University of the East, Caloocan City, Philippines
The primary objective of this study is to find out whether the implementation practices on program standards of radio networks in the Philippines are aligned with the existing broadcast code of the Philippines created by the Kapisanan ng mga Brodkaster ng Pilipinas (KBP) or Association of Broadcasters of the Philippines, a self-regulating body that has the sole power to monitor and police its member stations. The researchers selected the respondents based on the following criteria: (1) active member of KBP; (2) the regions in Luzon, Visayas and Mindanao with the most number of AM radio stations according to the National Telecommunications Commission (NTC); and (3) the top two leading radio networks per identified region according to Kantar Media, the commissioned survey firm of KBP. Content analysis was used to evaluate the program standards and policy-making procedures of radio networks. The effective broadcast strategies stipulated in the conceptual framework were used as indicators to guide the researchers for coding. Majority of the program standards of subject radio stations in Luzon, Visayas and Mindanao are partially aligned with the existing broadcast code of the Philippines created by KBP. However, the policy-making procedures of almost all subject radio stations are not aligned with the aforementioned code.
Aesthetics of the Restless Dead
Elif Boyacioglu, Baskent University, TurkeyCurrent media focusing on the returning dead has provided a more or less homogeneous aesthetic imagery. The image of the half-decomposed corpse has become a staple for the restless dead when telling tales of horror (The Walking Dead, Romero’s works, etc.). However, this aesthetic is something rather unique to modern western society. In contrast, this imagery represented the normal dead in medieval western society. Examples of the transi-tomb depict the deceased as decomposed and being eaten by various creepy-crawlies, signifying the natural order. The restless dead, on the other hand, had a different aesthetic altogether; that of the inexplicably undecomposed corpse. Contrary to modern expectations, folkloric restless dead are, most of the time, described as unnaturally whole and undecomposed. As such, aesthetic indicators of what was disturbing and dangerous with the restless dead was vastly different in these periods. It is argued here that this change in the aesthetic representation of the restless dead is deeply connected to the way society perceives and deals with death. In medieval society death was a present companion to everyday life, the dead were literally among the living, buried in churchyards and within churches. The modern society, on the other hand, has a more dysfunctional relationship with death. This is reflected in the presentations of the returning dead in media where the natural decomposition process becomes the source of the grotesque, the other. Thus, an exploration into the perception of death can provide deeper insight as to why this aesthetic has power over us.
Back to the Future in Thailand: the Success of the TV Series Love Destiny
Asawin Nedpogaeo, National Institute of Development Administration, ThailandLove Destiny is a Thai historical television series that originally aired on TV in early 2018. The series contains elements of romance, comedy and time travel. Set in Ayutthaya Kingdom during the reign of King Narai (1656–1688), the story is an adaptation of the novel of the same name. The show was a major hit and gained popularity nationwide. The show’s underlying theme of a sustaining Thai heritage has spurred a renewed sense of nationalism. The way history was woven into the tale was the magic charm that kept viewers spellbound. Its content, providing glimpses of how the Thai leaders dealt with early European colonial threats, should not be overlooked as a key factor in making the show a massive hit.
The show’s heroine is a 21st century archaeologist who, following a fatal car crash, is reincarnated in the body of a noble woman living in the 17th century. Viewers follow her struggles to adjust to this new time and her love story. Meanwhile, Ayutthaya, a capital long before Bangkok under the rule of King Narai, thrived as an international hub. Many of the European nations represented in royal court would go on to colonize much of Southeast Asia – but never Thailand. Love Destiny owed its success to a smart screenplay based on an exceptional novel, demonstrating the post-modern condition of time travel as well as the interplay between global and local forces. This resulted in the articulated sense of Thai national and cultural identities at the present time.
Media-Domestication and Citizen-Domestication: 2018 Japanese Natural Disasters in Chinese Newspapers and Blogosphere
Weiwei Zhang, Nanjing Normal University , ChinaUnlike some scholars concern the total homogenization of world-view caused by the ongoing globalization process, this study illustrates globalization together with the Internet help to foster a more diverse news climate. By comparing and contrasting the content of Chinese newspapers and blogs regarding 2018 Japanese natural disasters, it demonstrates while the Chinese national media domesticate the foreign events based upon their existing needs, norms and standards, the Chinese audiences who are equipped with sufficient information from national and cross-national media domesticate it according to their own concerns. The results indicate globalization and the Internet fosters a continuing trend toward greater transparency, under which the government will find it increasingly difficult to propagandize.
Self-Assessment on Media and Information Literacy Competencies among Communication Professionals in Philippine Information Agency and Philippine News Agency
Monica Ornopia, Polytechnic University of the Philippines - Open University, PhilippinesThis research paper entitled ‘Self-Assessment on Media and Information Literacy Competencies among Communication Professionals in Philippine Information Agency and Philippine News Agency’ aims to determine if communication professionals employed in Philippine Information Agency and Philippine News Agency are media and information literate. The study employed the descriptive method through quantitative research. The researcher used a two (2) stage sampling technique; the first level is quota sampling technique, wherein, the researcher targeted a total of 100 respondents from this study, while the second level is purposive sampling technique, wherein, the researcher selected only the communication professionals employed in Philippine Information Agency and Philippine News Agency. The researcher found out that communication professionals employed in Philippine Information Agency and Philippine News Agency are media and information literate. Based on the findings of this study, the Media and Information Literacy level of the respondents is in advanced level. This means that the respondents have best level of knowledge and skills acquired from practice and training on Media and Information Literacy in terms of Explore, Engage, and Empower adopted on the Triple E’s competency level of Alagaran (2015) It is recommended that both communication agencies should conduct continuous seminars and workshops to maintain the advanced level on media and information literacy skills among communication employees of the both agencies. Moreover, enhancement trainings and proper information dissemination to improve the MIL skills not only to the agency itself, but also to its viewers are also recommended.
Reflection of ‘2019 Indian Lok Sabha Elections’ Through Political Cartoons
Harshwardhani Sharma, Tezpur University, IndiaPolitical cartoons are a powerful medium of expressing thoughts (social issues/events) without using verbal language, which expresses the hidden meanings. The focus of the research is to understand the power and importance of political cartoons. This research will examine how media organisations setting the agenda with the help of political cartoons. How culture and ideology influences cartoonists to make cartoons in a particular way. We will also analyse, how effectively “So Sorry Politoons” have been helping the voters to (re) shape public opinion, how it affects voting behaviour, in which we will try to contribute to the theories, explained by Victor S. Navasky in book The Art of Controversy: Political Cartoons and Their Enduring Power. In which he said, the theories of political cartoons, ‘the first focus on substance: people get upset about cartoons because of their content (The Content Theory). The second focuses on form, people react so emotionally because of the form or image they see (The Image Theory). The third considers content and image together as a stimulus and focuses on the brain’s response to it (The Neuroscience Theory).
In this study Mixed Methods will use in which Interviews of cartoonist, the samples will the working cartoonists of ‘India Today group’ and the area will be the New Delhi. For the Semiotics Analysis, the sample size will be the videos of ‘So Sorry Politoons’ release by India Today group from 1st June 2019 to 30th June 2019. Survey and Quasi-Experiment will use to take responses of the voter’s.
Reclaiming the Future of the Common Man in Arthur Miller’s Focus
Hikaru Masuda, Tokyo Junshin University, JapanArthur Miller’s novel Focus was published in 1945 before the Holocaust was exposed to the public. The novel depicted anti-Semitism in the United States during World War II mainly through the eyes of the protagonist Lawrence Newman. He is an American of English descent who is indifferent to the racism around him. Newman leads a mundane but secure life with his sick mother until he witnesses the rape and murder case of a Puerto Rican woman in front of his house. Moreover, Newman has to wear eye-glasses that make him look “Jewish” in the eyes of others so he becomes a target of anti-Semitism in his workplace and neighborhood in Brooklyn. This novel describes the downfall of Newman from an ordinary white working-class citizen’s status in society. As the title of this novel indicates, ‘focus’ is of importance here: Newman’s indifference versus victimhood; individual racist views in workplace and neighborhood; and darker side of American liberty. As a Jewish American, Miller had been fending off arrows of racial prejudices since his adolescence—he had been highly critical of the intolerance of racial differences and denounced the conformism of the United States in his play A View from the Bridge (1955). In the novel Focus, the author pointed out the racial prejudices hidden and buried in the deeper layer of American society by showing how Newman was reclaiming the future of the common man beyond the racist views of white America.
Media, Communication and Film as a Catalyst for Change: How Animations in Teaching International Students (TIS) Project Become Public Pedagogy
Arianne Rourke, University of New South Wales, AustraliaKim Snepvangers, University of New South Wales, Australia
In the Australian Higher Education (HE) context moral panics about dropping standards or the undue influence of foreign countries can make any discussion of International education fraught and highly contentious. Most institutional responses to the challenges of global education end up reinforcing highly suspect models of deficit educational 'dependence'.
To counter deficit discourse, film and animation feature strongly in the Teaching International Students (TIS) project. Academics work with digital media students as ‘Students as Partners’ in Professional Experience Projects (PEP) to create storyboards and animations. Students’ receive academic credit, experience real-world Australian business contexts and anticipate their future creative careers by working alongside mentors, business and organisations. This ‘Ecology of Practice’ (Snepvangers & Rourke, 2017), situates shifts in student learning by documenting transfer of media and communication skills to a wider audience.
Students move from an individual media practice to a public facing pedagogy by producing ‘visual learning artefacts’. Their creative and adaptive agency is valued, alongside communicative capacities that appreciate diverse cultural perspective. Underpinned by Kruger’s iceberg theoretical model (1996; 2013), students’ narrative animations explore contested themes ‘below the waterline’. Design of 'counter-dependent' film and media artefacts act as ‘catalysts for conversation’ in teaching environments to empower learning with International students.
By prioritising visual media ecologies, TIS counters regionalism utilising synergistic community-based approaches to develop 'independent' educator case-based knowledge to enhance student professional learning. In this 'interdependent' emergent ecosystem, students and educators work iteratively developing reciprocal relationships to make shifts in practice visible, whilst simultaneously documenting educator career development.
Men and Advertisements in the New Millennium: Semiotic Analysis of Paco Rabanne “Invictus” Advertisement
Atılım Onay, Anadolu University, TurkeyLate period of 20th century is qualified as a period where many developments effect societies. The beginning of the new millennium signals that technological advances will be the most important force shaping the future of humanity. Technological and other social developments also influence the role of masculinity and femininity in societies. It is expressed by different philosophers that these changes in gender roles lead to the dominant perception of masculinity. It can be said that feminist criticisms directed towards the perception of hegemonic masculinity also trigger this situation. Besides all this, many philosophers emphasize that men were discovered as consumers after World War II. Men have now become an important element of marketing and marketing communications. Quantitative raise of products for men, especially cosmetics and personal care products, increases male visibility in advertising. Men are now more often seen in advertising as an element of attraction and identification. The topic that male and female images in advertising are effective in determining and reconstructing gender roles is one of the important debates of the new millennium.
The Paco Rabanne “Invictus” ad is a good example of this visibility. A distinct male image stands out in the ad. What does this ad tell us, men, masculinity with this male image? In this study, Paco Rabanne “Invictus” advertisement is examined by semiotic analysis method.
Exploration in the Mist of the History: Review of Blind Spots in Research on History of Taiwanese Cinema
Hsien-cheng Liu, Kun Shan University, TaiwanPast discussion on the history of Taiwanese cinema rarely focused on the Japanese colonial period. By literature review and new findings of historical data, this study explores past arguments on the history of Taiwanese cinema from three dimensions in order to probe into the mist and perspective of the research on the history of Taiwanese cinema of the Japanese colonial period: 1. On the colony, the development of Taiwanese cinema as business was slower. They successively became the entertainment accepted by the Taiwanese. Therefore, before the films turned into regular form of entertainment, film playing and making have been applied by the colonial authorities. 2. Among Chinese literatures, the previous perspectives on the history of Taiwanese cinema mostly referred to the Chinese’s perspectives of film history constructed by Shanghai’s film industry from China. Such historical point of view tended to neglect development context of Taiwanese cinema under the Japanese governance. 3. In film history literatures of Japan, it lacks the discussion on film activities in Taiwan during the Japanese colonial period. Since Taiwanese cinema did not exist in the Japanese film history, it revealed the absent of the historical discussion and perspective on Taiwan as the colony. Thus, this study explores the blind spots in past research on the history of Taiwanese cinema through more macroscopic views of world film history, Chinese film history and Japanese film history in order to review the vision and new direction of research on the history of Taiwanese cinema during the Japanese colonial period.
Communicating the Gender Reassignment Surgical Service Among Transgenders in Thailand
Puntarika Rawikul, National Institute of Development Administration, ThailandWichian Lattipongpun, National Institute of Development Administration, Thailand
The objective of this research is to examine the key communication factors that influence transgender persons to make the decision to undergo gender reassignment surgical services in Thailand. The investigation employed quantitative and qualitative research methods. 530 close-ended questionnaire and 20 in-depth interview data were collected.
The study found that there are several advantages of getting the surgery in Thailand: 1) Thailand has expert surgeons as well as modern medical equipment and instruments, 2) the costs for the surgery in Thailand are economical, and 3) Thailand is a convenient location to visit. Nevertheless, insufficient information, financial difficulty and health issues are major concerns that prolong the transgenders in making a decision to get the surgery. In addition, skills of surgeons, service fees, and service quality are also other concerns when considering to get the surgery. Significantly, testimony, accreditation, and educational background of the surgeons that are the crucial factors towards the transgenders’ decision should be highlighted in communication by gender reassignment surgical service providers.
Regionalism, and Latin American Cinema as a Source of Hope, Renewal and Inspiration
Anna Karin Jytte Holmqvist, Segmento Magazine, AustraliaWe have entered a 21st century where people, rather than uniting across borders and daring to feel an affinity with the other ̶ bridging ethnic and national differences ̶ are now increasingly vulnerable, exposed to fragmenting movements often set in motion by leaders driven by egocentric values and self-interests pursued at the expense of the well-being of minorities and those occupying a lower level in the social hierarchy. While regionalism, nationalism and authoritarianism appear to be rising divisive movements triggered by such destabilising sociopolitical trends, within regionalism we can find examples of positive collaborations. Such is the case with Latin America today; a region which demonstrates a people coming together in a spirit of solidarity and creativity. Regionalism can in this case be inwardly advantageous. In a world characterised by personal disengagement and apathy, Latin America along with its indigenous communities uphold national values in a spirit of mutual comprehension on a communal level. Throughout history, these nations have been subjected to totalitarian regimes and hostile policies that disrupt societal structures. As a result, Latin American communities have developed resilience and a sense of hope deeply embedded in regional values. Its rich and diverse cinema reflects nations that despite all their uncertainties, differences, struggles and discontents have been showing the way forward. Drawing on Zygmunt Bauman, Kwame Anthony Appiah, and Richard A. Falk, this proposal explores Latin American cinema within a regional framework, looking at regionalism as a model for collective cooperation in the midst of a highly volatile world.
A Little Bird Told Me: Examining the Relevance of Social Media for the Healthcare Sector
Vidhi Chaudhri, Erasmus University Rotterdam, NetherlandsAlexandra Joon, Erasmus University Rotterdam, Netherlands
Guided by the growing importance of social-mediated organizational communication, this study explores how healthcare organizations perceive the reputational affordances and constraints of social media, and how they mitigate accompanying challenges. Thus far, much extant scholarship of social media use in healthcare organisation is published in medical journals leaving communication and media scholars with a limited understanding of the phenomenon.
In-depth interviews were conducted with 15 communication professionals responsible for social media use at eight hospitals and/or healthcare organisations in the Netherlands. Interviewees highlight a ‘mixed bag’ in which social media benefits and challenges must be simultaneously navigated. Alongside the speed and extent of communication, interviewees note that the propensity for false information and the ease of (anonymized) critical feedback could pose reputation risk. Not surprisingly, participants emphasize the need to institute guidelines or policies for responsible usage. However, it becomes clear that mere existence of a policy is no guarantee that an organisation will be immune to social media fails hence employee awareness, participation, and ownership assume importance.
In all, the study finds that healthcare organisations need to assess how professionals norms, organisational identities (e.g., academic hospitals versus others), and culture might shape and define the boundaries and possibilities of social media use. Managing the affordances of social media requires communication professionals to negotiate a balance between establishing policies and guidelines while trusting employee common-sense. Taken together, the study contributes to an understanding of social media use and implications for reputation in the healthcare sector.
Managing Stakeholder Cooperation Through Digital CSR Communication
Asha Kaul, Indian Institute of Management Ahmedabad, IndiaVidhi Chaudhri, Erasmus University Rotterdam, Netherlands
The aim of the paper is to extend scholarship on social media communication by applying Cooperative Principle (CP) to gaining stakeholder support. In this paper we attempt to answer the question of how can the process of shared understanding be co-created? Factors as growth of social media, intensified corporate communication on social networks and conversion of unidirectional to bi-directional communication make it imperative to understand how stakeholder cooperation can be secured. More so, in the age of social media, where stakeholders are negatively inclined to social media communication/marketing by companies and perceive it as invasive.
A particularly salient issue, and one that is the focus of this paper, is the communication of corporate social responsibility or CSR interactivty through social media. Though interactivity on social media has been recognized as an imperative, it has not been fully realized as communication through social media is still more often than not, unidirectional. Theoretical insight into cooperation antecedents is required for organizations to positively shape CSR messages which are dialogic in nature and extend beyond sharing of information.
Through a study of 40 companies high on CSR rank, we examine a conceptual model to investigate the link between CSR strategies and four maxims of CP, viz., relevance, manner, quantity and quality. Our findings suggest that a flout of a maxim on social media leads to a conversational implicature which negatively impacts company CSR communication and rank.
Representation of Gender and Family in Hirokazu Kore-eda’s Shoplifters (2018)
Rie Karatsu, University of Nagasaki, JapanThis study examines the portrayal of gender and family in Shoplifters (2018), a new feature film scripted and directed by contemporary Japanese director Hirokazu Kore-eda. Shoplifters revolves around a poor family living in Tokyo, consisting of members who are unrelated by marriage or blood. Held together by an elderly grandmother as a matriarch, the family relies on her pension for most of their regular subsistence and on shoplifting and theft to survive. Shoplifters can be the culmination of the family drama for which Kore-eda has achieved critical acclaim and has been recognized as the auteur. Kore-eda has often depicted estranged, alienated, and marginalized characters in the face of social change and economic uncertainty. In films such as Nobody Knows (2004), Air Doll (2009), Like Father, Like Son (2013), and Our Little Sister (2015), he has portrayed an increasing diversity in family structures, which challenges the Japanese traditional notion of family bound together by marriage and blood ties. Despite the seeming subversiveness of the modern family, Kore-eda’s portrayal of men and women remains largely conventional, such that it often reinforces assumptions and roles. No adequate study has investigated gender and family in Kore-eda’s films. To address this knowledge gap, this study explores how the representation of gender and family have served as an index of changes in gender relations and family life in the Japanese society and the ways hegemonic notions of gender and family are challenged, negotiated, and reinforced in the film.
Mayor Election Campaign Strategies, Thailand
Wittayatorn Tokeaw, Sukhothai Thammathirat Open University, ThailandThis research aimed to study successful mayor campaign strategies in terms of 1) campaign process; 2) use of traditional media; 3) use of new media and 4) approaches of enhancing campaign.
This study was a qualitative research using participatory observation and in-depth interviews. The 12 key informants were 3 mayors and 9 members of their campaign management team. Data were analyzed through descriptive analysis.
The results showed that 1) the campaign process was (a) study voters’ needs and their opinions; (b) policy planning, the candidates’ characteristics development, a network of supporters building and media usage planning; (c) efficient campaign running; and (d) candidate popularity, media exposure, voters’ attitudes and their perception evaluation. 2) strategies for traditional media were (a) speeches, door-to-door visits, and coffee forum meet-ups to understand problems and build familiarity; (b) pamphlets; (c) billboards to emphasize the candidate’s history, working results and policies and (d) PR parade to emphasize policies, team and the candidate’s number. 3) strategies for new media were (a) a website for formal communication; (b) Facebook for informal communication; (c) Youtube to emphasize the candidate’s intentions and development plans and (d) Line for fast and interactive communications to build close relationship. 4) enhancing campaign approaches are (a) using integrated media; (b) building a strong network of supporters; (c) quickly communicating to their needs and (d) making the campaign office an intelligent one.
Sexual Signification, Erotic Metonymy, and Myths in Contemporary Thai Music Videos
Napapa Suwannarong, National Institute of Development Administration, ThailandWichian Lattipongpun, National Institute of Development Administration, Thailand
This qualitative research on “Sexual Signification, Erotic Metonymy, and Myths in Contemporary Thai Music Videos” aimed to study the sexual signification, erotic metonymy, and myths in contemporary Thai music videos. The music was divided into 3 groups: heterosexual, homosexual and transgender. Results of the study found that signs can be divided into 4 groups: gesture, object/person, time, and location. The sexual signifier used in all groups revealed that the Homosexual Group and Transgender group have borrowed the sign/meaning from the Heterosexual Group. This may be due to the fact that the sign and meaning system for both the Homosexual and Transgender groups is not yet in place and has not been widely used or has become a consensus sign for the groups. However, the signs that used specifically for homosexual and transgender groups were also found. Only two signs of “Erotic Metonymy” were found in the music videos. At present, sexual signs and erotic metonymy no longer come from nature; they are more involved with people’s daily life such as body parts or food. The myth that "female must be paired with male" only has been challenged and rejected by the homosexuals and transgenders in order to create standpoints, and request for space to express their identities and true needs. Society often views anything different from the norms as something wrong when in fact, whether it’s between gays, lesbians, transgender, woman, or men, love should not be viewed as "gender" only, they are all human love.
Internet Activism in the Filipinos’ Fight for Human Rights and Dignity: Analyzing iDEFEND’s website and Facebook posts
Belinda Espiritu, University of the Philippines Cebu, PhilippinesThis paper seeks to examine the Facebook group posts and the website of the Idefend.ph movement in the Philippines, a movement of grassroots Filipinos who struggle to defend human rights and dignity in the context of the autocratic rule of President Duterte. It analyzes the critical and oppositional discourses of netizens who are members of Idefend.ph movement using Christian Fuch’s theory of alternative media as critical media which essentially questions domination, expresses the standpoints of the oppressed and dominated groups and individuals, and argues for the advancement of a co-operative society. It identifies the topics of the posts in the Facebook group named “In Defense of Human Rights and Dignity Movement”, analyzes the themes and categories of the posts, and looks into the comments of the members to find out the liberative possibilities of the texts. The paper examines the ways by which the posts challenge the dominative mode of discourse, show antagonisms of reality, struggle to defend human rights, and manifest potentials for change in the context of an autocratic leadership. The research employs a discourse analysis of purposefully selected Facebook group posts in 2019 and the articles in the website of the movement Idefend.ph during the administration of Duterte. The study found out that the posts’ liberative potential lies in their ability to expose and protest against the continuing human rights violations of the administration, and their ability to put into account the Duterte government on issues that involve human rights and dignity, democracy, and national sovereignty.
Palang Pracharath Party’s Strategies for Communicating their Policies in Songkhla Province During the Parliamentary Elections
Karn Boonsiri, Sukhothai Thammathirat Open University, ThailandThe objective of this research was to study Palang Pracharath Party’s strategies for communicating their policies in Zone 1, Songkhla Province, in terms of 1) the political situation; 2) the communication management process; and 3) communication strategies and tactics. This was a qualitative research using the methods of participatory observation and in-depth interviews. The results showed that 1) the political situation before the election (a) most voters felt bored of the same old politicians who had been members of parliament before under the old political parties and felt they had not worked continuously; (b) people wanted to elect a member of parliament from a new political party that had a chance of forming the next government; (c) the cost of living had risen and people’s income was insufficient, the prices of agricultural products had dropped, social inequity was greater and there was political conflict. 2) the communication management process consisted of 4 steps: (a) finding fact with a focus on voters’ problems and needs; (b) planning how the policies could be communicated to every target group; (c) communicating the policies using every kind of media; and (d) evaluating process to make adjustments. 3) communication strategies and tactics: (a) building awareness and reaching every target group using traditional media and new media; (b) creating core communicators in every community; (c) building a network of allies and supporters covering all agencies; and (d) intensively evaluating by surveying perception, awareness, understanding, attitudes of the voters.
Immersion, Interactivity and the Illusion of Interactive Cinema
Chao Ming, Communication University of China, ChinaDrawing on Eric Zimmerman’s four types of interactivity, this paper proposes a taxonomy of interactive cinema by defining four modes of interactive movies: the cognitive mode; physical mode; collective mode; and selective mode. The above cinematic modes are not distinct or mutually exclusive, and their emergence follows a generally chronological order. More importantly, the rise of a new mode did not render the existing ones obsolete. Conversely, it absorbs interactive features that have been commonly accepted and integrates them into an original form. As a result, the once-rigid boundaries between various artistic and cultural forms are more blurred than ever. It is predictable that in the future, moving pictures will be presented as interactive multimedia projects that exist as a variety of formats and can be accessed by a diversity of platforms.
Becoming-image: A Cross-reading of Threshold in Japanese Manga and Cinema
Maxime Boyer-Degoul, Université Libre de Bruxelles, BelgiumAfter the Second World War, the reconstruction continues the first wave of modernization of the country, initiated during the Meiji Restoration (1868-1912). Additionally, this reconstruction was made possible thanks to the valorization of the collective effort in order to favor the belonging of the individual to a structure that allows him to have a better life, especially after the disasters from the war.
The 1960s spread a new image of a modernized Tokyo and its new urban structure, symbol of the new middle class and the success of the reconstruction. As modern landscape emerges, so does a new kind of gaze, particularly depicted through cinema itself as a device from modernity. Through three steps, this presentation intends to consider the urban frame and the cinematographic frame as one same continuum based on the power of the image. Modern cities are factories of images, images that are no longer watched but watch and turn viewers into seen. The image is past, the image is present. Individual as image see himself disowned of any future at the favor of a never-ending present.
First part shows urban landscape and its influence over a new way to watch: the gaze of the flâneur. Second part describes urban frame and cinematographic frame as a way to express the feeling of confinement of the gaze leading individuals to see themselves as images in a world of images. Third stage develops this idea of becoming-image which cinema is a metaphor, if not a parable.
Turning Local Social Media Micro-influencers into Tourism Ambassadors: An Exploratory Study in North-East India
Aviini Ashikho, Symbiosis Centre for Media and Communication, Pune, IndiaLiji Ravindran, Symbiosis Centre for Media and Communication, Pune, India
India’s North East region, which consists of eight states covering roughly 7.9% of the country’s total landmass, is in many ways a prime destination for tourism. It is a verdant, hilly terrain with extraordinary socio-cultural diversity. The region is home to hundreds of tribal communities, each with their own unique traditions, languages and practices. The North East had long been hampered economically, in part due to poor transport access because of the geography, a phase of violent insurgency, educational backwardness and lack of economic opportunities that were available to citizens elsewhere. That has changed in the past two decades, with the region surging ahead on all socio-economic indicators. Digital development with infrastructure and skill building in the region is a stated priority of the Indian government which has brought out a vision document for the purpose. This study explores how state governments, with their limited budgets, can make use of the growing number of social media micro-influencers in the region, who are already promoting their cultures and destinations informally through their accounts, for official tourism promotion. It also looks at the potential of helping these influencers convert their hobbies and interests into commercial enterprises, by asking them the kind of support they expect or need from the government to do so. The study is based on a questionnaire survey of 100 Instagram micro-influencers from the North-Eastern region. The researchers hope that the findings will help state governments direct their tourism policies in the future by emphasizing on digital marketing.
‘I Trust Your Advice to Buy Things’: The Trust Mechanism Between Social Influencer Endorsement and Audience
Peng Ao, Peking University, ChinaSocial media influencers in China have become a remarkable group of people who possess a great amount of attention of the audience online. One obvious impact the social influencers group have brought is in marketing environment and they have become a newly channel and marketing strategy for more and more brands. Marketing scholars and practitioners have emphasized the importance and massive potential of social influencers endorsement compared to the traditional celebrities endorsement. In the context of social media in China, social influencers have become increasingly popular among both brands and audience, and they corporate with brands and market products and services in their own creative and unique ways through vlog, text, pictures on Weibo(Twitter in China), TikTok and many other different social platforms. I choose 4 representative grass-root social media influencers with more than 500000 followers on Weibo platform as examples to analyze their commodities endorsement online process through text analysis . On the other hand, I interview about 30 social media users to frame the dynamic process of trust construction or deconstruction. This paper argues that social influencer endorsement is a kind of monetization of audience trust on social media by constructing a figure image of authenticity and conveying daily life message. The construction of trust is based on authenticity, while the online authenticity of social influencers is something designed by strategy and sometimes not authentic, then the trust between social influencer endorsement and audience is constantly in a dynamic process which may go opposite direction at anytime.
From Slide Show to Film: Early Chinese Film History in “Shun Pao”
Sun Hui, Nanjing Arts University, ChinaAccording to the widely known film history, it was not until 1913 that China began to independently shoot short films (“difficult husband and difficult wife”). However, as early as 1895, the French began to shoot and release films. If we regard these 18 years as the "occurrence period" of Chinese films, what happened to Chinese society and Chinese films during this period? This paper starts from “Shun Pao”, a commercial newspaper with the largest circulation in Shanghai at that time, reads and systematically sorts out the slide show advertisements, dynamic image show advertisements, photo advertisements and performance advertisements of “Shun Pao” from 1872 to 1913, and finds out the economic, military and technological characteristics of Chinese society, especially Shanghai society, and proves the positive and negative feedbacks of the occurrence and development of Chinese films through historical materials.
Research on Chinese Art Film Screening
Zhixia Mo, Shenzhen University, ChinaIn China, commercial cinema is the mainstream screening channel. Unlike the United States, Europe, and Japan, China lacks independent art film distribution and screening channels. Art movies are not as popular as commercial productions, so the listing time and space of screening are often limited. At present, the viewing of Chinese art films presents a variety of appearances. First, the Art Filming Alliance was established, and through the cooperation with commercial cinemas, it opened a fixed scene and a movie theatre in the cinema. Second, national and international film festivals and film exhibitions offer opportunities to display works. Third, the streaming media platform provides network screening. Fourth, the film screening platform helps fans to watch art films. Fifth, the folk screening organization is moving, but the official department regulates it. A variety of artistic screening forms a unique cultural atmosphere. This paper intends to sort out the current Chinese art film screening methods, discuss how local art film screenings survive under the film regulations, marketization and globalization; the relationship between official regulation and the distribution of art films; and the possibility of establishing independent art theatres.
Corporate Communication of Environmental Message: Content and Rhetoric Analysis of the Environmental Messages on Corporate Websites
Yie-Jing Yang, Shih Hsin University, TaiwanThe purpose of this study was to explore how corporations deliver their environmental and social responsibility message using a content analysis of Taiwanese corporate websites. Using a rhetoric analysis, this study also examined the narrative and meaning of the rhetoric with respect to the environmental information presented on corporate websites. A total of 447 corporate websites were subject to content analysis in 2016. The study revealed that 278 corporate websites presented an environmental message. The content analysis demonstrated that corporate websites tended to most often present the theme of “climate change” (21.8%) and least often present the theme of “biodiversity” (1.9%). The background color of the websites was often green (32.0%) and blue (30.4%). Most of the websites were able to illustrate the “has done” (52.9%) and “going to act” (32.0%) intentions of corporate environmental protection behavior. The rhetoric analysis revealed that commercial rhetoric is no longer the main discourse on corporate websites. Corporate websites focus on “numbers” and “evidence” rhetoric, “advocacy” rhetoric, and “competition” rhetoric to demonstrate their active behavior aimed at protecting the environment. Corporate websites adopt color symbols to reflect the utopian narrative of “seeing is believing.” They also use “sustainability” and “mission” rhetoric to construct their corporate environmental responsibility narratives in which the company plays a heroic role in saving the world. The enterprise is neither a victim of environment nor the perpetrator of environmental harm but a rescuer that plays a major role, motivated by environmental responsibility, in protecting the environment.
Storytelling and Leadership
Jessica Federman, Cornell University, United StatesCallahan, Whitener, and Sandlin (2007) discuss that “storytelling has been a vehicle for teaching, learning, and sense-making throughout history; one need only think of epic tales such as Beowulf or the Odyssey to be reminded of lessons taught through stories” (p.153). They go on to say that “because of the important role they play in community learning, sense-making, and communication, these stories are embedded in our popular culture and, indeed, are vehicles for transmitting that culture” (p. 153). Callahan et al. suggest that stories from epic tales often form a foundation for modern cultural artifacts and argue that these stories serve as an “ideal for teaching leadership because they allow learners to both identify with current trends and process concepts by using tools that capture their interest” (p. 147). Storytelling of folklore may indeed facilitate an embodiment of leader-like spirit as key characters in the stories are projected to have experienced acts of courage and bravery, however, these stories often leave the student with an underdeveloped understanding of what “leadership” truly entails and may unintentionally mask the realities of what it takes to “win” for the sake of one’s group. Students fail to see the limitations of directive leadership and the important role that followers play to achieve group gains. In this work, I unpack examples of how mythology and folklore provide sense-making opportunities for playing the role of, and acting like, a leader and how creative forms of storytelling can help conceptualize alternative forms of effective leadership.
The Trouble with Meme-makers in China
Siddhi Ashar, Independent Scholar, IndiaThis research design aims to understand the trends in meme-making amongst the youth of China as a sign of rising uncertainty during the US-China trade war. It addresses the links between crackdowns on social goods with growing dissatisfaction within China. The Economic Policy Uncertainty Index in China has risen exponentially under Xi Jinping. The Internet has been used increasingly as a space for dissent through content in the form of images, text, audio or video. This study would primarily be a quantitative data analysis to examine the frequency of certain phrases as textual memes on the Chinese Internet in relation to various shocks due to the trade war. It would also include an event data analysis of the timeline from 2016 to 2019 with the tariffs and talks undertaken. In addition, the study would consider repositories for frequently used webpages in China to look for common phrases as a form of social listening. The extreme censorship poses several limitations, hence this paper includes a typology of certain phrases created to circumvent the firewall. The literary framework facilitates an understanding of the Internet as a political tool amongst the youth disillusioned by the lack of socio-economic upward mobility and the policies of the Communist Party of China.
Batik, Space and Memory: Reading Visuality and Collective Memory in Batik Canting Merapi
Mutia Dewi, Universitas Islam Indonesia, IndonesiaAli Minanto, Universitas Islam Indonesia, Indonesia
Nadia Wasta Utami, Universitas Islam Indonesia, Indonesia
Puji Hariyanti, Islamic University of Indonesia, Indonesia
Ida Ningsih, Islamic University of Indonesia, Indonesia
After Merapi Volcano eruption in 2010, the people who live in the slope of Merapi were relocated to shelters (temporary and permanent settlement) ‘Pager Jurang’. Moving to a new living space, they, especially survivors women, had to make adjustments that are not easy. They live with memories of Merapi which disappear with the eruption. Since living in the shelter, they learned to make batik besides running activities as farmers and cattle ranchers. The motifs of the batik represent their memory about Merapi. This research wants to answer the questions, “how do survivors women of the Merapi eruption in Pager Jurang produce new social spaces and how they treat their collective memory through the Canting Merapi batik motif?” The research uses a visual semiotics approach, production of space, and collective memories. This research uses text analysis methods (visual semiotics) combined with observation and in-depth interviews with survivors women of the Merapi eruption. The research produces several findings. There are several types of Canting Merapi batik motifs that represent the collective memory of survivors women of the Merapi eruption: plants (coffee beans, coffee leaves, Kantong Semar, Parijoto leaves), animals (dragonflies, butterflies, even cows). The batik motifs do not only present mere visual signs, but bring back their imagination about Merapi as the homeland. The visual representations are also used by survivors women to keep their collective memory of Merapi and to present it continuously in different spaces.
Using New Media as Occupational Inspiration for the Disabled
Siriwan Jianchatchawanwong, Sukhothai Thammathirat Open University, ThailandThe objective of this research was to study the use of new media to create occupational inspiration for the disabled in terms of 1) types of media; 2) content; 3) formats; and 4) approaches for developing new media. The study was based on examples of disabled people who were successful in their careers until 2016-2018 in Thailand to serve as models for the use of new media to provide occupational motivation for the disabled. This was a qualitative research based on documentary research and in-depth interviews and understanding of their feelings, life experiences with 20 key informants, consisting of 10 disabled people with successful occupations, 5 personnel of an occupational training center, and 5 parents of disabled people. The informants were chosen through purposive sampling. Data were interpreted through descriptive analysis. The results showed the use of new media to create occupational inspiration for the disabled had the following characteristics: 1) types of media: Facebook and Line accounts to provide two-way communication 2) content: inspiration self-esteem and try to move beyond the disabled. 3) formats: the lessons learned from success stories. 4) approaches for development: The disables have two important expectations, i.e. desire for social participation on an equal and sustainable manner and proactive approach to disability work.
Communication Strategies for Conveying the Cultural Wisdom of Krajood Wicker Product Weaving at Ban Huayleuk in Surat Thani Province
Piyata Nuanlaong, Srattani Rajabhat University, ThailandPattharawadee Inthapantee, Surattani Rajabhat University, Thailand
The objective of this research was to study communication strategies for conveying the cultural wisdom of Krajood (Lepironia articalata, a kind of sedge) wicker product weaving at Ban Huayleuk in Surat Thani Province, in terms of 1) patterns of communications; 2) communication strategies; and 3) approaches for developing communications. This was a qualitative research done by participatory observation and in-depth interviews with 19 key informants. All were chosen through purposive sampling Data collection tools were an observation form and an interview form. Data were analyzed through descriptive analysis. The results showed communication to pass down cultural wisdom had the following characteristics: 1) patterns: (a) the development worker was the ideological leader; (b) there was an emphasis on participation of group members; (c) new media were used to communicate about Krajood weaving activities; (d) a youth network was built up; (e) a network was created with outside organizations; 2) strategies: (a) an emphasis on two-way communication through media; (b) using diverse media to present the unique qualities of the products; (c) using media that created good impressions, attraction, a feeling of closeness and a feeling of community; 3) approaches for developing campaign strategies: (a) creating interest so people want to continue learning more about the craft; (b) building strong networks of supporters; (c) learning to use modern media that meet people’s needs; and (d) following up and evaluating every step of the communications.
Communication Patterns of Leaders of the Provincial Administrative Organization of Sukhothai in a Crisis Situation
Hareuthai Panyarvuttrakul, Communication Arts Faculty Bangkokthonburi University, ThailandWasin Panyarvuttrakul, Naresuan University, Thailand
Rasika Angkura, Sukhothai Open University, Thailand
The objective of this research was to study the communication patterns of leaders of the Sukhothai Provincial Administrative Organization in a crisis situation in terms of (1) forms of communication; (2) content; and (3) the relationships between forms of communication, local residents’ awareness and their satisfaction with the communication. This was a mixed methods research. For the qualitative part, in-depth interviews were held with 4 key informants, chosen through purposive sampling, and data were analyzed by descriptive analysis. For the qualitative part, a survey was done by giving questionnaires to a sample population of 400, chosen through simple random sampling. Data were analyzed by descriptive statistics and Pearson’s correlated coefficient. The results were as follows: 1) As for communication patterns used by leaders of the Sukhothai Provincial Administrative Organization in times of crisis, (a) they reported on the results of their problem-solving efforts; (b) they used every type of formal and informal media. (c) they controlled the news to make it unified. 2) As for communication content, it consisted of (a) the natural disaster situation; (b) assistance for disaster victims; (c) channels for requesting assistance; and (d) ad hoc problem-solving methods. 3) The following relationships were found: the form of communication using sub-district leaders and village headmen was related to citizens’ awareness more than other forms of communication.
Communications of the Leader of a Model Community for Community Tourism Management
Rasika Angkura, Sukhothai Thammathirat Open University, ThailandSingh Singhkajorn, Bansomdejchaopraya Rajabhat University, Thailand
Haruethai Panyarvuttrakul, Bangkokthonburi University, Thailand
The objective of this research was to study the tourism management communication of the leaders of two communities that were named as model communities for tourism management in the aspects of 1) communication patterns; 2) content; and 3) choice of media for communication about tourism management. This was a qualitative research based on in-depth interviews and focus group discussions with 10 key informants who were community leaders, committee members and group members of communities that were named as model communities for community tourism management, namely, the Sahatsakhan Dino Road Homestay Group in Kalasin Province and the Baan Dohng Homestay Group in Prajinburi Province. The research tool was a semi-structured interview form. Data were analyzed through descriptive analysis. The results showed that 1) For communication patterns, the leaders of both communities mainly used informal, participatory communication. At Baan Dohng Homestay Group the emphasis was on participatory communication with community leaders at all levels and with government agencies, while at Sahatsakhan Dino Road Homestay Group the emphasis was on communicating with villagers through coffee forums in every neighborhood. 2) For content, community leaders of both groups had similar communications content focusing on the unique features of their communities that made them attractive as tourist destinations, especially the local culture and way of life. 3) As for the choice of media, community leaders of both groups used online social media and traditional folk media for communications both within the group and with tourists.
Political Communication Network Building by Journalists in Songkhla, Thailand
Supaporn Sridee, Sukhothai Thammathirat Open University, ThailandThe objectives were to study forms of political communication networks built by journalists in Songkhla, Thailand and content that was transmitted through those networks. This was a qualitative research based on in-depth interviews and focus group discussions with 2 groups of key informants, 16 administrative-level journalists (including news editors, managing editors, TV or radio station directors, enterprise owners, and division heads) and 16 operations-level journalists (including reporters, program hosts, and people responsible for website content). Data were analyzed by descriptive analysis. The results showed that 1.there were 2 main forms of political communication networks: 1) officially established networks with shared activities and exchanges; the networks that were formed via group-making on the Line application were rather tightly bonded with a large number of members representing various parts of society. This type of network is compatible with the principles for building, maintaining and expanding official networks. The government public relations department personnel would invite these networks to press conferences. 2) Informal networks, which are naturally-occurring, freely formed networks usually originating from people working at the same place and forming friendships or being acquainted in some other capacity. Content transmitted were 1) news to encourage the public to participate in politics, especially by voting in local and national elections; with news about the elections presented neutrally; 2) news and information directly from the Election Committee; 3) news about how politicians in Songkhla Thailand were following through with implementing their policies, both on a local and national level; and 4) news about citizens’ problems or concerns that should be addressed by the local administrative organizations.
Activity and Deliberative Enclaves of Fragmented Turkish Youth Groups of Political Parties on Twitter
Seval Yurtcicek Ozaydin, Tokyo Institute of Technology, JapanTwitter has become the major platform for studying political fragmentation, echo chambers and polarization, and Turkey is one of the countries in which social media, in particular Twitter is used for political discussions the most, especially among young people. However, political fragmentation studies focusing on Turkey is limited. In this study, in order to shed light onto the influence of ideologically fragmented political youth groups on Twitter, the attributes and activities of the followers of the official youth groups of ruling party (AKP) and the main opposition party (CHP) are studied. Their followers which is around 400 thousand and 60 thousand, respectively, are subjected to a comparative analysis. In particular, the number of followers, friends, favorites and Tweets (including retweets and retweets with comment) of the followers of each group, as well as the number of verified accounts in each group are studied. In addition, in order to reveal the level of deliberative enclaves, the protected profiles in each group are analyzed. The findings are discussed together with the ideological lines of the groups and the results of the recent national elections.
Our Silence is a License to Murder
Abeer Zeibak Haddad, Beit Berl College, IsraelBeing personally familiar with the Arab-Palestinian society I am professionally and emotionally interested in women's situation in this patriarchal context. Based on my extensive inquiries I contend that Arab and Palestinian women's subjugation to strict family inspection, anchored in secrecy, establishes their vulnerability. The expression "Dirty laundry is not hung outside" implies how deeply embedded is the concept of silence and secrecy in the basics of the Arab culture; this culture encourages women, regardless of their age or education, to "hold back", never share their "shameful" secret. Relating to excerpts from my documentary "Women of freedom" I shall discuss these arguments. "Women of Freedom" follows the stories of women who were murdered in the name of "honor killing", in the Arab and Palestinian society. It unfolds also the story of women who survived murder attempts and the confession of a killer expressing remorse. The film wishes to encourage a discussion on this silenced and controversial problem that many societies are still inflicted by. It aims to unravel the social and political circumstances that had led to this troubling phenomenon. The film won five Awards in 2018.
First- or Third-person Perspective: The Influence of Picture Perspective on Consumers’ Product Attitude and Purchase Intention for Sponsored Posts
Hsuan-Yi Chou, National Sun Yat-sen University, TaiwanKuan-Yu Liao, National Sun Yat-sen University, Taiwan
The Internet celebrity economy is booming now. Recently, users’ posting habits on social media changed from text- to image-oriented. The effect of the picture of a sponsored post is important; however, prior research on Internet celebrity and sponsored posts seldom address this issue. Practical observation reveals that the pictures Internet celebrities share are photographed from different visual perspectives. This study explores how the picture’s visual perspectives influence consumers’ product attitudes and purchase intentions. Additionally, the study also examines the moderation of consumers’ self-brand connection (SBC) and product types on the effects of visual perspective. The results of two experiments demonstrated that the pictures with the first- or third-person perspectives resulted in better product attitudes and purchase intentions than the picture with only the product image. Compared with the pure product image, mental stimulation mediated the greater effect of the first-person perspective on attitudinal responses, while the imitation mindset mediated the effect of the third-person perspective. When consumers had low SBC or when the product in the picture was symbolic, the first-person perspective picture generated stronger effects. However, the third-person perspective is more effective for functional products. Furthermore, the two visual perspectives had similar effects for the high SBC consumers and the hedonic product. This study expands the research scope of Internet celebrity content sponsorship, contributes to marketing by analyzing visual perspective, and offers a practical reference for vendors and Internet celebrities to help them select pictures of sponsored posts with the suitable perspective according to the brand and product type.
Academics and Social Media Usage: The Role of Informal Communication on Social Capital Development and Work Performance
Zulqarnain Abu Hassan, Sinar Karangkraf Sdn Bhd, MalaysiaWan Puspa Melati Wan Halim, SEGi University, Malaysia
The use of social media in organisations including academia setting is important, relevant and pervasive. Scholarly discussion on social media status as an educational platform for innovative pedagogy and richer learning experience has been well established. However, the reliance and impact of social media as an informal platform among academics themselves are less explored. This qualitative study looked at the pattern of social media interaction and explored the role informal communication on social capital development and work performance among communication lecturers. More specifically, the research questions are: 1) What is the pattern of informal communication among communication lecturers? 2) To what extent does informal communication shapes social capital development and 3) In what ways do informal communication helps in work performance? This research paper draws from seven in-depth interviews of communication lecturers who are currently teaching in Malaysian private universities. The discussion on pattern of informal communication include the preferred types of social media, timing of usage, types of massage shared, and types of responses toward messages shared. In terms of social capital development, the majority of them believed that the use of social media foster relationships, but only if one is tactful and mindful is using them. The perceived performance of the lecturers have also been found to have increased not due to trust development but rather better teamwork development via social media interaction.
The Influence of Hashtag Activism in Reshaping the World: Sudan Revolution as a Case Study
Shaimaa Alessai, Hamed Bin Khalifa University, QatarOne of the most interesting developments in the digital world in recent years is the rise of hashtag activism, meaning raising an issue on social media through a hashtagged word, phrase or sentence. Since 2011, many hashtags have appeared on Twitter from people all around the world. Many of these hashtags called for change in political and social situations like gender equality, social justice, changing the rules of governments and even calling to topple government regimes. Hashtag activism in Arab countries started to rise and appear with the Arab Spring protests, in Egypt, Libya and recently in Sudan. #Kandaka or #الكنداكة or #,الكنداكةـالسودانية and #مدن_السودان_تنتفض for example, hashtags which are very active currently in Sudan against President Omar al-Bashir. This is one of the important cases of online expression which has brought renewed attention to the power of digital activism in shaping public opinions and political orientation. This paper discusses the power of Twitter hashtag activism in digital activity and how it has become an important tool in political and social مدن_السودان_تنتفض # ,discourse throughout the world. Also, it discusses the popular twitter hashtag # Sudan’s_cities_revolt and #Kendakh #الكنداكة, as a case study. The concept of hashtag activism is relatively new. The term, coined by media outlets, refers to the use of Twitter hashtags for social/political movements and activism, prefixed by a # symbol with a word, phrase, or sentence on Twitter. It first appeared in September of 2011 in an article published by The Guardian, where it was used.
Love and Laughter: The ABS-CBN Film Archives in the Context of Filipino Romantic Comedy Conventions
Carlo Jake Martin, University of Santo Tomas, PhilippinesFor over a century, cinema held a special place in the hearts of Filipinos. The nation’s propensity for romance paved the way for the emergence of Filipino romantic comedy as among the popular genres in the local entertainment industry. With ticket sales almost reaching ₱5 billion pesos (or a little over $96.5 million US dollars) in gross in 2015, the trend and demand for romantic comedy movies in the country shows no signs of slowing down (Philtre, 2017). The latest data culled from the ABS-CBN Film Archives also revealed that the aforementioned genre enjoyed a robust 347 percent production growth, with 17 films in 2000s, to 76 movies in 2010 until the last quarter of 2018. That being said, the growing interest of Filipino romantic comedy movies proves that something worth examining lies beneath its surface (Kaklamanidou, 2013). This thesis aimed to unravel the conventions of romantic comedy as a distinct Filipino and/or appropriated genre, and how it developed through time. By using Rick Altman’s (1999) Semantic/Syntactic Approach to Film Genre, six Pinoy ‘rom-coms’ are examined according to its form and function. Also, in light of the centennial anniversary of Philippine cinema, this paper endeavored to shift the focus on film archives and delves deeper into its potential as a concept lab for future researches on film history and film per se. Using Digital Media Archaeology, this research surveys the recurring genres of surviving Filipino films deposited in the ABS-CBN Film Archives. By putting these elements in parallel lines provide a profound description of Filipino film genre’s history and development.
Insanity Onscreen: A Textual Analysis on the Portrayal of Mental Illness in Philippine Mainstream Cinema
Eunice Brito, University of the Philippines Los Baños, PhilippinesKabzeel Sheba G. Catapang, University of the Philippines Los Baños, Philippines
Stuart (2006) stated that the media generally presents “dramatic and distorted images of mental illness” which highlight implications of dangerousness, criminality, and unpredictability, doing nothing but further the already incriminating public perceptions towards people with mental illness. In the literature reviewed in this study, it was concluded that while there is an increased awareness on the issues of mental health, the images of mental illness in the media are still largely dominated by misinformed and negative stereotypes. There also arose an obvious need to
build a body of knowledge focused on the portrayal of mental illness in the Asian and Filipino context. Guided by the theories of Semiotics and Social Construction of Reality, this study attempts to address the need to explore the images projected by the media to portray people dealing with mental illness following studies that examined how it contributes to people’s perception of the issue and its treatment. Employing textual analysis, it attempts to look into the portrayal of mental illness in the landscape of Philippine mainstream cinema from the 1970s to the 2010s. Ten mainstream Filipino films were examined for this study, from which 15 characters were identified as dealing with mental illness. From these characters, five common portrayals of were surfaced: dangerous madman; yearning for affection; childlike; less than human; and enlightened member of society.
Disaster Response Management Through Community Radio in India
Sudeshna Das, University of Mysore, IndiaMahesh Chandra Guru, University of Mysore, India
A disaster is a grave disruption that causes extended loss in the lives of a community or society and requires external assistance. Disaster Response Management can be described as a sequence of events or phases, consisting of different and specific actions and this cycle can be divided into three main group of actions: (1) Prevention, preparedness and early warning (2) Disaster impact and needs assessment and relief and emergency response (3) Rehabilitation, reconstruction and recovery. In this context of Disaster Response Management, media has played a vital role in all three phases of action in order to mitigate the circumstances. Community Radio is seen as the New Media for isolated, rural communities in the wake of the Community radio movement in India. This study highlights the efforts of two Community Radio Stations in disaster coverage and management in the Northeastern and Southern states of Assam & Karnataka respectively in India. Here, the researcher would like to present the case study of Radio Brahmaputra, a Community Radio Station situated in Dibrugarh in Assam and its contribution to tackle the presently ongoing flood situation of July 2019 and Krishi Community Radio Station, Dharwad, Karnataka that is constantly dealing with various man-made disasters in the agricultural sector. Through these case studies, the researcher wants to establish the scope of Community Radio as an effective tool for Disaster Management at the grass root level.
Rethinking Femininities and Masculinities in a Romantic Comedy in the 21st Century
Tingli Liu, University of Warwick, United KingdomFor the last decade urban professional single women in China have been labelled as ‘sheng nü’ (translated as ‘leftover’ women in English) once they approach the age of thirty or older, and this term has been popularised in the media. When searching for films about Chinese ‘leftover’ women, the ‘romantic comedy genre’ is a popular label. Romantic comedies may tend to construct romantic myths or romantic ideals for their audience. For instance, ‘love is miraculously arranged’ or ‘love at first sight’. At the same time, as one of the most popular genres in the film industry, romantic comedies are presenting models for women. Through the lens of genre analysis, I argue that romantic comedies about ‘leftover’ women are constructing a new model for an ideal single woman in contemporary China: a wealthy, professional, independent, well-educated woman with much autonomy and leading to an individualised life. Chinese femininities are not fixed, and women’s beauty and attractiveness can be read from different aspects and all of the beautiful personalities contribute to a gorgeous woman in modern China. Meanwhile, representations of masculinities in ‘leftover’ woman romcoms are shifting. A caring, sharing man with egalitarian ideas can be preferable for ‘leftover’ women.
Animals are Friends, Not Food: the Turning Point to go Vegan
Pataraporn Sangkapreecha, Bangkok University, ThailandThe proportion of individuals desiring to follow a vegan diet has increased in recent years. There was an increased interest in veganism among Thai people, and in 2018, about 7 millions of Thai people identified themselves as vegans. A group of Thai vegans joined the online social media that facilitate the creation and sharing of information, opinions and other forms of expression via virtual communities and networks. It is true that the life situations that influence individual diet and lifestyle behaviors can be varied. Then, what is the turning point for adopting and maintaining a vegan lifestyle? What are the perceived consequences of becoming a vegan? What are the ways to motivate others to become a vegan and what are the received responses? In answer to these questions, the online qualitative research with “Vegan of Thailand” Facebook fanpage members was performed and this study paper was written.
Art and Sociality/Multi-Diverse Youth/Video and Photographs
Lorna Sutherland, University of Alberta, CanadaThis paper seeks to explore the nature of friendships in the inclusive arts. The inclusive arts include a diverse group of youth who come together because of their work in drama or dance productions, and/or classes. This arts-based study will use semi-structured interviews and video to produce both written text and videos to understand the relationships, connections, and friendships that emerge within an inclusive arts environment. The visuals (photographs and video) as well as text will add to our understanding. Through somatics, gestures, embodiment and what the artist tells us through body movement is the theoretical framework which provides the backdrop for the study. The Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council Canada (2018) said that the arts and innovations can make a difference in the lives of young people who engage in them, socially and economically. When I think of young people adrift in a world that is troubled in many ways-- through war, poverty and lack of employment, there may be an all pervasive powerlessness and fear of the future among youth. The inclusive arts is one way of connecting diverse youth. Participants will include a youth with a developmental disability, and multi-diverse youth as they endeavour to create art through art-making processes. The characteristics of their relationships are examined. In a time of uncertainty the arts may bring youth together in meaningful ways as they endeavour to create art. Art and sociality is examined and the power of connections among youth.
Sports Television on the Global Stage: From Public Service to Private Profit
William Kunz, University of Washington Tacoma, United StatesThe fragmentation of television has altered how many consume televisual content and increased the value of sports programming. As linear networks struggle against streaming services, live sporting events remain a cornerstone of traditional television. In 2018, for example, an estimated 1.12 billion worldwide watched the FIFA World Cup final live. Such events were oftentimes broadcast free-to-air on public service outlets, but that too is changing with the rise of pay television services and multi-national media conglomerates. That shift motivated some governments to write rules to limit the syphoning of sporting events from free-to-air channels, regulations built around the rights of viewers rather than those of conglomerates.
This study is grounded within the political economy of the media, which focuses on the balance between capitalist enterprise and public intervention, herein between the desire of leagues and federations to increase media revenues and efforts of governments to preserve public access to events of cultural importance. A purposive sample of International Olympic Committee television agreements over the last decade is used to measure the shift in rights holders from public services broadcasters, such as the European Broadcasting Union or the Asian-Pacific Broadcasting Union, to commercial enterprises, such as Discovery, the owner of Eurosport that acquired rights for most of Europe, or Dentsu, the agency that controls rights for much of Asia. What emerges from the analysis is a clear shift from public service unions to commercial organizations among rights holders, with some impact on television platforms but more significant change on internet-based platforms.
“Orag” as Cultural Capital: A Multimodal Text Analysis of Selected Non-Commercial Advertising in the Town of Dollars
Ma Sheila Fortuno-Tabal, University of Santo Tomas, PhilippinesIn the present society, language is no longer limited to texts alone. The interplay between text and graphics has proven to be more powerful in moving people and helping them make judgments. This meaning-making provided by text-graphic cooperation is presently swaying public opinion and outdoor advertising has become the primary medium of self-presentations not only in politics but also for personal consumption. With the aid of Kress and van Leeuwen’s Grammar of Visual Design and Bourdieu’s concept of Cultural Capital, this paper presents a multimodal analysis of non-commercial advertisements in a quaint town in the south of Luzon, Philippines, famous for its populace with relatives that immigrated to the US, thus earning the moniker “town of dollars.” The analysis shows that the content of the advertisements, in general, is a manifestation of the peculiar, communicative characteristics of Philippine non-commercial advertising following the proliferation of printing establishments in the provinces. It also reflects how the Philippine society has accepted the normality of self-presentations and political outdoor advertising. Further, this critical paper shows that the concept of “orag” was exhibited as a form of cultural capital in the analysis of representations through the visual and textual codes embedded in the advertisements in the process of cultural production.
Thai Gay Men’s Behaviors in Choosing to Use VDO Game Character Gender
Nathee Monthonwit, King Mongkut's Institute of Technology Ladkrabang, ThailandOphascharas Nandawan, King Mongkut's Institute of Technology Ladkrabang, Thailand
It was found in the previous study on attitudes of Thai men choosing to use VDO game female characters that, through sexual desire, they placed emphasis on gazing at female characters’ bodies and their imagination revealing the desire to compensate for what they lacked in real life. However, from the researcher’s observation of Thai gay men’s behavior while playing VDO games and more survey, they tended to behave differently from straight Thai men in choosing genders of VDO game characters. This study, therefore, aims to do a survey study on behaviors of 20 Thai gay VDO game players. A close-ended and open-ended questionnaire was used to obtain data for analysis in comparisons with previous study and to include more various groups of Thai male gamers. Based on this survey results, 65% of the subjects chose to play a male character, showing their sexual preference taste and their appreciation of the male character’s figure. 20 % chose a female character, mainly due to their satisfaction with the character’s costume. 10 % chose female characters since they were satisfied with their femininity, while 5% chose a female character to make use of physical factors to gain more advantage while playing. These findings led to a conclusion that most Thai male gamers choose genders of VDO game characters that match their different sexual preference tastes. However, Thai gay gamers put more importance on attractive designs of costumes and playing factors than straight Thai men who pay attention to compensation in real life.
Miss Nippon: Takako Irie and the Japanese Silent Film Era
Paul Spicer, Hiroshima Jougakuin University, JapanIn the long history of Japanese cinema, film actress Takako Irie (1911–1995) remains one of the industry’s most important figures. In a career which spanned over fifty years she performed in over one-hundred films, and starred in some of the best-known works by renown directors such as Uchida, Mizoguchi, Murata and Kurosawa. Compared to Mae West by women’s magazine Fujin Koron, Irie stood out from her peers. She was markedly different in both look and performance style, and is regarded as Japan’s first true ‘film-star’. Most importantly however, in a film industry dominated by men, she became the first woman to become the head of her own production company, Irie Productions, which was formed in 1932. Although still regarded as one of ‘Japan’s film greats’, very little has been written about Irie (in English or Japanese), and she is usually referenced in more dedicated works focusing on her collaborators, or broader studies of Japanese film history. This paper forms a small but important part of a much larger research project which focuses on Irie’s life and career, but also explores her ‘star-status’ which fell dramatically during the 1930s. This will be achieved by utilizing archival resources such as contemporary reviews, documentaries, magazine features and articles. The study will also incorporate original interview material with Japanese silent film historians, and members of Irie’s family. Although the project is in its very early stages, initial research has revealed some extremely interesting material, particularly regarding the period surrounding the formation of Irie Productions.
Dig for Bones, Look for the Future: Writing History in the Plays of Alice Childress and Suzan-Lori Parks
Yi-Chin Shih, Tamkang University, TaiwanBoth Alice Childress (1916-1994) and Suzan-Lori Parks (1963-) are prize-winning African American female playwrights; especially, they both are aware of the lack of African American history and the falsification of the recorded black history. With beliefs in anti-racism and black nationalism, two playwrights “make” history in theatre in order to find out the absent and distorted black people in history. The paper is mainly divided into three parts. Starting with Childress’s Gold through the Trees (1952), the first part examines Childress’s feminist critique of the early history of slavery. Next, the paper discusses Parks’s The Death of the Last Black Man in the Whole Entire World (1989-1992) to understand her concept of history as the structure of “repetition and revision.” History, in the writing of these two female playwrights, is non-linear, fragmented, and even illogical, so the third part of the paper intends to conclude their writing strategies and also makes a comparison and contrast. For them, writing history is for a better understanding of themselves and their future of their own people.
Communication Process and Strategy to Create Participation for Thai Early Childhood Oral Hygiene Development Campaign Among Healthy Teeth Network Schools, Thailand
Wattana Chancharuswattana, Sukhothai Thammathirat Open University, ThailandThe objectives of this research are to study the communication process to create participation for Thai early childhood oral hygiene development campaign among Healthy Teeth network schools in Nakhon Pathom Province, Thailand, and to study the communication strategy to create successful participation. This research uses qualitative research. The data were collected from 15 key informants whose working related to early childhood oral hygiene. The in-depth interviews were held with key informants from 3 groups: 1) 9 directors of schools, comprising Kreua Khai Klang Kru Wiang Samphan Schools that had received the award for excellence in having students with good dental health in 2015 in Nakhon Pathom Province. 2) 4 Public Health Department officials, comprising both academics and dentists who were experts in pediatric oral health; and 3) 2 representatives of communities, comprising the village headmen of Sam Phran and Nakhon Chai Sri District. The key informants were chosen by purposive sampling. The data collecting tool was a semi-structured interview form. Data were analyzed through descriptive analysis. The research results show that (1) The communication process consists of 1) The most important senders are schools, hospitals and sub-district health promotion hospitals respectively.2) The main message is oral hygiene prevention and care. 3) The communication channels mostly used are teachers, dentists, leaflets, website, training and activities. 4) Parents and teachers will get the right oral hygiene knowledge after the campaign and their attitude and practice are also increased. (2) The communication strategies used are public communication campaign, participatory communication, public relations and communication network.
Emperor Kangxi’s Poetry of Religions
Sherman Han, Brigham Young University-Hawaii, United StatesKangxi (康熙A.D. 1654-1722) ascended the throne of the Qing Dynasty at the age of six (A.D. 1661) after the untimely death of his father, Emperor Shunzhi (順治 A.D. 1638-1661), becoming the second emperor of the Qing Dynasty with its capital set up in Beijing; and he actually started ruling the empire in A.D. 1667 at the age of 12. In order to perfect his governing skills, arrangements were made for him to learn primarily about the Idealist Confucianism (理學) through 896 lectures from the respected scholars that lasted for 15 years; in the meantime he was also exposed to those traditional religions such as Buddhism and Taoism, and he even learned about Catholicism through lectures from the Jesuit missionaries, notably Ferdinand Verbiest. There are several poems in the archives of the emperor’s poetry collection (康熙帝御制文集) that reflect his understandings and thoughts about those religions. In this paper I will try to identify, translate, and analyze those poems from the archives in order to provide perspectives regarding the emperor’s attitudes those religions that are usually not shown in the official imperial decrees and directives.
Role of Thai Media in 2019 General Election Campaign
Mukda Pratheepwatanawong, Chulalongkorn University, ThailandWith the rise of new media in political communication and the 2019 General election campaign in Thailand, mainstream media in Thailand had been attempting to adapt itself to survive in the media industry in order to increase its value in promoting election, democracy and standing for Thai people. The 2019 General Election was a fundamental election for the Thais as the country went through coup d’etat in 2014 that froze social movement, political activities and voting rights of the Thai citizens. Using interview as a research method, this paper sets out to review opinions of journalists in mainstream media and candidates of the 2019 General Election campaign in Thailand based on how they perceive the value of mainstream media in political communication and election campaign. This paper argues that the traditional process of news making, the professionalism in Thai journalism, and the journalism ethics constitute to making mainstream media in Thailand as a reliable source for political and election campaign updates. Mainstream media in Thailand play a prominent role in initiating political discussion and making Thai people critical about different political issues. As Thailand has been a deeply polarized country, findings in this research will provide suggestions and implications to journalists and political figures based on the way they should manage political news and election campaign content in the period of digital transformation and political instability - while a digital divide still exists in the country.
Her Subsidiary Voice
Raha Shojaei, Texas Tech University, United StatesFor decades, the scholars have examined voices in films aiming to explore representations of genders in a cinematic regime where patriarchal rules structure the interactions between image and sound. They have directed their inquiries into gendered voices toward the intersection of sound and film studies, particularly in the area of feminist analysis of the female voice. While the critics have questioned the male controlled system of classical cinema for restricting the female voices to take control of their agency, the gendered voice has been used through various filmmakers to overcome the imposed limitations. In the New Iranian Cinema, for instance, the female voice is a powerful element for filmmakers to defeat the enforced restraints in her image. After the revelation in 1979, the new Islamic regime in Iran introduced a regulated new film industry by which the regime insisted on the gender segregation space and imposed the veil on the women. The enforcement of the veil was against modernity describes a demand for individuality, agency, self-representation, and access to work and power. However, the sound track of the films provides a space in which women’s veiled voice flies beyond the oppression lines. While the image attempts to keep the secondary status of the women, the feminine voice, challenges the patriarchal culture and domineering rules. In my presentation, to investigate the female agency received by her voice, through psychoanalysis theory, I analyze Mohsen Makhmalbaf’s Gabbeh (1997) and Abbas Kiarostami’s Shirin (2009).
Internet and Public Sphere in ‘Pondok Pesantren’: Reclaiming the Future of Religious Education in Indonesia
Asep Darmini, University of Warwick, United KingdomHistorically, the Indonesian Islamic Boarding School (Pondok Pesantren) has played a pivotal role in building a sense of identity among the Indonesian Muslim community. For students of 'Pondok Pesantren', the label of 'santri' is not only related to religious commitment but also to social and political engagement in a wider context of society. Nevertheless, the history of colonialism in Indonesia has created a double system of education in which religious education is positioned in the periphery vis-a-vis the more popular secular system of education. However, the changing landscape in contemporary Indonesian society also opens a new challenge and opportunity for religious education, particularly within the context of 'Pondok Pesantren'. My research aims to investigate the potential contribution of 'Pondok Pesantren' in the middle of the debate regarding the issue of the public sphere in the internet era. It analyses the articulation of power within the institution in regard to the potential secularisation of the internet and the identity and aspiration of 'santri' in the internet era. By investigating these issues, this presentation aims to analyze the role of 'Pondok Pesantren' in reclaiming the future of religious education in Indonesia.
A Convenient, Partial Picture? Bangladesh in the Japanese News Media
Virgil Hawkins, Osaka School of International Public Policy (OSIPP), JapanSeven Japanese citizens were among those killed in a terrorist attack on a restaurant in Dhaka, Bangladesh in 2016. Many in the Japanese media expressed shock that Japanese citizens were not spared, given their apparent assumption of a strong pro-Japanese sentiment in Bangladesh. While the nationalities of the victims did not appear to be a factor in the targeting by the perpetrators, the media’s response to the attack raises some questions about their perceptions of the relationship between the two countries. Japan’s relationship with Bangladesh is a complex one. On the one hand, the Japanese government provides a certain degree of development aid to the country, but on the other, its corporations exploit cheap labour (under often hazardous conditions) for industries such as textile and garments, and shipbreaking. The Japanese news media, however, chooses to focus on the former aspect of bilateral relations, while paying little attention to the latter. This serves to create the perception that Japan’s relationship with Bangladesh is characterized by benevolence and generosity. Using content analysis and framing analysis of coverage in key Japanese newspapers, this paper examines the perception of Japan’s relationship with Bangladesh in the news media, and explores the factors behind this coverage, drawing from literature on the determinants of international news coverage.
The Invisible Character; A Perspective Into the Significance of Set Design in Film, Theater and Television
Maryam Khosravibabanari, Independent Scholar, United StatesThe importance of set design is easily comprehended by looking at the history of performing arts and its progress; but the point worth noting is the progression and gradual transformation in the role set design plays in media today. In modern film and theater works, set design is not just a means to create the spaces needed in the story, but it is a character by itself. This paper focuses on the qualities and nuances of set design character and how its components contribute to shaping this character. Based on such perception of the set, two fundamental and interrelated aspects are introduced and discussed: A myriad of information that is provided to the spectator by a brief look, while they are usually unaware of it, and that a complete and detailed set can gravely affect the actors and enhance their generated emotions. In addition, the transforming role of set design in correlation with technological advancements of the modern performing arts is discussed in this work. It was concluded that, although one cannot ignore these advancements and their influence in performing arts, it should be noted that they cannot substitute the entirety of the design process, but have to be incorporated in it. As such, the designers must educate themselves in these fields and understand these new techniques, so that they can become a mediator between the usual requirements of the set and the technology in use.
The Lion King, Japanese Content Business and Value Chains
Seiko Yasumoto, The University of Sydney, AustraliaThis paper examines, as a case study, The Disney media production The Lion King, with the supposition that initial production, and subsequent value chain profit derived from remaking and internationalisation of the The Lion King is derived in part from the manga Janguru Taitei (Jungle Emperor) without benefit to Japan. The Japanese government has progressively appreciated the value of media content from both a commercial and cultural context and the loss of economic value in unregulated segments of the regional and global media market. They have pro-actively introduced strategies to protect and promote the intrinsic cultural and economic value of Japanese content business. In 2003 they established an Intellectual Property Strategy Group to support and promote the Japanese media content business. There has been a continuum of policy development since then to protect and amplify the intrinsic financial value of Japanese media products. All the developments in media industry are fuelled not only by government regulations, the imagination of preeminent artists and writers, and the growing regionalization and internationalization of the industry but the ‘bottom line’ emerging from the value chain. The recognition of the need for sustaining profit growth to continue the viability of original and remade content in Japan is arguably paramount for the Japanese content business.