Bosnia and Herzegovina on Screen: Self-Orientalism in Jasmila Žbanić’s Film Quo Vadis, Aida?
Studies in Eastern European Cinema

This paper examines the contemporary meanings and functions of self-Orientalism in the Bosnian context by analyzing Jasmila Žbanić’s film, Quo Vadis, Aida (2020). The issue of self-Orientalism entails a double intrigue at the individual and collective levels: first, why Bosnian cultural producers (the ‘Orientalized’) replicate Orientalism; and second, why Orientalism, in its various forms, proliferates in Balkans despite the region’s own marginalized position. Examining Quo Vadis Aida both within Bosnian’s specific context and as part of a global phenomenon of cinematic self-Orientalism or autoexoticism, this paper argues that the film self-Orientalizes in an effort to meet contemporary viewers’ expectations for facile resolutions to imperialist Orientalism, as well as to improve the film’s marketability with Western audiences. Applying Laura Doyle’s framework of ‘inter-imperiality’ we examine how Quo Vadis, Aida ‘writes back’ to multiple empires by tracing Orientalism’s trajectories – from Ottoman Empire to the Austro-Hungarian and modern-day Holland – and by weaving the lingering effects of imperialism from before the arrival Ottomans to Bosnia in Middle Ages to the present. The paper argues that the film reveals the extent of globalist anxiety that motivates producers’ artistic imagination and reflects colonial phantasies that promote stereotyped representation of the Balkans.

Keywords: Self-orientalism, re-orientalism, autoexoticism, inter-imperiality, Jasmila Žbanić, Balkans, film
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The House of Black and White: Identities of Color and Power Relations in the Game of Thrones
Revista Nós: Cultura, Estética e Linguagens

This article analyzes the representations of non-white identities in an HBO’s fantasy show “Game of Thrones” (GOT). By specifically focusing on hegemonic relations between white characters and characters of color, the research scrutinizes the rhetorical strategies through which non-whiteness is enacted in relation to white “natives” of the “Westeros.” Authors show that the GOT employs orientalist discourse in constructing the world of Westeros and contrasts it with the exotic lands of Essos. Westeros is rich, white and located in the western hemisphere, while Essos is a scorched and mysterious land located in the East. By associating the show’s major characters with Westeros and the casting of white actors, viewers are encouraged to identify with their complex struggles and to embrace their intricate characterizations. On the other hand, Essos’ characters of color typically include marginalized characters such as slaves, servants, and pirates. Their story arcs are glazed over and their characterization serves not to enhance the narrative but to emphasize the uniqueness of a superior cultural entity, i.e. Westeros. The essay discusses the implications in which GOT perpetuates long-established relations in a re-imagined system of power, which its writers and audiences have identified as female progressive and noted for its narrative complexity.

Keywords: game of thrones, race, stereotypes, orientalism, media imperialism
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New Keywords for Chinese Cinemas Studies: Soft Power
Journal of Chinese Cinemas

Besides providing entertainment, film has the ability to synthesize a whole array of other cultural products like literature, poetry, photography, history, painting, sculpture,music, fashion, architecture and language, while simultaneously evoking empathy through compelling characters and dynamic narratives. Individuals who do not have the chance to visit distant nations can still learn a great deal about them from their representations on big and small screens. Filmic representations have the power to stir emotions, shape opinions and sway outlooks. This capability underlines the proposal that pop culture can be transformed into instruments of political influence through which the exporting nation can sway the attitudes of target audiences. The aspiration to infuence others through culture is conceptualized as an employment of cultural diplomacy or soft power. This article examines the potential of Chinese film and its industry to reap benefits of soft power and identifies some major barriers in the process.

Keywords: soft power, film, Chinese film, blockbuster
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‘Transatlantic connection’: K-pop and K-drama fandom in Spain and Latin America
Journal of Fandom Studies

The global circulation of Asian cultural products has been on a constant rise since the 1990s. However, the arrival to Spanish-speaking audiences is a more recent phenomenon, one that is linked to the consolidation of web-based tools for consumption, distribution and discussion of cultural artefacts. The different stages in which Hallyu, or the “Korean Wave”, reached different countries determined the intensity of scholarly interest in the phenomenon. If the research gap between Asia and Europe is wide, the later arrival to Spain and Latin America means that studies on the reception of Korean popular culture, including those dealing with fandom, are quasi-non-existent. This article is a first attempt at mapping the demographics of K-pop and K-drama fans in the Spanish-speaking world, through an analysis of an online survey. Drawing from the uses and gratifications approach in mass communication research, we discuss fans’ appropriation of K-pop; describe their shared iconography, and analyse the peculiarities of male fans by studying their self-narratives. We conclude with a discussion on the need for studies of fandom to transcend national boundaries as exemplified by the advent of a ‘transatlantic connection’ linking fans in Spain and in Latin America via South Korea.

Keywords: halyu, fandom, latin america, korean popular culture
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From Film Stories to National Soft Power: Policies and Film Content of South Korea, Japan, and China
The Palgrave Handbook of Asian Cinema

During the past decade South Korea, Japan and China (PRC) have made significant strides in international film exports and their film industries have often been utilized as tools of cultural diplomacy. This chapter analyzes some of the most successful government policies, contrasts common cinematic themes in popular national films and evaluates films’ soft power potential in advancing diplomatic agendas. By examining the dominant cinematic narratives and offering a brief historical overview of their respective film industries, the research traces the most common trends and explores how popular films shape the perception of producers’ culture abroad. The issues of soft power and its implications for the relationship between the dominant genres and the idea of nation are discussed.

Keywords: soft power, film policy, china film, korean cinema, japanese blockbuster
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Pokémon Fandom as a Religion: Construction of Identity and Cultural Consumption in Hong Kong
Handbook of Research on the Impact of Fandom in Society and Consumerism

This chapter examines the fandom of Nintendo Switch’s Pokémon video game and its association with religion and identity-building. By means of semiotic analysis of the game’s content and in-depth inter-views with Hong Kong fans, the study examines the game’s narrative and its role in the construction of players’ social and religious identities. Using the functional framework of religion, it explores three major elements of the story: myth, ritual, and community. These three elements strengthen players’ investment with the game by projecting the animistic attachment towards Pokémon characters and imbuing them with a sense of spirit or anima. The chapter argues that the game’s animism is rooted in commodity-consumerism which uses emotive ties between people and things to encourage capitalist drives and encourage the sale of products. At the same time, by allowing its fans to create meaning and build a sense of connection with imaginary beings and likeminded fans, the game grants an escape from Hong Kong’s urban alienation and approaches a functional view of religion.

Keywords: fandom, Pokemon, Nintendo switch, consumerism
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Consumer Behavior and Popular Media: Multimodal Effects of a Documentary " The Men Who Made Us Fat "
International Journal of Social Science and Humanities Research

Using a dual coding theory, which proposes that verbal and non-verbal information is processed through different mental subsystems , the authors investigate the effects of cognitive dissonance in cases when the audiovisual media content communicates contradictory symbolic meanings. Although conventional wisdom suggests that a television program which highlights the negative effects of unhealthy foods would decrease consumers' loyalty to harmful products, we argue that the sight of food trumps other information and drives up the consumption. Contradictory effects were tested in a two-group posttest-only randomized experiment involving sixty-six participants and a clip from a popular BBC documentary called The Men Who Made Us Fat (MMF). The auditory information in the clip advocates the decrease in consumption of high fructose corn syrup (HFCS) but uses images of unhealthy foods and drinks to illustrate the topic. Results show that viewing the documentary increased the participants' knowledge about the harmful effects of HFCS while at the same failing to change their attitudes and consumption patterns. Further testing showed that audiences with prior affinity for HFCS products were more likely to choose them after exposure to the stimulus. Such results are consistent with predictions of the dual coding theory and highlight the importance of congruency in media's verbal and non-verbal information in promoting healthy habits.

Keywords: dual coding, food documentaries, consumerism, media effects
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Remembering the Homeland War and the Construction of Croatian National Identity 1995-2015
Thesis

Croatia’s “Victory and Homeland Thanksgiving Day” (VHTD) is a state-sponsored event that commemorates the 1995 reclaiming of Croatian territories and the end of the Yugoslav war in Croatia. During this live-broadcast spectacle, Croatian people are encouraged to symbolically participate in the holiday and to identify with the story it tells. Dayan and Katz describe media events like these as ‘occasions of the state’. They “are televised as they take place and transfix a nation or the world”. Such events are used to disseminate a dominant state ideology along with specific ideas regarding the nation’s history and its place in the geopolitical map. Using Media Events Theory and combining it with Jeffrey C. Alexander’s work in Social Performance, this thesis argues that VHTD imprints selective war memories into the collective consciousness and that such memories rely on anti-Serb sentiments and distortion of Croatia’s role in the WWII. Semiotic analysis of the footage from VHTD celebrations (1995-2015) along with interviews with Croatia’s two presidents, indicates that VHTD supports ultra-nationalistic ideas that have strengthened the hegemonic influence of the right-wing parties and the Catholic Church. The thesis also argues that VHTD, in its current format, perpetuates the animosity towards neighboring Serbia and creates a ground for future conflicts rather than reconciliation or healing of the cultural trauma caused by the homeland war

Keywords: cultural trauma, holiday television, Croatia nationalism, Victory Day, media history, media events