Questioning Proximity

Abstract

abstractThe study of transnational cultural flows has been of continuing interest among media and communication researchers, with recent studies focusing on cultural flows within geographically and culturally adjacent nations. It is often suggested that the level of “cultural proximity” that exists determines the success of cultural exchange between countries regarded to possess similar cultural traits. This notion, that local audiences will have preference for cultural commodities from countries with which they share cultural ties in recognition of their own culture, has enjoyed much intellectual currency in recent times, especially in relation to analyses of regional media markets. The danger of using the cultural proximity thesis lies in the fact that, if cultural ‘resemblance’ is regarded to be the sole determinant of a foreign cultural commodity’s local acceptance without taking into consideration specific social and historical circumstances, what results may be an essentialist and shallow analysis. Based on a six-month interview-based study of East Asian TV drama fans in Indonesia, this paper critically examines the use of the cultural proximity model in determining the reasons behind successful local acceptance of imported cultural commodities. The paper proposes that in-depth audience research will need to be conducted in order to understand the sorts of resonances local audiences experience when consuming transnational cultural commodities.