CFP for Issue 4.2
Call for Papers for a special issue of Global Storytelling: Journal of Digital and Moving Images 4.2 (December 2024)
Netflix and East Asian Audio-visual Culture
Special Issue Editors: Dr. Dal Yong Jin (Simon Fraser University), Dr. Ying Zhu (Hong Kong Baptist University)
In the early 21st century, Netflix fundamentally shifted the delivery model for global audio-visual content, and its unique characteristic as a program curator has made it a cultural mediator with the ability to shape local content productions. As global OTT (over-the-top) platforms, including Netflix and Disney+, play a pivotal role in cultural production, East Asian cultural products such as dramas, reality shows, films, and animation have experienced changes in genres, themes, visual style, and narratives. Netflix originals or licensed cultural programs are circulated simultaneously in many countries, compelling local cultural creators to adjust their production norms to attract Netflix and Netflix users. In South Korea, for example, the local audio-visual industry started to develop zombie, sci-fi, adventure, and dark thriller; and there are now a multitude of television dramas and films that focus on these genres and themes in the era of global OTTs. Netflix has also driven in changes in audiences' consumption habits in Hong Kong, Singapore, and other countries. East Asian cultural creators have re-oriented their standards in cultural production. On the other hand, Netflix has also been on the constant lookout for new genres and themes that have proven successful elsewhere including in East Asia. In Japan, for instance, based on the global success of several Anime products, Netflix plans to develop live-action and animated feature films originating from the country.
The ongoing evolution of global OTT platforms asks scholars from diverse fields, including media/cultural studies, film studies, area studies, sociology, and anthropology, to entertain under-addressed issues and explore new approaches in understanding digital platforms’ effect in the East Asian cultural sphere and beyond. This special issue will zoom in on the impact of Netflix in tandem with Asian popular culture and the dynamic interplay between Netflix and local cultural creators. We welcome contributions that use a case studies approach to address recent developments and help unpack our understanding of East Asian popular culture and OTT platforms. Through interdisciplinary and transnational discussions, we hope to shed light on current debates and place them in perspectives that have relevance for future transnational cultural and audio-visual media studies.
Topics of interest include, but are not limited to:
Shifts in cultural genres and themes in the Netflix era
New opportunities and challenges for East Asian creators
Cultural analysis of Netflix originals
Comparison studies between East Asian countries in audio-visual images in the Netflix era
Netflix’s effects on East Asian content
Critical understanding of Netflix in the East Asian cultural industries
Global and transmedia storytelling strategies in the era of global OTTs
Emerging global OTT celebrities and audience cultures
Special Issue Details
1. Abstract Submission: November 15, 2023
Abstracts should be written in English and should be submitted as PDF files. An abstract of no less than 500 words and a 150-word scholarly bio should be submitted to Dal Yong Jin (djin@sfu.ca). We will notify the accepted abstracts at the end of November 2023. The length of the paper will be between 6,000-10,000 words.
2. Full paper Submission: March 1, 2024.
3. Expected Publication Date: December 2024.
4. The publication venue: Global Storytelling: Journal of Digital and Moving Images, which is published by Michigan Publishing Service,