Abstract
Using lists of top 20 box office films in countries located in East Asia and Western Europe, I use the national origins of the most popular films in each country as an indication of the extent to which cultural flows of films are circulating among these countries. In contrast to other types of cultural flows, such as TV drama and music videos, cultural flows of films among countries in these regions are almost non-existent. American blockbuster films, national films and co-productions predominated on these lists. Two explanations for these findings are: (1) the world-wide domination of American films and the relatively un-competitive nature of regional film industries; (2) the fact that, unlike TV dramas, films cannot be adapted to specific audiences. Consequently, escapist American blockbusters, usually a form of science fiction, can be appreciated by regional audiences without adaptation while films from neighboring countries, dealing with personal, social and economic issues, cannot. One French film that imitated the typical American blockbuster was popular in both regions.
An earlier version of this paper was presented at the Conference on Asian Cultural Flows, Birbeck College, University of London, London, September 30, 2014.
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Crane, D. (2018). Cultural Flows and the Global Film Industry: A Comparison of Asia and Europe as Regional Cultures. In: Kawashima, N., Lee, HK. (eds) Asian Cultural Flows. Creative Economy. Springer, Singapore. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-981-10-0147-5_7
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