Abstract

The field of film studies worldwide has responded to globalization by shifting from the national cinema research model to transnational cinema and world cinema models. The chapters in this section address the impact of the era of globalization on film in the East Asian region. Yet, as each of them shows in different ways, the national continues to intersect with the transnational in shaping cinema production patterns and the kinds of films that are made. Not least, one of the defining features of the cultural nation—language—continues to combine with other elements of shared culture to shape patterns of film production and consumption in the region. Therefore, the section is composed of chapters addressing the cinema cultures that remain the three largest in the region: the Korean, Japanese, and Chinese cinemas.