Sharon A. Carstens

Constructing transnational identities? Mass media and the Malaysian Chinese audience

This article examines the influence of Chinese transnational mass media, in particular television, videos, and films, on the creation of transnational Chinese identities among Malaysian Chinese. Drawing on ethnographic research and surveys of adults and high school students in four Malaysian cities, it argues that local audiences distinguish clearly between the various forms of transnational Chinese media produced in Hong Kong, Taiwan, and China. Although preferences for different types of transnational media vary among viewers in terms of age, gender, educational background, and place of residence in Malaysia, Hong Kong productions are clearly the most popular. Similarities between the experiences and perspectives of Hong Kong and Malaysian Chinese are examined as possible explanations for this preference.