Regionalization through Media Consumption: The Consumption of Thai and Filipino Soap Operas among Vietnamese Audiences

Abstract

The research draws on the flows of media products from Thailand and the Philippines into Vietnam. The aim of this study is to analyze the rise of Thai and Filipino television dramas and their success in Vietnam; and to investigate the influence of such television dramas towards Vietnamese’s perception about Thailand and the Philippines. This research was implemented based on semi-structured and in-depth interviews with Vietnamese audiences, focusing on the perceptions of Vietnamese viewers aspects of gender, culture and national images towards Thailand and the Philippines. Thai and Filipino drama series have recently gained popularity and have been welcomed by a number of viewers in Vietnam. These transnational media flows reflect the regionalization progress in socio-economy when they coincidently emerge in the context of the ASEAN Economic Community (AEC) which promotes more integration among countries in the region. Through the consumption of Thai and Filipino television dramas expressed with images, ideas, and emotions, Vietnamese audiences can generate more understanding about the two member states of the Associations of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN). The paper argues that the aspects of cultural proximity and cultural differences Vietnamese audiences make towards watching Thai and Filipino dramas contribute to facilitate bottom-up regionalization in accordance with target of building a common ASEAN Community.