Cinema and the Cultural Cold War: US Diplomacy and the Origins of the Asian Cinema Network.

• Author: Lee, Sang Joon

During the Cold War, the U.S. government's cultural foreign policy directions were shaped by the threat of the expansion of communism throughout various regions of the world, and South Asia was no exception. The establishment of the People's Republic of China and the outbreak of the Korean War, in particular, motivated the U.S. government to construct a U.S.-driven 'free Asia' bloc in the region (p. 3). Cinema and the Cultural Cold War: US Diplomacy and the Origins of the Asian Cinema Network examines the economic, political, socio-cultural, and institutional construction of the postwar Asian cinema network, which intended to develop an alliance of anti-communist film producers in Asia. Sang Joon Lee argues that Asian film industries were affected by transnational conflict between newly sovereign and colonial countries, with prominent financial and managerial support from U.S.-based organizations.

The power of films for disseminating ideologies and lifestyles was noticed a long time ago by the U.S. government. A great deal of research has been published about the U.S. government's propaganda programs and about Cold War institutions oriented toward influencing public opinion, especially under the Truman-Eisenhower Administrations. Additionally, within the scope of soft power policies, the ways in which CIA-funded intellectual efforts were used as a weapon against the communist bloc have been variously analyzed. But surprisingly, very few studies have concentrated on the close relationship between the U.S.' foreign cultural policy and Asian cinema during the cultural Cold War. In Cinema and the Cultural Cold War, the U.S. cultural diplomacy in Asia during the Cold War is discussed from a different point of view, and Sang Joon Lee contributes to the English-language literature based upon this unique topic.

The book is divided into two main parts, which complete each other by addressing the discussion on different levels. The first part, titled "The First Network," focuses on the Asia Foundation (TAF)'s establishment process, prominent mission, key staff, and socio-political background, in addition to the TAF's annual Asian Film Festival and its parent organization, the Federation of Motion Picture Producers in Southeast Asia (FPA), from 1953 to the early 1960s. Given the U.S. government's belief that it was necessary to construct an alliance against communism, Asian countries such as the Philippines, Indonesia, South Korea, Taiwan, and Japan...