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Papers by Karl Ian Cheng Chua

Philippine Studies: Historical and Ethnographic Viewpoints, 2024

Springer eBooks, 2022

This chapter deals with a critical reading of manga focusing on the theme of migration within Jap... more This chapter deals with a critical reading of manga focusing on the theme of migration within Japan. The analysis looks at how Filipino migration to Japan is not only gendered but has shifted depending on the receiving country’s needs. One would expect that a dynamic medium such as manga would match the changing profile of the migrant Filipino, especially with manga whose purpose is to teach Japanese readers of the diversity within their communities. However, these manga fail in this representation as they freeze the community at the second wave of Filipino migration. This problematizes the image of Filipinos, flattening their diversity into a single image. This study poses questions about Japan’s multicultural policies and how they address the country’s minorities.KeywordsMigrationJapanPhilippineMangaRepresentation

Kyoto Review of Southeast Asia, 2023

Japan has always been a trusted partner of the Philippines. Yet, this has not been easy consideri... more Japan has always been a trusted partner of the Philippines. Yet, this has not been easy considering its war past. With the recent assassination of Prime Minister Abe, this spurred so many commemorative messages of thanks from both the Philippine government and civil society. Recent memory recalls Abe as the "cool" Japanese Prime Minister that cosplayed as Super Mario during the closing of the Rio Olympics as the host of the 2020 Tokyo Olympics. While the bilateral relationship mutually benefited for security and aid, this paper will look at how this relationship also mutually benefited their country's problematic leaders with their domestic politics. Abe, despite being one of the longest serving Prime Ministers would be plagued by domestic controversies. On the other hand, with the Philippines electing Rodrigo Duterte, his controversial yet populist term. Through the public amicable relationship, both governments present to their publics that they are internationally supported, thus appeasing their supporters. In the end, this is a relationship that needs to be maintained by the Philippines to legitimate its own leadership to its citizens.

Japanese Animation in Asia, 2021

Studies on the success of Japanese popular culture overseas, particularly anime and manga, have o... more Studies on the success of Japanese popular culture overseas, particularly anime and manga, have often been linked to Japan’s soft power within the discipline of International Relations or, more recently, with Japanese industries’ media mix in cultural studies. However, in both cases, the emphasis is on Japan’s (whether the state or the industry) active involvement in the promotion of popular culture abroad. Furthermore, the role of the consuming country is subsumed to be a mere recipient. This chapter presents an alternative perspective by highlighting how the consuming country, its industry and its consumers, played active roles in the importation of Japanese popular culture content and merchandise through legal/illegal means. To highlight this phenomenon, the case study of the Philippines will be presented, beginning with the importation of Chōdenji Machine Voltes V or Voltes V in the 1970s by the television network GMA-7, in search for cheap content to fill its programming. Commercial venues which can distribute merchandise, such as Kinokuniya and Animate, and anime conventions, did not exist in the country until the year 2000, despite their presence in other Southeast Asian countries such as Singapore, Malaysia, Thailand and Indonesia. This proves that in the Philippines a different pathway was followed throughout which anime became ubiquitious in the country.

Routledge, Aug 18, 2022

The Philippines has a rich history of creative and artistic responses to oppressive regimes. From... more The Philippines has a rich history of creative and artistic responses to oppressive regimes. From political satires to enigmatic anthems, Filipino artists have utilised various forms of art and media to interrogate and critique governments that constrict Filipino civil liberties. In the last five years, despite advances in gender and development policies, President Rodrigo Duterte and other public officials have expressed misogynistic and homophobic attitudes that have coloured public and political opinion against the advancement of the Sexual Orientation and Gender Identity and Expression (SOGIE) Bill. In this chapter, we examine the artistic responses of two comic artists, Dead Balagtas and Dee Ayroso, and their efforts to disrupt these pervading sexist and homophobic discourses through their works and create safe spaces both online and offline. Using methods in comic studies alongside ethnographic approaches that examine digital and offline relationships and interactions between the artists and their audience, we explore the power of affect in activism and the importance of multimodal social engagements in activism.

Page 1. CHAPTER 1 Introduction World War II, especially the Japanese occupation of the Philippine... more Page 1. CHAPTER 1 Introduction World War II, especially the Japanese occupation of the Philippines, has been a popular topic of research for scholars in Philippine studies. Many books have been written about it, numbers ...

This book examines both history textbook controversies AND teaching historical controversy in Asi... more This book examines both history textbook controversies AND teaching historical controversy in Asian contexts. The different perspectives provided by the book’s authors offer numerous insights, examples, and approaches for understanding historical controversy to provide a practical gold mine for scholars and practitioners. The book provides case studies of history textbook controversies ranging from treatments of the Nanjing Massacre to a comparative treatment of Japanese occupation in Vietnamese and Singaporean textbooks to the differences in history textbooks published by secular and Hindu nationalist governments in India. It also offers a range of approaches for teaching historical controversy in classrooms. These include Structured Academic Controversy, the use of Japanese manga, teaching controversy through case studies, student facilitated discussion processes, and discipline-based approaches that can be used in history classrooms. The book’s chapters will help educational researchers and curricularists consider new approaches for curriculum design, curriculum study, and classroom research.

The Palgrave Handbook of Ethnicity, 2019

Border Crossings: The Journal of Japanese-Language Literature Studies, 2017

Journal of Graphic Novels and Comics, 2018

here, scattered throughout the book. Chute mentions the Hogan’s Alley (Yellow Kid) and Krazy Kat ... more here, scattered throughout the book. Chute mentions the Hogan’s Alley (Yellow Kid) and Krazy Kat strips and the impact of Frederic Wertham’s crusades. Her narrations of the history of underground comics and gay comics are inspired and sensitively textured. With so much coverage, the book might have suffered from an encyclopedic feel – every major topic touched upon but without much depth. But it doesn’t. This is a book which could very well serve as an introduction to comics for the uninitiated. Indeed, it may represent the best available title for that particular purpose. For the scholar who has already ingested a surfeit of comics criticism, Chute’s confident prose will attract interest and invite cogitation. Her admiration of Alison Bechdel in particular is infectious. Chute highlights the ‘elegant but promiscuous view of time’ (370) in Fun House (Bechdel 2007). She then dissects a particularly stirring image, ‘bisected by the seam of the page’ (371) which is also reproduced. In it, Bechdel has drawn her own oversized hand holding a photograph, meticulously reproduced, of her father’s; an erotic photograph Bechdel’s male babysitter, which Bechdel found after her father’s suicide. When she found it, Bechdel realized that her father had been gay. Chute highlights the contrasting visual representation styles and the placement of text boxes across the image: ‘The placement of the irregular boxes – each of these boxes is a different size – over the drawing of the standard-size photograph reflects both Bechdel’s confusion and also her own medium’s disruption, with the overlaid layers of meaning offered by comics, of her father’s perfectly framed, wordless moment’ (374). As this passage demonstrates, Why Comics? is engaging and insightful. It deserves wide readership.

Japan Forum, 2015

Abstract Shōnen kurabu (Boys' Club) was a monthly magazine geared towards young Japanese boys... more Abstract Shōnen kurabu (Boys' Club) was a monthly magazine geared towards young Japanese boys, founded in 1914. Managed by the Dai Nihon Yūbenkai Kōdansha (present day Kōdansha), the magazine was transformed to become a popular read and Japan's bestselling children's magazine, educating and moulding young minds. Aside from stories and educational information, splashed across the magazine were several pages of manga, which not only entertained the young readers, but also functioned to provide them with a view of the contemporary world. This study will focus on how manga in the magazine represented the non-Japanese other of the South Seas (Nan'yō), China, and its inhabitants. These representations contrasted stereotypes of ‘savage’ black natives and cowardly inept Chinese with Japanese as members of ‘white’ civilization and natural leaders of Asia. The study argues that through the manga, the magazine was able to influence its readers, who would become future adults, and hence helped to shape the future of Japanese society.

Social Transformations: Journal of the Global South, 2013

Bijdragen tot de taal-, land- en volkenkunde / Journal of the Humanities and Social Sciences of Southeast Asia, 2013

Philippine Studies: Historical and Ethnographic Viewpoints, 2024

Springer eBooks, 2022

Kyoto Review of Southeast Asia, 2023

Japanese Animation in Asia, 2021

Routledge, Aug 18, 2022

The Palgrave Handbook of Ethnicity, 2019

Border Crossings: The Journal of Japanese-Language Literature Studies, 2017

Journal of Graphic Novels and Comics, 2018

Japan Forum, 2015

Social Transformations: Journal of the Global South, 2013

Bijdragen tot de taal-, land- en volkenkunde / Journal of the Humanities and Social Sciences of Southeast Asia, 2013

Philippine Political Science Journal, 2014

Journal of Southeast Asian Studies, 2020

Philippine Studies: Historical and Ethnographic Viewpoints

Transnationalism in East and Southeast Asian Comics Art, 2022

The Courteous Power: Japan and Southeast Asia in the Indo-Pacific Era, 2021

Japanese Animation in Asia: Transnational Industry, Audiences, and Success, 2021

Studies on the success of Japanese popular culture overseas, particularly anime and manga, have o... more Studies on the success of Japanese popular culture overseas, particularly anime and manga, have often been linked to Japan’s soft power within the discipline of International Relations or, more recently, with Japanese industries’ media mix in cultural studies. However, in both cases, the emphasis is on Japan’s (whether the state or the industry) active involvement in the promotion of popular culture abroad. Furthermore, the role of the consuming country is subsumed to be a mere recipient. This chapter presents an alternative perspective by highlighting how the consuming country, its industry and its consumers, played active roles in the importation of Japanese popular culture content and merchandise through legal/illegal means. To highlight this phenomenon, the case study of the Philippines will be presented,
beginning with the importation of Chōdenji Machine Voltes V or Voltes V in the 1970s by the television network GMA-7, in search for cheap content to fill its programming. Commercial venues which can distribute merchandise, such as Kinokuniya and Animate, and anime conventions, did not exist in the country until the year 2000, despite their presence in other Southeast Asian countries such as Singapore, Malaysia, Thailand and Indonesia. This proves that in the Philippines a different pathway was followed throughout which anime became ubiquitious in the country.

The Palgrave Handbook of Ethnicity, 2019

The Japanese are often depicted in as one of the countries worst villains in Filipino history tex... more The Japanese are often depicted in as one of the countries worst villains in Filipino history textbooks despite the fact that they were in the Philippines for only 3 years, while Spanish colonial rule lasted almost 400 years, and the Americans, 40 years. However, when we look beyond formal education, at images of the occupation period in movies, memoirs, television shows, and other forms of popular media, different views of the Japanese often emerge. Instead of demonizing them, a number of accounts seek to distinguish "good" and "kind" Japanese from their "brutal" or "evil" compatriots. Popular Filipino accounts of the war thus convey complex and often contradictory images of Japan. This chapter aims to present how the Japanese were represented in the Philippine children's literature in the present, when relations with Japan have

Global Manga: Japanese' Comics without Japan, 2015

To a degree, Philippine komiks has always been highly associated with American culture since it b... more To a degree, Philippine komiks has always been highly associated with American culture since it began during the American occupation of the Philippines. There is an inherent understanding that komiks is a byproduct of American colonial
life. The ease in which komiks became an integral form of entertainment during post-war Philippines reflects the willingness of local society to accept and absorb American culture. In fact, the cultural historians consider the post-war success of local komiks as the Golden Age of Philippine komiks. This eagerness to learn and succeed in all things American takes its roots in Philippine society’s drive to be considered equals by their former colonizers. This too is seen in the locally noted successes of particular komik artists in the American comic industry such as Alfredo P. Alcala who illustrated for Conan the Barbarian (1982-89), Whilce Portacio who became a co-founder of Image Comics (1992), and Gerry Alanguilan who is known as an inker for Marvel comics since 1996.

This paper examines the development of Pinoy manga as a komik aesthetic in the Philippines, the challenges this comic movement has faced within the local komik community, the space it is trying to generate for fans whose tastes and interests are shifting, and how Pinoy manga reflects the comic culture of the Philippines.

Japan and Southeast Asia: Continuity and Change in Modern Times, 2014

During the 1930's, a period of flux in Japan, two comic series were published in a popular monthl... more During the 1930's, a period of flux in Japan, two comic series were published in a popular monthly magazine for boys called Shônen Kurabu (少年倶楽部). The first one is the work of Shimada Keizô (島田啓三) entitled Bôken Dankichi (冒険ダン吉) or “The Adventurous Boy, Dankichi.” The series revolves around the adventures of a Japanese boy named Dankichi who accidentally drifts to the “South Seas” and becomes king. The second is Tagawa Suihô's (田河水泡) Norakuro (のらくろ) series. The main character of this series is a stray dog named Norakuro who enters the Japanese army and despite his foibles is promoted to Captain. The campaigns of his troop have them fight against various creatures and would eventually lead them to China. In both instances, the stories portray a form of adventure somewhere and an encounter with somebody or somebodies. In the case of Dankichi, an island in the South Seas with his “Dankichi Tribe” and with Norakuro, his campaigns and his enemies. Young Japanese boys would eagerly purchase the magazine to find out what had happened to their heroes, where they ended up this time or did they win against so-and-so. In the process, these children develop an image of the worlds of Dankichi and Norakuro. Through a study of a popular medium, such as comics, which was utilized to propagate the imageries, one can understand the machinations of Japanese society during the 1930's. Using the comic series, the paper would like to study and analyze how the “other” was illustrated and depicted in the stories in the hopes of uncovering whether the consumption of these representations had an impact on Japanese society during the 1930's.

magining Japan in Post-War East Asia: Identity Politics, Schooling and Popular Culture, 2013

Controversial History Education in Asian Contexts, 2014

Colonialism and Modernity

Both the writing of Philippine history and its legitimacy have been a point of argument among his... more Both the writing of Philippine history and its legitimacy have been a point of argument among historians of the Philippines. Jose Rizal’s maxim, “He who does not know how to look back at where he came from will never get to his destination,” had underwritten the importance of history as narrative in nation building, the writing of which proves to be quite challenging after a nation emerges from a difficult event in its making. Not only was the task of rebuilding the Philippines after World War II a massive project, for example, but the rewriting of its history was equally so. To gain legitimacy, formal education in history took a nationalist turn to appeal to the people in the post-independence period. Historians wrote grand narratives which spoke of a Philippines “discovered” and “civilized” by the Spanish, “developed” by the Americans, and “destroyed” by the Japanese. While such an emplotment seemed apropos for the immediate postwar period, this grand narrative, at least as reproduced in textbooks used in formal education, has not changed much since its inception. As the Philippines surges into contemporary times, the new scholarship supplementing (as well as critiquing) it has arisen, generating new perspectives that such a predominant emplotment has yet to accommodate. Through a consideration of contemporary texts in both formal and informal education, catering to young readers, this essay aims to evaluate the limitations of the prevailing narrative, specifically concerning the Japanese occupation period in Philippine history.