Read on Twitter
Okay I’ve been thinking for days about why this twt bothers me so much, and here is my opinion from a soft power scholar perspective https://twitter.com/tamarwrites/status/1274531852829765632
1) it is true that popular media can be levied as a source of power politically (Nye’s soft power) however, the effectiveness has proven to be undercut by many factors such as the products not retaining enough cultural identity to act as a source of cultural influence (Iwabuchi)
Additionally there is no guarantee that those consuming this medium will be affected in the way that the country intends, and if the message is in conflict with the foreign policy of that country it will also lose its effectiveness
Moreover there have been many instances of the pop. media having an opposite effect ex. Colin Gray on the hatred of American products in the Middle East
In summary, while soft power has some kind of influence it is unpredictable, nearly impossible to measure and very difficult to plan
And 2) soft power is a form of pol. power used by a country to influence those living in a foreign country therefore it is political at the level of foreign relations and that country’s reputation abroad amongst foreign audiences
THEREFORE this cannot be used as an excuse that an individual consuming that cultural is political! It says nothing about the quality of that individual and whether or not they are political! Country level influence is not the same as the opinions of that individual
I’m not entirely sure in what context this twt was meant, but if you are to look at it from a soft power perspective (a term which I have heard many kpop fans throwing around) then it doesn’t make any sense to make this claim (end)
