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    • News and Updates
    • About Me
    • Bio
    • Hollywood Made in China
    • Consulting
    • Popular writing
    • Current Positions
    • Sign Up
    • Reviews of Hollywood Made in China
    • Selected TV Appearances
    • Scholarly Articles
    • Upcoming Appearances
    • Grants and Fellowships
    • Select Radio and Podcast Appearances
    • Select Print Coverage
    • Features
    • Book Events
    • Connect on Social Media
    • Twitter Updates
    • Awards & Recognition - Hidden bc combined with Reviews -AZ
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      • Recent News and Updates

        US Defenders of Democracy Have Much Work to Do at Home

        Op-Ed in the SCMP

        How Joe Biden can help Hollywood compete with China

        Op-Ed in Nikkei Asia

        How does Hollywood Change for China?

        New Article in Journal of Chinese Cinemas

        China already has your data. Trump’s TikTok and WeChat bans can’t stop that.

        Op-Ed in The Washington Post

        ‘Mulan’ is a movie about how much Hollywood needs China

        Op-Ed in The Washington Post

      • About Me

        I research and write about US-China Media and Tech Relations

        Aynne Kokas is an associate professor of media studies at the University of Virginia and a senior faculty fellow at the Miller Center for Public Affairs. Her multiple-award-winning first book, Hollywood Made in China (University of California Press, 2017) argues that Chinese investment and regulations have transformed the US commercial media industry. Her next book project Data Trafficking: The United States, China, and the Global Battle for Data Security examine the policy implications of the transfer of consumer data between the United States and China. Kokas' research has also appeared in Information, Communication, and Society, Journal of Asian Studies, PLOS One, and others. Kokas is a term member of the Council on Foreign Relations. Funding agencies including Fulbright, the Library of Congress, the Social Science Research Council, the Mellon Foundation, the National Endowment for the Humanities, the Abe Fellowship Program and others have supported her research. Kokas’ writing and commentary have appeared in forty-eight countries and eleven languages.

      • Hollywood Made in China examines how the Chinese market has transformed US commercial media.

         

        *Reviewed and/or featured in media in 48 countries and eleven languages

         

        * Best Non-fiction Title, 2018 Next Generation Indie Book Awards

         

        * Best Academic Title, 2018 Chinese American Librarian Association

         

        * Chinese translation forthcoming with Gingko Press, Beijing

         

        Click here for a video intro to the book courtesy of Chinafile

      • Commercial and Non-profit Advising

        I love sharing my research with students, scholars, journalists, and corporate partners. I am happy to speak over the phone, via Zoom, or in person. Below please find the best ways to reach out.

        Commercial Advising

        Drawing from over twenty years of experience in corporate, policy, and academic contexts in the United States and China, I have a consulting practice that serves corporate and commercial clients. If you would like to set up a fee-based Zoom consultation, please sign up here. If you would like to discuss a longer-term project, please email me at ak3ff@virginia.edu.

        Expert commentary

        If you are a journalist who would like me to provide expert commentary for a story, please click here to make an appointment. If you are on deadline and need to speak quickly, I can be reached on Twitter @AynneKokas. For background on the Sino-US media collaborations, I can highly recommend my book, this video synopsis of my work, or this short interview about the current state of Sino-US media relations.

        Research meetings

        If you are a student or colleague who would like to set up a time to discuss our shared research interests, please email me at ak3ff@virginia.edu or ping me on Twitter @AynneKokas.

      • Popular Writing

        “How Joe Biden Can Help Hollywood Compete with China.” Nikkei Asia, January 9, 2021.

        "US Defenders of Democracy Have Much Work to Do at Home.” South China Morning Post, January 8, 2021.

        “TikTok Deal Puts Japan between a Rock and a Hard Place.” Nikkei Asia, October 31, 2020.

        ‘Mulan’ is a movie about how much Hollywood needs China, Washington Post, September 9, 2020

        China already has your data. Trump’s TikTok and WeChat bans can’t stop that, Washington Post, August 11, 2020

        ‘Parasite’ was a triumph for a film industry trapped between the U.S. and China, Washington Post, February 11, 2020

         

        China's filmmakers will never please Beijing enough, Nikkei Asian Review, April 26, 2019

        How China is using science fiction to sell Beijing’s vision of the future, Washington Post, March 13, 2019

        U.S. Responses to Chinese Influence Operations in the United States: Hearing before the Foreign Affairs Subcommittee on Asia and the Pacific, House of Representatives, 115th Cong. (2018) (Testimony of Aynne Kokas).

      • CURRENT AND FORMER POSITIONS

         

        Abe Fellow

        Aug 2019 - July 2021

        Examining the cybersecurity policy implications of the Sino-US data trade on Japan

         

        National Endowment for the Humanities Fellow

        September 2019 - August 2020

        Examining the cybersecurity policy implications of the Sino-US data trade

         

        Kluge Center, Library of Congress

        Fellow

        October 2019 – August 2020

        Examining the cybersecurity policy implications of the Sino-US data trade

        Council on Foreign Relations

        Term Member 

        Jun 2016 – Present

        Advisory Committee Member, 2019-Present

        Member of a program designed to cultivate the next generation of foreign policy leaders

         

        University of Virginia

        Assistant Professor of Media Studies 

        Aug 2014 – Present

        Research, write and teach about collaborations between Chinese and American media and technology corporations

         

        James A. Baker III Institute for Public Policy -- Rice University

        Non-resident Scholar in Chinese Media 

        Aug 2014 – Present

        Conduct policy research on Sino-US media and technology collaborations for Baker Institute China Studies Program

      • Sign up for My Email List

        For periodic updates on my research, writing and speaking sign up below.

        Submit
      • Awards and Recognition

        Hollywood Made in China was selected as a finalist for the Montaigne Medal, Eric Hoffer Awards. Less than 3% of 1600 books were selected for the honor.

         

        Hollywood Made in China was reviewed and/or featured in media in 45 countries and ten languages from its publication to the present.

         

        Hollywood Made in China was named Best General Non-Fiction Book at the 2018 Next Generation Indie Book Awards.

         

        Hollywood Made in China was chosen as Best Scholarly Monograph at the Chinese American Librarian Association.

         

        Hollywood in China was a finalist for the Frank Luther Mott-Kappa Tau Alpha Journalism & Mass Communication Award.

         

        Reviews of Hollywood Made in China

        • China Review (Hong Kong University Press)
        • Modern Chinese Literature and Culture (Ohio State)
        • China Review International (University of Hawaii Press)
        • China Film Insider
        • Pacific Standard
        • Council on Foreign Relations Asia Unbound podcast
      • Selected Television Appearances

        Bloomberg Technology

        Discussing TikTok and Microsoft

        CNBC Squawk Box

        Discussing US-China Film Treaty

        PBS' Great Decisions

        Episode: "Made in China"

        PBS' Coy Barefoot Show

      • Articles

        Contact me for copies

        Producing Global China: The Great Wall and How China’s
        Visibility is Changing Representation

         

        Here I examine how the expanded role of the Chinese market, both in terms of audience size and financing, has both reasserted hegemonic Hollywood genre and talent selection and asserted hegemonic Chinese standards.

         

        Kokas, Aynne. (2019). Producing Global China: The Great Wall and How China’s
        Visibility is Changing Representation. Journal of Chinese Cinemas, Volume
        13, Issue 3. pp. 215-229. https://doi.org/10.1080/17508061.2019.1678485

        Serious Chemistry on Set: The Molecular Geography of the Chinese Film Industry

         

        Here I argue that the competing features that attract commercial capital investment and drive state centralization create a molecular structure of national film investment, or the division of investment in the film industry into several interdependent centers.

         

        Kokas, Aynne. (2019). Serious Chemistry on Set: The Molecular Geography of the Chinese Film Industry. International Journal of Cultural Policy,
        https://doi.org/10.1080/10286632.2019.1614568

        Chilling Netflix: financialization, and the influence of the Chinese market on the American entertainment industry

         

        Here I argue that the financial interests of US-based online entertainment platforms are magnifying the financial growth of Chinese competitors due to focus by US firms on short-term shareholder value.

         

        Kokas, Aynne. 2018. "Chilling Netflix: financialization, and the influence of the Chinese market on the American entertainment industry." Information, Communication & Society. https://doi.org/10.1080/1369118X.2018.1510534

         

        Popular feature on article: https://investorplace.com/2019/10/china-influence-help-iqiyi-iq-stock/

        Platform Patrol: China, the United States, and the Global Battle for Data Security

         

        Here I argue that the financial interests of US-based platforms are amplifying the global impact of Chinese domestic cybersecurity regulations.

         

        Kokas, Aynne. 2018. "Platform Patrol: China, the United States, and the Global Battle for Data Security." Journal of Asian Studies 77 (4):923-933.

        Predicting Volatility Between China and Hollywood

         

        Here I argue that the comparative fragmentation of media regulatory power in the US, despite long benefiting Hollywood studios, makes them susceptible to Chinese government efforts to expand media soft power.

         

        Aynne Kokas, “Predicting Volatility Between China and Hollywood: Using Network Management to Understand Sino-US Film Collaboration, Global Media and Communication, Advance Online Publication, https://doi.org/10.1177/1742766518759797

        Inferring Atmospheric Particulate Matter Concentrations from Chinese Social Media Data

        We constructed an "Air Discussion Index" to estimate daily particulate matter counts based upon Sina Weibo (Chinese Twitter) content.

         

        Tao Zhu, Aynne Kokas, Rui Zhang, Dan Cohan, and Dan Wallach PLOS ONE 11(9) 2016

        “Freedom Edition”: Considering Sony Pictures and The Interview

        Led by Joshua Braun, we convened a dialogue in response to the recent public and media discourse surrounding the security breach at Sony Pictures Entertainment and its film, The Interview focusing on North Korea, cybersecurity, and digital distribution.

         

        Aynne Kokas, Chuck Tryon, Hugh Gusterson, and Joshua Braun  Journal of Broadcasting and Electronic Media 60 (4) 2016

      • 2020 Appearances

        November 12: "'Wolf Warriors' and Hollywood: Public Diplomacy and Soft Power in a Time of Deteriorating U.S.-Chinese Relations," Baker Institute: 2020 Election Series

        October 21: "A digital cold war? China and the US Post-COVID." TPI Aspen Forum 2020,

        August 5: "Made In Hollywood, Censored By Beijing" Panel, USC US-China Institute

        July 15: “Is Seeing Still Believing? Synthetic Media and Illiberal Uses of Technology,” CNAS 2020 National Security Conference: The America Competes Summer Series

        July 9: “Term Member Council Chat: A Summer of Protests: U.S.-China Relations Viewed Through Hong Kong,” Council on Foreign Relations

        July 8: “Hollywood Made in China” Department of State Conflict Stabilization
        Operations PRC Working Group

        May 4: Miller Center for Public Affairs China Conference, Charlottesville, VA

        April 25-26: National Committee on US-China Relations Silicon Valley Conference, Palo Alto, CA

        April 16-18: Media Industries Conference, London, UK

        March 26: Live Testimony in United States Senate Commerce Committee, Security Subcommittee

        March 19: United States Department of State Ralph J. Bunche Library Speakers Series, 12-1 pm.

        February 11: George Washington University School of Media and Public Affairs

      • Grants and Fellowships

        • 2019-2020 National Endowment of Humanities Fellow
        • 2019-2020 Kluge Fellow at the Library of Congress
        • 2019-2021 Abe Fellow
        • 2018-2019 Institute for Humanities and Global Cultures Mellon Fellowship
        • Miller Center of Public Affairs Faculty Senior Fellow
        • National Committee on US-China Relations Congressional Liaison in Media and Technology (to lead a group of Congressional staffers on a delegation to China to examine the Chinese media and technology industries in August 2018)
        • National Endowment of Humanities Object Lessons Fellowship
        • Woodrow Wilson Center for International Scholars 
      • Selected Radio Coverage

        Radio

        • CBC Radio brought a northern perspective to the China-Hollywood debate. We discuss why Canadian Ryan Reynolds' Deadpool failed to enter China's film market.
        • KABC-LA's Peter Tilden and I discussed what people in Hollywood need to know about Chinese investment (March 8, from 18:00).
        • "Background Briefing with Ian Masters" on KPFK 90.7 LA.
        • Interview with the Australian Broadcasting Company.
        • I spoke to Marco Werman of PRI's The World on "What happened to Fan Bingbing?"

        • I discussed Hollywood's inroads into China as a part of "Lights, Camera, Action: China Embraces Hollywood" on SiriusXM's Knowledge@Wharton

      • Select Print Media Coverage

        United States

        Pacific Standard lauds Hollywood Made in China for jointly mapping "the business of culture, and the culture of business."

         

        I spoke with NBC News about some of the challenges being posed by China's growing media influence.

         

        In conjunction with other Chinese media scholars, I discuss the long-term prospects for Chinese investment in Hollywood on ChinaFile.

         

        As part of an article by Public Radio International, I explain how China is using its economic leverage to shape Hollywood filmmaking.

        Asia-Pacific Region

        I was able to share my work with Japanese readers when Business Insider Japan published an excerpt of Hollywood Made in China translated from the US edition.

         

        Indonesian paper Tirto also quoted me the relationship between China and Hollywood in an article examining its implications for Southeast Asia.

         

        Apple Daily in Hong Kong and Taiwan covered my talk at the National Committee on US-China Relations, writing about the ways in which Hollywood changes for China.

        Europe and Latin America

        The Financial Times drew on arguments from Hollywood Made in China when analyzing Dalian Wanda's growth in the newspaper's English and Chinese versions.

         

        Medium Italia translated and published my comments on the significance of China's first USD 150 million budget film.

      • Selected Features

         

        South China Morning Post. “Hollywood Losing China Market to Chinese Films. World Next?,” January 1, 2020.

         

        Yuhas, Alan. “Why ‘Star Wars’ Keeps Bombing in China” New York Times, January 14, 2020.

         

        Pallotta, Frank. “Disney’s ‘Mulan’ Was Supposed to Be a Big Hit in China. The Coronavirus Could Threaten That.” CNN Business, February 13, 2020.

         

        Chen, Phoebe. “What Does Hollywood Lose When It Works With China?” The Nation, March 3, 2020.

         

        Marketplace. “The New Coronavirus Shut down the Chinese Movie Industry,” March 6, 2020.

         

        Zhou, Marrian. “Disney’s China Push Derailed with Delay of ‘Mulan’ Release.” Nikkei Asian Review, March 14, 2020.

         

        Jones, Claire. “OPEC Virtual Summit.” BBC World Service. March 25, 2020

         

        Lee, Elizabeth. “Coronavirus Pandemic Deals Blow to US, China Film Industries.” Voice of America, March 25, 2020.

         

        USA Today. “Foreign Policy Experts Call for End to Hate Crimes against Asian American Community: Readers.” USA TODAY, April 15, 2020.

         

        Zhou, Marrian. Nikkei Asian Review. “When China’s Massive Fan-Economy Goes Wrong.” Accessed May 11, 2020. .

         

        Tang, Jane. “受疫情重创 中国影视业如何自救?.” Radio Free Asia, May 8, 2020.

         

        Ruwitch, John. “Chinese Communist Party Uses Scenes Of Violent Protests In The U.S. For Propaganda.” NPR. June 2, 2020.

         

        The Wilson Center. 50th Episode! Need to Know Podcast, 2020.

         

        Feng, Zhaoyin. “China Takes a Victory Lap over US Protests.” BBC News, June 5, 2020, sec. US & Canada.

         

        Li, Jane. “Academics Fear Using Zoom to Study China—Even in the US.” Quartz.

         

        Lang, Brent, and Elaine Low. “Will Coronavirus Create a Debt Crisis for Movie Theaters?” Variety (blog), July 7, 2020.

         

        Garsd, Jasmine. “Hollywood Gets a Little Boost from China … but It Might Come at a Price.” Marketplace (blog), July 27, 2020.

         

        Keating, Joshua. “TikTok Could Have Been China’s Nintendo.” Slate Magazine, August 1, 2020.

         

        Tager, James. “Made in Hollywood, Censored by Beijing.” PEN America (blog), August 5, 2020.

         

        Zhou, Marriah. “Hollywood Panned in US for Caving to Chinese Censors.” Nikkei Asian Review, August 8, 2020.

         

        Reid, Whitelaw. “Q&A: TikTok Ban Underscores the Need for Better Data Legislation, Home and Abroad | UVA Today.” UVA Today, August 11, 2020.

         

        TikTok Would Be Significant Liability for Microsoft, Says Media Expert. Bloomberg Technology, 2020.

         

        Zhou, Marriah, and CK Tan. “China Film Industry’s Recovery from Coronavirus off to Slow Start.” Nikkei Asian Review, August 18, 2020.

         

        Kokas, Aynne, and Michael Xiao. “How Distance Learning Could Put Chinese Students at US Universities at Risk.” Webpage. Insights: Scholarly Work at the John W. Kluge Center, August 21, 2020.

         

        Allen-Ebrahimian, Bethany. “China Is Censoring Hollywood’s Imagination.” Axios, September 1, 2020.

         

        Kokas, Aynne, and Jeffrey Wasserstrom. “Disney’s Magical Thinking Won’t Keep Politics Away from ‘Mulan.’” Nikkei Asian Review, September 5, 2020.

         

        Kokas, Aynne. “Perspective | ‘Mulan’ Is a Movie about How Much Hollywood Needs China.” Washington Post, September 9, 2020.

         

        Reid, Whitelaw. “The Release of ‘Mulan’ May Be a Transformative Moment in Hollywood History.” UVA Today, September 9, 2020.

         

        Wertime, David. “Death of Trade Deal with China Could Be ‘October Surprise.’” POLITICO, September 10, 2020.





         

      • Book Events

        Meet the author and learn more about Hollywood Made in China

        July 29, 2018

        San Diego, CA

        TBA

        Pacific Arts Movement ​

        (Non-profit arm of San Diego Asian American Film Festival)

        May 7 , 2018

        Tokyo, Japan

        TBA

        Waseda University

        1 Chome-104 Totsukamachi

        Shinjuku, Tokyo 169-8050

        May 2 , 2018

        Hong Kong, China

        4:00 - 5:30 pm

        Chinese University of Hong Kong

        Shatin, NT, Hong Kong SAR

        The People's Republic of China

        April 24, 2018

        Washington, DC

        7:00 - 9:00 pm

        Hill Center

        921 Pennsylvania Ave SE

        Washington, DC 20003

        March 18, 2018

        Philadelphia, PA

        12:00 - 1:00 pm

        University of Pennsylvania

        Center for Advanced Research in Global Communication

        Center for the Study of Contemporary China

        3620 Walnut Street

        Philadelphia, PA 19104

        February 26, 2018

        Ithaca, NY

        4:30 pm

        Cornell University

        Cornell Contemporary China Initiative

        Kaufman Auditorium

        Ithaca, NY 14853

        Video here.

        February 6, 2018

        Chicago, IL

        Paulson Institute

        University of Chicago

        November 17, 2017

        Minneapolis, MN

        Hollywood Made in China

        University of Minnesota

        October 26, 2017

        Oxford, UK

        Hollywood Made in China

        Oxford Center for Chinese Studies Colloquium

        17:00-18:30

        China Centre Lecture Theatre

        University of Oxford

        October 25, 2017

        London, UK

        Hollywood Made in China

        Culture, Media and Creative Industries Seminar

        16.00-18.00 hrs

        S-2.23 Strand Building

        King's College, London

        October 24, 2017

        Nottingham, UK

        Hollywood Made in China

        Institute for Screen Industries Research and China Policy Institute

        University of Nottingham

        October 12, 2017

        Washington, DC

        Georgetown Institute for Global History

        Georgetown University

        37th and O Streets, N.W.

        Washington D.C. 20057

         

        August 23, 2017

        Singapore

        4:15 - 5:15 pm

        School of Communication
        National University of Singapore
        Blk AS6, #03-41
        CNM Meeting Room

         

        June 7, 2017

        Washington, DC

        U.S. Department of Commerce

        1401 Constitution Ave NW, Washington, DC 20230

         

        May 2017

        San Diego, CA

        International Communication Association Annual Meeting

         

        May 17, 2017

        Washington, DC

        DACOR Bacon House Foundation Newberry Lecture

         

        April 22, 2017

        Providence, RI

        Brown University China Summit

        Providence, Rhode Island

        Register here.

        April 20, 2017

        Williamsburg, VA

        2-3:20 pm/5-6:20 pm

        Chinese Studies Lectures

        College of William and Mary

        Wilson Hall 201 More information available here.

         

        April 18, 2017

        Carlisle, PA

        7:00 pm

        Clarke Forum Keynote Speech

        Dickinson College

        Anita Tuvin Schlechter Auditorium

        Learn more here!

         

        April 12, 2017

        Durham, NC

        7:00 pm

        Duke University

        Fuqua School of Business

         

        April 7, 2017

        Minneapolis, MN

        1-2:30 pm

        Department of Asian Languages and Cultures and

        Moving Image Colloquium

        University of Minnesota

        More information available here.

        March 27, 2017

        Washington, DC

        2-3:15 pm

        China in the Era of Xi Jinping: Precedents and Comparisons

        Stimson Center

        Washington, DC

        RSVP here

        March 25, 2017

        Chicago, IL

        11:00-12:45 am

        Envisioning Global Media Industries in the Era of China's Rise

        Society of Cinema and Media Studies Annual Meeting

        Fairmont Chicago, Millennium Park

        March 18, 2017

        Toronto, ON

        3:00-5:00 pm

        Media in Motion: Chinese Creative Content in Global Context

        Association for Asian Studies Annual Meeting

        Willow West, Mezzanine

        Sheraton Centre

        March 17, 2017

        Toronto, ON

        4:00-6:00 pm

        Toronto Film and Media Seminar

        TIFF Bell Lightbox

        350 King St W, Toronto, ON M5V 3X5, Canada

        March 9, 2017

        Los Angeles, CA

        4:00pm to 5:30 pm

        US-China Institute

        Annenberg School for Communication and Journalism

        University of Southern California

        Books will be available for sale

        Video here

        March 8, 2017

        Los Angeles, CA

        5:00-7:00 PM

        Cinema and Media Studies Colloquium

        School of Theater, Film and Television

        University of California, Los Angeles

        Darren Star Theater

        Melnitz Hall 1422

        March 7, 2017

        Los Angeles, CA

        8-9:30 pm

        University of Virginia Alumni Entertainment Club of Los Angeles

        Creative Artists Agency (CAA)

        Conference Room 4A

        2000 Avenue of the Stars

        Los Angeles, CA 90067

        March 6, 2017

        Washington, DC

        10:00-11:15 am

        Kissinger Institute on China and the United States

        Woodrow Wilson Center, 6th Floor

        Ronald Reagan Building and International Trade Center
        One Woodrow Wilson Plaza
        1300 Pennsylvania Ave. NW
        Washington, DC 20004-3027

        Video here.

        February 27, 2017

        New York, NY

        5:30-7:00pm

        National Committee on US-China Relations

        6 E. 43rd St., 24th Floor

        New York, NY 10017

        Video here.

        February 7, 2017

        Denver, CO

        12:00 - 1:30 pm

        Center for US-China Cooperation

        University of Denver

        Josef Korbel

        School of International Relations

        SIE Complex - 5th Floor - Maglione Hall
        2201 S. Gaylord St., Denver, CO 80208

         


      • Stay in Touch

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        Linkedin

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        Academia.edu

        Facebook

      • Twitter updates

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