Taking ‘underground(s)’ as the conceptual point of departure, the authors in this Special Issue investigate the socio-political, cultural and ideological dynamics of ‘cultural undergrounds’ across cities in East and Southeast Asia. Through critical analysis of changing conditions, frameworks, (mis)representations and self- and counter-definitions, we seek to build towards a timely interdisciplinary discourse. Drawing from our in-depth case studies on films and documentaries, music, literature, contemporary art and their interconnectedness, we highlight the importance of socio-historical interrelations, gender, queer identities, aesthetic strategies, translocality, intermedia practices, (a)political self-positioning and spatial adjustments in the urban environment.
From ARI Conference on “Shifting Undergrounds in East and Southeast Asia: Transformations and Declinations of Cultural Self-Expressions and Communities in Cityscape”, 25-26 October 2018.
