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Comment by Host Studio 1 hour ago

[iCONADA Research Team] Malaysia’s Film and Television Production Models and Affective Strategies in the 2035 Era

Within the context of the rapid transformation of East Asian film and television cultures around 2025, the production models and affective strategies of China, Japan, and South Korea offer Malaysia’s film, television, cultural creative industries, and education systems a highly inspiring mirror. These insights are not only related to industrial development, but also involve the construction of cultural identity, innovation in emotional storytelling, and the need to rethink the very nature of “creation” in an era increasingly shaped by artificial intelligence. From the perspectives of cultural production, affective structures, and educational transformation, Malaysia is currently positioned at a critical moment with significant potential.

I.Cultural Position: Multilingualism and Multiethnicity as Creative Resources Rather Than Limitations

Malaysia’s film and television industry has long faced a structural challenge: the market fragmentation caused by its multilingual environment (Malay, Chinese, English, Tamil) and multiethnic society (Malay, Chinese, Indian, and others). This phenomenon has often been regarded as a reason why the industry struggles to achieve scale. However, from the perspective of East Asian experiences, such “fragmentation” may instead be transformed into a creative advantage.

Japanese works such as Long Vacation continue to attract audiences not because of the universality of their language, but because of the authenticity of their emotions. Korean works such as The Glory demonstrate that even highly localized social issues can become globally resonant texts when effectively translated through emotional structures. Meanwhile, China’s The Long Season shows that local narratives can achieve universal meaning through sophisticated temporal structures and deep character development.

From this perspective, Malaysia’s cultural diversity is not an obstacle, but rather an underdeveloped “narrative resource.” The key lies in transforming multilingual and multiethnic experiences into stories with emotional depth and resonance, rather than allowing them to remain merely at the level of cultural representation.

II.Affective Strategies: Moving from “Cultural Representation” Toward “Emotional Co-construction”

One of the major limitations of Malaysian film and television lies in the overemphasis on “cultural representation” while relatively neglecting the design of “emotional mechanisms.” Many works focus on presenting local landscapes, festivals, or ethnic differences, yet often lack sufficient tension in narrative progression and character emotions.

East Asian experiences demonstrate that successful cultural export does not come from cultural elements alone, but from the effective operation of affective structures. Korean dramas achieve this through intense emotional engagement, quickly immersing audiences in the story. Japanese dramas rely on subtle emotional aftereffects, allowing feelings to continue developing after viewing. Chinese film and television works often create connections between grand narratives and individual emotional experiences.

For Malaysia, the future key is not simply “what stories to tell,” but “how to make people feel.” For example, identity anxiety within a multiethnic society, emotional differences created through language switching, and experiences of movement between urban and rural spaces can all be transformed into universal emotional themes. These experiences themselves reflect contemporary realities. Through precise storytelling, they have the potential to become points of connection for audiences across Southeast Asia and even globally.

Comment by Host Studio 1 hour ago

III.Industrial Models: Platform Strategies within a Small Market

Compared with South Korea’s industrialized system and China’s advantage in scale, Malaysia’s film and television industry is relatively small and operates with limited resources. However, in the era dominated by streaming platforms, market size is no longer the decisive factor. The key lies in how content and audiences are positioned.

South Korea has achieved global distribution through platforms such as Netflix, while Japan has gradually introduced its high-quality productions to international audiences. For Malaysia, streaming platforms provide an opportunity to “bypass the limitations of the local market.” As long as works possess clear affective strategies and distinctive storytelling characteristics, they can directly reach transnational audiences.

In addition, short-form dramas, web series, and cross-media content (such as combinations of film/television with music and games) represent possible directions. These formats require lower production costs and align more closely with younger generations’ viewing habits. If Malaysia can establish a distinctive presence in these areas, it may develop differentiated competitiveness within the regional market.

IV.Artificial Intelligence: From Technology Adoption to Creative Integration

As an AI-driven cultural production environment gradually takes shape in the 2030s, Malaysia faces a choice: should it simply become a user of technology, or should it become an integrator of creativity?

AI can assist with script generation, editing optimization, and audience analysis, lowering production barriers. However, if content relies solely on AI generation, works may become increasingly homogeneous. The true value lies in treating AI as a “creative partner” rather than a replacement.

Malaysia’s advantage lies in its cultural diversity, which can provide AI training environments with narrative patterns and emotional structures that are less commonly represented. By combining local experiences with AI tools, Malaysia may actually develop a unique creative style within the global content market.

Comment by Host Studio 1 hour ago

V.Implications for Cultural Creative Education: From Skills Training to Affective Literacy

The transformation of the film and television industry presents new demands for cultural creative education. Traditional education has often emphasized technical skills (cinematography, editing, script structure), but in the contemporary environment, technical ability alone is insufficient to respond to a complex cultural market.

First, education needs to introduce the concept of “affective literacy.” Students should not only learn how to write stories, but also understand how emotions are constructed, transmitted, and received. For example: What narrative rhythms create emotional resonance? What character designs generate audience identification? These questions should become central components of education.

Second, interdisciplinary integration is essential. Cultural creative education should not exist in isolation within art schools, but should connect with sociology, anthropology, psychology, and data science. Only by understanding social structures and audience behaviors can creators produce works with a genuine sense of the times.

Third, “local research” should be encouraged. Malaysian students can use methods such as field research and oral history to discover local storytelling resources. This not only strengthens cultural confidence but also provides authentic materials for creative production.

Finally, AI education is indispensable. Students must learn how to use AI tools creatively while also understanding their limitations and ethical issues. Future creators will become designers of human–machine collaboration, rather than merely technical operators.

1. Conclusion: The Possibility of Moving from the Periphery to a Cultural Node

Overall, the future of Malaysia’s film, television, and cultural creative industries does not lie in copying the successful models of China, Japan, and South Korea. Instead, it lies in redefining pathways of cultural production based on its own conditions. Its multicultural environment, multilingual experiences, and flexible industrial scale give Malaysia the potential to become a “cultural node.”

In an increasingly competitive global audiovisual landscape, the true advantage is no longer the amount of resources available, but whether creators can produce works with unique affective structures. For cultural creative education, this means shifting from “training technical professionals” toward “cultivating cultural creators” — individuals who can understand local realities while engaging with the world.

Looking back at the development trajectories of East Asian film and television, we can see that every breakthrough has emerged from a renewed understanding of one’s own cultural conditions. For Malaysia, such a moment may now be gradually approaching.(Original Chinese Version/Reviewed & Verified by: Dr.Tan Beng Huat, Founder of iconada.tv)

Comment by Host Studio on April 30, 2026 at 10:57pm

在不好喝的咖啡裡活著：《美麗人生》如何預言東京年輕世代的孤獨解藥

2000年，《美麗人生》Beautiful Life: ふたりでいた日々 在日本TBS播出。由北川悦吏子編劇、常盤貴子與木村拓哉主演，這部作品在當年創下極高收視，也成為「純愛劇」時代的代表之一。

二十多年後再回望，它真正留下的或許不是愛情，而是一種關於「如何活著」的答案。

尤其是在第11集，女主角杏子在病情惡化之際說出的一段話——她想回到普通人的生活，看上班路上的風景，喝那杯其實並不好喝的咖啡。她說：「雖然都是些小事，但那就是我的人生。」

此話在今日東京比當年更鋒利了。

一、當人生不再宏大：從「成功敘事」到「生活實感」

《美麗人生》誕生於日本「失落的十年」尾聲。經濟泡沫破裂後，終身雇用與穩定上升的社會想像開始崩解，「努力就會成功」的敘事逐漸失去說服力。

但當時的劇集仍披著「純愛」外衣，將這種失落包裹在情感之中。

直到今天，當東京的年輕人面對另一種形式的壓力——不是經濟崩壞，而是永無止境的比較與自我優化——杏子的那句話，才真正顯露出它的核心：不是「要過更好的人生」，而是重新感受到自己正在活著。

那杯不好喝的咖啡，沒有被美化，也沒有被賦予象徵意義。它之所以重要，只因為它存在於一個具體的早晨，

而那個早晨，有一個人正在經歷它。

這不是勵志，而是一種價值觀的翻轉。

二、「普通」的反叛：當不平凡的人渴望平凡

在日文語境中，「普通（ふつう）」不是中性的詞。它隱含著一整套社會秩序：

幾歲應該就業、幾歲結婚、如何不給他人添麻煩。

而杏子，作為一個長期被視為「非普通」的存在（身體障礙者），卻說她想成為「普通人」。

這句話表面上是回歸，實際上是顛覆。

她並不是想進入那套標準，而是重新定義它——把「普通」從一種外在規範，轉化為一種內在感受：

即使是不完美的日常，也足以構成完整的人生。

這種語言，在今天的SNS時代顯得格外重要。

當Instagram與X（Twitter）將人生轉化為可展示、可比較的片段，「普通」變成一種失敗的代名詞。人們不再只是活著，而是不斷確認自己是否「落後」。

杏子提供的，是一種逃逸路線：不是變得更好，而是允許自己只是存在。

Comment by Host Studio on April 30, 2026 at 10:53pm

三、病痛作為濾鏡：剝除社會角色之後

在許多愛情劇中，疾病往往只是催淚的裝置。但在《美麗人生》中，它更像一種過濾器。

隨著病情惡化，杏子逐漸失去的，不只是健康，而是那些附著於她身上的社會身份——工作者、女性、未來可能的妻子。

剩下的是什麼？

是時間的流動，是身體的感覺，是與他人相處的片刻。

這種狀態，讓人生從「應該成為什麼」回到「正在經歷什麼」。

而這，正是當代東京年輕人最難抵達的地方。

在高壓職場與長工時文化之下，許多人直到身心出現警訊——burnout、憂鬱、適應障礙——才被迫停下來，重新思考生活的重量。

杏子的存在，像是一個提前發生的版本。她用極端的方式，說出了日常被忽略的真相：

那些被視為微不足道的片刻，才是支撐生命的結構。

四、沒有意義，也可以活著

當代日本流行「生きがい（ikigai）」——尋找人生的意義與理由。但杏子的話，其實比這更進一步。

她並沒有說那杯咖啡有什麼意義。

她甚至強調它「不好喝」。

這是一種幾乎去目的化的生命觀：不需要找到理由，不需要證明價值，甚至不需要讓一切變得美好。

只需要承認：這些片刻，構成了我。

在一個強調效率、成果與自我品牌的城市裡，這樣的想法幾乎帶有反叛意味。

五、在東京街頭，重新學會經過

二十多年後，東京比以往任何時候都更繁華，也更孤獨。

人們在地鐵裡滑手機，在辦公室裡優化履歷，在夜晚的便利店裡買一頓快速解決的晚餐。生活被切割成無數目標與任務，而「經過」本身，變得沒有價值。

但《美麗人生》留下了一個微小卻堅定的提醒：那些你以為只是路過的時刻——

通勤途中掠過的街景、習以為常的早餐、甚至那杯不好喝的咖啡——並不是人生的背景。它們就是人生本身。

也許，這部劇真正的預言不在愛情，而在於它輕聲說出了一個幾乎被遺忘的事實：心靈的圓滿，並不來自抵達，而來自停留。

Comment by Host Studio on December 6, 2025 at 9:24pm

特蕾西·K.史密斯：宇宙作為原初的尖叫
The Universe as Primal Scream by Tracy K. Smith

五點整。他們張開嘴巴，
聲音滾滾而出：尖銳、刺耳、金屬般的。
先是男孩，接著是他的妹妹。有時，
他們倆同時放聲尖叫，而我想著
是否該穿上鞋子上樓去看看
這是否只是他們父母在做的一個實驗，
像是在測試那些精緻的水晶器皿，
如今肯定已經碎成滿地的粉塵。

也許母親仍為她哺育出的
那四瓣粉紅色的肺所能發出的力量而自豪。
或許，只要他們的聲音達到
某個魔法般的分貝，整棟建築
就會升空，而我們將乘著它
飛向榮光，如同以利亞一般。
如果就是這樣——如果這正是
他們的哭喊所瞄準的——讓天空
從藍，轉紅，再熔金，
直至黑暗。讓我們繼承的天國逼近。

無論那是身披《舊約》長袍的亡者，
或是一扇通往翻騰無盡太空的門。
無論它會否如父親般俯身迎接我們，
或如熔爐般將我們吞沒。我已準備好
面對那不允許我們長久保有任何東西的存在。
那用祝福挑逗我們，
又以悲傷折彎我們。巫師、竊賊、
那陣偉大的風正急速吹來，要把我們的鏡子打落在地，
將我們短暫的一生清掃殆盡。與之相比，

我們的喧囂多麼微不足道。我的音響隨機播放，
鄰居隔著牆在切洋蔥。
這一切都只是對於
可能永遠不會降臨之事的一陣輕微打嗝。
而樓上的孩子仍在叫喊，
如同「人類黎明」般尖聲嘶吼，彷彿某種
他們無名可指的東西已經開始
堅決要求出生。

（愛墾研創·試譯）

Comment by Host Studio on June 21, 2022 at 10:59am

生態幽默：百步蛇
兩個朋友去爬山，其中一位不小心被百步蛇咬到。他朋友急壞了，怕到山下沒有血清，把百步蛇抓起來後趕緊帶著他朋友下山，當他們走到第九十九步時，被咬的那個人停下腳步說：「我不能再走了，我走到一百步就會死！」。他朋友不慌不忙地拿出百步蛇很肯定的說：「你再讓牠咬一口我們就可以多走一百步了。」（摘自：臺灣環境資訊中心）

Comment by Host Studio on August 29, 2021 at 10:15pm

定義中國文化

要給中國文化下一個定義，是很不聰明的。其實對任何一個東西下定義、給概念，都是費力而不討好的。可能大家看過我與別人合作的一本書《文學是什麽》。如何對文學做概念式的解釋呢？書一開頭我就說“什麽是文學？其實，回答這樣的問題就像回答什麽是人、什麽是哲學、什麽是藝術等問題一樣，是個費力而不討好的事情。即使再追問一千次，還會有一千零一種答案。”所以在書里，我故意避開了正面回答，我借別人的說法提出了一系列的問題。比如，文學是一面鏡子還是一束燈光？文學是語言藝術嗎？是美的還是真的？是閑暇的遊戲還是佈道的牧師？我只是提供了提出問題的各種不同的角度，而答案要大家自己去尋找。結果，前些天有人跟我爭論，他說，如果概念不明白，那麽怎麽面對文學。我說，其實很多概念都不明白，比如說人是什麽，“人”這個概念很多人不懂，我也不太懂，但我們都不是人嗎？我們就不做人了嗎？（傅道彬：《周易》與中國文化的詩性品格，根據2005年2月26日在吉林大學所作的學術演講整理而成，發於2016-02-20《愛思想》）

Comment by Host Studio on March 29, 2021 at 5:53pm

                                                                    (Source: 尊重自己：創意人心理學)

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Comment by Host Studio on January 14, 2021 at 6:30pm

彭凱平《中國人文化心理》

有的人說中國人的性格是中庸，有的人說是創新，有的人說是保守。這些人往往通過歷史上一個名言，一個哲學家觀點，一個生活中的例子，來印證自己的觀點。問題是，如何驗證這些說法正確與否？心理學家覺得，這些討論的個人意味太重，歷史故事太多，科學邏輯的分析太少。這次講座希望用科學的方法探索中國文化與中國人的心理。

法國人托克維爾所著《美國的民主》（Democracy in America）是公認的對美國文化、對美國人的心理最精辟的觀察和分析。為什麽他能做到比美國人觀察自己更加準確？據托克維爾自述，是時時刻刻都把美國和法國進行對比。如果需要對中國人的心理和文化做精辟的分析，可能要跳出中國人的身份，在全球範圍之內比較中國人和其他國家人的差別。只有通過一面鏡子，人才能知道自己的模樣。

認識這一點可以通過一個實驗，叫做自由聯想，就是我給大家說一個詞，你馬上告訴我你頭腦里面出現的東西。......如果我說“他們”，你可能聯想到是“清華大學”。我們進行文化分析和反省時，下意識里的自由聯想是不同的，自由聯想其實是不自由的。這就是我們要做跨文化的研究原因——超脫自我的局限，超脫文化的局限。（見《彭凱平：文化與心理：探索及意義》1）

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