Introduction: shifting undergrounds in East and Southeast Asia

Abstract

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. Can ‘underground(s)’ survive, given that they are surrounded by an instrumentalization and institutionalization of arts and culture, by policing and surveillance, (self-)censorship, and a growing privatization and aestheticization of the urban environment? What kind of symbolic, political and societal value do ‘underground(s)’ have in such circumstances? Why would someone prefer to be considered as a representative of the undergrounds? While addressing these emergent questions, we acknowledge the theoretical and methodological challenges of fluid phenomena characterized by a vast range of cultural production. Hence, we share the aspiration to encourage further locally-embedded comparative and interdisciplinary research that contributes to more nuanced international discussions about cultural undergrounds. 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.

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