CNET News is carrying a story about how tech savvy Chinese are bringing U.S. television shows to China. Essentially this is the same kind of fansubbing culture responsible for growing number of Japanese anime programs coming to the United States. And if the strong impact of Japanese anime and pop culture on U.S. pop culture is any indication, then the Chinese government may have a new challenge on its hands. This is not to say that Chinese fansubbers are freedom fighters wishing to overthrow the government. They are not. They’re just people who want to enjoy TV shows from abroad that they cannot get otherwise. They just want to have fun. Will they be influenced by these foreign shows? Yes, of course they will! I certainly have been influenced by the Japanese shows I’ve watched and games I’ve played over the years. On the whole this has been a good thing for me and I’ve had a lot of fun, so much fun that I’ve even undertaken the task of learning what can be a very difficult language for westerners. By the same token, there must be thousands of Chinese people who are learning English and U.S. culture because of their enjoyment of U.S. TV. In the end, this can only be a good thing for both China and the United States. Hopefully, wrangling over copyright and intellectual property laws won’t close off this wonderful avenue for cultural exchange.
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