alternatehistory.com

So I think we can agree that from a global perspective, the pop culture economies of the US and Japan are really beyond compare (in terms of volume, multinational influence, etc),* especially if we’re talking specifically about the mediums of comics and animation, and even more so in video games.

Exempting English speaking ones (Canada, etc), which countries (or regions, eg Europe), with a Post WWII PoD, which countries stood a fair chance of seriously competing in this field?

Basically, they’d need to produce enough content to feed fans abroad in the same vein as manga/anime fans OTL. I imagine this discussion will look at a number of traditions, from Manhua and French Comics, to Eastern European animation, to artists in Latin America, and what have you, and that’s before even getting into World Video Game history. What I’m particularly interested in, for this thread, is what allowed these particular culture industries to become as big as they are in the US and Japan specifically, and what might have gone differently in other parts of the world to produce similar growth there.

So, thoughts?

*If you look at the most profitable media franchises going right now, they’re either Japanese or basically part of the wider Anglosphere (US, UK, NZ, etc) with America as the core.
Top