Interpretive incompleteness in global cultural flows

Ne Zha 2 and Labubu between visibility and decentralization

Bibliographic Data

ID19224016
AuthorsSizhou Pan (0009-0008-8642-8687, Tongji University, corresponding author)
Year2026
Publication date2026-06-02
Peer ReviewedYes
Open AccessYes
TypeARTICLE
VenueInternational Journal of Cultural Studies (JOURNAL)
Journal identifiersISSN: 1367-8779 • E-ISSN: 1460-356X
PublisherSAGE Publishing (PUBLISHER • US)
DOI10.1177/13678779261455102
OpenAlexW7163185126
LanguageEN
References cited37

This study examines the structural asymmetry between cultural visibility and interpretive power. Through a critical discourse analysis of 349 media articles focusing on two Chinese cultural icons— Ne Zha 2 and Labubu —the study identifies a layered discursive defense system with selective visibility as its filtering precondition, followed by three core strategies: economic narrative strategies that erase cultural subjecthood, political narrative strategies that construct symbolic boundaries, and security narrative strategies that recode popularity as social risk. These layers operate as a structured mechanism of selection, evaluation, and management, collectively ensuring that Chinese icons remain subordinate to Western epistemic frameworks despite their market visibility. The study introduces the concept of interpretive incompleteness as a structural condition of global cultural flows, emphasizing that incomplete understanding persists as an inherent feature of cultural exchange, where cultural plurality is preserved through persistent negotiation and co-presence amid asymmetry

Construct (python library) · Decentralization · Mechanism (biology) · Narrative · Negotiation · Politics · Popularity · Sensemaking · Visibility · Asian Culture and Media Studies · Global Security and Public Health · Media Studies and Communication

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