ABSTRACT
Asians in Chile are often referred to as chinos (Chinese), and Chilean society tends to consider fans of Asian popular culture as outsiders—those who like chinos are akin to chinos. Fans recognize their chino-ism when they like Asian popular culture, and many Chilean Asian pop culture fans identify themselves as Westerners rather than Latin Americans. These elements of Eurocentrism and chino-ism in Latin America relate to the cultural identity formed in the region after it gained independence from Spain and the legacy of Latin America’s socioeconomic status. While living in an imagined Eurocentric society, fans construct their own “Asia” through popular culture images shown in the media.
This chapter explores how fans of Asian popular culture in Latin America, and particularly Chile, form an imaginary society based on media depictions. In-depth interviews were conducted in Santiago from July to December 2019. Based on the results, this chapter maps how fans of Asian popular culture in Chile share a fanciful bond created by an unfamiliar culture and develop imaginary cultural intimacy specific to digital media, primarily in the realm of social media.
