ABSTRACT
Let me state my position at the outset: The notion of contra-flows is problematic for a number of reasons: it is predicated on a stable set of empirical referents-those of spatial location (the West and the East; North and South); a fixity in the expectations of such categories-primarily those of the nation-state, and in an assumption that contemporary cultural flows are regulated by a narrowly controlled global marketplace. It is equally problematic in its assumption of spatial exclusivity of cultural products, once again based on their national origin-such as, say, Bollywood cinema or Japanese animation. Finally, the assumption (and metaphor) of spatial flow (as in the word, contra-flow) does disservice to the deterritorialization of cultural products in the contemporary world.
