Asian Journal of Media and Culture

Mediated Compassion: The Role of Influencers and Digital Celebrities in Promoting a Culture of Philanthropy in Indonesia

Muhammad Deni Putra — 2026-01-05

The digital era has transformed philanthropic practices, shifting them onto social media platforms where visibility and performance intersect with traditional values of sincerity. This study aims to analyze the role of influencers and digital celebrities in mediating compassion and shaping a new philanthropic culture in Indonesia. Using a qualitative literature study approach, this research examines scholarly works, reports, and digital campaigns related to philanthropy on platforms like Instagram, TikTok, and YouTube. Findings indicate that influencers act as “new moral actors” who expand the reach of philanthropy but also create tensions between sincerity and digital performativity. Digital media serves as both a communication channel and a cultural arena where religious and social values are negotiated. This study concludes that the success of digital philanthropy depends not on virality alone, but on its ability to deepen social solidarity and ethical awareness, requiring a balance between technological logic and humanistic values.

Toward Interfaith Ecological Ethics: Synergizing Religious Eco- Theology and Local Cultural Wisdom for Environmental Governance in Indonesia

Arwansyah Bin Kirin — 2026-01-06

Environmental degradation represents not only a physical crisis but also a profound spiritual and ethical disconnect between humanity and nature. This study aims to analyze the synergy between eco-theology and local cultural wisdom in constructing a contextual interfaith ecological ethics framework in Indonesia. Using a qualitative literature-based approach, this research examines eco-theological constructions within Islam, Christianity, Hinduism, Buddhism, and Indigenous Beliefs, alongside manifestations of local wisdom in conservation practices such as Subak, Sasi, and Leuweung Larangan. The findings reveal that integrating spiritual principles with cultural practices enriches the moral dimension of environmental conservation and significantly enhances community participation. The study concludes that the ecological crisis is fundamentally a crisis of values, requiring a holistic approach that integrates theological insights with cultural practice. The resulting “Interfaith Ecological Ethics” framework offers a transformative pathway for sustainable development in Indonesia, rooted in society’s spiritual and cultural values, while challenging dominant secular-anthropocentric environmental paradigms.

Digital Satire as Political Discourse: Humor, Memes, and Resistance in Philippine Internet Culture

Ahmad Salman Farid — 2026-01-06

This study examines the emergence of humor and satire as a new form of political language within the digital culture of the Philippines. It aims to understand how political memes, parody videos, and satirical content function as instruments of political articulation in a society shaped by Catholic values, colonial legacies, and strong oral traditions. Employing a qualitative literature-based analysis, this research synthesizes findings from academic journals, scholarly books, and digital documents to explore the socio-political roles of digital humor. The findings reveal that digital humor serves not merely as entertainment but as a cultural strategy for negotiating power, fostering political solidarity, and expressing collective identity. It enables citizens to criticize authority and address social issues indirectly, aligning with Filipino communication norms of pakikisama (social harmony) and hiya (shame/honor). The study argues that digital humor is fundamentally ambivalent, it can act as a tool of resistance and emancipation while also reinforcing political propaganda and disinformation. This duality underscores the need for interdisciplinary approaches to better understand the complex interplay between digital culture, political participation, and socio-cultural characteristics in postcolonial contexts like the Philippines.

Media Convergence and Cultural Hybridity: Negotiating Traditional Ketoprak and Global Netflix in Indonesia’s Digital Landscape

Nolly Medya Putra — 2026-01-06

Media convergence between traditional art forms and global digital platforms has fundamentally reshaped cultural expression. This study examines this transformation in Indonesia, focusing on the interaction between the traditional Javanese art of Ketoprak and the global streaming service Netflix. Employing a qualitative approach with a literature study method, the research investigates how digital media not only alters patterns of cultural production and consumption but also renegotiates local values within a global landscape governed by algorithmic logic. The findings indicate that this interaction generates cultural hybridity, expanding representational spaces and enabling new cross-border cultural practices. However, the process also presents ethical and ideological challenges, including cultural commodification and the potential erosion of local values due to dominant global market logic. The study concludes that the success of cultural preservation in the digital era hinges on the ability of local communities to adapt creatively without losing their cultural identity, framing media convergence as a field of meaning negotiation between tradition, modernity, and algorithmic power.

Algorithmic Genre: Platform Logic, Cultural Hybridity, and the Fluidity of Contemporary Film

Giovani Giovani — 2026-01-07

The rise of digital media and globalization has fundamentally reshaped film genre theory, shifting it from a rigid classification system to a dynamic, negotiable space of meaning. This study addresses the theoretical gap left by traditional structuralist approaches, which fail to explain the pervasive hybridity and fluidity of genres in contemporary global cinema. Its objective is to analyze how these concepts redefine genre boundaries, examine the influence of streaming platform algorithms on genre formation, and explore how non-Western cinemas employ genre as a tool for cultural expression and resistance. Employing a qualitative literature review methodology with thematic analysis, the research synthesizes key scholarly texts. The findings demonstrate that genre hybridity is not merely an aesthetic choice but is structurally linked to the industrial logics of digital platforms and serves as a vital cultural strategy for identity articulation, particularly in Asian and Latin American films. The study concludes that genre must be reconceptualized as a fluid, hybrid, and discursive practice embedded within broader socio-economic power relations. This reconceptualization provides a crucial framework for understanding film in the digital era, where genre functions simultaneously as an industrial mechanism, a narrative framework, and a site for cultural negotiation.