Wentao Ma

Towards A Theory of Media Care in East Asia

My project examines how contemporary East Asian media cultures commodify and restructure care under neoliberal and post-socialist conditions, revealing how media technologies - from VR films to livestream apps - serve as affective infrastructures that entangle labor, regulation, and biopolitical control.

This project explores the political economy of care in contemporary East Asian media cultures, arguing that media, whether in the form of film, television, VR experiences, or streaming platforms, not only reflect but actively structure emerging regimes of affective and immaterial labor. I examine how media participate in shaping and distributing care as a commodified service, particularly under neoliberal and post-socialist conditions, where the promise of wellness and connection often masks coercive institutional demands. Through case studies ranging from white noise apps and livestream eating to VR films and surveillance footage from internet addiction conversion camps, I analyze how media infrastructures and ownership logics transform care into an extractive, excessive, and coercive form of engagement. These platforms and content forms serve not only audiences but also the interests of states and corporate entities, mediating complex relationships among labor, embodiment, and regulation. By interrogating how “media care” capitalizes on social isolation, self-optimization, and therapeutic discourse, I demonstrate how contemporary media industries conceal biopolitical control behind affective interfaces. In doing so, my project provides a critical framework for understanding how content creation and media technologies condition both producers and consumers, foregrounding media’s role in shaping the laboring subject and the broader socio-technical systems that govern them.

Q&A

Fellowship Cohort: Fall 2024

Why did you choose this project? 
With this project, I try to define the stakes of using media to realize the practice of care.

How was this fellowship meaningful or impactful to you? 
This fellowship makes it possible for me to conduct field research on the livestream eating business in China, which makes up an important chapter of my dissertation.

Have you showcased this work in any other ways or places? Do you have any future plans related to this work? 
I have showcased this work at a Summer Institute hosted by Northwestern University. I plan to finish my dissertation based on this topic and develop it into my first monograph.

Wentao Ma (He/Him) is a PhD Candidate in Cultural Studies in the Department of Literature at UC San Diego. His scholarly writing and translation have been published in several journals, such as Chinese Literature and Thought Today, Journal of Chinese Cinemas and Contemporary Cinema. In addition to his academic career, he is dedicated to film curation. He is Film Programmer for San Diego Asian Film Festival and has worked at CineCina Film Festival in New York.