Discussing Takeshi Kaneshiro: the pan-Asian star image on fan forums1

Abstract

Chapter 5 focuses on the half-Taiwanese (Chinese), half-Japanese Takeshi Kaneshiro and his star image on fan forums, where his mixed ethnic identity becomes a central feature of his transnational stardom. This chapter pursues to show how such an identity renders the Chineseness and how the icon embodies onscreen ambivalent and unstable. As the chapter continues to elucidate, the impact of fan manipulation on Kaneshiro’s fluid persona is shown by the exploitation of his half-Japanese identity for charity by some Japan-based fan sites. This chapter, eventually, anchors its argument on the malleability fans find in Kaneshiro’s star persona, which embody either Chineseness or Japaneseness.