Romance in the Recent Past: Our Beloved Summer and First Love in the Ecology of Netflix Global Programming
This article offers a reflection on two recent romance series offered by Netflix: Our Beloved Summer (2021) from Korea and First Love (2022) from Japan. Both series were seen as successes for their local industries, and a review of their production histories as well as their place within a broader N...
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
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Michigan Publishing
2024-12-01
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| Series: | Global Storytelling |
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| Online Access: | https://journals.publishing.umich.edu/gs/article/id/6414/ |
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| author | Vivien Nara |
| author_facet | Vivien Nara |
| author_sort | Vivien Nara |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | This article offers a reflection on two recent romance series offered by Netflix: Our Beloved Summer (2021) from Korea and First Love (2022) from Japan. Both series were seen as successes for their local industries, and a review of their production histories as well as their place within a broader Netflix programming ecology highlights the strategies Netflix is taking with its increased investment in the drama production industries of both nations. Importantly, both series also share a temporality in their romance storytelling, one that moves between a youthful, recent past and a lackluster, adult present. Though the texts are not necessarily adjacently marked in the Netflix interface itself, both series present key similarities that hint at a winning narrative formula. Drawing on key scholarly literature on popular romance and modernity, I argue that while the temporality of “romance in the recent past” might not necessarily be marked as a working microgenre in the Netflix algorithm, it certainly presents as a transnationally translatable storytelling mode that narrativizes, entertains, and consoles audiences coming from similar experiences of modernity. |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj-art-40d6c31c02464c6e9920f08a8ec7fc5c |
| institution | Kabale University |
| issn | 2769-4941 |
| language | English |
| publishDate | 2024-12-01 |
| publisher | Michigan Publishing |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Global Storytelling |
| spelling | doaj-art-40d6c31c02464c6e9920f08a8ec7fc5c2025-08-20T03:47:28ZengMichigan PublishingGlobal Storytelling2769-49412024-12-014210.3998/gs.6414Romance in the Recent Past: Our Beloved Summer and First Love in the Ecology of Netflix Global ProgrammingVivien Nara0https://orcid.org/0009-0004-1975-7043Gender and Cultural Studies, The University of SydneyThis article offers a reflection on two recent romance series offered by Netflix: Our Beloved Summer (2021) from Korea and First Love (2022) from Japan. Both series were seen as successes for their local industries, and a review of their production histories as well as their place within a broader Netflix programming ecology highlights the strategies Netflix is taking with its increased investment in the drama production industries of both nations. Importantly, both series also share a temporality in their romance storytelling, one that moves between a youthful, recent past and a lackluster, adult present. Though the texts are not necessarily adjacently marked in the Netflix interface itself, both series present key similarities that hint at a winning narrative formula. Drawing on key scholarly literature on popular romance and modernity, I argue that while the temporality of “romance in the recent past” might not necessarily be marked as a working microgenre in the Netflix algorithm, it certainly presents as a transnationally translatable storytelling mode that narrativizes, entertains, and consoles audiences coming from similar experiences of modernity.https://journals.publishing.umich.edu/gs/article/id/6414/NetflixKorean dramaJapanese televisionromancehallyuEast Asian popular culture |
| spellingShingle | Vivien Nara Romance in the Recent Past: Our Beloved Summer and First Love in the Ecology of Netflix Global Programming Global Storytelling Netflix Korean drama Japanese television romance hallyu East Asian popular culture |
| title | Romance in the Recent Past: Our Beloved Summer and First Love in the Ecology of Netflix Global Programming |
| title_full | Romance in the Recent Past: Our Beloved Summer and First Love in the Ecology of Netflix Global Programming |
| title_fullStr | Romance in the Recent Past: Our Beloved Summer and First Love in the Ecology of Netflix Global Programming |
| title_full_unstemmed | Romance in the Recent Past: Our Beloved Summer and First Love in the Ecology of Netflix Global Programming |
| title_short | Romance in the Recent Past: Our Beloved Summer and First Love in the Ecology of Netflix Global Programming |
| title_sort | romance in the recent past our beloved summer and first love in the ecology of netflix global programming |
| topic | Netflix Korean drama Japanese television romance hallyu East Asian popular culture |
| url | https://journals.publishing.umich.edu/gs/article/id/6414/ |
| work_keys_str_mv | AT viviennara romanceintherecentpastourbelovedsummerandfirstloveintheecologyofnetflixglobalprogramming |