JOURNAL ARTICLE

Counter-representations in an Australian web drama: trans-Pacific repertoire and diasporic contradictions in No Ordinary Love.

  • Published In: Communication, Culture & Critique, 2025, v. 18, n. 1. P. 98 1 of 3

  • Database: Communication Source 2 of 3

  • Authored By: Oh, David C 3 of 3

Abstract

The article analyzes *No Ordinary Love* (2023), a five-episode Australian web drama created by Zambian Australian actor-writer Esther Fwati and Korean Australian writer-director Helen Kim, which centers on a multiracial romance between a Zambian Australian woman and a Korean Australian man. Drawing inspiration from Korean television dramas, the series foregrounds diasporic and inter-diasporic experiences in multicultural Australia, intentionally centering Black and Asian characters to subvert dominant White racial norms. While the drama challenges racial essentialism and promotes Afro-Asian solidarity, it simultaneously frames Australia as a progressive multicultural nation in contrast to the immigrant mother’s regressive attitudes, thereby displacing racism onto the immigrant generation rather than addressing structural racism in Australian society. The web drama exemplifies a "trans-Pacific cultural repertoire," blending local and transnational identities and media tropes, and reflects the complexities and contradictions of diasporic representation within Australia’s media landscape.

Additional Information

  • Source:Communication, Culture & Critique. 2025/03, Vol. 18, Issue 1, p98
  • Document Type:Article
  • Subject Area:Literature and Writing
  • Publication Date:2025
  • ISSN:1753-9129
  • DOI:10.1093/ccc/tcae046
  • Accession Number:183651563
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