Digital Asia and Activism

Amanda Liaw

Amanda Liaw is a senior from Singapore pursuing a BA in Cinema and Media Studies at the University of Southern California. As a passionate advocate for the environment, she spent this past summer planning a fundraising event for environmental nonprofit Heal the Bay, and gaining practical knowledge about urban farming with the Garden School Foundation. Moving forward, she hopes to complete her first documentary about the nature of bodies and its relation to gender and sexual identity, as well as to continue working in the nonprofit sector. On campus, she works as a Stage Manager with Trojan Event Services, is part of the Warren Bennis Program, a university-wide leadership initiative, and can often be found napping on one of the university's many lawns. One day, she plans on building a fully self-sustainable house in which she can farm her own food, host friends, and make whatever art she wants.

Through the Digital Asia and Activism course, Amanda has furthered her understanding of the effect of globalization on media, and vice versa, as well as about using media for social change. Coming from Singapore, her fascination has always been rooted in east-west relations as the country simultaneously grounds its political and socio-cultural policies in Asian ideology while emphasizing a more globalized, Western-centric approach to economics and issues of immigration. Her thoughts, as expressed in the following responses to each class, revolve around the question: Who exactly shapes mindsets and to what extent can media redefine, re-identify, and redesign society? In this digital age, global media flows have not only expanded communities, but have also enabled the transition of such conversations from within these previously isolated communities out into the real, physical world. Beyond this course, Amanda intends to continue exploring the issues that arise from clashes of cultures in thinking critically about the types of media she would both like to engage with and produce.

Learn more about Amanda on her website. 

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