Experts

Aynne Kokas

Fast Facts

  • Director, UVA East Asia Center
  • Non-resident scholar, Rice University’s Baker Institute of Public Policy
  • Member, Council on Foreign Relations
  • Fellow in the National Committee on United States-China Relations’ Public Intellectuals Program
  • Expertise on U.S.-China relations, cybersecurity, media industry

Areas Of Expertise

  • Foreign Affairs
  • Asia
  • Domestic Affairs
  • Media and the Press
  • Science and Technology

Aynne Kokas is the C.K. Yen Professor at the Miller Center, director of UVA's East Asia Center, and a professor of media studies at the University of Virginia. Kokas’ research examines Sino-U.S. media and technology relations. Her award-winning book Trafficking Data: How China Is Winning the Battle for Digital Sovereignty (Oxford University Press, October 2022) argues that exploitative Silicon Valley data governance practices help China build infrastructures for global control. Her award-winning first book Hollywood Made in China (University of California Press, 2017) argues that Chinese investment and regulations have transformed the U.S. commercial media industry, most prominently in the case of media conglomerates’ leverage of global commercial brands. 

Kokas is a non-resident scholar at Rice University’s Baker Institute of Public Policy, a member of the Council on Foreign Relations, and a fellow in the National Committee on United States-China Relations’ Public Intellectuals Program.

She was a Fulbright Scholar at East China Normal University and has received fellowships from the Library of Congress, National Endowment for the Humanities, Mellon Foundation, Social Science Research Council, Woodrow Wilson Center for International Scholars, Japan’s Abe Fellowship, and other international organizations. Her writing and commentary have appeared globally in more than 50 countries and 15 languages. In the United States, her research and writing appear regularly in media outlets including CNBC, NPR’s MarketplaceThe Washington Post, and Wired. She has testified before the Senate Finance Committee, House Foreign Affairs Committee, Congressional-Executive Commission on China, and the U.S. International Trade Commission.

Aynne Kokas News Feed

"Social distancing is an essential public health intervention. It is heartening to see Hollywood studios postpone major releases in the service of public health. It will have a significant impact on how the 2020 market performs," said Aynne Kokas, assistant professor of media studies at the University of Virginia.
Aynne Kokas Nikkei Asian Review
Prior to 2017, the top grossing films were Hollywood studio films. The majority of films in the top 10 were also Hollywood studio films. What is really interesting is that, in the past year, in addition to having the top three films in the Chinese market, the top eight of the top 10 films were also Chinese. There were only two Hollywood studio films in the top 10, which is a really significant shift from the past.
Aynne Kokas Asia Experts Forum
Aynne Kokas, a professor at the University of Virginia and author of "Hollywood Made In China," told CNN Business that Disney has built an extensive infrastructure in the country via its theme parks and merchandising. "'Mulan' is a perfect example of where Disney's infrastructure in China begins to pay off," she said. "It has the advantage of not being a story that just has a few Chinese characters added in, which Chinese audiences find insulting. It's also a family film, which is a genre that has garnered success in the country."
Aynne Kokas CNN
Images of Bong Joon-ho reveling in his awards for best picture and best director for “Parasite” — lifting them high in the air, even making the statuettes kiss — circulated widely after this year’s Oscars ceremony. But those charming, meme-able moments don’t just capture Bong’s personal triumph — they also symbolize a breakthrough for Korea’s film industry, which for decades has been trapped between the demands of two powerful markets.
Aynne Kokas The Washington Post
And some selling points of the original trilogy — like the special effects that awed audiences in the ’70s and ’80s — are more charming than revolutionary in the 21st century, said Aynne Kokas, a professor at the University of Virginia and the author of “Hollywood Made in China.” “‘Star Wars’ in the West is really a kind of generational phenomenon,” she said, “the experience of sharing your experience with your kids.” She noted that the arc of the series was largely about family and full of callbacks, an evolving mythology and generational transitions.
Aynne Kokas The New York Times
“The map includes the ‘nine-dash line’ in the South China Sea, which is a colloquial term for a Chinese maritime sovereignty claim that is widely disputed by its neighbors,” said Aynne Kokas, media studies assistant professor at the University of Virginia and author of the book “Hollywood Made in China.”
Aynne Kokas Marketplace