ABSTRACT
The Introduction sets the conceptual framework for the inquiry of Vietnamese popular television in relation to national formation. This chapter provides a critical account of the politicizing tendency in many studies of Vietnamese media and nationalism, which hinders understanding of popular media practices and banal forms of nationhood that flourish in Vietnam after the Reform. This chapter proposes to locate the idea of the nation within the sphere of ordinary living, where popular television serves as a technology of nationhood that reaches beyond the limit of political propaganda. The Introduction also provides contextual analysis of the contemporary television industry in Vietnam, focussing on administrative issues, censorship procedures, and commercial settings.
