This important new text examines the crucial social and cultural factors associated with the rise of the Asia- Pacific region at the end of the Twentieth Century.
It takes a close look at those areas which have affected the everyday life of the people most directly. These include:
* the family
* gender relations and the position of women
* religion
* the arts, with specific reference to film
* ethnic relations and population migration
* education, and the images of the Asia-Pacific.
The authors discuss real tensions between tradition and modernity in different nations of the Asia-Pacific, exploring the effects that economic growth has on powerful traditional cultures.