This book renews our understanding of contemporary interculturality and today’s intercultural world through an illuminating case study of the Labubu phenomenon.
Why do we queue for hours, shake blind boxes and refresh screens at 10 p.m. just for the privilege of buying something we did not even want yesterday? What does our hunger for a grinning monster reveal about how we connect, belong and exclude in today’s divided world? Beneath these questions lies an ultimate search for the driving force behind the mania: What are we really chasing? The authors offer a surprising answer: ourselves. Drawing on critical interculturality, the sociology of consumption, media studies and discourse analysis, this interdisciplinary work examines media coverage, social media conversations and ethnographic fieldwork from countries such as China, Finland and France. It unpacks the hyper-capitalist machinery of artificial scarcity, emotional commerce and strategic emptiness, introducing the Labubu Model of Interculturality (LMI) – a framework for understanding how consumption has become the primary language of belonging in a glocalised world.
Written for scholars, students and curious readers alike, this book offers an intriguing and thought-provoking study for those drawn to the Labubu vogue, as well as researchers engaged in intercultural studies, business and marketing and postmodern studies.
Pay easily by card, Klarna, Apple Pay or Google Pay. Not happy? You always have a 14-day money-back guarantee. Read more in our terms. If you have any questions, email us at hello@memmo.org.
Memmo makes studying easier – wherever you are in the world. We bring your course books and smart study tools together in one place: summaries, quizzes, podcasts and flashcards. Plus Ted, your study buddy who answers anything you wonder. Over 50,000 students already study here – built to help you learn faster and stress less.