Dr Bertha Chin (she/her)
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berthac.bsky.social
Dr Bertha Chin (she/her)
@berthac.bsky.social
Fan, celebrity & cultural studies academic. Senior lecturer in media & cultural studies @ NUS, Singapore. Intermixing posts on shows I'm watching, fandoms, politics, academia & work. Opinions my own.
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Probably the most fun I had recording a podcast! Thanks to @giagia.co.uk and Tim Vermeulen for inviting me to come on and ramble about #fandoms and #fancultures!

40. Fandom - Bertha Chin open.substack.com/pub/theclust...
40. Fandom - Bertha Chin
Bertha Chin is a Senior Lecturer in Communications And New Media at the National University of Singapore.
open.substack.com
It’ll just be like entering any other country ruled by dictators that the West have loved to criticised. 🤷🏻‍♀️

www.theguardian.com/us-news/2025...
Tourists to US would have to reveal five years of social media activity under new Trump plan
Plan would apply to countries not currently required to get visas to the US, including Britain and France
www.theguardian.com
December 11, 2025 at 6:46 AM
Waiting for the outrage…
December 8, 2025 at 5:16 PM
Reposted by Dr Bertha Chin (she/her)
📢 #CallForPapers for the Trans #Asian Transcultural #Fandom Symposium happening on May 28, 2026 prior to @mechademia.bsky.social in #Singapore🇸🇬

Deadline for 500-word abstract⏳Feb 1
Find out more ▶️ transasianfan.wordpress.com

We welcome your submissions🫰

@berthac.bsky.social @profweiyu.bsky.social
CfP: Trans-Asian Transcultural Fandom Symposium happening next May @ NUS, Singapore. More announcements to come, but we're hoping this will kickstart conversations and collaborations for scholars in the region working on transcultural fandom

#AcademicSky #FanStudies #TransculturalFandom #CfPs
December 4, 2025 at 9:17 AM
Reposted by Dr Bertha Chin (she/her)
CfP: Trans-Asian Transcultural Fandom Symposium happening next May @ NUS, Singapore. More announcements to come, but we're hoping this will kickstart conversations and collaborations for scholars in the region working on transcultural fandom

#AcademicSky #FanStudies #TransculturalFandom #CfPs
December 4, 2025 at 6:18 AM
Reposted by Dr Bertha Chin (she/her)
I'm looking for participants for my master's study about transmasc/trans men fans of manga and anime! Please fill out my 10-minute survey:
form.jotform.com/253308772919...

#transmasc #t4t #ftm #nonbinary #transresearch #transsurvey #nonbinarysurvey #transresearchbytransrsearchers
December 1, 2025 at 10:52 AM
I’m not into rom-coms in general, but I must say “Nice to Not Meet You” is endearing. It’s all the Lee Jung Jae factor for me!
December 1, 2025 at 3:24 PM
Reposted by Dr Bertha Chin (she/her)
"Ban harmful content from social media instead of us, say Australian teens" www.bbc.com/news/article...
Australia social media ban: Get rid of harmful content instead of us, say teens
From 10 December, social media firms must ensure Australians aged under 16 cannot have accounts.
www.bbc.com
December 1, 2025 at 5:55 AM
Whenever Hong Kong TVB dramas (Queen of News 2) start out well, you can almost always expect it to descend into chaos midway through with questionable tropes and/or character regressions. Or OTT character back story. 🤔
December 1, 2025 at 6:07 AM
Reposted by Dr Bertha Chin (she/her)
The tragic fire in Tai Po has deeper roots: Hong Kong's market-driven, capitalist system that promotes predatory business interests over working people's safety. Read our latest on how Hongkongers are supporting each other through mass mutual aid:

lausancollective.com/2025/tai-po-...
Tai Po in flames - Lausan
How Hongkongers are reviving mass action and mutual aid in the wake of the deadly fires in Tai Po.
lausancollective.com
November 30, 2025 at 5:53 AM
Reposted by Dr Bertha Chin (she/her)
This is such a great article by Eva Cheuk-Yin Li & Ka-Wei Pang about a specific incident in fandom in which discourse around AI deepfakes was weaponised by fans. Beyond the incident itself, it offers a thoughtful example of how to engage with fandom incidents with care and respect.
Eva Cheuk-Yin Li & Ka-Wei Pang close out the New Currents Articles with ""This is a deepfake!": Celebrity scandals, parodic deepfakes, and a critically speculative ethics of care for fandom research in the age of artificial intelligence"! Read it in #TWC46:
buff.ly
November 14, 2025 at 2:58 PM
Initial media reports identified him as a “fan”, and for the general public, this kind of behaviour is immediately relegated to fans. And this is what infuriates me.
www.straitstimes.com/singapore/tr...
‘Troll Most Hated’: Man who rushed at Ariana Grande at Wicked premiere in S’pore a serial intruder
The Australian national also recently interrupted Katy Perry's concert in Sydney. Read more at straitstimes.com. Read more at straitstimes.com.
www.straitstimes.com
November 13, 2025 at 5:31 PM
Attended my first play in Singapore — a Korean production of Chekov’s The Cherry Orchard starring Park Hae Soo and Jeon Do Yeon — and got super annoyed during the post-show conversation when the host (white lady) reworded every question from the audience. Condescending much?! 🙄
November 8, 2025 at 4:01 PM
And also, perhaps, take 2-5 seconds to really think whether the content makes any sense at all before you believe everything. It's not just AI-generated videos, it's literally everything you see and read on the internet since oh, I don't know, the late 90s?

www.bbc.com/future/artic...
The number one sign you're watching an AI video
Your social media feed is being taken over by AI video slop. But for now, there's still one big red flag that can help you spot the fakes.
www.bbc.com
November 4, 2025 at 4:01 AM
Reposted by Dr Bertha Chin (she/her)
“We are told that AI is inevitable, that we must adapt or be left behind. But universities are not tech companies. Our role is to foster critical thinking, not to follow industry trends uncritically.”
November 1, 2025 at 10:45 PM
Everytime I pop my head into Threads, it's filled with racist and regional ragebaiting. Yes, I know I shouldn't bother and I should just delete it.
October 25, 2025 at 3:15 AM
It's somewhat cathartic to see Powerpoint's Design Suggestions get more and more boring with every suggestion.
October 15, 2025 at 6:14 AM
I applaud what DDK was trying to do with this, but I had so many issues with the show. Chief of which, it felt like it was trying to fit America into an Asian/Korean context rather than integrating both. Maybe it was the IP itself...
www.weareresonate.com/2025/10/dani...
Daniel Dae Kim’s 'Butterfly' Canceled By Prime Video After One Season
Prime Video cancels Daniel Dae Kim’s Butterfly, ending the Korea-set spy thriller exploring identity, loyalty, and redemption
www.weareresonate.com
October 11, 2025 at 3:52 AM
First they went for the comedians, and now they’re going after academics.…

www.theguardian.com/us-news/2025...
US anti-fascism expert blocked from flying to Spain at airport
Rutgers University professor who published book on antifa was informed at boarding gate that his trip was cancelled
www.theguardian.com
October 9, 2025 at 6:07 PM
Reposted by Dr Bertha Chin (she/her)
They know it's not true, but that's not the point.

"Republicans post fake image of Oregon protest – using photos of South America" www.theguardian.com/us-news/2025...
Republicans post fake image of Oregon protest – using photos of South America
A federal judge had blocked Trump’s request to deploy California national guard to Portland
www.theguardian.com
October 7, 2025 at 12:57 PM
Because at the end of the day, what the Tories want are mindless generations they can bend to their populist will, and everyone will pander to their lies. For the first time ever, I’m glad I left the UK
How is this repeatedly made into a policy issue - by *all* parties - when the blunt fact of the matter is that grown adults who are obliged to pay for their own education, and relentlessly pursued to repay their loans, should be able to study whatever the fuck they want.
October 8, 2025 at 12:05 PM