The Transnational Lens: An Integrative Review of Audience Reception and Intercultural Exchange in Global Media

The rapid expansion of digital streaming and the complexity of cross-border audience engagement define the contemporary media landscape. Despite increasing transnational content flows, scholarly literature remains fragmented because existing reviews treat audience reception within isolated regional or sectoral contexts, failing to integrate digital platform mechanisms with audience agency across non-Western flows. This integrative review synthesizes peer-reviewed literature from 2004 to 2025 to re-evaluate audience reception and intercultural exchange through a transnational lens. Organized around four core pillars, the synthesis demonstrates that: (1) Theoretical Shifts reveal a move from unidirectional cultural dominance toward audience negotiation; (2) Glocalization illustrates how local narrative adaptation reduces audience disconnects caused by unfamiliar cultural markers; (3) Platformed Engagement highlights how algorithmic curation and platform infrastructure shape viewing habits; and (4) Diasporic Interactions demonstrate how migrant communities negotiate identity through dual local-global media fares. The article also maps the evolution of global media studies in the digital era. Findings indicate that non-Western media flows and active decoding challenge Western-centric models of media influence. More effective intercultural exchange occurs when media platforms balance algorithmic distribution with localized narrative adaptation. Theoretically, this review proposes a model of cultural assemblage that extends existing theories of glocalization and active audiences by accounting for how platform algorithms, local user practices, and non-Western flows converge dynamically. Practically, it offers actionable recommendations for platform governance, content policy, and industry localization practices to foster balanced global media interactions within a culturally divergent global entertainment ecosystem.