“Do You See Me Now?” Gender,Glocalization,and the Strategic Appropriation of Gulf Tropes in Netflix’s The Exchange

Abstract

This article examines The Exchange (2023), Netflix’s first Kuwaiti original series, as an example of how the platform negotiates cultural specificity within an environment shaped by regulatory oversight and representational constraint. Set in Kuwait’s 1980 financial sector, the series reworks familiar melodramatic tropes with a focus on women’s ambition and economic agency. Drawing on a textual analysis and close examination of paratextual materials, the article considers how the series employs strategic ambiguity and polysemy to operate across global and local audience contexts. Rather than rejecting regional storytelling conventions, The Exchange appropriates them through a gendered refraction that enables the series to appear both nostalgic and progressive. In doing so, it exemplifies Netflix’s evolving strategy in the Gulf, embedding potentially contentious themes within locally recognizable forms. This approach reflects a glocalization strategy that privileges narrative flexibility over resolution, allowing the platform to expand regional engagement without sacrificing global appeal.