Locating Taiwan Cinema in the Twenty-First Century

340 Pages·2020·24.229 MB·English

by  Paul G. Pickowicz, Yingjin Zhang

Locating Taiwan Cinema
in the
Twenty-First Century

Locating Taiwan Cinema
in the
Twenty-First Century
EDITED BY
Paul G. Pickowicz and Yingjin Zhang

Cambria Sinophone World Series
General Editor: Victor H. Mair
Copyright 2020 Cambria Press
All rights reserved.
Printed in the United States of America
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Requests for permission should be directed to
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Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
Names: Pickowicz, Paul, editor. | Zhang, Yingjin, editor.
Title: Locating Taiwan cinema in the twenty-first
century / edited by Paul G. Pickowicz and Yingjing Zhang.
Description: Amherst : Cambria Press, [2020] |
Series: Cambria sinophone world series |
Includes bibliographical references and index. |
Summary: "There has been much discussion of New Wave Taiwan cinema of the 1980s
and 1990s, including research that studies the pathbreaking contributions of acclaimed
directors like Hou Hsiao-hsien. This book updates the scholarship on Taiwan cinema
by taking it into the twenty-first century. It is the first book to take a multidisciplinary
approach to evaluating recent Taiwan films. The authors are specialists in cultural studies,
history, and the social sciences, and they use different film materials and methodologies
to analyze the ways in which filmmakers deal with the evolution of Taiwan's society,
economy, and culture in the new century. The emphasis is placed on the diversity of
approaches that characterize recent Taiwan cinema. Taiwanese filmmakers use many
forms and genres to tackle pressing issues. In sharp contrast to the late-twentieth-
century New Wave filmmakers who were widely regarded as producing "art films" that
had little impact on the domestic market, many recent Taiwan films have enjoyed huge
commercial success in Taiwan. This book probes many crucial controversies: What are
Taiwan's meaningful cultural and historical connections to Japan? How do Taiwanese
filmmakers and audiences feel about mainland China? How does Taiwan cinema deal with
environmental issues, animal rights, human trafficking, sexuality, and the challenges facing
ethnic minorities? Locating Twenty-First-Century Taiwan Cinema is an important book for
collections in Asian studies, film studies, and the social sciences"-- Provided by publisher.
Identifiers: LCCN 2020032050 | ISBN 9781621965459 (hardback) |
ISBN 9781621965633 (adobe pdf) | ISBN 9781621965640 (epub)
Subjects: LCSH: Motion pictures--Taiwan--History--21st century.
| Motion pictures--Social aspects--Taiwan--History--21st century.
Classification: LCC PN1993.5.T28 L63 2020 |
DDC 791.43095124/9--dc23
LC record available at https://lccn.loc.gov/2020032050
Table of Contents
List of Figures............................................................... vii
Acknowledgments........................................................... xi
Introduction: Locating Taiwan Cinema in the Twenty-First
Century
Paul G. Pickowicz and Yingjin Zhang.............................. 1
Part I: Taiwan in Context............................................... 19
Chapter 1: Taiwan Film Market in the New Millennium
Yingjin Zhang................................................... 21
Chapter 2: Totem—Song for Home
Daisuke Miyao.................................................. 41
Chapter 3: “I Know That Song”
Andrew D. Morris.............................................. 61
Chapter 4: Local Histories/Global Recognition
W. Z. Hill........................................................ 79
Part II: Genres in Focus................................................. 95
Chapter 5: Farewell, China Nostalgia
Shaohua Guo.................................................... 97
Chapter 6: The Protest Film Genre in Twenty-First-Century
Taiwan Cinema
Paul G. Pickowicz............................................. 113
Chapter 7: Taiwan from Below
Sang Eun Eunice Lee.......................................... 133
Part III: Artists in Spotlight........................................... 151
vi Taiwan Cinema in the 21st Century
Chapter 8: Le Moulin
Andy Birtwistle and Kuei-fen Chiu.......................... 153
Chapter 9: At the Intersection of Cinema, Photography, and
Painting
Chihho Lin..................................................... 173
Chapter 10: Filming and Performing the Girl Next Door
Pai Wang..................................................... 187
Part IV: Crises in Spotlight........................................... 207
Chapter 11: Historical Sensibility
Jiann-guang Lin............................................. 209
Chapter 12: Miserable Company
Thomas Chan................................................ 227
Chapter 13: The Secret Beauty of History
Shu-ching Chen.............................................. 245
Bibliography................................................................ 265
Filmography................................................................ 291
Glossary..................................................................... 295
Index......................................................................... 301
About the Contributors................................................... 319
Cambria Sinophone World Series....................................... 321
List of Figures
Figure 1: Suming sings a song in the morning light. Totem—Song
for Home (d. Shingo Wakagi, 2009) ........................... 55
Figure 2: Suming hesitantly smiles during the band interview.
Totem—Song for Home (d. Shingo Wakagi, 2009) ............ 57
Figure 3: “I know that song.” Cape No. 7 (d. Wei Te-sheng,
2008) ...............................................................65
Figure 4: Taiwanese Kanō players sing to support their teammate.
Kano (d. Umin Boya, 2014) .....................................69
Figure 5: Coach Kondō Hyōtarō leads his almost-triumphant
team off the field at Kōshien. Kano (d. Umin Boya,
2014) ...............................................................71
Figure 6: Jōsha Hiromi shouts, “Kanō, heroes of the field! Kanō
is for the world!” after conclusion of the championship
game. Kano (d. Umin Boya, 2014) ............................. 74
Figure 7: The portrayal of rural Kaohsiung. The Wonderful
Wedding (d. Huang Chao-liang, 2015) ....................... 104
Figure 8: Li Jinshuang picks up RMB from the floor. The
Wonderful Wedding (d. Huang Chao-liang, 2015) .......... 109
Figure 9: Slaughtering calves in China to make fancy high heels.
My Fancy High Heels (d. Ho Chao-ti, 2010) ................. 119
viii Taiwan Cinema in the 21st Century
Figure 10: One of the men who seek to control migrant
woman Lianqing. The Road to Mandalay (d. Midi Z,
2016) ............................................................ 122
Figure 11: Teenage Nakaw defies police and blocks developers.
Wawa No Cidal (d. Cheng Yu-chieh, Lekal Sumi,
2015) ............................................................ 128
Figure 12: A mountain village precariously sits between landslide
scars. Beyond Beauty: Taiwan From Above (d. Chi Po-
lin, 2013) ....................................................... 142
Figure 13: One of many prominent hand shots. Le Moulin (d.
Huang Ya-li, 2015) ............................................159
Figure 14: “Faceless” reenactment. Le Moulin (d. Huang Ya-li,
2015) ............................................................ 161
Figure 15: Chen Mo leaves the lightbox, and Chang Chao-tang’s
photograph Banqiao (1962) is revealed. Parking (d.
Chung Mong-hong, 2008) ....................................178
Figure 16: Chang Chao-tang’s other photograph, Banqiao,
Jiangzicui (1964), is displayed on another lightbox.
Parking (d. Chung Mong-hong, 2008) ...................... 180
Figure 17: The switches between subjective and objective point-
of-view shots. Blue Gate Crossing (d. Yee Chin-yen,
2002) ............................................................ 195
Figure 18: The montage of a hand opening a note and the close-
up of Xiaoyu’s face. Secret (d. Jay Chou, 2007) ............ 197