과거와 현실을 통한 臺灣의 정체성 찾기, 신전영(新電影, 1982-1996)

Abstract

Taiwan New Cinema continued for a long period, from 1982 when did appear In Our Time, a anthology film by Tai Te-Chen, Edward Yang, Ko I-Chen, and Chang Yi to 1996 when Edward Yang made Ma Jiang. Taiwan New Cinema was formed by two different, but linked, processes of transform. The first was a set of films reflecting the problem of fact and reality that emerged among contemporary Taiwanese writers’ debates. The second was those films dealing with historical events and landscape that were prohibited during Chiang Kai-Sek’s regime. Both sets of films, although formed through different relationships, ultimately focused on the problem of Taiwanese identity. In this respect, it is not exaggeration that Taiwan New Cinema was a set of probings of Taiwanese politics, society, and culture in transition. The beginning of such cinematic exploration was In Our Time. Starting with this film, Taiwanese cinema began to escape from its traditional mode of style and production, a largely escapist cinema. It touched upon the sense of nostalgia throughout travel to childhood and critically explored materialism, solitude, loneliness, and absence of communication that occurred during the process of rapid economic growth in Taiwan. It also dealt with current social problems previously ignored or suppressed in the national cinema; it directly visualised Taiwanese history and identity which had been obscured by the tension between the native Taiwanese and mainland Chinese immigrants. Among others, Hou Hsiao-Hsien and Edward Yang casted countless problems toward Taiwanese identity, probing the modern history of Taiwan. This paper will have a close at the two processes in Taiwan New Cinema and explore its concerns and themes and its shared style.