Taiwanese-Language Cinema

State versus Market, National versus Transnational

  • Ming-Yeh T. Rawnsley
Keywords: Taiwan cinema, Taiwanese-language film industry, state, market, national, transnational, Asian film history

Abstract

Taiwanese-language cinema of the 1950s and the 1960s had a neglected history until the process of democratization in Taiwan invoked a renewed interest in local traditions and cultural legacies. However it is difficult to research the subject as many films and original materials have been lost forever. This paper aims to tease out a forgotten film history that is yet to be widely covered in English literature by studying the Huaxing Film Studio (1949–63), the first privately-run Taiwanese film production company, as well as a prominent filmmaker, Xin Qi (1924–2010). The two central questions the author tackles are: How did Taiwanese language filmmakers negotiate the pressure from the state and the market under martial law? What can we learn about the paradigm of national versus transnational from Taiwan’s early film industry?

Author Biography

Ming-Yeh T. Rawnsley

Dr. Ming-Yeh T. Rawnsley is a Research Associate of the School of Oriental and African Studies, University of London, UK. Her most recent publication is Global Chinese Cinema: The Culture and Politics of Hero (edited with Gary Rawnsley). She is currently writing a monograph, Culture and Democratization in Taiwan: Cinema, Theatre and Social Change (Routledge, forthcoming).

Published
2013-12-12
How to Cite
Rawnsley, M.-Y. T. (2013). Taiwanese-Language Cinema: State versus Market, National versus Transnational. Archiv orientální, 81(3), 437-458. Retrieved from https://aror.orient.cas.cz/index.php/ArOr/article/view/356
Issue
Vol. 81 No. 3 (2013)
Section
Research Article

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