Cinema Taiwan Politics, Popularity and State of the Arts

Following the recent success of Taiwanese film directors, such as Hou Hsiao-hsien, Edward Yang, Ang Lee and Tsai Ming-liang, Taiwanese film is raising its profile in contemporary cinema. This collection presents an exciting and ambitious foray into the cultural politics of contemporary Taiwan film that goes beyond the auterist mode, the nation-state argument and vestiges of the New Cinema.
Cinema Taiwan considers the complex problems of popularity, conflicts between transnational capital and local practice, non-fiction and independent filmmaking as emerging modes of address, and new possibilities of forging vibrant film cultures embedded in national (identity) politics, gender/sexuality and community activism. Insightful and challenging, the essays in this collection will attract attention to a globally significant field of cultural production and will appeal to readers from the areas of film studies, cultural studies and Chinese culture and society.

Preface: Screening Contemporary Taiwan Cinema Ping-hiu Liao Introduction: Cinema Taiwan, a Civilizing Mission? Darrell William Davis Part I: Politics 1. The Vision of Taiwan New Documentary Kuei-fen Chiu 2. Haunted Realism: Postcoloniality and the Cinema of Chang Tso-chi Chris Berry 3. The Impossible Task of Taipei Films Yomi Braester 4. Taiwan in Mainland Chinese Cinema Robert Chi 5. Festivals, Criticism and International Reputation of Taiwan New Cinema Chia-chi Wu Part II: Popularity 6. The Unbearable Lightness of Globalization: On the Transnational Flight of Wuxia Film 7. "This Isn’t Real!" Spatialized Narration and (In)Visible Special Effects in Double Vision 8. Morning in the New Metropolis: Taipei and the Globalization of City Film James Tweedie 9. Taiwan (Trans)National Cinema, or, The Far-Flung Adventures of a Taiwanese Tomboy 10. Trendy in Taiwan: Problems of Popularity in the Island’s Cinema Darrell William Davis Part III: State of Arts 11. King Hu: Experimental, Narrative Filmmaker Peter Rist 12. "I thought of the times we were in front of the flowers": Analyzing the Opening Credits of Goodbye Dragon Inn 13 "This Time He Moves!": The Deeper Significance of Hou Hsiao-hsien’s Radical Break in Good Men, Good Women James Udden 14. The Road Home: Stylistic Renovations of Chinese Mandarin Classics Emilie Yueh-yu Yeh Selected Filmography Chinese Glossary

Darrell William Davis is Senior lecturer at the School of Media, Film & Theatre, University of New South Wales, Sydney. Ru-Shou Robert Chen is Associate Professor at the Department of Radio-Television, National Chengchi University.