| The film industry of Taiwan started declining since 1980s. The category of youth film outshining others among the film market downturn, met with great favor in audience in a long period. This could be related to young-aged creation group of Taiwanese film, population structure with a majority of young people, unsound film industry and nostalgic social mentality.Based on the analysis about the reason youth film becoming popular in Taiwan society, this article developed arguments on youth films that as a new form in the industry in 1982. Tracing the 30-year-history of development of Taiwanese film, the article classified Taiwan youth films into 1980s New film,1990s New and New Film, and Post-New Film in the new century based on time series, in order to study the relationship between Taiwan youth film and its society, unearth culture phenomena that concealed in youth films and analyze the culture meaning and guiding function of the films to Taiwan district that experienced different generations of political systems and ideologies.Under the autocratic ruling of KMT, New films borrowed individual growth of youth and rising feminism that accompanied with self-consciousness awakening to imply the forming social subjectivity of anti-KMT authoritarian ruling and pursuing of democratic and liberty in 1980s Taiwan society. Continuously generated social subjective let Taiwan populace began doubting the "China identity" that propagandized by KMT. Native consciousness and nationalism that is anti-neocolonial from United States and Japan are being embodied Resistance towards western culture influenced the esthetic interesting of New Films towards orientalism. However, the unavoidable modern culture placed New Films in the dilemma of modernity and tradition.At the end of 1980s, Taiwan society underwent enormous changes. On the one hand, modern negative culture overturned the traditional value system and ethical concepts. The whole society was full of venality and moral degeneration. On the other hand, the transition of political system after martial law period resulted in social and economic disorders. New and New Films in stressed performing criminal and violent behaviors of Taiwan urban youth during the chaotic period. Focusing on them under circumstances of authoritarian collapsing and national disassembly experienced individual decadence, perplexed spiritual worlds and hopeless prisoner's dilemma. Although the "anti-growth" narrative made the New and New Films were lack of positive guiding functions of traditional "growing movies", but it did not means the perish of educational significance. In the films, time compression, space distortion and the destiny of teens that being ripped by the social machines all declared that these films made inquiries about the nature of existence and life on the philosophical level, endowed films growth meaning on another level. Yet we should notice that New and New Films lacked dissection of humanity behind these actions. New and New Films left behind art defects due to above reasons. Also, the excessive self-repetition and intense author-theory style lead the movies into an impasse themselves.After the new century, nativism expanded its influence continually. Taiwan society appeared to be desinicization. Rising of nativism and blindly love to native island by Taiwan people influenced the production of Post-New Films. Post-New Films by means of presenting native symbols like geographical and cultural landscapes to sever connection between Taiwan and Mainland China, characterize "Taike" figures which represent "local Taiwan people" to imply the ideology of Taiwan independence. In addition, Post-New Films via narrating the hardworking of teens on Taiwan soil to again connect the growth of youth with local awareness so called "Taiwan spirit" which has no difference to the Taiwan independence and Taiwan awareness that repels mainland China and emphasize the nativism. At meantime, new movies depicted the pro-Japan ideology of Taiwan society and sub-cultural phenomena like aborigines and homosexuality. The former virtually reflected the post-colonial attitude and its political agenda of uniting Japan in order to confronting China. The latter, on account of avoiding the confrontation between sub-culture and mainstream culture, let sub-culture merely become complements of multi-culture yet be difficult to convey the power of subversion and deconstruction sufficiently. Also, the growth meaning of teen had been faded.To put into a nutshell, Taiwan youth films closely tied up with practical society and ideology on the one hand, while parried some sensitive social problems and dared not to confront realistic conflicts on the other hand. Also, youth films increasingly lacked of cruelty and became romantic from merely superficial. Taiwan films should drop the political burden of forming "nation" figure and broaden their sight to produce films with various genres and themes that for mainland China and Southeast Asian countries instead of localized films that are filled with nativism orientation. This is where the future of Taiwan film to go. |
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