"Staging" the Nation in Taiwan Film History

Within the context of the influence of the KMT on Taiwan politics during Nationalist Rule (the key periods in Taiwan’s modern history: Japanese Colonialism, Nationalist Rule, and the Democratic era), I follow the view that the films the state created and endorsed are presented as a staging, not a reflection, of national policies. The choice of wording between “staging” and “reflection” is selected from Theorising National Cinema. Vitali and Willemen state:

“films may and may not reflect the ideological trajectory dominant within the nation at any one time,” […] “films can be seen not to ‘reflect’, but to ‘stage’ the historical conditions that constitute ‘the national’ and, in the process, to ‘mediate’ the socio-economic dynamics that shape cinematic production, along with the other production sectors governed by national industrial regulation and legislation.” (1)

This characterization of the nation’s involvement in cinema in general is important when considering how the cinematic image is presented in Taiwan’s films of the 1960s and 1970s. For example, taking my case study of Bai Jingrui’s 1970 film Home Sweet Home as an example, one observes a national staging of the “ideal” Taiwan citizen on the big screen. My analysis demonstrates the ways in which the film is mediated by national and industrial regulations, following the lead of Vitali and Willemen’s theoretical foundation.

(1) Valentina Vitali and Paul Willemen, Theorising National Cinema, 7.
(2) note: this post follows my previous post "The Nation and Transnational Film Theory"

8 Mile (Hanson, 2002) and The King's Speech (Hooper, 2010)

Is 8 Mile and The King's Speech the same movie?

Act 1: Dudes choke in public.
Act 2: Dudes receive therapeutic guidance.
Act 3: Dudes pwn it.

... it's something I've thought about, but would never have thought to take to the level that this YouTube video displays:

Sundance Film Festival, Saturday (1/26), Post 6

On our last day of the festival we watched the heavy-handed Upstream Color (Carruth, 2013), a film which I find far more intriguing to write about when considering both the philosophical notions that propelled the film and the psychology of its fans.

At the same time, the production values and soundscape of Upstream Color are incredible, and even the story rather straightforward and in some ways interesting. Yet the dialogue seems to never achieve a level of sophistication beyond the title's style of poetry, which could be either sad or funny -- perhaps that was the intention of the film.

Then we watched Rising From Ashes (Johnstone, 2013), a documentary about the Rwandan bicycle racing team and narrated by Forrest Whitaker, at the Windrider Forum's closing event. The trailer is posted below.

Highlights of the day certainly included student Peter Varburg's mention in the New York Times article on Sister Rose Pacatte published on Saturday. Freedman's article is entitled: "Acting as a Mediator at the Crossroads of Faith and Film," which also includes the Windrider Forum.

Peter Varberg, interviewed by Samuel G. Freedman for the NYT article.

Saturday evening we were super excited to see that Fruitvale and Circles, which I couldn't help but praise earlier in the week, won in their respective categories: U.S. Dramatic Grand Jury Prize, and World Cinema Dramatic Special Jury Award. In a sense, I have become attached to these films. Also super happy to see that Catnip: Egress to Oblivion? won the Audience Award for YouTube shorts.

This week has been more incredible than I could have imagined. I errantly expected to be moved by a couple films and sit through a lot of overly-artistic, under-produced drivel. Instead, I had the time of my life, so many awesome films. I absorbed the entire vibe as best as I know how, from the midnight screening of S-VHS to the political engagement of Citizen Koch and 99%, and character portraits in documentaries and feature films alike. As a first-time attendee, I can't wait to find out if it is this great every year.

Sundance Film Festival, Friday (1/25), Post 5

  The filmmakers of Fruitvale at the Windrider Forum, 2013.

This morning at the Windrider Forum we had the chance to interact with the filmmakers of Blood Brother (Hoover, 2013), a documentary about one Christian's recent endeavor to help children infected with HIV in India, and the outstanding filmmakers of Fruitvale, which I blogged about yesterday -- definitely go and see it.

In the early afternoon we also saw Citizen Koch (Deal and Lessin, 2013), which deals with getting corporate spending by the likes of AFP out of our current political landscape by showing the events surrounding the attempt to recall Wisconsin governor Scott Walker. Highlights, among others, included endearing Louisiana governor and congressman Buddy Roemer's effort to get into the media limelight during his 2012 presidential campaign, and a Christian woman's decision to vote Democrat for the first time upon realizing that Republican Scott Walker is failing his constituents. Certainly, as the filmmakers point out, the issue of money in politics is bigger than both political parties.

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Being at Sundance is this special place where -- I'm already taking it for granted -- one just expects to be able to see directors, producers, actors, actresses, and cinematographers... before and after the screenings, hear their stories and responses to audience questions, shake their hands. So much talent, hope, desperation, entertainment, laughter, money ...dreams.

Sundance Film Festival, Thursday (1/24), Post 4

I was disappointed to miss the Windrider Q&A with the makers of God Loves Uganda (Williams, 2013) today, yet very pleased to attend the world premiere of the essential: 99%—The Occupy Wall Street Collaborative Film. Upon walking out of the theater, I overheard a number of people describing how they did not understand the occupy movement as it occurred, but understand it better now -- so cool how so many directors submitted footage to create this film.

Unfortunately, I fell asleep during What They Don’t Talk About When They Talk About Love, but

you have to see: Fruitvale (Coogler, 2013). The depiction of Oscar Grant, his life, and murder in 2009. Coming on the heels of seeing 99%'s depiction of Oakland -- the backdrop of Fruitvale -- earlier in the day, and totally absorbed by the characterization of Oscar Grant's last day... I left thinking: truly remarkable. Must-see.

We rounded out the day -- my mind is in total natural-high, can't believe how weird, great, wonderful, and strange film/life is -- with the hilarious and wacky Virtually Heroes (Echternkamp, 2013), which splices together eleven 1980s b-Vietnam War Films into a video game that the protagonist must complete in order to win the love of his life. Preceded by this short:

Sundance Film Festival, Wednesday (1/23), Post 3

... a brief update for Wednesday at Sundance – so far we’re 5 for 5 with our films, no duds. All have been super entertaining and excellent in their own right. On Wednesday we watched:

Circles (Golubovic, 2013) at the Library, a feature length film, shot in that slow aesthetic in the vein of Hou Hsiao-Hsien – perfectly paced, with elements -- to an extent -- of a mystery/what happened in terms of the film’s narrative construction, with balanced characterization and outstanding acting, the best acting of any film I’ve seen here so far. I believe that this film will see, and deserves, wide-release.

Newlyweeds (King, 2013), also at the Library, was wonderfully entertaining, one of the audience favorites at the festival so far. I laughed for at least 15 minutes total throughout the film, including at least 3 minutes in one stretch during a flashback in which the protagonist imagines his life of today as if he were living in a 1970s Blaxploitation film.

Meanwhile, the “Shorts Program 4” at Prospector was another fine series of films, including: Black Metal (9 min), Boneshaker (12 min), The Captain (5 min), The Curse (17 min), Gun (17 min), On Suffocation (7 min), You Are More Than Beautiful (27 min).

My favorite shorts included Black Metal, which portrays a black metal singer who contemplates the fact a murder was committed by a fan ostensibly inspired by his music, and the The Curse, which represents issues of gender and coming of age in rural Morocco.

Sundance Film Festival, Tuesday (1/22), Post 2

Today's highlight: Life According to Sam (Fine & Nix, 2012), a 90 minute documentary about Sam Berns, today aged 16 and diagnosed with progeria.

It's a moving film that, as a parent, can be quite emotional as one considers that single-minded desire to care for one's children -- thus, to see Dr. Leslie Gordon and Dr. Scott Berns, and their family rallying around them, both care for their son and race to find a cure for progeria makes for an almost entirely engaging piece. I know I'd like to return to this film again, whether that means re-watching it, writing about it, or reflecting on it, which is inevitable.

Especially because the psychology of Dr. Leslie Gordon is, in particular, fascinating -- I believe that audiences will unconsciously, perhaps, endorse the film because of her appeal, the fact that she is helping so many, living a life of purpose, willing to lose sleep and not feel tired -- in devotion to her family and a cure.

While Sam is the film's hero, the documentary leaves a lot to reconsider in terms of her representation, desire, comments, and action.

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Today was a bit more mellow at the festival ... worked a bit on the Annotated Bibliography of Taiwan Film Studies in the morning and attended the Windrider Forum opening session in the mid-afternoon.

... still one more film on the list today: a midnight screening of S-VHS.