WESTERN ERA
INTRODUCTION:
The KMT regime that traversed the mainland to reach Taiwan harbored a resentment for communism, due to their recent loss to the Communist Party of China, which forced them to leave China. Therefore, there was a definite push to acquire worldwide recognition of independence from China, which motivated Chiang-Kai-Shek under the KMT to establish a uniformity and nationalistic pride, unique from China's. While this in essence destroyed all sense of individualist culture, this helped produce a distinct culture which greatly sought to create a disparity from that of China's. With the growth of free enterprise in Taiwan, the recently-oppressed natives of Taiwan gained power through economic success and regained basic rights, which instigated the shift to democratization. Furthermore, due to the UN's failure to recognize Taiwan as an independent country of the Republic of China, a more unified, inclusive Taiwan was established; people, regardless of origin, convened in Taiwan and began identifying themselves as Taiwanese, rather than from the mainland or from native Taiwan. When KMT's original leader, Chiang-Kai-Shek, died in the mid-1970's, the following leaderships gradually allowed the loosening of regulation, which was marked by the end of martial law. The initial "pan-China" viewpoint was dissolved, and a local movement was formed. Not only did this allow the resurfacing of repressed local languages, this allowed the writers, musicians, and filmmakers to free up their works and express their own individualist creativity. The characteristics of Western culture seemed to embody the newfound mentality of Taiwanese culture, which allowed western ideas to integrate into Taiwanese society quite fluidly.
NEW STYLE:
Under the KMT-regime, all individual cultural values were eliminated because of martial law and strict government regulation of literature, language, and media. However, while these masked the individualist uprising values that stemmed from colonial, Japanese-dictated Taiwan, these individualistic links still remained underneath the surface; with the KMT's harsh regulation of all culture finally uplifted, many of these creative, individualist values emerged with Westernization, a shift to native Taiwanese values, and a new Taiwanese nationalism. The roads originally named after Chiang Kai Shek were reverted back to their original Taiwanese names, the newspapers such as China News changed their name to Taiwan News, currency changed from pictures of Chiang Kai Shek to pictures of landmarks in Taiwan, old traditional cultural forms such as puppetry reappeared, and movies, music, and literature took a liberal turn. Literature, from its KMT-political presuppositions, refocused on the expression of individual emotion and created a rejection of politically-oriented art. With the liberal environment of the time, writers did not conform to one single style, but instead played with different meaning and structure (such as the attached poem). While themes were often inspired by Western influences, such as exile, nostalgia, and solitude, authors endeavored new styles during this time, where they were free of political intervention, which added to the emergence of a new Taiwanese cultural identity.
Film, which like literature was regulated greatly by the KMT, experienced a burst of creative energy which began the wave of Taiwan New Wave cinema. While before it was used for propaganda, the disappointment in not being recognized as an independent nation evoked a more liberal view, and in turn, creative aspect. Like Western film, Taiwanese film incorporated a more viewer-interpretation aspect, which created a more ambiguous conclusion; because of the direct, straightforward style in film the KMT regime forced upon filmmakers, they took a more free-flowing approach, which was a combination of an integration of democracy and a rejection of the KMT-regulated styles. Because of the old formalities had been removed, many new filmmakers such as Edward Yang emerged in the business, who still remain popular today. Films like "A Brighter Summer Day" produced during the time expressed a dismissal of old political values and an integration of Western appeal (through the Western music and environment staged in the film), which exhibited a creative and uncertain style that characterized the emerging time period. Rather than being a political machine for the KMT, Taiwanese film became recognized as an economic business, which received worldwide acclaim. Internationalization of Taiwanese film, which began because of Taiwan's disappointment in not being recognized as an independent nation, would help it become recognized as a separate identity from China culturally, and consequently politically.
Under the KMT-regime, all individual cultural values were eliminated because of martial law and strict government regulation of literature, language, and media. However, while these masked the individualist uprising values that stemmed from colonial, Japanese-dictated Taiwan, these individualistic links still remained underneath the surface; with the KMT's harsh regulation of all culture finally uplifted, many of these creative, individualist values emerged with Westernization, a shift to native Taiwanese values, and a new Taiwanese nationalism. The roads originally named after Chiang Kai Shek were reverted back to their original Taiwanese names, the newspapers such as China News changed their name to Taiwan News, currency changed from pictures of Chiang Kai Shek to pictures of landmarks in Taiwan, old traditional cultural forms such as puppetry reappeared, and movies, music, and literature took a liberal turn. Literature, from its KMT-political presuppositions, refocused on the expression of individual emotion and created a rejection of politically-oriented art. With the liberal environment of the time, writers did not conform to one single style, but instead played with different meaning and structure (such as the attached poem). While themes were often inspired by Western influences, such as exile, nostalgia, and solitude, authors endeavored new styles during this time, where they were free of political intervention, which added to the emergence of a new Taiwanese cultural identity.
Film, which like literature was regulated greatly by the KMT, experienced a burst of creative energy which began the wave of Taiwan New Wave cinema. While before it was used for propaganda, the disappointment in not being recognized as an independent nation evoked a more liberal view, and in turn, creative aspect. Like Western film, Taiwanese film incorporated a more viewer-interpretation aspect, which created a more ambiguous conclusion; because of the direct, straightforward style in film the KMT regime forced upon filmmakers, they took a more free-flowing approach, which was a combination of an integration of democracy and a rejection of the KMT-regulated styles. Because of the old formalities had been removed, many new filmmakers such as Edward Yang emerged in the business, who still remain popular today. Films like "A Brighter Summer Day" produced during the time expressed a dismissal of old political values and an integration of Western appeal (through the Western music and environment staged in the film), which exhibited a creative and uncertain style that characterized the emerging time period. Rather than being a political machine for the KMT, Taiwanese film became recognized as an economic business, which received worldwide acclaim. Internationalization of Taiwanese film, which began because of Taiwan's disappointment in not being recognized as an independent nation, would help it become recognized as a separate identity from China culturally, and consequently politically.