台灣自2002年的電影《藍色大門》後，兼以青春成長和同性戀為主題的商業電影相繼出現。從相關電影文本分析可見，這類電影脫離以往媒體再現同性戀者的刻板印象，明朗清新的電影基調亦有別歷年華語同志電影的悲情和政治色彩，對華語同志電影類型作出了翻新。本論文採取導演深入訪談的研究方法，從電影工業及創作角度切入，指出台灣當時已然崩潰的電影工業環境、輔導金制度、同性戀題材不構成籌資困難，以及青春成長電影類型低成本的特性，均是這類華語同志電影特例出現的原因。由於電影強調同性戀和異性戀者的共同性，對同志的再現反而有所局限，本文認為，更恰當的同性戀再現應包含正面肯定性差異的態度。台灣青春同志電影的個案，讓我們了解作者在商業電影創作中注入個性遇到的各種困難，亦提供了認識「後新電影」重尋生存策略的視角，檢示和整理台灣走出新電影運動後長達二十年的低谷的經驗。 / Blue Gate Crossing (2002) marked the beginning of a series of coming-of-age films that dealt with homosexual subject matter in commercial Taiwanese cinema. Using the method of textual analysis, it is found that the basic tone of these films is light and refreshing, in contrast to the sad and political tone in previous generations of homosexual films. These coming-of-age films formed a new genre of Chinese-language homosexual cinema and a divergence from previous media representation of homosexual stereotypes. By conducting in-depth interviews with directors of these films and dissecting the creative process of production, it is found that the reasons for the appearance of this new genre include the collapse of Taiwanese cinema, the policy of government subsidies, the ease of securing funding and the low cost of producing coming-of-age films. It is also found that by emphasizing the similarities between homosexual and heterosexual relationships, these films created limitations for the representation of homosexuality. A more appropriate representation of homosexuality should include affirmation of sexuality differences.This special case of a coming-of-age homosexual genre reveals the difficulties faced by directors when they tried to add creative elements to commercial cinema, and provides insights into strategies for Post-New Cinema to survive. This study thus stands as an overview of how New Taiwan Cinema rebounded after its 20-year-long trough. / Detailed summary in vernacular field only. / 鍾嘉瑩. / Thesis (M.Phil.) Chinese University of Hong Kong, 2015. / Includes bibliographical references (leaves 110-116). / Abstracts in English and Chinese. / Zhong Jiaying.

published_or_final_version / Comparative Literature / Master / Master of Philosophy

published_or_final_version / Comparative Literature / Master / Master of Philosophy

This thesis engages with Taiwanese history by offering a reading of Hou Hsiaohsien???s A City of Sadness (1989), making reference to the film???s historical dimensions, cultural representations and gender issues in the period 1945 to 1949. In addition, Hou???s cinematography is detailed with comparison to Yasujiro Ozu and the influences of Japanese colonisation. Hou???s immense contribution to Taiwanese film consists principally in a Taiwanese trilogy that traces Taiwan???s history in the 20th century. In The Puppet Master (1993) Hou details the era of Japanese colonisation from 1895 to the restoration of Taiwan by the Kuomintang in 1945. Later, A City of Sadness focuses on the fate of the Lin family from 1945 to 1949, which epitomises people???s life in Taiwan during the initial stages of Kuomintang domination. Finally, Good Men, Good Women (1995) highlights two different eras in Taiwan: the political movement in the 1950s and the pop culture in the 1990s. The thesis uses illustrations from all three films to explore Hou???s historical, cultural and gender representations. In order to understand Hou???s ideology and beliefs in greater depth, I also review his autobiographical film, A Time to Live, and A Time to Die (1985). This thesis examines Taiwan???s indigenous culture and the impact of Japanese and Chinese cultural practices in A City of Sadness through the post-colonial theories of Perry Anderson, Homi Bhabha, and Chris Berry. I draw on their theories of cultural hegemony and my empiricism to investigate Hou???s representation of the political situation in Taiwan. Finally, the thesis evaluates gender issues in A City of Sadness, with reference to Julia Kristeva???s notion of ???feminine time??? and the debate between Emilie Yeh and Mizou concerning ???whether women can really enter history???. In evaluating A City of Sadness I argue that Hou Hsiao-hsien???s use of a family???s microhistory to parallel the national macro-history of the February 28th Incident opens an important historical window through which the audience may re-encounter and reflect on Taiwan???s past, and think positively about its future.

This thesis engages with Taiwanese history by offering a reading of Hou Hsiaohsien???s A City of Sadness (1989), making reference to the film???s historical dimensions, cultural representations and gender issues in the period 1945 to 1949. In addition, Hou???s cinematography is detailed with comparison to Yasujiro Ozu and the influences of Japanese colonisation. Hou???s immense contribution to Taiwanese film consists principally in a Taiwanese trilogy that traces Taiwan???s history in the 20th century. In The Puppet Master (1993) Hou details the era of Japanese colonisation from 1895 to the restoration of Taiwan by the Kuomintang in 1945. Later, A City of Sadness focuses on the fate of the Lin family from 1945 to 1949, which epitomises people???s life in Taiwan during the initial stages of Kuomintang domination. Finally, Good Men, Good Women (1995) highlights two different eras in Taiwan: the political movement in the 1950s and the pop culture in the 1990s. The thesis uses illustrations from all three films to explore Hou???s historical, cultural and gender representations. In order to understand Hou???s ideology and beliefs in greater depth, I also review his autobiographical film, A Time to Live, and A Time to Die (1985). This thesis examines Taiwan???s indigenous culture and the impact of Japanese and Chinese cultural practices in A City of Sadness through the post-colonial theories of Perry Anderson, Homi Bhabha, and Chris Berry. I draw on their theories of cultural hegemony and my empiricism to investigate Hou???s representation of the political situation in Taiwan. Finally, the thesis evaluates gender issues in A City of Sadness, with reference to Julia Kristeva???s notion of ???feminine time??? and the debate between Emilie Yeh and Mizou concerning ???whether women can really enter history???. In evaluating A City of Sadness I argue that Hou Hsiao-hsien???s use of a family???s microhistory to parallel the national macro-history of the February 28th Incident opens an important historical window through which the audience may re-encounter and reflect on Taiwan???s past, and think positively about its future.

This thesis engages with Taiwanese history by offering a reading of Hou Hsiaohsien???s A City of Sadness (1989), making reference to the film???s historical dimensions, cultural representations and gender issues in the period 1945 to 1949. In addition, Hou???s cinematography is detailed with comparison to Yasujiro Ozu and the influences of Japanese colonisation. Hou???s immense contribution to Taiwanese film consists principally in a Taiwanese trilogy that traces Taiwan???s history in the 20th century. In The Puppet Master (1993) Hou details the era of Japanese colonisation from 1895 to the restoration of Taiwan by the Kuomintang in 1945. Later, A City of Sadness focuses on the fate of the Lin family from 1945 to 1949, which epitomises people???s life in Taiwan during the initial stages of Kuomintang domination. Finally, Good Men, Good Women (1995) highlights two different eras in Taiwan: the political movement in the 1950s and the pop culture in the 1990s. The thesis uses illustrations from all three films to explore Hou???s historical, cultural and gender representations. In order to understand Hou???s ideology and beliefs in greater depth, I also review his autobiographical film, A Time to Live, and A Time to Die (1985). This thesis examines Taiwan???s indigenous culture and the impact of Japanese and Chinese cultural practices in A City of Sadness through the post-colonial theories of Perry Anderson, Homi Bhabha, and Chris Berry. I draw on their theories of cultural hegemony and my empiricism to investigate Hou???s representation of the political situation in Taiwan. Finally, the thesis evaluates gender issues in A City of Sadness, with reference to Julia Kristeva???s notion of ???feminine time??? and the debate between Emilie Yeh and Mizou concerning ???whether women can really enter history???. In evaluating A City of Sadness I argue that Hou Hsiao-hsien???s use of a family???s microhistory to parallel the national macro-history of the February 28th Incident opens an important historical window through which the audience may re-encounter and reflect on Taiwan???s past, and think positively about its future.

This thesis is an evaluation of the extent to which theories of focalization are useful for the analysis of point of view in film. In it, I apply the small number of focalization models advanced within film studies to an analysis of the works of an internationally acclaimed Taiwanese director, Edward Yang. I reveal that Yang's films serve well to demonstrate how the conventional typologies of external and internal focalization are convenient labels that mask the considerable degree of ambiguity that is reflected by processes of focalization and narration in many films. Furthermore, I illustrate how an application of the alternative theory of auto-focalization to film analysis can generally free us from the limitations of these typologies, by drawing our attention to the iconic implications of film imagery. Finally, I determine that both models of focalization are largely useful for highlighting the degree to which the functions of character-focalizers and narrators can be indistinguishable, particularly in self-reflexive films.

This thesis engages with Taiwanese history by offering a reading of Hou Hsiaohsien???s A City of Sadness (1989), making reference to the film???s historical dimensions, cultural representations and gender issues in the period 1945 to 1949. In addition, Hou???s cinematography is detailed with comparison to Yasujiro Ozu and the influences of Japanese colonisation. Hou???s immense contribution to Taiwanese film consists principally in a Taiwanese trilogy that traces Taiwan???s history in the 20th century. In The Puppet Master (1993) Hou details the era of Japanese colonisation from 1895 to the restoration of Taiwan by the Kuomintang in 1945. Later, A City of Sadness focuses on the fate of the Lin family from 1945 to 1949, which epitomises people???s life in Taiwan during the initial stages of Kuomintang domination. Finally, Good Men, Good Women (1995) highlights two different eras in Taiwan: the political movement in the 1950s and the pop culture in the 1990s. The thesis uses illustrations from all three films to explore Hou???s historical, cultural and gender representations. In order to understand Hou???s ideology and beliefs in greater depth, I also review his autobiographical film, A Time to Live, and A Time to Die (1985). This thesis examines Taiwan???s indigenous culture and the impact of Japanese and Chinese cultural practices in A City of Sadness through the post-colonial theories of Perry Anderson, Homi Bhabha, and Chris Berry. I draw on their theories of cultural hegemony and my empiricism to investigate Hou???s representation of the political situation in Taiwan. Finally, the thesis evaluates gender issues in A City of Sadness, with reference to Julia Kristeva???s notion of ???feminine time??? and the debate between Emilie Yeh and Mizou concerning ???whether women can really enter history???. In evaluating A City of Sadness I argue that Hou Hsiao-hsien???s use of a family???s microhistory to parallel the national macro-history of the February 28th Incident opens an important historical window through which the audience may re-encounter and reflect on Taiwan???s past, and think positively about its future.

This thesis engages with Taiwanese history by offering a reading of Hou Hsiaohsien???s A City of Sadness (1989), making reference to the film???s historical dimensions, cultural representations and gender issues in the period 1945 to 1949. In addition, Hou???s cinematography is detailed with comparison to Yasujiro Ozu and the influences of Japanese colonisation. Hou???s immense contribution to Taiwanese film consists principally in a Taiwanese trilogy that traces Taiwan???s history in the 20th century. In The Puppet Master (1993) Hou details the era of Japanese colonisation from 1895 to the restoration of Taiwan by the Kuomintang in 1945. Later, A City of Sadness focuses on the fate of the Lin family from 1945 to 1949, which epitomises people???s life in Taiwan during the initial stages of Kuomintang domination. Finally, Good Men, Good Women (1995) highlights two different eras in Taiwan: the political movement in the 1950s and the pop culture in the 1990s. The thesis uses illustrations from all three films to explore Hou???s historical, cultural and gender representations. In order to understand Hou???s ideology and beliefs in greater depth, I also review his autobiographical film, A Time to Live, and A Time to Die (1985). This thesis examines Taiwan???s indigenous culture and the impact of Japanese and Chinese cultural practices in A City of Sadness through the post-colonial theories of Perry Anderson, Homi Bhabha, and Chris Berry. I draw on their theories of cultural hegemony and my empiricism to investigate Hou???s representation of the political situation in Taiwan. Finally, the thesis evaluates gender issues in A City of Sadness, with reference to Julia Kristeva???s notion of ???feminine time??? and the debate between Emilie Yeh and Mizou concerning ???whether women can really enter history???. In evaluating A City of Sadness I argue that Hou Hsiao-hsien???s use of a family???s microhistory to parallel the national macro-history of the February 28th Incident opens an important historical window through which the audience may re-encounter and reflect on Taiwan???s past, and think positively about its future.

This thesis engages with Taiwanese history by offering a reading of Hou Hsiaohsien???s A City of Sadness (1989), making reference to the film???s historical dimensions, cultural representations and gender issues in the period 1945 to 1949. In addition, Hou???s cinematography is detailed with comparison to Yasujiro Ozu and the influences of Japanese colonisation. Hou???s immense contribution to Taiwanese film consists principally in a Taiwanese trilogy that traces Taiwan???s history in the 20th century. In The Puppet Master (1993) Hou details the era of Japanese colonisation from 1895 to the restoration of Taiwan by the Kuomintang in 1945. Later, A City of Sadness focuses on the fate of the Lin family from 1945 to 1949, which epitomises people???s life in Taiwan during the initial stages of Kuomintang domination. Finally, Good Men, Good Women (1995) highlights two different eras in Taiwan: the political movement in the 1950s and the pop culture in the 1990s. The thesis uses illustrations from all three films to explore Hou???s historical, cultural and gender representations. In order to understand Hou???s ideology and beliefs in greater depth, I also review his autobiographical film, A Time to Live, and A Time to Die (1985). This thesis examines Taiwan???s indigenous culture and the impact of Japanese and Chinese cultural practices in A City of Sadness through the post-colonial theories of Perry Anderson, Homi Bhabha, and Chris Berry. I draw on their theories of cultural hegemony and my empiricism to investigate Hou???s representation of the political situation in Taiwan. Finally, the thesis evaluates gender issues in A City of Sadness, with reference to Julia Kristeva???s notion of ???feminine time??? and the debate between Emilie Yeh and Mizou concerning ???whether women can really enter history???. In evaluating A City of Sadness I argue that Hou Hsiao-hsien???s use of a family???s microhistory to parallel the national macro-history of the February 28th Incident opens an important historical window through which the audience may re-encounter and reflect on Taiwan???s past, and think positively about its future.