This thesis explores the role of popular music in the negotiation of Taiwanese identity. Taiwan has undergone a number of significant changes historically, socially and culturally since the mid-twentieth century. After fifty years of Japanese colonial rule, the island came under the strict control of the Chinese Nationalist Party in 1945. From the time Taiwan entered a democratic era, following the end of martial law in 1987, moves towards Taiwanese consciousness and Taiwanese identity - which were suppressed under Japanese colonial and Chinese authoritarian rule - have increased significantly. However, nearly three decades later today, the political status of Taiwan remains unresolved, as it is neither an independent nation state nor a province of China. Taiwanese identity is not yet clearly defined and well-bounded due to the complicated political sphere. My research focuses on the nature of popular music and its relationship to politics and identity in the context of Taiwan. I regard popular music broadly as a mediated form that is widely distributed in Taiwanese society. Such cultural production plays an important role in creating, maintaining or rejecting political and cultural identities. My thesis not only discusses how Taiwanese identity is expressed in popular music, but also how the identity of Taiwan is constantly constructed and negotiated through the medium of popular music. The thesis is organised into five chapters which consider different aspects of popular music and identity. I begin by providing a historical overview of the island which provides contextual information for which provides the contextual background for understanding the social and cultural values that are carried in the music, and the implications of those values. In the subsequent chapters I look at popular music and its relationship with the government's political and cultural policies, as well as social and cultural movements in different political phases from the late 1970s until the present time. I focus on specific case studies from the 1970s to the 2000s, including the campus song movement, protest singers, nationalist Black Metal, and the 'Taike' phenomenon. Through the study of various popular styles and groups of different times, I argue that the evolution of Taiwanese identity that is developed in popular music directly corresponds to the evolving social and political landscape.
| Identifer | oai:union.ndltd.org:bl.uk/oai:ethos.bl.uk:722855 |
| Date | January 2017 |
| Creators | Chi, Sheng-shih |
| Publisher | SOAS, University of London |
| Source Sets | Ethos UK |
| Detected Language | English |
| Type | Electronic Thesis or Dissertation |
| Source | http://eprints.soas.ac.uk/24331/ |
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