Abstract
Reform, liberalization, and economic takeoff have propelled China toward becoming a major world power. Media industrialization and market orientation, combined with the growing pace of conglomeratization and globalization, are now an important national strategy for Beijing. One of its objectives is to gain a dominant voice in the international community while holding its own against leading European and American transnational media that are already eyeing China¡¦s media industry. Another objective is to suppress Taiwan¡¦s voice in the world arena and gradually marginalize Taiwan¡¦s film and television industries in the ethnic Chinese community.
Even while the two sides of the Taiwan Strait are actively engaged in cultural and media exchanges, Taiwan has experienced a slowdown as China picks up pace in audiovisual media development. Taiwanese businesses and performing artists have been forced to take a strategic approach in seeking a future in China¡¦s market. This has resulted in an outflow of capital, human resources, and technology that has hurt Taiwan¡¦s film and television industries. China, on its part, has strategically ¡§attracted funding while keeping out programs¡¨ through media exchange policies and legal restrictions. It has blocked the broadcast of Taiwanese TV productions on local channels as well as the reception of Taiwan¡¦s TV channels. Additionally, it has used its huge market potential as bait to lure Taiwanese performing artists and media professionals to seek commercial and performing opportunities on the other side of the Strait. Through this two-pronged approach, China is trying to establish cultural hegemony over Taiwan with its media exports while pushing for unification.
In other words, China¡¦s rapidly expanding audiovisual industry and the platform for cross-strait media exchange have contributed to the dwindling of Taiwan¡¦s film and television industries. China¡¦s carrot-and-stick strategy has compelled Taiwanese artists to cooperate and openly express views on specific political and national identity issues, thereby influencing viewers and listeners in Taiwan. This thesis explores how China¡¦s swiftly growing media industry has marginalized Taiwan¡¦s audiovisual media and influenced the national identity concept of Taiwanese performing artists. For this purpose, historical records and documents are analyzed and in-depth interviews conducted. The thesis takes an interdisciplinary approach that incorporates the concept of cultural hegemony espoused by Antonio Gramsci, the theory of culture industry advocated by Anthony Giddens and Nicholas Garnham, the role of discourse proposed by Michel Foucault, and the concept of national identity expounded by Benedict Anderson and Jhang Mao-guei.
Research findings indicate a large gap between publicly expressed views and genuine standpoints of Taiwanese performing artists. Their positions on national identity clearly reflect a complex effect resulting from indelible impressions of Taiwan¡¦s history, education under the 50-year rule by the Kuomintang, Taiwan¡¦s democratic achievements, and realization that China adopts a very different social system. The study has not found a perceptible change in the national identity concept of Taiwanese artists seeking a future on the western shore of the Strait. Nonetheless, should cross-strait media exchange expand and Taiwan¡¦s film and television industries continue to weaken, Taiwanese artists will ultimately seek a sustainable future in China. Sooner or later, they will identify with China and embrace Beijing¡¦s ideological stand on cross-strait unification.
Keywords:
cultural hegemony
culture industry
conglomeratization
media exchange, audiovisual exchange
exposition
national identity
| Identifer | oai:union.ndltd.org:NSYSU/oai:NSYSU:etd-0215105-120042 |
| Date | 15 February 2005 |
| Creators | Lu, Ching-rong |
| Contributors | Wen-cheng Lin, none, none |
| Publisher | NSYSU |
| Source Sets | NSYSU Electronic Thesis and Dissertation Archive |
| Language | Cholon |
| Detected Language | English |
| Type | text |
| Format | application/pdf |
| Source | http://etd.lib.nsysu.edu.tw/ETD-db/ETD-search/view_etd?URN=etd-0215105-120042 |
| Rights | restricted, Copyright information available at source archive |
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