New Taiwanese Cinema in Focus

This book places Taiwanese cinema from the 1980s onwards in both national and transnational contexts. In the Taiwanese film industry, the dichotomy between arthouse and commercially viable films is heavily emphasized by both scholars and the local media. Ostensibly, this dichotomy stems from two separate desires on the part of filmmakers. Arthouse filmmakers in Taiwan are largely dependent on international distributors for funding, and, as a result, they aim to reach international audiences. On the other hand, mainstream commercial films in Taiwan tend to be produced without international export in mind. On a textual level, however, this dichotomy is not so clear-cut. Although the opposition between arthouse and commercial film may be very real in financial terms, in the context of the films themselves, the national and transnational (or inter-textual) aspects of Taiwanese cinema are not oppositional. These unlikely relationships create the need for a new way of thinking about transnationalism altogether. It provides a nuanced picture of the Taiwanese film industry since democratization and isolation from the Peoples Republic of China. It features close readings of the films of Tsai Ming-liang, Edward Yang, Hou Hsiaohsien, and others. It connects Taiwanese cinema to the global cinema landscape more generally. It refines the study of transnationalism by positing a new mode for viewing contemporary national cinema movements.