The Film Industry in Taiwan: A Political Economy Perspective

Abstract The main purpose of this thesis is to critically analyse the film industry in Taiwan from a political economy perspective and to compare Taiwan’s film industry with that of Hong Kong. The thesis will examine the development of the film industries in Taiwan and Hong Kong in the 1990s and analyse the decline of these film industries. The study takes into account how the governments’ policies have been framed and examines the interaction between the governments and the industries in the 1990s. This thesis will start by expounding the approach of political economy and explain how it will be applied to the study of Taiwan’s film industry. The approach of political economy will provide a historical analysis of the film industry and review the industry’s development in terms of both political influence and economic factors. This approach will provide a more comprehensive study of these film industries. The framework assumes that the development of the film industry in Taiwan has been influenced by government policy and especially government subsidies and that this policy has directed the industry. A film in Taiwan is regarded as an art form, perhaps with a diplomatic purpose, rather than as a commercial cultural product. A film in Hong Kong is mainly made for the commercial market with the purpose of entertaining audiences. The distinction between Taiwanese cinema and Hong Kong cinema provides a diverse view of the Chinese-language film market. After examining the development of the film industry in Taiwan and Hong Kong from a political economy perspective a new image for the Chinese- language film sphere will be discussed. The advantages and disadvantages of the film industry in two places will be summarised and used to provide some suggestions for the future development of “New Chinese Cinema” in the twenty-first century.

Name dc:type.qualificationname

phd

Level dc:type.qualificationlevel

doctoral

Grantor dc:publisher.institution

University of East Anglia

Year dc:date.issued

2011

Author dc:creator

• Hsia, Yun

Language dc:language

en