Confronting Modernity in the Cinema of Taiwan and Mainland China

FROM THE PUBLISHER

Despite differences in the political, social, and economic systems of Taiwan and mainland China, the process of modernization in both has challenged traditional cultural norms. Tonglin Lu examines how differences in cultural formation between Taiwan and China have influenced reactions to modernity and how cultural identity has taken different forms on both sides of the Taiwan straits. She illustrates how these differences in the experience of modernity are expressed through analysis of paradigmatic films produced in both countries, with a particular emphasis on their formal experiments.

SYNOPSIS

Lu (Asian languages and literatures, U. of Iowa) presents a cultural study of New Wave cinema in Taiwan and mainland China. Her focus is on how differences in cultural formation between Taiwan and China have influenced reactions to rapid modernization in both countries as expressed in the films of four directors. Coverage extends to the impact of globalization on intellectuals on both sides of the Taiwan Strait.