A Foucauldian Analysis of Taiwanese Youth Resistance in Contemporary Taiwanese Films

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2017-08-31

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en

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The purpose of this study is to analyze the representation of contemporary Taiwanese youth resistance in three Taiwanese movies released after 2008, the starting point of a new period in which Taiwanese film has regained local popularity. Youth resistances or youth movements seem to be a common occurrence within Taiwanese society. Two recent examples are the Sunflower Student Movement and Same-Sex Marriage Legalization. To understand Taiwanese youth resistance, the study will make use of Foucault’s theories on power and resistance, and apply Critical Discourse Analysis and visual analysis in order to decode the conflicts between the youths and the superiors as represented in the movies. A common denominator of these movies is that they depict a power struggle between the youths of Taiwan, and the older generations. As will be shown through the thesis, these movies adopt different visual and discursive strategies to represent and reflect on various forms of resistance against the dominant power structures in Taiwanese society. Overall, the structure of the thesis is meant to gradually reveal the representations of Taiwanese youth resistance, which are temporary, full of hope, and self-actualization.

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