Alaina Card

Date of Award

2024

Document Type

Thesis

Degree Name

Bachelors

Department

Humanities

First Advisor

Li, Fang-yu

Area of Concentration

International and Area Studies, Chinese Language and Culture

Abstract

This thesis is an examination of A Brighter Summer Day (1991, dir. Edward Yang) and Rebels of the Neon God (1992, dir. Tsai Ming-liang) as two Taiwan New Wave films depicting juvenile delinquency in settings of political transition. Through an analysis of visual language (the use of lighting, shot composition, color, set design, and costuming) in each film, this work explores depictions of the search for personal identity through delinquent acts under the pressure of two transitional periods in Taiwan: the beginning of the White Terror and the beginning of the shift to democracy in the birth of the technological age. Through a focus on two different directors from separate phases of the Taiwan New Wave movement, this work examines the differences and similarities between visual representations of juvenile delinquency across separate edges of modern Taiwanese history. This thesis shows the power of visual language in film in reflecting upon political and social repression across generations, and the unique capability of the visual aspects of film, specifically Taiwan New Wave film, in displaying and emphasizing the anxious mood and atmosphere created by political repression.

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