Social Responsibility and Aesthetics: The Function of Documentary Filmmaking in Contemporary Taiwan

Abstract

Since the lifting of martial law in 1987, documentary production in contemporary Taiwan has experienced considerable change. Arguably, the most significant of these changes — the development of an independent documentary sector — can be understood as part of wider social, economic, political and cultural developments in the Republic of China. From 1949 until the late 1980s, most documentary production in the Republic had reflected the ideologies and didactic nature of the paternalist Nationalist Party government. During these years, the documentary typically functioned to glorify the government in the eyes of the population and, while there were a small number of exceptions, most of these productions were, in essence, little more than propaganda. While documentary filmmaking in Taiwan is still subject to social, political and economic constraints, since 1987 it has demonstrably displayed more diverse approaches in production and aesthetics. Increasingly, the documentary film has been regarded as an instrument to enlighten the outlook of the people and to pave the way for dialogue between the officials, filmmakers and citizens. Arguably, these changes reflect a movement away from bureaucratic insecurity towards a more dynamic representation of the possibilities of Taiwanese democracy and social reform. This research explores the experiences and strategies of nine independent documentary filmmakers who have operated in Taiwan during this period of demonstrable change. The research, which combines a written dissertation and a body of video-documentation, sets out to investigate how these shifts in documentary style, function and project may be characterised and to consider how these changes have been influenced by and contributed to the development of social critique in contemporary Taiwan. It has also created a set of audiovisual interviews and transcripts available for other researchers in the field. The study aims to add to the growing literature on Chinese independent documentary filmmaking and contributes to an international literature on the dynamic variety of the documentary project.