楊德昌의 구링졔 소년 살인사건과 국민국가의 문제

Abstract

This study examines the depiction of Taipei and the problems surrounding the establishment of the Taiwanese nation-state in Edward Yang’s film, A Brighter Summer Day. This film is very successful in capturing the atmosphere of Taipei in the 1960s. The organization of the youth club has its basis in Juancun, the collective residential district for military families, and the Rock’n’Roll concert by the youths nicely represents the existence of sub-culture. This film shows well the process of citizen-making by the state. The state encourages people by emphasizing the importance of a stable life after graduating from good universities and schools tighten thought control up by stressing nationalist values. Xiao Si, the protagonist of the film who refuses to be tamed as a citizen, is finally excluded from society and his father, a government employee, is also led to a tragic downfall. This film was made in the post-martial law period as a reminiscence of the era of dictatorial national development. In this sense, we can easily sympathize with the film because of the historical resemblance between Taiwan and South Korea.