Author: Panpan Yang, University of Chicago, United States of America
Email: panpan@uchicago.edu
Published: January 2016
https://doi.org/10.22492/ijas.2.1.06
Citation: Yang, P. (2016). The Taste of Ice Kacang: Xiaoqingxin Film as the Possible Prospect of Taiwan Popular Cinema. IAFOR Journal of Asian Studies, 2(1). https://doi.org/10.22492/ijas.2.1.06
Abstract
Although Xiaoqingxin Film has been widely recognized as a new sub-genre in Chinese-language film circle, it rarely received sustained academic attention in either Chinese or English publications. In this article, I would explore the contours of Xiaoqingxin Film in four aspects: (1) a tentative definition; (2) a style analysis; (3) a cause analysis: why Taiwan has overwhelming superiority in making this sub-genre; (4) a unique distribution mode. To provide a style analysis of Xiaoqingxin Film, I will not only observe its script, sound and cinematography, but also look into its genre bending. To conduct a media capital analysis of Xiaoqingxin Film, I would borrow the concept of “media capital” from Michael Curtin and pay particular attention to the fact that co-productions between Taiwan and Mainland China are popping up as Taiwan has relaxed trade embargoes with Mainland China. As shown by the successive box-office hits, the pan-Asian commercial success of Xiaoqingxin Film is not a one-hit wonder. Rather, in this sub-genre, I believe, lies the possible prospect of Taiwan popular cinema.
Keywords
Xiaoqingxin, genre, media capital, Taiwan cinema, J-style photography, pan-Asian cinema