World Cinema in Focus:

A Critical Case Study of Edward Yang’s Stylistic Cinematic Approach

By
Lars Moreira Leonardo
11915900

H. Kuipers
University of Amsterdam
Bachelors Thesis in Media Studies
Faculty of the Humanities
Film Track

30-5-2023
Abstract: World Cinema is an underappreciated part of the current film industry. Therefore,
this Thesis seeks to relate the nuances and aesthetic qualities of World Cinema through
Taiwanese cinema. This research is focused on the analysis of World Cinema through the
stylistic cinematic approach of Taiwanese director Edward Yang, using three of his feature
films as case studies, with a specific focus on how Yang’s stylistic approach captures the
existential portrayal of modernization, alienation and modern-day decay in Taiwan. With the
use of the qualitative research method, this thesis will contrast primary theoretical sources
within the field of World Cinema, with its research object’s. Furthermore, this thesis will
research the signification of world cinema by analyzing the cinematic style of Edward Yang
and the prominent motif of alienation that is found within Yang’s body of work. Moreover,
this thesis will analyze the primary themes of Yang’s work, through the use of film-
philosophy and critical analysis. This thesis is focused on the fields of World Cinema,
modernization and alienation in Yang’s cinematic style. This thesis will illustrate and discuss
the main themes that are found in Yang’s work, namely, the representation of alienation,
human existence, modernization and the decay of modern-day Taiwan.

Acknowledgements:

I would like to thank: Romina Triolo for her unwavering moral support.
And
Halbe Kuipers for his guidance and constructive feedback.
 Table of Contents

Introduction……………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………….1

Methodology…………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………..…3

Chapter One: World Cinema in focus:

1.1: The Defining Proponents of World Cinema…………………………………………………………………………………4

1.2: World Cinema in relation to the New Taiwanese Cinema movement………………………………..……….5

1.3: World Cinema in relation to genre and cinematic style……………………………………………………………...7

Chapter Two: Philosophy and cinema:

2.1: The Film-Philosophy method………………………………………………………………………………………………………9

Chapter Three: Analysis of the Research Objects:

3.1: Analysis of The Terrorizers (Kong bu fen zi) (Edward Yang, 1986)……………………..……………….………11

3.1.1: Cinematic Style analysis of The terrorizers (1986)…………………………………………………………………..12

3.2: Analysis of A Brighter Summer Day (Guling jie shaonian sharen Shijian) (Edward Yang, 1991)….16

3.3: Analysis of Yi Yi: A one and A two (Edward Yang, 2000)…………………………….……………………………...20

3.3.1: Analysis of Yi Yi (2000)…………………………………………………………….…………………………………….……….21

3.3.2: Yi Yi’s (2000) use of space, reflections and framing………………………………………………………………..25

Conclusion and discussion………………………………………………………………………………………………………………..28

Bibliography……………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………..30

Films…………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………32
 1

Introduction

With cinema in the contemporary era mostly transfixed on western productions, different
approaches of filmmaking might be slightly neglected. Because of this, the nuance of non-western
cinema is growing smaller. Therefore, this thesis focuses on analyzing the cinematic style of
Taiwanese director Edward Yang, through careful analysis of the concept of world cinema. Focused
on how three of Yang’s texts position themselves in his larger artistic landscape. Furthermore, the
primary focus of this thesis is indicating how Edward Yang’s cinematic style radiates uniquely
existential themes, emotions and ideas. In order to appropriately analyze the national identity that is
present in a multitude of variations and manifestations in Yang’s work. In order to analyze how
Yang’s primary stylistic elements are portrayed in his narratives. Specifically, the tension and effects
of globalization and modernization on the subjective modes of everyday existence, as well as the
transformative historical process of Taiwanese Identity. Or as Fredrick Jameson states: “In our own
postmodern world there is no longer a bourgeois or class-specific culture to be indicted, but rather a
system-specific phenomenon: the various forms which reification and commodification and the
corporate standardizations of media society imprint on human subjectivity and existential
experience.” (Jameson 1992: 131). The difficult history of Taiwan’s national identity, and effects,
become more significant due to the erosion of historical traditions.

Furthermore the main purpose of this research is to analyze the correlation between World Cinema
and the stylistic approach that Yang employs in three of his productions, namely: The Terrorizers
(1986), important for the origin of yang’s cinematic approach and in creating a narrative that builds
on the connections between alienation within the urban city and the interconnectedness between
reality and fiction. The Terrorizer also accomplishes the portrayal of the friction between traditional
values and the role of urbanization, which was an important issue in Taiwanese society around the
1980’s. This is relevant for the connection of New Taiwanese Cinema, a movement that changed
Taiwanese cinema and created the possibility of reflexive film productions that focused on the
current state of Taiwanese society and the overarching context of World cinema. This correlation
mostly depends on the effects that the New Taiwanese cinema movement had on the early years of
Yang’s career, as well as the impact on Taiwanese film production in general. The Relevance of A
Brighter Summer Day (1991) is specifically important due to the focus on Taiwanese identity, that is
attributed to the political struggle during the 1960’s, A Brighter Summer Day “finds a unhealable
wound (…) as it questions the soundness, even the existence, of the national soul.” (Anderson 2005:
54).
 2

The relevance of Yi Yi (2000) is significant in multiple ways: firstly because it would be the last film
Yang would direct, passing away 7 years later. Secondly, It is showcasing a changing and uncertain
Taipei, making it a period piece of Taiwan’s capital at the turn of the twentieth century. And thirdly,
because it showcases fragments of modern existence in relation to the identity of Taiwan and its
reflexive connection between the urban and the social effects that modernization had on individuals.
Therefore, this thesis will signify the relation between the alienating effects on modern human
existence that is created due to the urban modernization of Taiwan, and the search for a national
identity.

Furthermore, the concepts of modernization, alienation and the decay of modern-day Taiwan
function as the main research subjects that embody Yang’s cinematic style. In order to signify the
correlation between World Cinema and how these themes are stylistically portrayed, this thesis
utilizes its research of the relation between World Cinema and the New Taiwanese movement as a
theoretical framework, creating the relation between the research subjects and the larger field of
World Cinema. The analyses of the case studies are intended to reflect the stylistic qualities of Yang’s
films, in order to relate them to the work on film-philosophy. The factors that drive Yang’s work are
essential for the larger cinematic style and its motives, that signify the relation between
modernization, alienation, human existence and the decay of modern-day Taipei. The research
question for this thesis is: What is the relation between World Cinema and the portrayal of
alienation, human existence and the decay of modern-day Taiwan that are found in Edward Yang’s
cinematic style. To be more precise, this relation will entail the cinematic portrayal of the search for
cultural identity that is presented in Yang’s work, how Yang’s work can be related to the notion of
World Cinema and what caused the cultural shift and uncertain status of identity.
 3

Methodology

This thesis depends on the use of the qualitative method, incorporating and analyzing primary and
secondary sources. Furthermore, this research is a conceptual approach that manifests itself
between World Cinema, the representation of alienation, modernization, human existence and the
decay of modern-day Taiwan, in order to create an original critical analysis of the stylistic approach of
Edward Yang. The methodology will be directed at the fields of World Cinema and film-philosophy, in
order to relate the source analysis to the research objects. The source material serve as academic
background and are intend to situate this thesis in the theoretical field of film-philosophy and
relevant discourse in regards to the notion of World Cinema and film studies. In order to relate the
larger theoretical field of World Cinema to this thesis, the New Taiwanese Cinema Movement will act
as a focus point. This will enable a more direct link between the field of World Cinema and the
stylistic approach of Edward Yang. Furthermore, academic analysis on Edward Yang’s cinema in
relation to World Cinema opens up the possibility of an original interpretation of Yang’s stylistic
approach, in producing refreshing insights into the recurring thematic motifs that are presented in
Yang’s texts. With the use of the qualitative method, the main research goal is to analyze the
research objects, namely: The Terrorizers (1986), A Brighter Summer day (1991) and Yi Yi (2000).
These specific objects will be carefully observed and analyzed in terms of their stylistic qualities and
how they relate to the larger academic framework of world cinema that is presented within this
thesis. The research of this thesis will contrast the field of World Cinema with a specific focus on how
alienation and modernization contributed to the decay of modern-day Taiwan. Furthermore, this
research will incorporate the film-philosophy of Australian philosopher Robert Sinnerbrink as
outlined in his 2011 work: New Philosophies of Film: Thinking Images. As well as recurring
philosophical notions, pertaining to the implicit meaning within the work of Edward Yang.
 4

Chapter One: World Cinema in focus

1.1: The Defining Proponents of World Cinema

This chapter focuses on describing the context and primary conceptions of world cinema without the
premise of giving a decisive definition. This is because the concept of World Cinema makes
associations with “international”, “foreign” or “global” denominations. Failing to specifically
characterize and decisively define them. To give a basic and grounding definition for the term, and a
clear point of departure for this section, the concept of world Cinema could be defined according “to
its situatedness: it is (…) the world as viewed from the west. In this sense world cinema is analogous
to ‘world music’ and ‘world literature’ in that they are categories created in the Western world to
refer to cultural products and practices that are mainly non-western.” (Dennison and Lim 2006: 1).
However, as stated before, defining the concept of World Cinema should be considered a
problematic task. This begins with the name, because this presents the idea that the world is unified
through “a standardization and unification of the politics, economy, and cultures of the world, the
word “world” presents a series of alternative senses and practices. Imagined as a process in which
meaning, experience, and relations are in flux, this sense of the world implies a commonness and
sharing.” (Arslan 2021: 3). Through the notion of world cinema, cinema becomes a structure to
present experiences from different cultures through the use of diverse and transnational cinematic
perspectives. Furthermore, the term of world cinema establishes more than a generalized notion as:

“‘the West vs. the rest” (2006: 6). The term should be understood in relation to: “hybridity,
transculturation, border crossing, transnationalism and translation.” (2006: 6). It should be
seen as a tribute to the point of view that can specify a nation and changes when observed
by another nation, and “that not all cinematic influences and references can be traced back
to Hollywood and post-war Europe.” (2006: 6).

Apart from understanding the general understanding of the term as a non-westernized cinematic
structure, there is also the issue of marginalization. When dividing the world (of cinema) in non-
western and western, the notion denies a broad set of structures that conform the entire world.
Such as economics, gender, race or ethnicity. Furthermore, “In the last two decades, the influx of
multiculturalist and global perspectives in film studies put forward the second sense of the world,
and multiple studies have focused on the interconnections and interrelations between multiple
national cinematic frameworks.” (Arslan 2021: 2). This led to an update of Third Cinema, another
important notion in relation to world cinema that is defined as “a cinema of liberation” and was
coined in 1969 by Fernando Solanas and Octavio Getino:
 5

“Third cinema is, in our opinion, the cinema that recognizes that struggle is the most gigantic
cultural, scientific, and artistic manifestation of our time.” (Solanas and Getino 1969: 233). It stands
in opposition to First and Second cinemas. First cinema is defined as “the dominant commercial
cinema” whereas second cinema is directed at avant-garde and experimental cinemas. Which brings
up the problematic question of the necessity of labeling and dividing cinema along the lines of
nationalistic or westernized or non-westernized norms. Important to note, is that World Cinema is a
buzzword for a gigantic multilayered set of cinematic movements that could be considered as world
cinema. Therefore the positioning of a cinematic movement should always be looked at in its regard
to their position in a global cultural system.

The term world cinema can be seen as a positioning of cinema that exists as a counterpart or
(weight) to the Hollywood cinematic aesthetic. It relates to the periphery zone of unidirectional film
movements that continually marks the significance of how cinema can be understood through the
lens of diverse national positions and locations. There are multiple discourses to explore world
cinema, but for this thesis, the focus will be on the connection between world cinema and the New
Taiwanese Cinema movement, the next subsection will describe this movement and will substantiate
it’s relation to World Cinema. Seen in this regard, “world cinema” could be one attempt to challenge
national cinematic perspectives and to introduce issues of intercultural exchange and diasporic
interventions. Moreover, “World Cinema (…) has at least as one of its premises the need to facilitate
understanding of other cultures through exposure and appreciation on their terms.”(2006: 189).
In order to signify the function of World Cinema further and in order to relate it to the case studies
this research is primarily focused on illustrating the connection between them and New Taiwan
Cinema movement. Which will situate the overarching notion of World Cinema around this cinematic
movement.

1.2: World Cinema in relation to the New Taiwanese Cinema Movement

The new Taiwanese Cinema movement took place between 1980 and 1990, in order to understand
the impact of this movement, it is important to mention that there was no filmmaking taking place in
Taiwan until the 1950’s. The film industry in Taiwan was in crisis, due to the fact that the films that
were made were state controlled and spreading cultural propaganda. This was done with the
intention to reinforce a sense of Chinese national identity onto the Taiwanese population.
While most of the Taiwanese considered themselves to be more Japanese than Chinese, because of
the Japanese occupation from 1895 until 1945, this made the films that were produced after 1945
unpopular and static. This is why the Taiwan’s Central Motion Picture Corporation (CMPC) Supported
the New Wave movement, influenced by filmmakers with a more western approach to film in Hong
 6

Kong, because of the CMPC’s support “Taiwan filmmakers could circumvent domestic censorship”
(Yeung 2020: 570). This led to the decision of the CMPC to acquire new directors, who had a different
artistic vision. leading to the creation of the first New Wave film, In Our Time (1982), this collection of
four short films, made by four different Taiwanese directors, including Edward Yang. Furthermore,
Wilson Flannery makes a useful remark about the driving cultural forces behind the Taiwanese films
and about how the New Taiwan cinema movement is nothing like French New Wave. He writes:
“rather than seeing the 1980s Taiwanese films simply as a “new wave”, as an artefact in film history,
we should understand them as cultural and political interventions, as probing’s of Taiwanese society
and history, and as self-consciously creating a distinctly national cinema.” (Wilson 2014: 5).

New Taiwanese cinema differentiates itself from other forms of ‘New Wave’ in terms of their
progressive vision on the current state of society and the social issues. Whereas New Taiwanese
Cinema, is centered around the idea of restating or rethinking the modern history of Taiwan as
people had experienced it instead of how the government had presented it in terms of the growth of
urbanization, the existence of the individuals during and after that process of transition. This is
because of the influence of the Kuomintang government during the 1960’s that only produced films
that preached the importance of morals and traditional values. Due to the nationalistic crisis that was
rooted in the political turmoil of that time, the government thought that these film might help in
keeping the population satisfied. New Taiwanese cinema breaks free from this and explores the
reality and culture of Taiwan, all tough each director develops their own style and approach to
cinema. “Its emphasis on “historically aware” filmmaking and “cultural self-determination” also
resonated with a widespread nativist literary movement then exploring particularly Taiwanese
(rather than pan-Chinese) conceptions of identity.” (Tweedie 2014: 143). This remark is especially
important for Yang, focusing on the effects of Taiwan’s history and on its current state. Stylistically,
the New Taiwanese Cinema movement was known for: “the long shot/long take, master shot
aesthetic, the preference for location shooting rather than studio settings, the use of
nonprofessional actors, the stripped-down, relatively unadorned images and sounds—is intimately
related to the emergence of the city as a fundamental spatial and formal problem during the 1970s
and early 1980s” (Tweedie 2014: 155). For Yang, the nationalistic aspect of cinema and the urge to
rebuild Taiwanese cinematic tradition are central elements within Yang’s films.
 7

Within a few years of this initiative by the CMPC, Edward and the other talents of his generation, had
made a name for themselves and in establishing a cultural agenda within their work. And this
arguably changed Taiwanese Cinema forever. Edward Yang’s films are different in style, structure and
character. Yang’s cinema is focused on finding ways of talking about the political situation since the
1950’s. Exposing social, economic and cultural forces that continue to make, and have made, a
lasting impression on the Taiwanese population. While on the other hand, Yang is searching for ways
to show Taiwan and especially Taipei, in the contemporary era. Therefore, Yang’s films are careful
anatomies of significant structures and dynamics within present-day Taiwanese society. The new
cinema movement was essential for a new starting point of a modern Taiwanese cinematic tradition.
Another point of significance with regards to the New Taiwanese movement is expressed through
the country’s Geographical orientation:

From the late 1980s to the mid-1990s, a film festival without an entry from Taiwan was no
longer considered on the cutting edge of world cinema, and programmers competed with
each other to show the latest work from Hou, Yang, or Tsai Ming-liang. A marginal location in
geopolitical terms, an “island on the edge,” Taiwan suddenly found itself at the center of
global art cinema, and it established a template for other directors and film industries across
the region and the world. (Tweedie 2014: 144).

The New Taiwanese Cinema movement, gives a very clear example of how world cinema should be
understood and what it is really about. Cinema traditions that differentiate themselves through their
own sense of national history and that consequently were developed outside of the norms of first
cinema. With a personal, national or cultural connotation that is rooted in realism. This is because
New Taiwan cinema should be identified “as a linked set of probing’s of Taiwanese history, society,
and identity that explore the conflicts between tradition and modernity and that deal with the
concerns of the present moment.” (Kellner 1998: 1). The overlapping themes concerning the collage
of impressionistic sketches, based on characters that intersect, in order to create an immensely
broad and vivid picture of what Taiwan is and has been and what factors made it historically possible.

1.3: World Cinema in relation to genre and cinematic style

Moving beyond the underpinnings of World cinema, this subchapter seeks to substantiate the
relation between world cinema and genre. Functioning as a linchpin between the landscapes of
World Cinema and the richness of cinematic style that is found within. In order to appropriately
define this, there should be clearly stated that cinematic style should be understood in specific
relation to a films entity, its author and most importantly its place of origin, the relation between art
and its point of origin in time and space is significant for its function.
 8

Since, it sets out to criticize, expand or illuminate cultural significance or transition within a certain
time period. Furthermore, upon first impression, the relation between these two concepts seem
rather argumentative, how could it be possible to quantify a relation with such scope? In order to
answer this, it should be evident that this section is not trying to tackle it entirely. Therefore, the
focus point here is how world cinema should best be quantified in relation to cinematic style.
Therefore, it seems that genre seems to be the perfect catalysator for this task. As specified by
Stephanie Dennison and Song Hwee Lim:

genre has emerged as the most significant interlocuter for the movement of films across
cultures fueling the current phase of world cinema within the framework of the political
economy of global multiculturalism (…) as the consumption of genre world cinema
substantially and intimately comes to inform the play of postmodern multicultural lifestyles.
(2006: 190).

The emergence of world cinema that progressively shifts more into the realm of the popular
mainstream should be considered as a notable turning point, the reception of films like Parasite
(2019) can be considered as an example of this. As well as the notion of hybrid film productions.
The careful movement of specific national forms of cinema that gets noticed by western audience is
an indication of the “process of cultural translation that picks up only that which is familiar through
particular prisms of interpretation employed in mainstream Western discourses.” (2006: 190). This is
essential for the relation between national and international views on cinema, because it offers an
indication as to why foreign films – non-western focused – are picked up more than others. A good
example of this, is the process of Taiwanese cinema. Due to the effects of the New Taiwanese
Cinematic movement, all the directors who developed a cinematic tradition for their country,
enabled a new generation of film makers to flourish.

The element of cinematic style, offers a helpful explanation for why this is the case, national oriented
films are constructed with a specific audience in mind, creating a cinematic style that is specific to
their audience. Interpretation is essential here, since national oriented cinema deals with specific
historical importance to their audience. Important to clarify and mention are the lasting effects of
historical significance, World Cinema is similar to world literature or world music, because it is an
expression of a specific nation in a specific historical period. Another important aspect of the relation
of world cinema and popular cinema is the: “layers of history that came to constitute world cinema
as an economical and cultural phenomenon proceeding implicitly or explicitly through analytical
categories employed to classify films such as national, art-house, popular, genre, and above all
world.” (2006: 190-191).
 9

Before such classification can occur, should any film or stylistic approach be considered as part of any
form of movement? I would argue against it, since cinema is first and foremost a cultural expression,
without any form of categorization, this is placed onto it, in order to differentiate, indicate and
classify its contents and intentions. Reaffirming that any film could be considered as part of world
(cinema), although, not every film showcase’s the interplay between cultural norms and national
history. Therefore:

World Cinema should let us know the territory differently, whatever territory it is
that a film comes from or concerns. Today, amidst digital confections tempting
filmmakers and audiences to escape into the air of the virtual, world cinema brings
us back precisely to the earth, this earth on which many worlds are lived and
perceived concurrently.

(Andrew 2004: 21).

Chapter Two: Philosophy and Cinema

2.1: The Film-Philosophy Method

In this section it is important to specify the relevance and importance of Robert Sinnerbrink’s New
Philosophies of Film: Thinking Images (2011). This work is useful for this research because it urges an
approach that is specifically focused on how aesthetic qualities of film enable a “distinctive kind of
‘cinematic thinking.’’’ (2011: 5). This specific approach, which will be incorporated in the analysis of
the case studies, therefore, there needs to be an explanation as to why specifically Sinnerbrink’s
approach is viable in this context. The reason lies in the nature of the case studies, since Yang’s work
evokes profound intellectual thoughts about the nature of the self, the effects of modernization
within the urban setting, as well as significant historical significance. And Yang’s intention, especially
in A brighter Summer day relies on the “what Germans would call Trauerarbeit.” (Rayns 1993: 14).

Furthermore, the relation between film-philosophy and World Cinema should also be further
elaborated. The symbolic meaning that Yang produces in his stylistic approach is situated on the
concept of universality and identity and not created for economic or global success, which
Sinnerbrink argues: “In a global cultural and economic marketplace dominated by certain types of
stories or ideological points of view, there is ethical purpose in devoting attention to the more
marginal, more questioning, more aesthetically and intellectually demanding films that one
encounters.” (2011: 139).
 10

Therefore, in positioning Yang’s use of cinematic language with Sinnerbrink’s notion of cinematic
thinking in order to explore the themes of alienation and modernization, with the assistance of only
theoretical approaches, either specifically philosophical or originating solely from the framework of
film studies, would not illuminate the cinematic and intellectual depth of the case studies. That is
why the importance of Sinnerbrink’s notion of cinematic thinking is specifically important for the
representation of human existence and the decay of modern-day Taiwan in relating Yang’s texts with
Sinnerbrink’s method of film-philosophy. Considering the importance of methodological relevance,
Sinnerbrink enables and strengthens the connection between the visual image and Yang’s cinematic
style.

Furthermore, Sinnerbrink specifically states that: “films, (…) have aesthetic and cinematic qualities
that prompt an experience conducive to thought; films that provoke, incite, or force us to think, even
if we remain uncertain as to what kind of thinking (…) might be adequate to such an experience.”
(2011: 141-142). Essentially, stating that the experience of film and the positioning of film-
Philosophy, is arguably unique to the medium of film. Cementing the claim that film is philosophy, or
can embody philosophical quandary through the use of illustrating concepts that are grounded in
philosophical tradition and able to portray this through the usage of cinematic language. Sinnerbrink
specifically states that certain films ‘resist theory’ and are able to evoke “an experience that is
aesthetic and reflective, yet where the former cannot be reduced to, or even overwhelms, the latter.
Such films communicate an experience of thinking that resists philosophical translation.” (2011: 142).
Another important nuance, important to specify here, is the fact that Sinnerbrink’s approach
recognizes that a correct understanding of film-philosophy is not dependent on a cognitivist or
analytic stance to analyze film. Therefore focusing on the cinematic language that is employed by the
experience and through the aesthetic character of cinematic portrayal. This requires the spectator to
focus on the employment of visual styles, framing and camera positions. And the conscious choice in
defying cinematic traditions in order to enrich, substantiate or transform the film language and
therefore its aesthetic experience.

Another reason for incorporating Sinnerbrink’s text, is in relation to the widening of his concept of
‘cinematic thinking.’ Since he incorporated the work of mostly western directors, I am under the
impression that this concept will flourish all the more, since it enables a clear approach to the
specific modes of thought that are inherent to Yang’s cinema. Therefore, it is especially interesting to
demonstrate this concept in relation to the work of Edward Yang. To further substantiate
Sinnerbrink’s claim: “by staging the encounter between film and philosophy, and exploring different
ways of performing film-philosophy, this book will suggest ways of rethinking and renewing the film-
philosophy relationship.” (2011: 10).
 11

Chapter Three: Analysis of the Research Objects

3.1: The Terrorizers (Kongbu fenzi) (1986)

“Life imitates Art far more than Art imitates Life” – (Wilde 1891: 10).

The Terrorizers or Kong bu fen zi (1986) explores many of the themes that Yang will return to in his
future projects. In particular, the 1986 film is an analytical and quasi meditative exploration of how
individual lives can influence each other and explore the process of living itself. The film follows three
intersecting narratives in Taiwan, while depicting how the dynamics of living in a city can create lives
that influence each other through coincidence. The Terrorizers is focused on the positive and
negative side of the human condition. This is conveyed on a universal level, while it also portrays the
identity of Taiwan. These two points intersect in a complex narrative of character and thematic
connections. The relevance of this film is focused on the nuances of living in an urban city and living
among each other and with each other. The effects of global urbanization and the role of living
during this process are central here, concerned with the connection between where individuals live,
their lives and eventually dictates how they live, drawing inspiration from the effects of
modernization to signify that the human existence is in a state of urban decay and alienation.

Furthermore, the themes of Yang’s text is not only related to globalization in the urban setting.
As Fredric Jameson writes: “What sets Terrorizer off is not the class status of its characters, who are
now, as we shall see, professionals and lumpens, but the now-archaic modernity of its theme: art
versus life, the novel and reality, mimesis and irony.” (Jameson 1992: 121). Jameson’s reading of
Yang’s film in his often times quoted article, Remapping Taipei, has become important through his
argumentation of how The Terrorizers is the quintessential embodiment of the postmodern film.
This deeper thematic approach is a recurring facet of Yang work, while his other films focus on
different social dynamics, or historical reflexivity, The Terrorizers essentially blends modernist
impulses in an urban setting with the precarity of human relations. John Anderson makes a concise
observation. Writing: “In The Terrorizers, (…) Taipei is cast as a city, much like New York historically,
were instant obsolescence rules. As a result, people are constantly shifting relationships, forging new
connections, and generally sabotaging what tenuous links they do have with their fellow man or
woman.” (Anderson 2005: 51).
 12

Following the lives of a struggling writer and her husband, who is a lab scientist, a wandering
photographer and his girlfriend who are financially supported by their well of families. And a
mysterious female street hustler, called White Chick, who spiral into petty crime and deceit.
They all intersect in some way, fueled by a “sense of self-destructiveness (…) that seems a
pathological symptom of societal unrest” (2005: 52). Resulting in the main theme, focusses on
contrasting the boundary between fiction and reality, while at the same time the contrast between
love and death is constantly present throughout the entire film. In visual terms, The Terrorizers
stands out as a stylistically different film than any of Yang’s other work. Yet it still accomplishes in
creating a narrative that presents multiple dynamics that effect human existence, brought on by the
growing modernization of Taipei.

3.1.1: Cinematic style analysis of The Terrorizers

Close-ups play a major role, as well as the composition that Yang employs in the mise-en-scène.
Yang’s attention to detail and the visual power that originates from the use of colors and the
locations were the scenes play out, are essential in relation to the deeper meaning and the
prominent themes that this film explores. Starting with the use of close-ups, the female characters
are given particular framed close-ups in order to aid the storytelling. Close-ups of the novelist and
White Chicks face are circulated throughout the film, White Chick is portrayed and represented
trough the mosaic composition of the photographer and Zhou, the novelist, is portrayed through a
television interview celebrating the release of her novel.

These examples are important to investigate, since they unveil the innate qualities of Yang’s
cinematic consciousness through his film language. Connecting the fragmentation of the narrative
with a visual rending of their alienation from themself and the world they inhabit. The role, and
especially the use of framing of White Chick signifies the existential aura that The terrorizers exerts.
Around the one hour mark, White Chick stabs a man whom she tried to con, after this incident, she
roams through the city, restless and alone. She ends up in an empty bus, where for the next eleven
seconds, nothing happens and the only movement is originating from the rain outside. The entire
sequence after the stabbing, relays an incredible sense of loneliness, this is accomplished through
capturing her in different settings in the city, she stands in traffic, the sidewalk and eventually in the
bus. This entire time, she is framed alone, with the busy city as a tumultuous background without
any other physical human presence, her disposition and marginal status in the city, is shown though
her solitude.
 13

Figure 1: White Chick, pictured through the lens of the Photographer

After this sequence, White Chick comes to the apartment, which the photographer has transformed
into a dark room. This sequence and the use of the blown-up picture is an intricate shift in dynamics,
and a direct reference to Antonioni’s Blow-up (1966). Furthermore, the qualities that this scene
portrays through its film language consist of multiple layers. First, there is the implication of the male
gaze, the photographer has been smitten with his own creation through the use of his camera, the
photographer has been idealizing the female character and her foreign features, because of the fact
that white Chick is Eurasian. It is clear that White Chick had no knowledge when her picture was
taken, neither that the photographer has been watching his picture of her consistently. The
implications here, are rather intricate, on the one hand there is a point about the modern age, were
the boundaries between privacy and public are fading, we are watching everyone while everyone
watches us. Secondly, there is an argument to be made that this sequence is critical of the classical
male gaze. One noteworthy scholar, named Kai-Man Chang writes:

The photographer is the one on display, extracted from his voyeuristic, behind-the-camera
position and seemingly transfixed and merged into the images of White Chick. He becomes
the object of the viewer’s gaze, against which he is utterly defenseless. Yang’s camera
reconfigures the power relation between male and female characters through the intricate
framing, reframing, and repositioning of the photographer and the object/image of his
desire. (Chang 2017: 123).

The relation between the placement and framing of restless character White Chick in the urban
structures of Taipei before her arrival at the dark room constitutes the concept that she is
“constantly restating any form of containment” (Chang 2017: 123). This concept is further
strengthened when the giant mosaic photograph rustles in the wind at the end of the dark room
scene.
 14

Lastly, the entire sequence in the dark room constitutes the theme of fictional love against the harsh
sense of reality in the modern urban city of Taipei. Moreover, it poses philosophical questions with
the use of its mise-en-scène. With the use of close-ups and the frequent use of the color red, this
scene questions the nature of love, while remaining nothing more than a chance encounter between
two strangers. In this scene, Robert Sinnerbrink’s notion of film-philosophy has an important role, it
is an example of how Sinnerbrink describes a “distinctive kind of ‘cinematic thinking’’’ (2011: 5).
Through the use of the filmic language, this sequence opens up a debate with the spectator revolving
around multiple philosophic questions. This substantiates the richness of the entire cinematic
experience. Through the use of close-ups, mise-en-scène and color usage, the film is cable of
presenting philosophic quandaries, without the need for any external theory, in other words: film
does philosophy.

Figure 2: Zhou, through the lens of the Tv interview

Therefore, the cinematic experience is capable of exploring the sense of affection that is absent from
the imagery of urban and the industrial rendering of Modern Taipei. Connecting the significant
effects of modernization, its relation to the experience of modern-day life and how it shapes the
reality of human existence during this historical timeframe. Another aspect of The terrorizer, in
which Yang’s film accomplishes ‘cinematic thinking’ is through the portrayal and framing of the
female novelist. In contrast to White Chick, Zhou is aware of the fact that she is being filmed (fig. 2).
Furthermore, “Yang uses a wide shot of Zhou’s multiplied faces on a wall full of television sets in
order to accentuate the similarity between the photographer’s fascination with White Chick and the
media’s obsession with the award-winning novelist.” (Chang: 127). Which leaves out the entire
personal struggle of Zhou in the process.
 15

She might have succeeded in her career, but her entire character arc throughout the film has been
about the struggle of the relation between reality and life, and how this translates into Zhou’s art.
The postmodern notions of uncertainty and self-reflexivity are essential traits that Yang’s is focused
on. As Jameson writes on the inherent traits of the modern age: “notoriously the moment in which
the individual life is driven so deeply into its isolated ‘point of view’ that it is no longer capable of
peeping out above the barrier.” (Jameson 1992: 115). This argument comes full circle at the feverish
ending of the movie. Before this, the audience learns that Zhou’s novel is centered around a man
who kills his wife and then commits suicide. The ending plays with this detail and gives the spectator
a dream sequence, from the perspective of Zhou, where Zhou’s ex-husband, Li, has alienated himself
from his wife, while pursuing the goal of a better paid and more respected job function. This pushes
him to eventually shoot his boss, who denied him this, and continues to kill the new love interest of
his ex-wife, before shooting the reflection of Zhou in the mirror behind her.

Eventually, no one gets killed by Li, but instead Li commits suicide. Which is again, a homage to the
theme of life imitating art and art imitating life. In conclusion, The Terrorizers, offers an intricate
meditation on how everyday life in the modern city causes a loss of identity, and shows how art can
become a mirror for the nuances of real life, able to reflect the things people are unable to see when
blinded by reality. This philosophical concept runs throughout Yang’s work, and is especially present
in Yi Yi. The stylistic connection with the New Taiwanese Cinema movement, is through the
representation of the unstable state of Taiwanese society, one year before martial law would be
lifted. And functions as an embodiment for the premise of New Cinema: “a high-quality cinema that
truly reflects life, society, human feelings” (Udden 2013: 164). In relation to World Cinema, The
Terrorizers offer an artistic and reflexive transnational experience, one that has a clear intention to
showcase the national state, and offers an insight in the transnational effects of modernization.

It is through these reflections on modern life that the emphasis of alienation becomes clear, through
the fleeting moments that change from second to seconds, Yang is able to observe and present the
effects of the decay of urban life in his narrative. In The Terrorizers, the boundaries between fiction
and reality are a representation of different aspects of human existence that change our personal
identity and influence our perception as time progresses.
 16

3.2: A Brighter Summer Day (Guling jie shaonian sharen Shijian) (1991)

“This film is dedicated to my father and his generation, who suffered so much for my generation to suffer less.
I hope they, the forgotten, can be made unforgettable.” - Edward Yang1

With A Brighter Summer Day, Edward Yang captures the national crisis of identity that was taking
place in Taiwan during the 1960’s. Using his “visual style, which is characterized by long shots, fixed
framing, and profound silences.” (Berry and Lu 2005: 67). When the spirit of the Chinese civil war was
still very much alive. Most of Yang’s, earlier work, notably The Terrorizers, Taipei Story and his
subsequent masterpiece Yi Yi, are all set in present-day Taiwan. The relevance is significant, since A
Brighter Summer Day underlines the importance of his previous and future work. In “Documenting
the social and cultural changes that create the modernized, late-capitalist life of 1980’s Taipei.”
(Austerlitz 2003: 68). The process that is observed between Yang’s films is one of great change and
transformation. Positioning the traditional values and way of life of the past, with the upcoming
modernization and capitalist interference, due to the influence of the United States as a result of the
cold war. The decay of the Taiwanese society as result of the historical past is the central theme in
his entire body of work, A brighter summer day is the film that makes this observation clear. While
also cementing it as “a masterpiece of modern cinema as well as a defining work of the New Taiwan
Cinema” (Cheshire 2016). Furthermore, it is important to mention, that this section focusses on the
237-minute version of the film, instead of the 185-minute version. Another important observation
that should be addressed is the “cultural domination that changes from Japanese and mainland
Chinese to a new culture primarily associated with the United States.“ (Austerlitz 2003: 68).
Effectively giving the ‘soul’ of the nation away to the capitalist and modern US, during a time that
many of the fled inhabitants of mainland China still hoped for a return. This sentiment is embodied
by the father of the main protagonist; Mr. Zhang.

This subsection will focus on analyzing the relation between the visual style of Yang’s 1991 text and
the interrelated subjects of alienation and modernization, as well as signifying the relation with the
New Taiwanese cinema movement, in order to connect it to the overarching notion of world cinema.
A Brighter summer day, the English title of which relates to the Elvis Presly song; “Are You Lonesome
Tonight” Indicates the degree of influence that American culture has on the crippled, non-existent
national identity of Taiwan. The Chinese title: Guling jie shaonian sharen Shijian, translates literally
to: ‘The Boy in the Murder incident on Guling Street’ identifying the protagonist of S’ir.

1
Edward Yang, Director's Statement, 1991, Criterion booklet.
 17

Based on a real murder incident in 60’s, that shocked the nation. Yang’s 5th film, focuses on the
Taiwanese culture of 1960 Taiwan. The film opens with an introduction that is essential for the fine,
interconnected elegy that is filled with detail about life at this crucial point in Taiwan’s history.

The introduction reads:

Millions of Mainland Chinese fled to Taiwan with the national Government after its civil war
defeat by the Chinese Communists in the 1949. Their children were brought up in an uneasy
atmosphere created by the parents’ own uncertainty about the future. Many formed street
gangs to search for identity and tot strengthen their sense of security. (Anderson 2005: 54).

Signifying that: “Yang’s bygone Taipei is a zone of disquiet both culturally and politically. Taiwan had
been ruled by Japan for a half century before being ceded to China at the end of World War II.”
(Cheshire 2016). Following the coming of age of 14 year-old Xiao S’ir and his peers in this significantly
difficult, bureaucratic and hostile atmosphere. Dealing with his first romantic connections, his school
life, having to go to night school, a second rank institution for the lower class. S’ir, finds himself
pulled towards a growing conflict between two rival street gangs, The Little Park boys and the 271s.
Derived from the names of their neighborhoods and indicating their national origin as well. Xiao Si’r’s
friends are all members of the little park boys and they are all sons from mainland China families.
Their mortal enemies, the 271 gang are sons of soldiers and their name is originating from the
military housing estate they occupy. The children that originated from mainland China and the
children who were native from Taiwan, are unsure of their heritage and their subsequent place in the
world. Considering that they are all members from the same nation, but divided, in political terms.
The further implications that occur during Yang’s epic sociopolitical epos, are focused on a critical
representation of historical significance. Combining the fluctuating adolescent search for identity by
Xiao Si’r with Taiwan’s own search for cultural identity and freedom. Within this world, Xiao Si’r and
the rest of the prominent characters are all set up to fail in some way or another. Therefore it is
essential to understand that their failure, either socially or morally, is tied to their displacement and
the immense injustice that is surrounding them, due to their deeply alienated sense of national
identity.

In terms of style, there is much to uncover. S’ir and his family live in a Japanese home, one of the
many cultural artifacts that are passed around and present throughout the film. The kids search their
attics for possible leftovers from the Japanese, finding Samurai swords, wedding pictures and
traditional knifes. Cultural artifacts are one of the most significant ways in which Yang connects the
multitude of cultural influence.
 18

Another prominent thematic device in play, is light, and more specific, a metal flashlight, S’ir, steals it
at a movie set, at the start of film, signifying the start of his ‘illuminating’ character arc. “Yang said
that one of his chief memories of the period depicted in A Brighter Summer Day was of the spotty
electricity and resulting periods of little or no light.” (Cheshire 2016). Light becomes an essential
motif that signifies Xiao S’ir’s search for identity, using his flashlight as a weapon, similar to a sword,
he sheaths it between his belt. (Figure 3). Nearing the end of the film S’ir, forgets the flashlight at the
movie studio, signifying his change. (Figure 4).

Figure 3: Xiao S’ir sheathing his flashlight

Figure 4: Xiao S'ir leaves his flashlight,

Furthermore, the ending of the film in connection to the motif of light, is essentially the symbolic
core of Yang’s magistral text. Having lost his sense of illumination and Confucianist morality, he
showcased before the bloody crescendo at the middle of the film, becoming increasingly more
alienated from his own identity.
 19

And “a highly critical view of a society in which all proper authority—a very Confucian concern—has
been eroded or undermined, so that a young man like Xiao Si’r can be hurled into the spiral of
violence indicated by the film’s Chinese title.” (Cheshire 2016).

Leading to the tragic conclusion of the film. The ending implies the loss of Taiwan or “ its opportunity
for change at a crucial moment, choosing instead to follow the path of continued cultural domination
that will create the Taiwan of Yang’s future films.” (Austerlitz 2003: 71). This makes A Brighter
Summer Day a realistic cultural artifact itself, that bridges Yang’s films and gives way for “the story of
modernization, cultural confusion and personal anguish (…) The Zhangs will become the Jians of Yi Yi,
perhaps more successful than their forebears, but equally disoriented as to their place in Taiwanese
society, and the world as a whole.” (Austerlitz 2003: 71). The film language Yang employs to
substantiate the philosophic contextual usage of light is remarkable, the visual scenes were Xiao Si’r
casts light on his surroundings is used to signify his own search for identity, while also using it in a
literal and figurative context, to shine light on the cultural crisis his generation is in. It is his symbolic
weapon and his own cultural artifact. Linking the two worlds of past and present, through the
universality of light. Signifying the relation between Cinematic Thinking and the profundity of
generational alienation.

A Brighter Summer day is essential for the New Taiwanese Cinema movement, it relived, or
rethought the history of the Taiwanese culture. This is because it “looks back at ‘vanished periods in
Taiwan’s past and aim (s) to define them in ways that would have eluded those living through them.”
(Rayns 1993: 14). This is an essential focus point for the entire New Taiwanese cinema, since it
offered a way to break through the mold of bureaucratic systems of propaganda and constricting
governmental apparatuses such as the KMT. Offering a sense of the actual emotions and struggle the
society went through. A Brighter Summer day is the fundamental point of entry in Yang’s
filmography, in order to understand the deeper thoughts behind his past and future projects.
A Brighter Summer day is directly focused on thinking about the sociopolitical effects that led to the
uncertainty and alienated sense of national identity of the future. That is why, in Yi Yi, Yang searches
for a way to talk about present day Taiwan. And how The Terrorizers, is dealing with the actuality of
change that was taking place in Taiwanese society, at that point in history, one year before the
Martial law would have been lifted. This is another example of how Yang’s work is connected to
World Cinema, focusing on structural change, either sociopolitical or cultural, that indicates the
causes for the damaged sense of Taiwan’s national identity at a specific point in time and
translating it to cinema for rest of the world.
 20

3.3: Yi Yi: A One and A Two (2000)

Edward Yang’s final picture: Yi Yi, is a powerhouse of meaning and cinematic poetry elevating Yang to
new heights in terms of his artistic vision. After focusing on the initial influences of modernity and
globalization on society. Represented by the interplay between fiction and reality in The Terrorizers.
and the effects of Taiwanese society after the ROC 2 had been defeated and fled to Taiwan in A
Brighter Summer Day. Yang now focusses on contemporary life in Taipei, Yi Yi could be considered as
a coda to Yang’s earlier work, indicating the effects of capitalist mentality after the historical events
portrayed in A Brighter Summer Day. Yi Yi serves as a testament that “Yang's cinema mounts a
discursive challenge to the competing definitions of the modern at a time when capitalism seems to
have saturated different corners of the world.” (Li 2004: 249).

Focusing on transition as a central motif, Yi Yi depicts the struggles and hardships of a

multigenerational family. Building upon the idea of alienation, and individual transitions that change
who we are during our lives. Yi Yi offers the spectator a sensitive mediation on how to be grounded
in reality, engaging with the difficulties of love, personal growth and death. Yang’s final film, shows
the concepts of distance and isolation in Taipei. Furthermore, Yi Yi is a tribute to life in the modern
city, and to the subtleties of life itself. That are built on the process and effects of globalization and
modernization, a process that characterizes all of Yang’s films. The only difference is that in Yang’s
previous films, modernization had not taken effect as much as it has in Yi Yi. Examples of this are
“McDonald’s and NY Bagels scenes in Yi Yi’s Taipei, which discloses an irresistible cultural invasion of
western consumerism.” (Anderson 2005: 92). Yang is showing the current transition that Taipei is
going through in order to indicate the cultural shift from archaic values to modern reality and in
order to ascertain the current Taiwanese Identity, in showing the reflection of the city, the urban
body, yang reflects on the passage of time, the role of western influences and the subjective
individual lives that exist within a changing and increasingly capitalist and modern Taipei.
Furthermore, The role that language plays is important to mention for the “the experience of
dissolution between own-ness and foreign-ness related to language that marks transculturality as a
state of cultural formation that goes beyond mere hybridity.” (Richard 2022: 92). Indicating the
fluent role that language plays in Yi Yi and in Taiwan since the “hybrid use of languages generally is a
very common situation for the Taiwanese, not only currently, but also for several generations (…),
showing how a transcultural and borderless hybridized mix of cultural elements works and how
people from their youth grow into this naturally.” (Richard 2022: 92).

2
Republic of China
 21

Yi Yi begins with a wedding between A-Di and Xiao Yan and concludes with a funeral, this wedding is
not desired by anyone in the family, with an exception of Xiao Yan who is close to giving birth. In the
center of the family, there is A-Di’s sister, Min-Min, and her husband NJ, they have two children, an
eight-year-old boy by the name of Yang-Yang and his sister Ting-Ting. After the wedding the
grandmother of the two kids, Po-Po, gets a stroke, which results in a coma, leaving her on her
deathbed, within the home of her daughter and grandchildren.

3.3.1 Analysis of Yi Yi

Yi Yi positions itself in between the fleeting moments of transition, that transport our individual lives
from one moment to the next. These turning points or crossroads, are the symbolic building blocks of
Yi Yi. That is why all the characters in Yi Yi are individually at their own turning point. The Birth of A-Di
and Xiao Yan’s son, the first spark of love between Ting-Ting and her neighbors boyfriend Fatty, the
discovery of affection by Yang-Yang and his first steps towards a life as an artist. The prominent and
most significant moments that affect and shape them. Highlighting this, in opening on a wedding and
ending the film on a funeral, with the birth of A-Di’s son in the middle. Yi Yi is a journey, an odyssey,
that carefully follows one decisive moment to the next. The structure of Yi Yi constructs these
movements of change and recreates them in its passing through the narrative of the film. The Visual
approach that makes this work is attributed to the careful overlapping of diegetic sound and spatial
editing. Yang-Yang his first contact with the female body is during a presentation at school about
thunder and lightning. Yang-Yang’s reaction is shown through the use of the sounds and visuals of
these weather conditions. (Figure 5).

Figure 5: Yang-Yang’s first experience with affection

 22

Figure 6: Yang-Yang’s reaction

When the scene Cuts to his sister Ting-Ting, standing in the pouring rain (Figure 7), she is struggling
with unrequited love (Figure 8), creating the idea that they are both at the same place, making a
temporal connection that transcends space and time. This signifies the connection of both siblings
their first experience with love, in different ways, while the sound of thunder and visuals of rain is a
thematic bridge that creates unity between them.

Figure 7: Ting-Ting in the rain

Figure 8: Fatty in the rain

 23

Furthermore, all side characters appear to have a story of their own, every character is living their
life, while the protagonists are doing the same. There is not a single static scene during the 3 hour
runtime: birds fly, cars drive by, it rains, trains depart and arrive, traffic lights change. Even when
characters struggle, the scene shows that the inhabitants of the outside world are still moving. While
Yi Yi deals with the effects of isolation and alienation, it is portrayed by a collage of thematic
brushstrokes and impressionistic experiences that create and articulate the fact that we share life
with everyone around us.

Creating an intricate collage that indicates that all humans share the feeling of isolation and
loneliness, staged in the urban city, filled with liminal spaces, Yi Yi is focused on portraying reality
that is being consistently neglected or overlooked. With Yi Yi, Yang depicts a particular philosophy
that is carefully woven into the cells of his work. Exploring the pivotal transitional experiences of Yi
Yi’s protagonists. Yang’s film is actively thinking about the meaning of human existence, because this
Yi Yi starts to erode the national and transnational boundaries, exposing the commonality of each
individual. Yang is helping his spectator do this through the character of Yang-Yang. Who takes
pictures of the back of people’s heads, signifying that we “can’t see it all. We don’t live others’ lives;
we can’t read their souls, and because we can’t we will always exist in our own little worlds.”
(Anderson 2005: 94). Symbolizing the role of Yang-Yang as a stand in for Yang himself, helping us “to
fill in the gaps, to provide the common language – the artistic mortar – that will conjoin this great
cracked mosaic of humanity.” (Anderson 2005: 94). Furthermore, the use of Yi Yi’s depiction of
individual turmoil, contemplation and hardship is another example of how Yang’s cinematic style is
actively doing philosophy. When NJ and Sherry get reacquainted due to a chance encounter, they
meet again in Tokyo. They reminisce of their young selves while navigating the Tokyo subway. While
the scene cuts to departing trains, their dialogue continues. Accomplishing the theme of moment to
moment, while at the same time exploring the outside world, their world is transfixed on each other,
whereas everyone around them never stopped moving. With this scene, Yi Yi is able to explore, the
heartfelt emotions of a possible rekindling of a lost opportunity between two childhood lovers, while
at the same time exploring the city of Tokyo, the same as they are doing together. The scene visually
explores and depicts the emotions and intimacies of a trip down memory lane. Exposing the
fundamental qualities of Sinnerbrink notion of film-philosophy, the images are doing all the work.
The scene is transporting its audience to its own personal relation with its topic. (Figure 9).
Cementing the notion that “films (…) provoke, incite, or force us to think, even if we remain
uncertain as to what kind of thinking.” (Sinnerbrink 2011: 141-142).
 24

Figure 9: NJ and Sherry in Tokyo

Another example of Yi Yi’s film-philosophy, is when NJ is contemplating his feelings for Sherry.
(Figure 10). His uncertainty about his place in the world is reaching an all-time high, his mental
unbalance is visually represented by the crashing of the waves. Contemplating his feelings for Sherry,
for the second time in his life, choosing to be with her will destroy his previous life, his relation with
his children, his relation with his wife. It’s in these particular moments that Yi Yi carefully combines
the emotional struggle of its characters by using the mise-en-scène as a tool for profound
philosophical thoughts about being bound up in your own life. The next subsection will further
analyze Yi Yi’s use space and glass reflections to connect the role of alienation to film-philosophy and
to the New Taiwan cinema movement in order to position it within world cinema.

Figure 10: NJ Absorbed in thought

 25

3.3.2: Yi Yi’s use of space, reflections and framing

Yi Yi’s framing and the spacing that it uses, signify how the Taiwanese identity is in a state of
uncertainty and change. Representing Taipei at the end of twentieth century, looking at the future.
Framing is one of Yang’s favorite stylistic tools, Just as in The terrorizers its importance is significant.
Using the framing of doorways as a visual trope, in order to accentuate the new step a character is
about to make. The use of space is of importance due to the urban body being as much of a
character in Yang’s film. The focus of liminal space, expanding the scope of the frame to large extent,
as with the shot of the trains in Tokyo or this shot of NJ and Sherry. (Figure 11).

Figure 11: NJ and Sherry

This use of space signifies the effects that non-spaces have on our everyday existence and how it
creates a feeling of loneliness. Corresponding with the overarching theme of time that is also
present, indicating the connection between space and time, signifying the effects that the
unconnected relations between each other create impersonal and an alienated reality.
Furthermore, Yang incorporates multiple ways in which modernization and the expanding of cultural
influence is occurring. The use of surveillance footage, the influence of capitalism and consumerism
that are present. Featuring McDonald’s or American style coffee shops that the characters visit. In
contrast, the traditional values are challenged, the representation of the centuries old Taiwanese
culture is uncertain how it will enter the next century. As exceptionally suggested by David Leiwi Li:
“Yang dissimilates the conceptual binary of East and West as tradition versus modernity, enabling
readings that recognize both the border-transcending flow of global commerce and the reflexive
capacity of residual local cultures.” (Li 2008: 265). Therefore, the characters of Yi Yi are tied to their
surroundings, and the process of transition that they are going through, each in their own way. This
is the same for the city they inhabit. The slow erasure of the past, echoing in a new age, something
 26

that is still in the process of materializing. It is within this limbo the characters of Yang’s work exist.
Creating a cinematic representation of alienation that is brought on by the hypermodern lives in the
urban setting and the effects that it has on the in the individual. Yi Yi’s use of glass reflection is one of
the most poignant stylistic tools that are used to accomplish the reflexive meaning embedded within
Yang’s film. As David Leiwei Li writes: “Glass Dimensions that one can see through or dimensions that
are overlaid with refraction thereby comes to denote horizontal ‘other direction’ in reflexive
modernity, a dialogical formation of subjectivity that displays the centrality of the linear ‘inner
direction’ of old.” (2008: 267).

The use of this technique is done in a multitude of ways, in a car, using the windows, in the train NJ
and Sherry occupy. But one of the most striking is when Min-Min is staring at the urban void from
her office window. (Figure 12).

Figure 12: Min-Min contemplating her situation

Figure 13: Min-Min expressing her inner struggle

 27

Implying the disconnection from reality in visual image, the sprawling exterior of all inhabitants
within the city, connecting Min-Min’s struggle to a visual representation of how the private and the
public relate to each other in the urban city of Taipei. (Figure 13). Furthermore, in relation to world
cinema, this context is significant as well, due to the display of effects that globalization and
modernization has with the representation of human existence in the urban city. Revealing that
“Taiwan’s transition to satellite state in the late capitalist universe and ‘silicon island3’ in the
information age has heralded a fundamentally new experience of time and space which in turn
demands appropriate ethical imperative.” (Li 2008: 265). With Yi Yi, Yang moves in and out of the
tradition of new wave cinema by creating a parable about the effects of the looming future and the
existential effects that this creates for the city and its characters. Yang is still actively portraying his
vision of Taiwan while he is also incorporating the upcoming effect that the future might have on the
current Taipei. Embodying and creating his vision of Taipei and the lives within, as John Anderson
writes: “Yang is Joyce – at least by the time of Yi Yi, which is a Taiwanese Ulysses in its all-
encompassing context, as well as its characterizations.” (Anderson 2005: 87). In conclusion, Yi Yi,
translated to English, reads: A One and A Two, implying “the decisive turn in history when the
sovereign individual (…) is becoming the figure of hegemony in global modernity.” (2008: 271).
Embodying the reflexive change in the personal life’s of its characters, while drawing out the similar
transition that is taking place in their surroundings, effectively indicting the effects of transformative
structures on a personal level as well as on an interconnected global level. Exploring the connection
between the effects of these changes on the human experience, carefully showcasing the alienation
that ensues and it’s relation to the decay of Taipei at the turn of the 20th century.

3
Taiwan is the leading force in the manufacturing of computer chips, that is why it is called ‘Silicon Island.’
 28

Conclusion and discussion

This thesis’s primary goal was to define the relation between Edward Yang’s stylistic approach and
World cinema. This was achieved through analyzing the research subjects of Alienation,
modernization, human existence and the decay of modern-Taiwan within the research objects: The
Terrorizers, A Brighter Summer Day and Yi Yi. The research question of this thesis was: What is the
relation between World Cinema and the portrayal of alienation, modernization, human existence and
the decay of modern-day Taiwan that are found in Edward Yang’s cinematic style? In order to signify
the relation of these subjects within the larger notion of World Cinema, this research was focused on
the New Taiwanese cinematic movement, in order to create a direct relation with Yang’s stylistic
approach and World Cinema. Moreover, the method of film-philosophy originating from Robert
Sinnerbrink was used to analyze the case studies in order to indicate the philosophical character of
Yang’s texts. This section will offer a decisive answer to the research question, discussing the most
relevant results that led to it.

The New Taiwan cinematic movement focused on showcasing the reality of society. Therefore, The
New Taiwanese cinematic tradition was focused on portraying Taiwan seen through the eyes of its
inhabitants. During the 1980’s, Taiwan was severely marginalized, due to the cultural domination of
the 1960’s and the Japanese occupation that came before. Their national identity was actively being
suppressed, the new Taiwanese cinema movement offered an artistic avenue of creating a national
identity, with films that focused on the significance of the Taiwanese identity, while still dueling with
the scars from the past. In Yang’s text A Brighter Summer Day, he is addressing these historical issues
in retrospect. Through the use of cinematic language, Yang is able to explore the generational
conflict of the past and to pass along the events and effects that left Taiwan without a sense of
identity. The research objects should therefore be considered as national artifacts that would help
create, nurture and strengthen the national identity. The terrorizers accomplishes this through a
portrayal of how the influence of modernization impacted the reality of Taiwan during a time of
martial law. Exploring the relation between its inhabitants and implying the alienation that persisted
during that time, as a result of repression. A Brighter Summer Day focusses on the immediate effects
of the historical malaise of the 60’s and foreshadows the implications on the future generations. In Yi
Yi Yang continues this, focusing on a multigenerational family, intent on indicating the effects of
modernization and globalization that Taiwan’s inhabitants endure in the modern age, leading to
individual forms of alienation. All three texts invoke the effects of Taiwan’s harrowing history, Yang
explores this through a reflexive form of cinematic language, indicating the effects of the past on the
future. Creating an inner thread within his stylistic representation of Taiwanese culture, modern life
in Taipei and the effects on its inhabitants.
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Together, they offer an essential indication of human existence in Taiwan, throughout history, with a
timeless and universal quality to all of them. This connects to World Cinema in that it constructs, and
spreads a rendering of cultural identity portrayed by cinema. Showcasing the intricate cultural,
historical or political circumstances that shape, or brake national identity. Therefore, World Cinema,
and Yang’s texts, are cultural artifacts that cross national boundaries and expose language, history
and traditions to the rest of the world.

Concluding that, Yang’s cinematic style bears a relation with World Cinema because it focusses on
showcasing the national identity of Taiwanese culture through multiple decades. Exposing and
Identifying the effects of historical unrest and the unseen effects of modernization on human
existence. Indicating that alienation and the resulting decay of modern-day Taiwan, are unavoidable.
Moreover, Yang’s style displays this, through his use of reflections, long shots and wide or specific
use of framing. Furthermore, the method of film-Philosophy explored how Yang uses symbolic
narrative, interactive mise-èn-scene, lighting, framing and especially reflections to articulate
philosophical concepts, that are embed within the frame of his text. After exploring these findings,
it’s save to conclude that Yang’s use of style within the Taiwanese Cinematic movement indicates
that his work is certainly positioned in connection with World Cinema. In subsequent research, it
would be interesting to look closer at one of Yang’s texts, in order to explore it in more detail.
The role that language plays in Yang’s Texts is another concept worth exploring.
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Films

Yang, Edward, dir. 1986. Kong Bu Fen Zi. Central Motion Pictures.
Yang, Edward, dir. 1991. Guling Jie Shaonian Sharen Shijian. Yang & His Gang Filmmakers.
Yang, Edward, dir. 2001. Yi Yi. 1+2 Seisaku Iinkai, Atom Films, AtomFilms.