In the past two months, when Super Girl swept across mainland China, Taiwan's cultural circles, pop music circles and media were clamoring for a new topic: "Taiwanese".
The term "Taiwanese" originally had a derogatory connotation and was used as a derogatory term for a specific ethnic group, just like the English black Nigger. It was originally called "Taiwanese". This term was born in Taiwan after 1949. At that time, people from other provinces who could move to Taiwan with the Kuomintang were either military, public, or educational personnel or from wealthy families. They generally enjoyed a higher social status and more wealth. Wealth, so "Taiwanese" among people from other provinces refers specifically to native Taiwanese and Hakka people who have never seen the world and are rustic.
Therefore, "very Taiwanese" has become an adjective, which reminds people of being rustic and unsociable. For example, this year's new Taiwanese beauty pageant champion "Miss Taiwan" speaks Mandarin with a Taiwanese accent, and is called a typical "Taiwanese girl". The insinuation that she has a low education level is completely teasing and ridiculing. There is definitely an ethnic group. suspicion of discrimination and classism. If you are politically correct, it is usually better not to mention the term "Taiwanese".
However, in the past two months, the cultural and media circles have reinterpreted the term "Taiwanese", launched new packaging and marketing, and completely turned the word "Taiwanese" around.
The initiator should be Cai Kangyong, a genius who is both a variety show host and a literary writer. The two talk variety shows "Kangxi Is Coming" and "Two Generations of Electric Power Company" hosted by him have high ratings on Taiwan's TV stations, and are both popular and popular, and have topical significance. Interestingly, Xiao S, the host of the program who partners with Cai Kangyong, comes from a middle-class family from other provinces. This is not the first time that he has ridiculed the local taste. He has also openly ridiculed the popular music boy group 5566 in the program for being "very Taiwanese". , and was also protested by Taiwanese localists. However, Tsai Kangyong is worthy of being a scholar and has a certain degree of sensitivity. He can smell the lethality and market potential of such words: Tsai Kangyong used his strength to extend the topic of "Taiwanese guests" and gave it new meaning, turning it into the highlight of the program. "Very stage" has become a very dazzling meaning. The show was indeed a huge success. Then, rock singer Wu Bai and others published "Taiwanese Come Out!" ——Taiwanese Rock Million Thrilling Album" and held a massive "Taiwanese Rock Concert", officially detonating the "Taiwanese" trend.
Cultural Discussion of "Taiwanese Guests"
Following this, the trend of "Taiwanese Guests" quickly spread from the entertainment world to the cultural world. Two literary magazines, "Eslite Reading" and "Network and Books", which are cultural guides for Taipei's elite, followed Wu Bai and also launched "Call me Taiwanese!" 》special topic, officially pushing the topic of "Taiwanese" into the cultural field. Using Taiwanese rhetoric, it is the "Taiwanist Declaration" of "You can speak loudly if you dare to show off! If you dare to show off, you are Taiwan!"
The China Times Supplement, one of the four major daily newspapers in Taiwan, also produced "Taiwanese Aesthetic Avant-garde" for two consecutive days, advocating "creating and looking for people who are as authentic and valuable as "Hong Kong Aberdeen" and "The New Yorker" Personality, self-contained culture... We should let everyone who is interested in these things participate and turn it into a new cultural renaissance movement." Wu Bai made it clear that in his eyes, Cai Kangyong is a "Taiwanese". Xiao S is a "Taiwanese girl". The China Times supplement has always attempted to become a trend-bearer in Taiwan's cultural circles. Yang Ze, the editor-in-chief of the supplement, even advocated "organic alliances and everyone is a "Taiwanese".
He endowed "Taiwanese guests" from an aesthetic perspective The three major characteristics of "Taiwanese culture": mixed, novelty, and rock. It is believed that anyone can become a "Taiwanese" regardless of province or class. At this point, talking about "Taiwanese" has become a national movement, and many very The middle-class intellectuals in Taipei rushed to declare: I am Taiwanese. "Taiwanese" has become a cultural identity.
The conflict has become a political topic.
However, " The original ethnic connotation of "Taiwanese guest" will not disappear. Just two months of media propaganda cannot wash away the 40-year history of conflicts between other provinces and locals. The voice of backlash finally appeared; when "Taiwanese" "Taiwanese" has become popular. Taiwan Professors Association, Taiwan Teachers Union, Bei Society and other Taiwanese associations held a press conference in early August and stated that "Taiwanese" represents the discriminatory mentality inadvertently revealed by the advantaged ethnic groups, even in the media and In the propaganda of popular culture, the essence of discrimination has not changed.
The protest groups all hold a strong pro-independence stance.
Beishe Secretary General Yang Wenjia pointed out that the image of "Taiwanese" is very limited, almost all negative images, such as betel nut beauty, riding a motorcycle with both feet open, etc. This is a highly stigmatized image with class and cultural discrimination. The vocabulary of Taiwanese people also has the connotation of "China is the host and Taiwan is the guest", which represents the oppression of Taiwan by China's hegemony. In the multicultural Taiwanese society, the name "Taiwan guest" should not exist.
The backlash from the independence groups is not unreasonable. Surprisingly, most of the media promoting this wave of "Taiwanese Culture Revival Movement" are the dark blue Tongpai media. For the people of this province, when the former oppressors turned around and wanted to gain the right to interpret this term, but the memory of past discrimination has not been washed away, the words that once caused humiliation suddenly became a commodity on the shelves, and it was still caused by the oppression of the past. The people of this province are of course very angry about this. This is just like Nigger, which can be used as a joking term for black people to express intimacy with each other, but it cannot definitely be used as a term for white people to call black people. The politics of language and identity cannot be flipped and washed away overnight by products and advertisements. The term "Taiwanese" originated from ethnic conflicts and is destined to face Taiwan's unique ethnic conflicts.
The market force that cannot be ignored
From a variety show topic to a cultural issue, and then to a political issue; the emergence of the concept of "Taiwanese Guest" is not so much a cultural phenomenon or It is a social reversal, rather it is a brand birth process driven by market forces.
Since Xiao S, who was born in a middle-class family from other provinces in Taipei City, can be regarded as a representative of "Taiwanese girls", then "Taiwanese or not" can no longer be determined by birth, blood, and education. The "Taiwanese spirit" is one: straightforward, intoxicating, acting, and posturing, which can be positive or negative, having both sides. It can be Xiao S’s arrogant and discriminatory attitude toward the disadvantaged, or it can be Wu Bai’s mixed-race rock music that is lyrical and free of money. It seems that after fifty years of development, Taiwan has finally given birth to a hybrid culture that is unique to this land. It is imitating China but is not China, it is imitating the United States but is not the United States, it is imitating Japan but it is not Japan. Taiwanese people can finally be a An ethnic group and an attitude are named.
However, "Taiwanese" have long existed, but the name has never been called this way. People from the central and southern provinces have been called "Taiwanese" by Taipei people for fifty years; and even in the cultural circles, as early as 1997, Taiwan's extremely rebellious underground rock band "Zhuoshuixi Commune" had already launched a The album, titled "Revenge of Taiwanese", also pointed out that "Taiwanese are a way of life", but it did not have such rich cultural implications.
We can look at it from a market perspective Let’s examine the reality and reality of “Taiwan New Culture”. If “Taiwan” is a new trademark and a new cultural commodity, it is by no means all-encompassing; if it is all-encompassing, it will not do anything. Without successful market segmentation and product image, it cannot become a successful product. Therefore, the explanation of "everyone is a Taiwanese" is too naive. No matter how organic the alliance is, we can basically still tell which one is which. Who is a "Taiwanese" and who is not? Some people are willing to join this dynamic process of "Taiwaneseization", but some are not. It is still difficult for us to put Ma Ying-jeou into the category of "Taiwanese"; there are also many second-generation elites from other provinces. "Taiwanese girls" who continue to resist "vulgarity"; even, it is difficult for us to include "Taiwanese" and "Zhuoshuixi Commune", the ancestor of rock and roll, even though they published "Taiwanese" seven years ago "Revenge", but it will not be Zhuoshuixi Commune that can enter the core of this wave of Taiwanese culture, but Wu Bai or Zhang Chenyue. Why? It's not because the Taiwanese flavor of Zhuoshuixi Commune is not pure enough, but because of this wave of Taiwanese culture. What “Taiwanese” want is POP STAR; it’s not necessarily the second-generation elites from other provinces who hate independence, but their past upbringing that makes them want to continue to resist the vulgar connotations represented by popular culture. Yes, “Taiwanese”. " is a new popular culture brand.
As a brand, "Taiwan" has been decoupled from the spirit of Taiwan. The birth process of the "Taiwan" brand is full of media intervention and naming. From "Network and Books", "Eslite Reading", Renjian Supplement to Rolling Stone Records, this process of product naming and image marketing is the birth of "Tai Ke", which is the important core "posture" in the "Tai Ke spirit". " is so suitable for packaging and becoming a commodity. Therefore, the new "Taiwanese" came naturally.
The "Taiwanese" brand is intended for the East Asian market
The popular "Taiwanese" media intends to attract the "Taiwanese" group for its own use, and intervene in the naming as soon as possible in exchange for its own canon Not threatened; but more of the reason comes from the maturity of the market. And where is the market? I'm afraid the biggest one is still in mainland China. If it weren't for Taiwan's pop culture's overwhelming success in the mainland Chinese market, perhaps the "Taiwanese" trend wouldn't have emerged so easily. If we had ever seen the popularity of "The Coming of Kangxi" in the mainland, if we had experienced firsthand that every generation of Taiwanese singers, old, middle and young, could receive instant and indiscriminate welcome in the mainland, if we had seen what seemed like a Japanese counterfeit How the "Meteor Garden", which is high-quality but full of Taiwanese flavor, swept East Asia, we may understand why "Taiwanese tourists" can be a business opportunity with great potential in East Asia.
"Of course, this has to be expanded from the working people to the middle class. The "Taiwanese" rock spirit of "Zhuoshui Stream Commune" may be a starting point, and Wu Zongxian's hosting style is a hot spot, among countless idols The Taiwanese style has gradually become more and more sophisticated in the drama, and it has won great success in "Two Generations of Electric Power Company" and "The Coming of Kangxi". Because the basic population of "Taiwanese" has already expanded from the working class to the urban middle class, it is not related to Chinese consumers. There is a class communication problem. Whether they are in Beijing, Shanghai, rural areas, or counties, they are eager to learn urban tastes. What Taiwanese brands face in the Chinese market is not competition from idols, but from other countries such as Korea, India, and Japan. Competition in the popular culture industry. The key to future success may not lie in the standards of Taiwanese operation, but in the creation and maintenance of broader capital, marketing, and key customer groups.
Culture, politics, The interaction of ethnic groups
In summary, this time the "Taiwan Culture Revival Movement" was ultimately just a branding movement, although Rolling Stone later said that in order to draw a clear line, it published "Let politics be politics, music." The declaration of "returning to music" is too naive, but this may also be part of the truth. Under the popular music logic of "selling one more piece is one piece", avoiding conflicts is the highest principle, despite decades of historical contradictions and the politics of divided camps. It is a luxury to rely on a few albums and variety shows to achieve profits.
Perhaps this is also a paradox of history. Although some media regard "Taiwanese" as a benchmark for overturning discrimination, " The birth of the term "Taiwanese" is still directly related to the superior mentality of people from other provinces; decades later, the "Taiwanese Cultural Revival Movement" is still inseparable from the hidden mainland factors. But, for me, I don't care, I know I I am also very "Taiwanese", my strengths are "Taiwanese", and my shortcomings are also "Taiwanese"; and what the bosses care about most is probably whether the "Taiwanese" brand products can successfully face East Asia, and the spring is warm and the flowers are blooming.