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The rise of regionalisation in the East Asian television
industry: A case study of trendy drama 2000-2012









By


Hsin-Pey Peng
Bachelor of Journalism
Master of Media Studies











This thesis is presented in fulfilment of the requirements for the degree of
Doctor of Philosophy
Faculty of Education and Arts
Edith Cowan University

2012

i
Abstract
This thesis examines the contemporary Taiwanese television industry and its
influence on the Asian TV market and popular culture in Asia. It explores the East
Asian TV industrys ability to produce a specific regional TV genre that of trendy
drama as a means of representing the tastes and lifestyles of a new audience. I claim in
the thesis that the East Asian TV industries have produced trendy drama for an
emerging middle class audience in Asia. Trendy drama still is one of the most popular
genres at the level of local TV productions; it can also be sold to an Asian regional
audience. The main premise of the study is that the media has the symbolic power to
centralise most social resources and technology, and because of that they can produce
certain cultural meanings influential to ordinary peoples social and cultural experience.
A study of the rise of regionalisation which specifically focused on the East
Asian TV industry, has led to this case study of trendy drama. In the case study I
analyse how East Asian TV industries produce and sell these types of local TV
productions to a wider TV market. After the review of regionalisation literature, the
study examines the specific content of the TV genre, trendy drama, within the context of
the Asian TV market. This raises questions about the role of trendy drama and its
function in the rise of regionalisation from political and economic perspectives. The
answers to these questions are then used to examine the production of Taiwanese idol
drama through a filmic and semiotic analysis. The earlier findings are supported by the
television producers and directors (professionals) practical insights into why and how
they produce trendy drama for the Asian market. Macro- and micro-level approaches
used in this study demonstrate the transition from a global television industry dominated
by America to the way East Asian TV industries earlier on drew from the American TV
industrys values, technical knowledge and resources. However, ultimately the East
Asian TV industry developed their own expertise which is why they now have the
symbolic power to sell to audiences within the region. Furthermore, East Asian TV
industries today have the ability to centralise enormous resources so they can produce
culturally shared meanings, which is becoming part of popular culture in Asia.
Consequently, the medias symbolic power enhances the rise of regionalisation in East
Asian TV industries. It is intended that this project will inform further debate about the
changing configuration of television markets within the Asian region and the role of the
media in mediating popular culture within the contemporary media age.

ii
Declaration


I certify that this thesis does not, to the best of my knowledge and belief:
(i) incorporate without acknowledgement any material previously submitted
for a degree or diploma in any institution of higher education;
(ii) contain any material previously published or written by another person
except where due reference is made in the text; or
(iii) contain any defamatory material.

Hisn-Pey Peng 22 June 2012
Name Signature Date of Submission

iii
Acknowledgements
This has been a long journey. In this journey, God guided, inspired and helped me
to fulfill my aim with HIS enormous, endless love. Praise God. In this journey, when I
confronted obstacles and personal issues, God always sent angels.
This thesis has been benefited from the help of many people. I would like to thank
my Principal Supervisor Dr. Debbie Rodan and my Associate Supervisor Dr. George
Karpathakis for their supportive criticism and generous readings of chapter drafts along this
journey. They put a lot of effort into helping me to cope with the complexity of my research.
I appreciate, in particular, Dr. Rodans significant and in-depth scholarship ideas, helping
me to clearly think through the research. I also thank Dr. Karpathakis for being very
generous in contributing a practical and expert approach for my thesis.
I would also like to acknowledge the ongoing support of Dr. Jo McFarlanes
endeavours in terms of my academic writing skill. Dr. McFarlane was very patient in
exploring the best way for me to improve my English expression. I also extend gratitude to
Dr. Lyndall Adams assistance with my research methodology.
My sincere thankfulness to the Ministry of Education of Taiwan for recognising the
significance of my research project and awarding me a Studying Abroad Scholarship
between 2009 and 2010. I am also thankful for ECU granting me a Postgraduate Research
Scholarship in 2010. In addition, I would like to thank Professor Mark W Hackling and
Coordinator Sarah Kearn for their support in dealing with the progress of my studies.
In the duration of my doctoral research, it has been pleasure for me to study in the
room 3.205 with lovely doctoral mates. Many thanks to Sally Stewart, Talhy Stotzer and
John Ryan for being so helpful and encouraging to me with their collegiality and friendship.
My special appreciation goes to Mr. Ilyat Kuzhagaliyevs devotion in this journey.
Thanks to Ilyat for looking after me while he was in Perth. And, my best friend, Miss Ting-
Yun Liang has supported me without any conditions. You are the warmest angels to me.
My final thanks go to my beloved family. Thanks to my father, brother and sisters
for allowing me to be childish to pursue my dream. Finally, I would like to send my
appreciation to heaven to my mother. I know that she is happy to see I have finally reached
my dream.


iv
Table of Contents

Abstract ............................................................................................................................. i
Declaration ....................................................................................................................... ii
Acknowledgements......................................................................................................... iii
Table of Contents ........................................................................................................... iv
List of Figures ................................................................................................................ vii
List of Tables .................................................................................................................. xi
Chapter 1: Introduction ................................................................................................. 1
Here and There: Present and Past ........................................................................................ 1
Research Background: What Has Been Happening? ......................................................... 5
Terms Used for the Study ...................................................................................................... 9
Aim of Research.................................................................................................................... 14
Theoretical Perspective ........................................................................................................ 15
Methodology Qualitative Research with Case Study ..................................................... 18
Case study ......................................................................................................................... 21
Integrated literature review .............................................................................................. 21
Textual analysis ................................................................................................................. 23
Semiotic analysis ............................................................................................................... 24
Formal filmic analysis ....................................................................................................... 26
Expert interviews with in-depth interview ......................................................................... 27
The Structure of the Thesis ................................................................................................. 29
Limitations ............................................................................................................................ 34
PART I: DISCOVERING A SENSE OF REGIONALISATION IN ASIA 35
Chapter 2: From American and Japanese Cultural Imperialism to the Rise of
Regionalisation .............................................................................................................. 36
Introduction .......................................................................................................................... 36
American Cultural Imperialism as Globalisation Coverage ............................................ 39
Definition of American cultural imperialism .................................................................... 40
Development of American cultural imperialism ............................................................... 43
Influence of American cultural imperialism in Asia ......................................................... 44
Regionalisation and Japanese Cultural Imperialism ........................................................ 46
Definition of regionalisation ............................................................................................. 48
Japanese imperialism in the Asian region ........................................................................ 50
Cultural discount, cultural proximity and cultural imagination ....................................... 55
South Korean Reaction to Regionalisation ........................................................................ 62
Reaction through government support .............................................................................. 62
National stars and Asian beauty ....................................................................................... 64
Reaction through media power ......................................................................................... 65
Conclusion ............................................................................................................................. 67

v
Chapter 3: Taiwanese TV Industry as Examplar Regi onal i s at i on ................... 70
Introduction ...........................................................................................................................70
The Hollywood Phase (1970s 1990s) .................................................................................73
Political control over local TV productions ......................................................................73
Active importation of American culture.............................................................................79
Resistance to Chinese authority and American cultural imperialism ...............................82
The Japanese Trendy Drama Phase (1990s-2000s) ............................................................84
The impact of satellite and cable television .......................................................................85
Japanese trendy drama in Taiwan .....................................................................................87
Korean trendy drama in Taiwan ........................................................................................88
The Taiwanese Idol Drama Phase (2000-Present) .............................................................90
Reaction through an attempt at adaptation .......................................................................90
Reaction to local TV creativity ..........................................................................................94
Preserve local culture through policy NCC ...................................................................97
Conclusion .............................................................................................................................99
Chapter 4: Trendy Drama as a New Genre in the East Asian Region ................... 102
Introduction .........................................................................................................................102
The Context of Birth: Trendy Drama in Japan ...............................................................103
Japan: A birthplace of trendy drama ...............................................................................104
Elements of trendy drama ................................................................................................107
Legitimising the Genre in the Region................................................................................112
Definition of genre ........................................................................................................113
To be a regional genre ..................................................................................................115
Departure from Traditional Dramas ................................................................................119
New attitudes towards love ..............................................................................................120
A rise in womens self-conviction ....................................................................................123
A rise in individualism .....................................................................................................125
Conclusion ...........................................................................................................................130
PART II: ANALYSING TAIWANESE IDOL DRAMAS .......................... 133
Chapter 5: Analysing Black &White () : Highlighting Asian Idols,
Metropolis and Fantasy .............................................................................................. 134
Introduction .........................................................................................................................134
Face as an Icon: New Masculinity in Trendy Drama ......................................................135
New masculinity as Asian idols .......................................................................................136
Close-up shots highlight photogenic characters .............................................................141
De-localisation: Metropolitan Settings ..............................................................................147
Trendy drama and the city: iconic geography signifies metropolis ................................148
Long shots with birds eye view initiate metropolitan imagery .......................................155
Diversity of Storylines: Fantasy Through Myth ..............................................................160
Fantasy elements produced by visual semiotics ..............................................................161
Designed dialogue reinforces the myth ...........................................................................167
Conclusion ...........................................................................................................................169

vi
Chapter 6: Analysing My Queen () (1): Representing the New Image of
Taiwanese women ....................................................................................................... 172
Introduction ........................................................................................................................ 172
The New Portrayals of Taiwanese Women...................................................................... 173
Traditional versus modern values in My Queen () .......................................... 174
Taiwanese modern womens conflicting feelings about romantic love ........................... 177
The new image of Taiwanese women registered through male attitudes ........................ 180
New Attitudes Towards Love ............................................................................................ 188
My Queen (): Womens self-conviction in love ............................................... 188
My Queen (): Double-triangular relationship ................................................. 197
My Queen (): New happy ending in trendy drama .......................................... 215
Conclusion ........................................................................................................................... 221
Chapter 7: Analysing My Queen () (2): Highlighting Social Class through
Costume........................................................................................................................ 223
Introduction ........................................................................................................................ 223
My Queen (): Love Tokens Initiate Social Class .............................................. 224
My Queen (): Costumes Represent Social Class .............................................. 227
Wu-Shuangs costume ..................................................................................................... 228
Jia-Jias costume ............................................................................................................. 237
Lucas costume ................................................................................................................ 240
Leslies costume .............................................................................................................. 244
Conclusion ........................................................................................................................... 250
PART III: LOOKING TO THE FUTURE OF THE GENRE ................... 252
Chapter 8: Producer and Director Perspectives on TV Production in the Region253
Introduction ........................................................................................................................ 253
Motivation for Producing Trendy Drama ........................................................................ 254
From adaptation to creation ........................................................................................... 254
From emphasising idols to looking at content ................................................................ 257
Emphasis on Photogenic Characters and Storylines ....................................................... 259
Symbolism in Idols .......................................................................................................... 260
Attraction of storylines .................................................................................................... 262
Looking to Future Markets ............................................................................................... 263
Conclusion ........................................................................................................................... 265
Chapter 9: Conclusion ................................................................................................ 268
References .................................................................................................................... 272
Appendix 1 ................................................................................................................... 285
Appendix 2 ................................................................................................................... 289


vii

List of Figures

Figure 1.1 The Fierce Wife (). The drama represents extra-marital affairs in
a new
style. ............................................................................................................. 1
Figure 1.2 Japanese manga Boys Over Flowers (Hana yori Dango) vs. Taiwanese idol
drama Meteor Garden () .............................................................. 6
Figure 1.3 Japanese manga vs. Taiwanese idol drama .................................................. 8
Figure 1.4 The research framework ............................................................................. 20
Figure 1.5 A trio of images showing how close-up footage tracking adds drama ..... 26
Figure 2.1 The three phases of evolution of TV development in Taiwan ................... 38
Figure 2.2 A conceptualisation of Galtungs (1971) world system ............................. 51
Figure 2.3 A conceptualization of relations between Japan and the U.S. ................... 52
Figure 3.1 The Taiwanese pop band, F4. .................................................................... 92
Figure 3.2 A Taiwanese idol, Jerry Yan. ..................................................................... 93
Figure 3.3 A Taiwanese idol, Vic Chou. ..................................................................... 93
Figure 3.4 A Japanese idol, Takuya Kimura. .............................................................. 94
Figure 5.1a The two heroes in Black & White () (Yu & Tsai, 2009), Mark
Chao and Vic Chou. ................................................................................. 138
Figure 5.1b The two heroes in Black & White (), Mark Chao and Vic Chou138
Figure 5.2 Vic Chou .................................................................................................. 139
Figure 5.3 Mark Chao ................................................................................................ 140
Figure 5.4 Vic Chou acting as a tramp ...................................................................... 142
Figure 5.5 The footage of Vic Chous close-ups ....................................................... 144
Figure 5.6 The plainclothes policeman walking around KMRT ............................... 149
Figure 5.7 The footage of the policeman walking around KMRT ............................ 149
Figure 5.8 The scene focusing on the Dome of Light ............................................... 150
Figure 5.9 The inserted scenes of the polices preparations for the task ................... 151
Figure 5.10a The Dome of Light .............................................................................. 151
Figure 5.10b The Dome of Light .............................................................................. 152
Figure 5.11 The footage of the two policemen standing under The Dome of Light ... 153
Figure 5.12 The footage focusing on the Dome of Light and the two policemen
standing aside ........................................................................................... 154

viii
Figure 5.13 The scene of the chief watching the monitors .......................................... 154
Figure 5.14 The footage of iconic geography, Tuntex Sky Tower .............................. 156
Figure 5.15 The footage of specific locations in Kaohsiung City ............................... 158
Figure 5.16 The end pictures of the prelude of the theme song .................................. 159
Figure 5.17 Ma speaks to Pi-Zi: are you sure you want sit close to experimental
utensils? .................................................................................................. 163
Figure 5.18 Pi-Zi looks up to Ma................................................................................. 163
Figure 5.19 Ma concentrates on manipulating the experimental utensils. .................. 164
Figure 5.20 The inserted close-up shots of the characters looking at Ma ................... 164
Figure 5.21 The footage of Mas action on the experiment ........................................ 165
Figure 5.22 The footage of Mas narration for his story ............................................. 166
Figure 5.23 The footage of Ma displaying the result of the experiment ..................... 168
Figure 6.1 Wu-Shuangs monologue ......................................................................... 178
Figure 6.2 The footage of Wu-Shuangs monologue ................................................ 178
Figure 6.3 Wu-Shuangs soliloquy ............................................................................ 179
Figure 6.4 Lucass monologue .................................................................................. 181
Figure 6.5 Lucass voice-over ................................................................................... 182
Figure 6.6 Lucas stops Wu-Shuang and brings her a dress ....................................... 184
Figure 6.7 The footage that Lucas brings an evening bag for Wu-Shuang ............... 185
Figure 6.8 The footage of Lucas talking out items one by one from Wu-Shuangs
bag ............................................................................................................ 185
Figure 6.9 The footage of Lucas putting a scarf on Wu-Shuangs neck ................... 186
Figure 6.10 The footage of Wu-Shuangs pretence at smoking .................................. 190
Figure 6.11 Wu-Shuangs dialogue as soliloquy ......................................................... 191
Figure 6.12. Wu-Shuang says: I must win! ............................................................... 192
Figure 6.13 The footage of Wu-Shuang speaking to Lucas. ....................................... 194
Figure 6.14 The footage of Wu-Shuangs and Lucass monologues ........................... 195
Figure 6.15 The footage of Wu-Shuangs monologue ................................................ 196
Figure 6.16 Wu-Shuang is standing near the people and looks unhappy .................... 199
Figure 6.17 Wu-Shuang abruptly walks to pass between Lucas and Jia-Jia ............... 200
Figure 6.18 Wu-Shuang goes straight to the elevator.................................................. 200
Figure 6.19 Wu-Shuang moves her body in between the door.................................... 201
Figure 6.20 The footage of Wu-Shuangs monologue ................................................ 202
Figure 6.21 Wu-Shuangs monologue ......................................................................... 203
Figure 6.22 The long shot of the restaurant ................................................................. 205

ix
Figure 6.23 The shot of Lucass tracking-in close-up ................................................. 206
Figure 6.24 The shot of Wu-Shuangs tracking-in close-up ........................................ 206
Figure 6.25 Jia-Jia looks vague and is out of focus while Lucas is in the deep-focus
shot ........................................................................................................... 207
Figure 6.26 The close-up shot of Lucass looking toward Wu-Shuang includes
Jai-Jai, who is gazing at Lucas ................................................................. 208
Figure 6.27 The rack-focusing shots to signify that Lucas has no romantic intentions
to Jia-Jia .................................................................................................... 208
Figure 6.28 The rack-focusing shots conveying Wu-Shuang and Lucass intimacy
in contrast to Lucas and Jia-Jias friendship ............................................ 209
Figure 6.29 Leslie says: I remember Wu-Shuang doesnt eat snow cake ................ 210
Figure 6.30 Wu-Shuang appears astonished and frozen with shock when hearing
Leslies voice ............................................................................................ 210
Figure 6.31 The shot of Wu-Shuang and Lucas tracks sideways towards Wu-
Shuangs right side ................................................................................... 211
Figure 6.32 Lucas talks to Wu-Shuang: Is he Mr. Polar Bear? Not special! .......... 211
Figure 6.33 The close-up shot of Wu-Shuang inserted with a flashback. ................... 212
Figure 6.34 Deep-focus close-up shot on Wu-Shuang highlights her inner feelings .. 212
Figure 6.35 Leslie is walking to Wu-Shuang slowly. .................................................. 213
Figure 6.36 The deep-focus close-up shot of Wu-Shuang signifies that Leslie is
not part of her emotions ........................................................................... 213
Figure 6.37 Wu-Shuangs over-over ........................................................................... 216
Figure 6.38 The footage of Lucas monologue ........................................................... 218
Figure 6.39 The footage of Lucass soliloquy and Wu-Shuangs monologue ............ 219
Figure 6.40 The extreme long shot with the church in the background. ..................... 220
Figure 7.1 A photograph of a polar bear as a token for Wu-Shuang from Leslie ..... 225
Figure 7.2 The rubber bracelet, the token for Lucas from his past love .................... 225
Figure 7.3 Close-up of the rubber bracelet token for Lucas from his past love ........ 226
Figure 7.4 Fashion conscious Wu-Shuang walking on the street .............................. 229
Figure 7.5 Fashion conscious Wu-Shuang walking on the street .............................. 229
Figure 7.6 Wu-Shuang appears in a white blouse and black skirt ............................. 231
Figure 7.7 Wu-Shuang carries a white leather bag .................................................... 232
Figure 7.8 Wu-Shuang wearing a silver necklace and bracelet ................................. 233
Figure 7.9 Wu-Shuang wears a purple dress of knit-pile fabric ................................ 234
Figure 7.10 Wu-Shuang wears a purple dress of knit-pile fabric ................................ 235
Figure 7.11 Wu-Shuang appears in thinner fabric clothes in the later episodes .......... 236
Figure 7.12 Wu-Shuangs hairstyle in the drama ........................................................ 237

x
Figure 7.13 Jia-Jias first appearance in the drama ..................................................... 238
Figure 7.14 The colours of Lucas costume in the drama ........................................... 241
Figure 7.15 Lucass black helmet with a red pointed line on the top .......................... 242
Figure 7.16 Lucas wears a three piece suit. ................................................................. 243
Figure 7.17 Lucas often wears hoodies in the drama .................................................. 243
Figure 7.18 Leslie jumps into the pool ........................................................................ 245
Figure 7.19 Leslie wears a white shirt and dark blue jeans ......................................... 246
Figure 7.20 Leslies apparel ........................................................................................ 248
Figure 7.21 Leslies apparel ........................................................................................ 248
Figure 7.22 The last appearances of Leslie in the drama ............................................ 249


xi

List of Tables

Table 1.1 The primary countries producing trendy drama and their export
countries. .................................................................................................... 13
Table 3. 1a The development of Taiwans TV technology 1930-2012 .72
Table 3.1 Proportion of programming in the Taiwanese language (Tai-yu) .............. 77
Table 3.2 Percentage of imported programs on television between 1969 and
1998 ............................................................................................................ 80



1
Chapter 1
Introduction

One night, the unfaithful husband, Rui-Fan, confessed his betrayal to his
wife with tears and the words: Even if I am dying, I would like to go back
to the life we used to have. At that moment, his wife, An-Zhen, looked at
Rui-Fan, touching his face with tears, and said sympathetically but with
conviction: But, Rui-Fan, I cant go back anymore.
(The Fierce Wife, 2011, Episode 23; translated by the researcher)
Here and There: Present and Past
On Friday 15 April 2011, a Taiwanese TV station broadcast the final episode of
The Fierce Wife () (Wang &Xu, 2011)(see Figure 1.1), a Taiwanese TV
drama about how a young couple confronted their extra-marital affairs. The excerpt
above spoken at the end of the episode created the highest viewing rate in that timeslot
(The Fierce Wife catches public attention, 2011).

Figure 1.1 The Fierce Wife (). The drama represents extra-marital affairs
in a new style.
Source: iSET

2
On that day, the Taiwanese people might normally spend their Friday evening
outside. However, about 4 million Taiwanese, almost a quarter of the total Taiwanese
population, sitting in front of the television watching The Fierce Wife (). In
particular, the heroine, An-Zhens dialogue, I cant go back anymore promoted wide
public discussion about this new image of a Taiwanese married woman. Public
discussion revolved around the dialogue; the audience considering that An-Zhens
decision signified a new attitude of Taiwanese modern women toward their marriage.
As the producer Pei-Hua Wang (cited in Yang, 2011) noted, The story does not end
with a wifes forgiveness and return to the family; instead, it is a new start for her
(translated by the researcher). Wang continued, indicating, What I attempted to register
at the end of the story was a rise of womens self-conviction (translated by the
researcher). Thus, through the particular scene of this episode, a new image of a
Taiwanese married woman was constructed, and traditional values of marriage were
reconsidered. This example reveals the spirit of trendy drama; that is, it represents at
least one new fashionable idea.
Extra-marital affairs are not the preferred theme for trendy drama, because they
are deemed a clich, and are often depicted in traditional TV drama. However, the
depiction of extra-marital affairs in The Fierce Wife () (Wang & Xu, 2011)
does not focus on how the husband meets the other woman, as portrayed in traditional
drama. Instead, the depiction of extra-marital affairs here places greater emphasis on the
process of how a Taiwanese woman changes, grows and discovers her sense of self-
worth after her husband betrays her. This new depiction makes the drama appear
differently, when compared with traditional TV dramas that deal with a similar theme.
The drama reveals a specific modern idea that appears to influence current social
phenomena in Taiwan.
After The Fierce Wife () (Wang & Xu, 2011) was broadcast in Taiwan,
other Asian countries showed interest in this new trendy drama, and imported it to their
countries. For instance, The Fierce Wife () was broadcast in Singapore, where
it was renamed The Shrewd Wife () (2011). In addition, Japan started to
broadcast the drama on the Japanese TV channel, BS Channel, from 9
th
June 2011. In
Japan, the drama was entitled Is Marriage Happiness () (2011), and was
broadcast in Mandarin with Japanese subtitles. Meanwhile, the drama was promoted by
the Japanese TV station as the most topical TV drama in Taiwan in 2011 (Cao, 2011).

3
Subsequently, The Fierce Wife () was aired in Mainland China. Because of its
popularity, TV stations in Beijing sought to purchase the original script of the drama,
and then to reproduce it (High rating of viewing The Fierce Wife, 2011). Clearly, the
drama addressed a wide range of interests within several Asian societies, and the new
image of a married Asian woman was therefore circulated within the Asian region.
A similar example occurred 15 years ago in the Japanese TV industry. A popular
Japanese TV drama, Long Vacation (Rongu Bakeishon) (Kameyama & Nagayama,
1996), was produced as a new genre of TV drama in 1996. In Long Vacation (Rongu
Bakeishon), the heroines fianc flees from their wedding with another girl. Afterwards,
the heroine loses her job and becomes an unemployed model. In experiencing this
difficult situation, the heroine conveys her inner thoughts when she says, When I
encounter an obstacle, I see it as a long vacation as a gift from God, by which I can slow
the pace for my life and feel peace (Long Vacation, Episode 4, 00:03:30; translated by
the researcher). The dialogue registers a modern womans independence and a new
attitude about failed relationships, which has not appeared in Japanese TV drama before
(Tang, 2000).
Similar to The Fierce Wife () (Wang & Xu, 2011), the dialogue in
Long Vacation (Rongu Bakeishon) conveys a new idea, which signifies a rise in
womens self-conviction as a contemporary fashionable idea. The dialogue has even
been attuned to todays expectation of what attitudes modern women should hold
towards their lives. Moreover, it seems that the specific idea represented in Long
Vacation (Rongu Bakeishon) is now adopted in The Fierce Wife (). These two
dramas represent a new style of TV drama which may be categorised as trendy drama.
From the two examples of this genre, it is clear that the genre does not appear only here
(in Taiwan) and now (in 2011); it is also showcased there (in Japan) and in the past (in
1996). This new genre, with the specific ideas it represents, thus transcends territorial
limitations because the genre has been circulated within the Asian region (East Asia in
particular). As a consequence, the new genre has been received, accepted and now
acknowledged by East Asian TV industries and Asian audiences as the most popular in
East Asia.
As trendy drama became popular, it was compared with Taiwanese traditional
drama. Generally speaking, trendy drama can be recognised by its basic plotline, age
group target of the audience and representative style. Its plotline mostly shows
characters with modern, positive and happy attitudes towards life and thus 20-30 year-

4
olds are targeted as the audience. The representative style is distinct from other TV
genres in its high production values that depict new cultural expressions, including
extremely beautiful actors, who are very youthful, very fashionable and have sculptured
looks and wear contemporary, stylish costumes. These aspects are features of trendy
drama, differentiating it from traditional drama.
Traditional drama in this study includes popular prime-time TV serials, such as
historical costume drama, modern serial drama and any other contemporary subgenres.
The term traditional drama is used in this research to distinguish between the fashions in
technical and cultural expression used in traditional and trendy dramas. The distinction
has been developed throughout the thesis. In particular, the different cultural
expressions between traditional and trendy drama have been analysed in Chapter 4 and
the different technical expressions have been examined through filmic analysis of
semiotics in Chapter 5, 6 and 7. The distinctions have been further supported by the
insights of TV experts (interviewees) in Chapter 8. Essentially, the plotline of
traditional drama mostly represents sad characters that have had a hard life or have
struggled with difficult situations; the drama settings are often located in rural situations.
For example, the famous Japanese traditional TV drama Oshin (Okamoto & Sugako,
1984) was very popular in many Asian countries; however, the story of the drama
revolves around the life-long struggle and ultimate success of a peasant woman; it is
therefore not counted as a Japanese trendy drama (Yoshiko, 2002).
A few of the traditional TV dramas focus on romance. However, they cannot be
thought of as trendy drama if their settings are not modern. Therefore, if trendy drama is
deemed to be a modern narrative of romance (Chen, 2008, 177), a traditional TV
drama of romance can be referred as traditional romance. For instance, there was one
subgenre, Qiongyao drama () of Taiwanese traditional dramas, which focused
particularly on romance. The name of this subgenre originated from the famous novel
writer, Qiong Yao. In Taiwan, most of the early TV romances were adapted from her
novels and developed into this particular type of traditional drama. Qiongyao drama was
not deemed trendy drama, because it only focused on love stories and rarely mentioned
contemporary lifestyles. In addition, the drama lacked any depiction of younger
peoples love lives and their attitudes towards life. More specifically, the primary
audiences of Qiongyao drama were housewives, who were deemed to be the rural
obason (old women in the countryside) (Yang, 2008, p. 278); they are not considered
to be part of the group of modern women.

5
Research Background: What Has Been Happening?
Before the popularity of trendy drama in Taiwan, I worked as a journalist for
Taiwans TV stations (1997-2001). During this period, I experienced the rise of cable
TV stations, satellite TV stations, and Taiwanese terrestrial television. By being a
journalist in different TV stations, including a Cable TV system and three Satellite TV
stations, I had ample opportunity to observe the range of popular television programs
produced by and for the TV industry. In particular, at the end of 1999, I was assigned to
execute a special report about the new Japanese culture for a Taiwanese news program
in Japan. I produced a series of special reports, and these were regularly broadcast on
Eastern TV in Taiwan during the next year.
Having the chance to observe closely Japanese popular culture, which was
represented by a wide range of cultural symbols, I was deeply impressed with its
influence in Taiwanese and other Asian societies. The influence of Japanese popular
culture seemed to descend upon these areas. The situation can be observed in
contemporary Taiwanese TV circumstances, which was changing into a new
technological landscape based on the overall deregulation of cable TV. Many new TV
channels therefore appeared, broadcasting numerous Japanese TV programs. During
this time, the context of the new TV landscape was specific because Taiwan had
experienced economic and industrial growth, political movement and a resurgence of
local and multiple cultures.
In 2001, I left journalism for further study. During my postgraduate course, a
rise in local consciousness occurred in my homeland, represented in the media through
public forums. I noticed that the rise in local consciousness was particularly emphasised
and represented in the specific TV genre of drama programs. This type of TV drama
was produced based on Taiwans local context, and used the major native language
Tai-yu; thus, it became a popular subgenre of TV drama, Tai-yu drama. At that time,
the popularity of Tai-yu drama, such as Taiwan A-Cheng (Zhou & Lin, 2001), was
demonstrated in its high ratings. In particular, FTV (Formosa TV station), which was
established based on representing Taiwanese local culture, considered Tai-yu drama as
the main component of drama programs. Therefore, in my M.A. project, I focused on
Tai-yu dramas to analyse the relationship between media and popular culture from a
historical perspective. In my M.A. thesis, I examined how the Formosa TV station
constructed Taiwanese consciousness by producing Tai-yu drama between 1997 and
2002.

6
However, the popularity of Tai-yu drama and local consciousness lasted only a
short time. By the time I had completed my masters degree and returned to my TV
journalist position, I was surprised to find that the Taiwanese TV landscape had
apparently shifted into a multi-channel TV environment. TV programs shown on
channels had become much more diverse, expressing multiple cultures. Several
different foreign TV programs appeared in most timeslots on TV channels. Before this
time, American TV programs had been the main source of foreign programming in
Taiwan. However, at that time, Japanese and Korean trendy dramas were imported
largely to fill the available timeslots, as well as to satisfy Taiwanese audiences. A few
Japanese trendy dramas like Long Vacation (Rongu Bakeishon) (Kameyama &
Nagayama, 1996) and Tokyo Love Story (Toukyou Rabu Sutori) (Saimon & Nagayama,
1991), which were originally received through illegal satellite systems by Taiwanese
audiences in the 1990s, started to be broadcast and rebroadcast on different TV channels
in Taiwan. Meanwhile, the broadcast of Korean trendy drama also suddenly increased.
Japanese and Korean trendy dramas took up most of the prime-time slots (6pm 8pm)
and became a regular genre on cable TV channels.

Figure 1.2 Japanese manga Boys Over Flowers (Hana yori Dango) vs. Taiwanese
idol drama Meteor Garden ()
Source: Animation & Comic Weekly / Hudong.com
Broadcasting foreign TV programs impacted on the popularity of the locally
produced Taiwanese TV dramas including Tai-yu drama. The number of Tai-yu dramas

7
during 1997 2002 was therefore on the decline. A new local production of TV drama
appeared; it indeed had a new approach to producing TV drama. The TV drama was
termed Taiwanese idol drama. The first Taiwanese idol drama is Meteor Garden
1
(
) (Chai & Tsai, 2001), which was adapted from a Japanese manga of 1992, Boys
Over Flowers (Hana yori Dango) (Kamio, 1992) (see Figure 1.2). In addition to local
actors, other elements were represented as being Japanese in style, such as the
characters names, costumes, dialogue, settings and narrative. The appearance of
Meteor Garden () caused two different audience reactions. Some audiences
did not think of it as a Taiwanese local drama (Lin, 2006). Despite this the new drama
was popular with younger audiences. Since then, Taiwanese TV producers have begun
producing TV drama following the conventions of this genre. At first, new Taiwanese
TV dramas were produced drawing on Japanese materials, most of them being produced
based on Japanese manga (see Figure1.3). Because of this, the production of Taiwanese
idol drama was criticised as lacking creativity and of being merely representations of
Japanese lifestyles.

1
Meteor Garden () describes a love story between a playboy (dandy) and a poor girl on campus.

8




Figure 1.3 Japanese manga vs. Taiwanese idol drama

Subsequently, the Taiwanese TV industry began developing idol drama with an
emphasis on local material. The Hospital () (Yu & Tsai, 2006) was produced
based on a Taiwanese novel, its director being Yueh-Hsun Tsai, who produced Meteor
Garden (). Another of Tsais works, Black & White () (Yu & Tsai,
2009), was also produced using local scriptwriting. In addition, a Taiwanese TV station,
Sanlih Entertainment Television (SETTV) began producing idol drama in 2001,
forming a team in order to create original stories. In the following years, Taiwanese idol
drama developed into the most popular genre domestically. The programming is now
not merely capable of competing with foreign TV programs within the domestic TV
market; it is also profitable abroad (Lin, 2009). Taiwanese idol dramas produced by
SETTV have been exported to Asian countries, including Thailand, Vietnam, the
Philippines, Malaysia, Indonesia and Singapore in recent years.

9
I have summarised how TV drama in Taiwan developed between 2002 and 2008
after I returned to Taiwan from the U.K. The new TV landscape in Taiwan and the
emergence of the new genre of trendy dramas provides insights into the ways in which
regionalisation has been shaped in Asia, the rise of Asian regionalisation being most
evident through the popularity of Japanese, Korean and Taiwanese trendy dramas. In
the case of Taiwan, trendy drama, as a specific genre in the region, has become the most
popular imported TV program. The drama replaced American TV programs, even
though they had been very popular in the Taiwanese TV market during the 1980s and
1990s.
According to this new TV landscape, I extended my interest in the development
of TV dramas in Taiwan to a wider area of focus on the contemporary context of the TV
marketplace in Asia. Because of this, the development of Taiwanese TV drama could
not be discussed without regard to both the internal changes within Taiwanese media
(including government regulation and policy) and the external impact of East Asian
media markets in the region.
At the outset of this research, I assumed that Taiwanese idol drama would lack
local creativity and production quality, so that there would be few possibilities for
Taiwanese TV production to compete with Japanese and Korean trendy dramas in the
East Asian region. My concern was that this situation could cause Japanese TV to
dominate in the East Asian region and Taiwan would be in a subordinate position.
However, the increasing development of Taiwanese idol drama during the four years of
my doctoral research has surprised me. During this time Taiwans biggest neighbour,
Mainland China has opened up its TV market gradually. Nowadays, the Taiwan media
has opportunities to expand its TV market in local production of Taiwanese idol dramas
to China. This expansion could create profitable outcomes for the Taiwanese TV
producers. This trend enhances the significance of my research on the power of the new
genre, trendy drama.
Terms Used for the Study
This study involves both TV production and cultural expression based on a few
specific ideas about geographical areas that affect how to think about popular culture,
the Asian region and idol dramas. Therefore, the following terms have particular
meanings that need to be clarified:
popular culture

10
regional
Asia/Asian
idol drama
Popular culture has been discussed widely, researchers focusing on its different
perspectives in media and cultural studies. Basically, popular culture refers to the
popular cultural aspects of a society that are accepted by the majority of that culture.
However, when the people who mostly represent popular culture in their life become
the mainstream of the population, popular culture can be confirmed as a demographic
trend which relates to a particular sector of that population and represents the
preferences and tastes of it. For example, popular culture represented in trendy drama
seems to appeal to a younger demographic. Fiske (1987) proposes his perspectives on
popular cultures definition, avowing that popular culture can be deemed a site of
struggle while accepting the power of the forces of dominance (p. 20). Based on
this viewpoint, popular culture has been formulated to exist among the common people
who are distinguished from the upper classes by being against the dominant cultural
hegemony. In this situation, audiences or consumers appear active in creating and
sharing social meanings, which then become popular culture. Nevertheless, Fiske argues
that the people still cannot escape from the dominant forces which articulate their
hegemonic messages in society, since these forces stem from the upper classes that
control most the resources which mediate the messages.
Compared to Fiske, Storeys (2004) perspective on popular culture is more
related to demographics by which the phenomenon can be illustrated by a quantitative
index (p. 4). Storey proposes that the most common understanding of popular culture
is that is widely favoured or well liked by many people (p. 4). Similarly, Lull (2000)
maintains that popular culture is seen to be products or artifacts in this media-saturated
age, therefore tending to be connected to the common values, beliefs and tastes
represented in peoples daily lives. It can exist in various texts and forms but is
connected to the mainstream of the population. To define the term, Lull observes that:
popular culture means that artifacts and styles of human expression develop
from the creativity of ordinary people, and circulate among people
according to their interests, preferences, and tastes. Popular culture thus
comes from people; it is not just given to them. (p. 165)

11
Lulls (2000) perspective points to the difficulty of delineating the question of whether
media content influences popular culture, or whether popular culture leads to media
content.
Indeed, the perspectives of popular culture proposed by Fiske (1987), Storey
(2004) and Lull (2000) above can be employed to explain popular culture in this study.
Their viewpoints virtually show development of trendy drama in different stages.
Initially, trendy drama was created for the middle class in Japan which was emerging in
society and deemed to be neglected in the TV market (Ota, 2004). Accordingly, the
popular culture represented in trendy drama was related to cultural values of the middle
class, which was distinguished from traditional cultures. This is the kind of dimension
that Fiske proposes. Then the drama became more and more popular and was enjoyed
by most audiences, which ultimately increased in number to become the mainstream
target of the TV market. Therefore the popular culture conveyed in trendy drama
developed into what Storey calls the quantitative dimension (p. 4): it represents the
common values of most people. Nevertheless, at this stage it could also be expressed as
resisting existing culture, such as traditional cultural values. For instance, the Taiwanese
female middle class is now a large group in the society; however, the contemporary
female cultural values expressed in trendy drama sometimes reveal middle class
womens resistance to traditional values. This demonstrates that both Fiskes and
Storeys standpoints are compatible in relation to an understanding about popular
culture.
Eventually, trendy drama developed to the stage that the dramas targeted a
broader demographic and so included the popular culture accepted by most common
people in a larger TV market. From Lulls (2000) perspective, popular culture in these
circumstances would be one of the media products created from ordinary peoples
everyday lives. However, as mentioned above, Lulls perspective points to two aspects
of the question: whether media content influences popular culture, or whether popular
culture leads to media content. Basically, these two aspects of the question are included
in the proposition of this study. However, the former suggests that the media has the
ability to derive ideas from the mainstream population to produce images and stories. In
this sense, the images and stories become created events related to a specific social
phenomenon, lifestyles and social experience, which then form popular culture for
ordinary people. Therefore, popular culture, as used in this study, can be related to
certain cultural meanings that help individuals and groups make sense of their everyday

12
lives. This accords with Lulls view which emphasizes the popular culture means that
cultural themes and styles originate in everyday environments, and are later attended to,
interpreted, and used by ordinary people after being commodified and circulated by
the cultural industries and mass media (p. 169). To sum up, popular culture in this
study serves as a sub-term, which can be appropriated and commodified in TV
productions in order to develop regional markets for East Asian TV industries.
Second, regional in this study aims to define the aspects of TV belonging to
specific areas. In particular, this study locates TV productions and popular culture are
located within regionalisation. Accordingly, regional used adjectively preceding a
noun indicates a representative object for and within the Asian region. In this sense,
there are a few cases in which I describe TV programs produced for the Asian TV
market, such as regional programs, regional TV productions or regional genres.
This description follows the manner in which Tunstall (2008) discusses the
representative media production in a region, such as regional media (p. 10). To sum
up, the adjective regional specifically refers to the sense of regionalisation; it does not
mean remove or countryside.
Furthermore, Asia in this study refers to the area where the specific new TV
production, trendy drama, has been broadcast; however, it does not necessarily include
every Asian country. According to Chua (2004), the region, Asia, can be a generally
geographical conception, which represent shared ethnic and cultural roots. He says that:
the adjective Asian is complicated by a multitude of possible cultural
references, from relatively culturally homogeneous countries in East Asian,
such as Japan and Korea to Korea to multiethnic / multiracial / multicultural
/ multireligious / multilingual postcolonial nations in Southeast and South
Asia. (p. 200)
In this sense, Asia can be used to generally scope the market of the specific media
consumption even though a few countries have developed their own particular type of
media products. For instance, India has its own specific genres of media production
including Hindi television and Bollywood films (Tunstall, 2008). In the conditions, the
popularity of trendy drama, as a specific new TV genre originated from East Asia, does
not influence India.
Essentially, the key geographic concept in this study involves two dimensions:
one is TV production and the other is audience reception. The dimension of TV
production primarily refers to East Asia, the region which shares the flow of popular
culture, and includes the nations of Japan, Korea and Taiwan the main Chinese

13
heritage countries (Chua, 2004). The other dimension of this study, audience reception,
involves TV markets that should not only refer to the Chinese heritage countries of
East Asia, but should also include other countries in Asia, such as Thailand, Vietnam
and the Philippines. In short, trendy drama has been mainly produced by Japan, South
Korea and Taiwan, and has been exported to East Asia, Southeast Asia and Chinese
communities throughout the world (see Table 1.1).
Table 1.1 The primary countries producing trendy drama and their export countries.
Production countries Export countries



Japan
South Korea
Taiwan


East Asia:
Japan
South Korea
China (Mainland China, Hong Kong, Macao)
Taiwan
Southeast Asia
Singapore, the Philippines, Malaysia, Vietnam,
Indonesia, Thailand
Chinese communities in the world
Source: Taiwan Audio Video Interactive Service
More clearly, East Asian TV industries have influenced the Asian TV market
overall. Therefore, the geographic term East Asia is used to indicate the production
sources of TV programs, and Asia is used to indicate the markets and cultural spheres,
such as Asian audience and Asian idol. In general, the words Asia and Asian are
used to describe Asian TV markets, the Asian region, Asian audience, Asian women,
Asian idol, Asian beauty, Asian cultural expression, Asian modernity, Asian-oriented
modern lifestyle and the Asian middle class. Occasionally, both Asia and East Asia are
highlighted in the study as Asia, particularly East Asia.
Finally, idol drama is the term employed instead of trendy drama in some
instances in this thesis. The term refers to the genre that is particularly produced by the
Taiwanese TV industry. However, it is adapted from, and equal in meaning to trendy
drama. Basically, the term Taiwanese idol drama is interchangeable with Taiwanese

14
trendy drama. Thus it indicates the desire of the Taiwanese TV industry to highlight its
own brand through an emphasis on the word idol.
Aim of Research
As a result of my experience as a TV journalist, I was acutely aware of the
association between the two fields: East Asian TV productions; and popular culture in
Asia. I attempted to connect this association to a rise of regionalisation in East Asian
TV industries. This idea grew into a rudimentary hypothesis that East Asian TV
industries had the symbolic power to produce a specific TV genre, and this genre served
as a specific symbolic form to circulate certain cultural meanings that then became part
of popular culture in Asia. Consequently, in this thesis, discussions about television
productions and popular culture are integrated to highlight the rise of regionalisation in
East Asian TV industries. Based on this hypothesis, the main aim of this study is to
explore medias symbolic power which has contributed to the rise of regionalisation in
East Asian TV industries.
In order to achieve this aim, I treat trendy drama as the specific TV genre that
East Asian TV industries have produced to signify certain cultural meanings for Asian
audiences. Moreover, the popularity of this genre has caused local TV products in East
Asia to establish a common cultural product within the region. This idea leads to my
overall argument in this thesis. Initially the Japanese TV industry had the largest
number of resources to develop a new TV genre, trendy drama, for the emerging middle
classes in Asia. Resources were acquired because the Japanese TV industry was in a
privileged political position in the 1990s. At that time, the overall development of
satellite TV in Asia enabled Japanese trendy drama to be received widely within the
Asian area. Subsequently, its popularity demonstrated through television ratings
encouraged other Asian countries, such as South Korea and Taiwan, to develop their
local productions, drawing on and adapting this new genre. In such circumstances,
certain cultural meanings, portraying the middle-class lifestyles in Japanese trendy
drama, were reproduced and circulated to be part of popular culture in Asia. As a
consequence, a rise of regionalisation in the East Asian TV industries has grown in the
Asian TV market and now they have the symbolic power through the production of
programming to mediate social reality in Asia.
My research question is constructed as a major research question with two
sub-questions:

15
1. Since the 1990s through local television production, how has the genre of trendy
drama influenced the rise of regionalisation in the East Asian television
industries?
1.1 How did trendy drama become legitimised as a new TV genre in the Asian
region for Asian audiences?
1.2 How has the Taiwanese TV industry achieved cultural exchanges through
genre production in the Asian TV marketplace since 2000?
In effect, the questions revolve around the significance of trendy drama and its
implications for the integrated TV market and popular culture in Asia, particularly in
Taiwan. The questions are outlined to provide a path that can be followed through the
work. Furthermore, based on the research questions, this study is expected to discover
the East Asian medias symbolic power which is a crucial factor in understanding how
TV productions have the power to circulate and mediate popular culture in Asia. The
expected outcome can add to further discussions about the importance of contemporary
medias function in integrating local TV productions and audiences within a region. The
outcome also provides a case study which serves as an exemplar of how to investigate
future TV landscapes in media studies.
Theoretical Perspective
In this thesis, the main argument is based on the perspective of media power,
which is discussed throughout. I draw on Couldrys notion of symbolic power in the
media to discuss how East Asian TV industries influence popular culture in Asia by
producing a specific type of TV drama. In doing so, they are re-shaping the TV
landscape within the Asian region. This discussion suggests that the Asian community
(East Asia in particular) emerges as an imagined community (Anderson, 1983, p. 44)
and becomes an exclusively Asian cultural sphere, wherein the East Asian TV industries
invite audiences to identify with and belong to. Through this imagined community,
Asian (especially East Asian) people are now connected in a more global sense. In this
course, the new genre of TV programs, trendy drama, serves as the most significant
symbolic form to enable the symbolic power of the East Asian TV industries to be
dispersed throughout the Asian region.
Symbolic power, according to Couldry (2000), refers to the authority of media
institutions to centralise resources and circulate knowledge to mediate social reality for

16
ordinary people. In the modern age, Couldry insists that media authority primarily stems
from advanced technological facilities; and because of these facilities, the media is
capable of transforming messages into an imagined discourse which transcends any
other languages used in the ordinary world (p. 20). Connecting Couldrys perspective
with Bourdieus (1991) sense, symbolic power is the power that naturalises medias
authoritative judgments into taken-for-granted depiction of social reality (Surak, 2011,
p. 176). In addition, Thompson (1995) indicates that symbolic power alludes to a
specific group of individuals capacity to draw on resources to perform actions
which may intervene in the course of events (p. 16). The individuals can be associated
with media experts, who are representatives of media institutions, capable of
transforming cultural messages into symbolic content (p. 16).
Moreover, Chouliaraki (2008) proposes that symbolic power is the capacity of
the media to selectively combine resources of languages and image in order to present
distant events as a cause of emotion, reflection and action (p. 329) for a specific
group of audiences. The specific group of audiences in this study could be considered
more broadly as Asian audiences. From the definitions of symbolic power proposed
above, it is clear that medias symbolic power involves social resources, technical
facilities and TV experts. These factors are combined to generate the symbolic power of
the media, thereby enabling media institutions to establish their own sphere of influence
and on that basis, to mediate social reality.
Based on the discussion above, the sphere of influence that media establishes is
to represent the social world. To reinforce this, Couldry (2000) proposes that there is a
symbolic division between media world and ordinary world (p. 20). Symbolic
division is formed based on the media function of framing, which refers to the medias
role as the ritual frame (p. 16). Accordingly, Couldry postulates that media plays a
privileged role in framing our experiences of the social (p. 14), and acting as sources
of social knowledge (p. 4).The framing media provides help for ordinary people to
define social events and convey preferred cultural meanings, so as to mediate social
reality. In other words, media legitimises certain ideas and circulates them as routine
ways of thinking and believing. As a consequence, ordinary people become dependent
on media institutions for the acquisition of their social knowledge and cultural messages;
thereby the authority of media institutions tends to be naturalised (p. 4).
In terms of symbolic power, the most important element of the concept used in
this study is that the media is capable of concentrating resources, using them to create

17
certain cultural meanings. In doing so, the media need to establish symbolic forms to
exercise symbolic power. In my research, a new TV genre, Japanese trendy drama
produced in the 1990s, is an example of a symbolic form which circulates certain
cultural meanings for the Japanese TV industry. At that time, the Japanese TV industry
has relied on two main resources to develop the genre: the emergence of the middle
class in Asia; and the rise of Asian satellite TV. The middle class was an emerging
group in the 1990s in Asia upon which the TV industry drew for ideas to create a new
TV production, mainly portraying the specific lifestyle of the middle class as modern.
Accordingly, the image of the modern lifestyles depicted in Japanese trendy drama was
reproduced through repetitive depictions and circulation within the Asian region.
Meanwhile, the overall satellite service in Asia enabled the TV production of trendy
drama to circulate throughout the region.
In particular, when the Taiwanese audience did not consider existing TV
programs as good as trendy drama in quality, the genre then became distinctive and
preferred in Taiwan. This led to adaptations in the genre, trendy drama performing
symbolically to circulate certain cultural meanings, with the East Asian TV industries
reproducing the genre acting as agents to reinforce the symbolic power of the Japanese
TV industry. In such a collective activity, certain cultural meanings became part of
popular culture in Asia and the TV genre, namely trendy drama, was legitimised as the
media frame for mediating Asian social reality.
A media frame is a type of social reference through which ordinary people can
recognise the mediated world and other peoples experiences. According to Couldry
(2000), because of the medias function of framing, people tend to believe how media
institutions represent social life (p. 16) and to adopt the patterns of thought, language,
and action (p. 4) conveyed in media as the routine for their everyday life.
Furthermore, the media frame could urge a wider range of social structures to reproduce
the represented social knowledge; this also demonstrates the fact that media is power.
As Couldry maintains:
media power the massive concentration of symbolic power in media
institutions is the complex outcome of practice at every level of social
interaction [it is] reproduced through the details of what social actors
(including audience members) do and say. (p. 4)
When trendy drama was legitimised as the most representative TV genre
providing social knowledge for the Asian middle classes, the materials represented in
the genre were also adopted by social members in Asia. This was evident in their

18
behavioural patterns, which then formed the specific social phenomenon. For instance,
in the past two years, more and more young people from Mainland China seek to study
fashion design in Taiwan, because they think fashion as represented in Taiwanese idol
drama is very trendy and popular, believing that Taiwanese fashion is better known than
Chinese fashion (Wen, 2011). This example indicates trendy drama to be acknowledged
as the dominant genre in terms of leading trends in fashion; and that other countries in
the region have gained this knowledge through the television programming.
The symbolic power of the media may also be demonstrated through the
interaction between the Taiwanese TV industry and government organisations. Recently,
Shali Entertainment Television (SETTV) was commissioned by the Ministry of
National Defense R.O.C. (Taiwan) to produce a military drama, Soldier (Yu, Wang &
Ming, 2011), in the genre of idol drama (Soldier in the production of idol drama,
2011). This was unprecedented because military drama is very distinct traditionally
from other entertainment genres. Apparently, trendy drama as a new genre in Taiwan is
considered to have sufficient symbolic power to influence the social world as a whole.
Most people believe that the depiction of social reality in trendy drama is real
reflection of society because it reproduces the dominant sense of reality in other
fields (Fiske, 1987, p. 21), and as a consequence, through the dominant sense of reality,
trendy drama reinforces the symbolic power of the Taiwanese TV industry.
Methodology Qualitative Research with Case Study
My research primarily cuts across two interactive areas TV production and
popular culture. To analyse the connection between these two areas, I have adopted a
qualitative methodology, including a case study. The case study used in this research
was mainly developed based on an integrated literature review, textual analysis and in-
depth interview. The integrated literature review was formed through previous data,
while the textual analysis was developed based on semiotics and formalist analyses.
This triangular, mixed technique was used to solve the complexity of the macro- and
micro-dimensions in this study. The methods reinforced each other and produced
relatively accurate findings. The details of the relationships among the research methods
are represented diagrammatically in Figure 1.4.
The figure shows the research framework to be based on Couldrys (2000)
media/symbolic power paradigm, which was developed to discuss the two dimensions
TV production and popular culture in a social context. This theoretical perspective also

19
directed the case study used in this research. The integrated literature review was
primarily applied in the former chapters of the thesis. The textural analysis was
conducted using formalist film and semiotic analysis. The interview of practitioners was
used to support the discussions of the whole thesis; therefore, it has broadly informed
each chapter.
Figure 1.1 also depicts the relationships among the different methods which
have reinforced each other. For example, the interview informed the textual analysis
and the findings of textual analysis demonstrated the practical perspectives discussed in
the interview. In addition, the figure displays the layout of the procedural relationship in
the research process. The arrows above the chapter frames indicate the method for each
of the chapters. The broken arrows indicate an interactive and reinforcing relationship
among methods, such as formalist film and semiotic analyses, connect and reinforce
each other. The red arrows refer to contribution of methodological outcomes to the
thesis. For example, the outcome of the qualitative research eventually supported the
theoretical perspective. Each method employed as the main methodology in this study
will be elaborated, as follows.

20


Figure 1.4 The research framework
Source: the author

21
Case study
A case study is especially helpful to this research because it includes multiple
resources to examine research questions in the research topic. Yin (2002) proposes that
the case study method allows investigators to retain the historic and meaningful
characteristics of real-life events (p. 2). In particular, this research relates TV
productions to the contemporary phenomenon of viewing choices in the discussion as a
whole. The scope of the research was so wide that an appropriate solution could not
depend solely on a review of the literature, textual analysis or an interview. Accordingly,
multiple resources are necessarily used in a systematic way for the research. Yin
supports the fact that:
The case study is preferred in examining contemporary events, but when the
relevant behaviors [sic] cannot be manipulated. The case study relies on
many of the same techniques as a history, but it adds two sources of
evidence [which are] direct observation of the events being studied and
interviews of the person involved in the events the case studys unique
strength is its ability to deal with a full variety of evidence documents,
artifacts, interviews, and observations. (p. 7)
As mentioned previously, I emphasise the significance of trendy drama in this
study taking it as the symbolic form with which to examine how the East Asian TV
industries have the symbolic power which enables them to circulate certain cultural
meanings. Therefore, it did not seem sufficient to examine this proposition purely by
focusing on the text of the genre.
Integrated literature review
The review of literature related to this thesis included several pieces of evidence
obtained, based on formal and informal data from previous scholarship, academic
articles and casual news reports. The previous studies primarily reviewed for this study
were the works of Iwabuchi (2002; 2005) and Lee (2002; 2003) supplemented by other
published articles regarding the development of trendy drama. A few relevant M.A.
theses were also reviewed. Iwabuchis perspectives provided very useful information in
relation to the popularity of Japanese trendy drama as an expression of Japanese cultural
domination in Asia. In particular, the arguments Iwabuchi (2002) proposes brought
notable insights into this research and became the fundamental literature for the review.
For example, he claims that the development of new patterns of regional media
consumption (p. 1) should be noticed and researched in the field of media studies. His
argument inspired the approach to considering the Asian TV landscape, which was, and
is, still changing. In addition, Lee (2002; 2003) edited a series of books discussing the

22
influence of Japanese trendy drama in Taiwan; the articles in the books provided a wide
range of theoretical aspects, such as post-colonialism, to explore the implications of this
new genre. The overall information provided led this study to a deeper discussion.
Moreover, relevant theses informed the background for understanding audience
reception of trendy drama in Taiwan.
In the course of integrating the literature review, it was not assumed that any one
particular TV drama production was better than others. However, the findings of the
text-based research conducted in the chapters which textually analyse the two
Taiwanese idol dramas are very similar to the findings of the integrated literature review.
This means the latter review reinforced textual analysis allowing inferences drawn in
the early stages of the research to be supported. Moreover, the review of the literature
helped to delineate the specific elements in trendy drama which differentiate it from
traditional drama. A discussion of the difference investigated using the literature review
is mainly illustrated in Chapter 3, The Taiwan TV industry exemplar of regionalisation;
and partly in Chapter 4, Trendy drama as a new genre in East Asian region.
This research also reviewed the later period of Taiwanese TV production from
2000 to the present. The change during these periods appeared dramatic; in particular, it
provided a turning point for Taiwans declining TV production, which is now being
revived and exporting its programs. To support the literature, focus was made on the
particular elements of the formula applied in trendy drama production to analyse two
Taiwanese idol dramas. The purpose was to support the view that recent developments
of Taiwanese idol drama show that Taiwanese TV has the symbolic power to enable
cultural exchanges within the Asian TV market.
Nevertheless, the literature selected for review in this research does not directly
link the development of trendy drama to the rise of regionalisation in the Asian TV
market; in addition, it does not serve to explain the process of how trendy drama
became the dominant genre in the East Asian region. Furthermore, the shifting process
from Japanese cultural domination to cultural exchange within the region has not been
clearly explained. The gap, therefore, needs to be clarified and explored. For this, I have
drawn on other conventions of qualitative research, such as textual analysis using
semiotics, to reinforce the findings of the previous studies and the main argument of
this thesis.

23
Textual analysis
Based on the theoretical perspective adopted in this thesis, trendy drama as a
new genre became the specific symbolic form for the East Asian TV industries to
establish and circulate certain cultural meanings. In other words, the East Asian TV
industries are able to transform the specific elements into certain cultural meanings
through this genre. This viewpoint is associated with the Lulls (2000) contention that
symbolic power exists in forms which constitute codes, require literacies, and promote
some interpretations over others (p. 161). Moreover, Lull indicates that the symbolic
forms are choreographed to serve the purposes of their authors and sponsors and that
symbolic power is thus exercised by message senders and by message interpreters and
users in the relatively open field of signification (p. 162). Therefore, one of important
elements in this research is to focus on and examine what specific ideas that generate
certain cultural meanings have been emphasised and circulated in trendy drama. For this,
the encoding aspect of Stuart Halls (1980) encoding/decoding communication model to
examine what particular cultural elements are encoded in trendy drama to signify
certain cultural meanings was the focus. Thus, the decoding dimension (the
mass/audience) lay beyond the scope of this study.
Based on the encoding dimension being the focus, I drew on textual analysis
which was deemed an appropriate way to approach the exploration of the symbols
produced. According to McKee (2003), textual analysis is a methodology for
researchers who want to understand the ways in which members of various cultures
and subcultures make sense of who they are, and of how they fit into the world in which
they live (p.1). In Taiwan, the popularity of Japanese trendy drama has developed
several subcultures, such as groups who wear contemporary trends in fashion and
cosmetics (Lee & Ho, 2002). Followers of subcultures tend to identify themselves by
imitating the cultural elements represented in trendy drama. Therefore, textual analysis
plays a vital role in discovering the specific cultural elements that the TV industries
encode in their productions.
Furthermore, the social reality that trendy drama depicts has been recognised as
a believable reflection of Asian peoples everyday life. To demonstrate this, textual
analysis was used to explore the cultural meanings conveyed in trendy drama. McKee
(2003) proposes that textual analysis aims to:
try and obtain a sense of the ways in which, in particular cultures at
particular times, people make sense of the world around them by seeing
the variety of ways in which it is possible to interpret reality, we also

24
understand our own cultures better because we can start to see the
limitations and advantages of our own sense-making practices. (p. 1)
According to this viewpoint, textual analysis was important in this research to
examine the cultural elements the East Asian TV industries used to develop a mediated
social reality.
In this research, textual analysis was conducted, drawing on semiotic and
formalist analyses. Before commencing the analyses, the integrated literature review
provided information related to the specific elements and ideas in trendy drama. These
were summarised from a few studies of Japanese, Korean and Taiwanese trendy dramas
through the integrated literature review. I arranged part of the resources of the
integrated literature review in Chapter 4 to point to what specific elements and ideas
have been characterised in trendy drama. The semiotic and formalist analyses were then
combined, to examine how the Taiwanese idol dramas reproduced the elements and
ideas in Chapters 5, 6 and 7.
I chose the two recent Taiwanese idol dramas, Black & White () (Yu &
Tsai, 2009) and My Queen () (Fang & Lin, 2009) as examples because they
represent contemporary directors approaches to drama production. Black & White (
) was directed by Yueh-Hsun Tsai, the drama representing a new style of
producing TV drama to engage a wider audience in the Asian region. The drama was
popular in Taiwan, Mainland China and other Asian countries. My Queen ()
was produced by Sanlih E-Television (SETTV) which aims to produce Taiwanese idol
dramas based on Taiwanese local culture, so as to establish the Taiwanese brand for
them. My Queen () was very popular when first transmitted, focusing on
issues related to Taiwanese single women. These two dramas illustrate the two main
directions of Taiwanese local productions having the intention of reaching the Asian TV
market.
Semiotic analysis
Semiotics is the study of signs and symbols and of their meaning and use; it
became one method of analysing the encoding dimension of trendy drama production in
this research. According to Bignell (2002), semiotics are deemed to be one of the most
powerful and influential methods of examining media. Elam (1980) also proposes that
semiotics can best be defined as a science dedicated to the study of the production of
meaning in society (p. 1). In this research, the elements and ideas of trendy drama used

25
to create particular cultural messages were crucial in demonstrating the encoding
dimension of the production. These elements and ideas were embodied with physical
and abstract signs, as well as visual and verbal symbols by the TV producers. They were
combined to generate certain cultural meanings. Lull (2000) maintains that symbols
are given meaning by interpretation, and every interpretation takes place in a cultural
context and serves a cultural purpose (p. 173); further, people use symbolic forms in
order to achieve individual and collective objectives (p. 173). When cultural
meanings are encoded as a series of signs, they become exchangeable (Elam, 1980);
accordingly, receivers from different cultural backgrounds can share the social reality
that is constructed. In this sense, semiotics is significant when discussing why trendy
drama was thought of as a platform to receive cultural messages related to popular
culture in Taiwan and Asia. Moreover, through semiotics, Taiwanese idol dramas can
be examined to show how the cultural exchanges work in this genre.
Semiotic conventions used in film making highlight the specific characteristics
of trendy drama and include dramatic shooting such as close-up shots, snippets of
dialogue, extremely good-looking characters, multiple scenes and diverse theme music.
Berger (1982) proposes that the most interesting part of applying semiotics in studying
television is the kinds of camera shots (p. 38) as visual semiotics. For instance, the
definition of a close-up shot is the face. The face becomes a signifier, which alludes to
intimacy, and is then considered as signified. In addition, signs work in different
orders of signification, which is discussed in more detail by Barthes (1967; 1987). One
of the orders of signification is denotation and connotation. Barthes (1977) argues that
denotation is the visual sense that transfers from the material existence into its
representative objects, while connotation involves artificial means to represent the
meaning. More clearly, denotation refers to the common-sense, obvious meaning of
the sign (Fiske, 1990, p.85); whereas connotation is the term which describes the
interaction that occurs when the sign meets the feelings or emotions of the users and the
values of their culture (p. 86). Moreover, connotation is related to subjective
expression rather than objective experience (Fiske & Hartley, 1978, p. 44); therefore,
TV producers determine what cultural meanings to embed in TV productions in the way
of encoding messages from their individual perspectives.
Furthermore, this research found that one of the specific features of trendy
drama is high production values, such as diverse camera strategies. The diverse camera
strategies, for example, can highlight specific elements such as extremely beautiful

26
characters. To demonstrate high production values embedded in trendy drama
production, the formalist concepts borrowed from film studies were applied in the
semiotic analysis.
Formal filmic analysis
Semiotic analysis can be conducted to test the significance of the data using the
formal aspects of film and television to examine the content of TV programs. The
combination of the two analyses allows the researcher to examine how TV drama
producers create certain cultural meanings for trendy drama through filming strategies.
Corrigan and White (2009) propose that forms of cinema represent the configuration of
its specific parts (p. 462). Therefore, in film studies, formalism is developed as a
method of analysis that considers a films form, or its structure, to be primary;
moreover, formalism claims that meaning is to be found in the work itself (p. 462).
The audience could then interpret the screen language according to a films form,
without having knowledge of media institutions, directors and the background of the
production. In this sense, a films form could be deemed a critical element that is part of
symbolic production.
The most useful formalist concepts for this research include the shot type, shot
angle and composition. Through these camera strategies, the elements of a scene can be
critically analysed. This point accords with the Chouliarakis (2008) perspective that the
aesthetic combination [of filmic elements] created [a] sense of collective
identification for the specific group of audiences (p. 342). In this research, it is
emphasised that camera strategies provide two aspects: first, a specific perception on
cultural values; and second, the high production values of trendy drama as TV
production. The camera strategies also reveal the quality of screen language, so
audiences may distinguish between trendy drama and traditional TV drama.

Figure 1.5 A trio of images showing how close-up footage tracking adds drama
Source: My Queen, Episode 21

27
In particular, the effects of camera strategies can create dramatic effects and
highlight particular cultural values. For example, a normal face gazing could appear
dramatic if viewed through close-up footage tracking into the face (see Figure1.5).
Moreover, a low angle shot could highlight the importance of one figure among others
in a frame; this strategy could even stereotype the figures persona. In this way, camera
levels influence the viewers perceptions. Stereotype in this study refers to a technical
term employed in film studies. As indicated by Stadler and McWilliam (2009),
stereotypes are a kind of cinematic or televisual shorthand based largely on a
characters physical appearance, costuming, hair and makeup. They enable filmmakers
to communicate with the audience efficiently drawing on cultural assumptions and
expectations (p. 17). Therefore, the term sterotype has been employed to signify
cultural artifacts and is used to describe how East Asian TV industries promote Asian
idols. For example, similar to Japanese and Korean trendy drama, the most notable
feature of Taiwanese idol drama is the photogenic nature of the characters who are
usually stereotyped as idols. Izod (1984) emphasises that film and television usually
inflect the messages through the ways in which film makers bring the technical
properties of the medium to bear upon those messages (p. 10). Chen (2010) also
indicates that advanced camera strategies are particularly useful to highlight the specific
ideas that the TV industries attempt to address.
In summary, the development of TV production techniques signifies a variety of
messages to be delivered; these can be used to mediate the social reality in the visual
age. Therefore, the filmic formal analysis used in this research has added to the
demonstration of how the TV industry has symbolic power to invest time and money in
enhancing the quality of TV drama.
Expert interviews with in-depth interview
In this research, a Taiwanese TV specialist, Mark Chen, who is the Vice
Director in the Programming Department of SETTV in charge of supervising the
production of Taiwanese idol dramas for the TV station, is interviewed. In recent years,
SETTV has attempted successfully to establish its own brand of high-quality
Taiwanese idol drama both domestically and internationally. Noteworthy is that SETTV
was previously a TV station emphasizing Taiwanese localisation by producing dialect-
spoken programs. After the recent shift in the stations policy in the early 2000s,
SETTV has made a 180-degree turn-around in producing TV drama, becoming a
success. Chens perspectives provided in the interview represents some of the new ideas

28
in SETTVs production policy. In particular, SETTV has become one of the biggest idol
drama suppliers, exporting programs to Mainland China. Therefore, Chens comments
on SETTVs policy indicate a new relationship between the Taiwanese TV industry and
Chinese TV markets, primarily in Mainland China.
The interview conducted in this research is an in-depth interview using face-to-
face and semi-structured interviewing methods. The interview revolved around the
discussion of the proposed questions, dismissing questions that offered only yes-no-
maybe answers. According to Rapley (2007), the in-depth interview engrosses a style
of interviewing that encourage interviewees to produce thick description by
questions and other verbal methods, to produce elaborated and detailed answers (p.
15). In addition, Atkinson and Silverman (cited in Rapley, 2007) indicate that the face-
to-face interview is presented as enabling a special insight into subjectivity, voice
and lived experience (p. 15). The in-depth interview, using a face-to-face method, was
very useful to this study because it provided practical insights into how the Taiwan TV
industry establishes idol drama as a creditable brand for domestic and international TV
markets at present.
The questions proposed in the interview are semi-structured in style. According
to Minichiello, Aroni, Timewell and Alexander (1995), the design of the semi-
structured questions entails researchers using the broad topic in which they are
interested to guide the interviewthe topic area guides the questions asked, but the
mode of asking follows the unstructured interview process (p. 65). Moreover, the semi-
structured interview allows the interviewer to ask questions more flexibly. For instance,
when the interviewee explains any ideas during the conversation, the interviewer can be
reflexive and ask deeper questions at any time.
Basically, the style of the semi-structured interview provided more space for an
understanding of the media industrial practice. This research studies a wide range of
issues from the development of TV productions in Asia to the specific elements of a TV
program; therefore, the semi-structured interview allowed the questions I proposed to be
flexible and adjusted according to the interviewees response. In particular, I share a
common media background (being a TV journalist) with Mark Chen and I have past
experience of working for SETTV. The mutual-professional communication between
Chen and I allowed me to vary the questions at any time based on my experience of the
industry. The interview was developed around a list of topics without fixed questions,
allowing for greater flexibility. In such a way, caution was exercised to ensure the

29
interview covered the same broad themes (Rapley, 2007, p. 18) by raising them as the
subject for discussion.
The interview conducted for this research also adopted the approach of the
expert interviewer as part of the study. According to Bogner, Littig and Menz (2009),
the expert interview is used to provide a shortcut for entering the organizational [sic]
structure to acquire useful results quickly (p. 2). In other words, this specific type of
interview allows a researcher to collect data efficiently from the professionals in the
industry. Bogner et al (2009) suggest that:
Conducting expert interviews can serve to shorten time-consuming data
gathering processes, particularly if the experts are seen as crystallization
point for practical insider knowledge and are interviewed as surrogates for
a wider circle of players. (p. 2)
As a TV specialist, Chen provided relevant information that brought specific
insights into the direction of this research. His insights saved the researcher much time
in selecting useful materials for this study. Summarising, the combination of various
research methods was conducive to producing findings related to the research questions
of this study. The systematic procedures and logical sequence of the research process
aimed to examine the encoding experience of medias symbolic production at both the
macro- and micro- levels.
Regarding the referencing of interview material, the Edith Cowan University
Graduate School specifies the use of the American Psychological Association system
(Edith Cowan University, 2011). Therefore, the in-depth interviews with a TV expert
conducted for this study were categorised as personal communications, and as such are
not required to be included in the end-text reference list (American Psychological
Association, 2010).
The Structure of the Thesis
In this study, I aimed to pursue micro- and macro- levels of investigation from
the perspectives of political economics to semiotics. Moreover, I aimed to support my
investigation with practical insights into the thinking of Taiwanese TV directors and
producers. Therefore, the text of this thesis has been organised around 3 sections: I.
Discovering a sense of regionalisation in Asia; II. Analysing Taiwanese idol dramas;
and III. Looking to the future of the genre. These three parts deal with different levels of
investigation.

30
Part I provides evidence to show that trendy drama is a new television
phenomenon in East Asia that is part of a growing regionalisation. In addition, this
study posits the view that the growth of regionalisation increasingly prevails over
American imperialism within the Asian region at present. Part I consists of Chapters 2,
3 and 4, which aim to explore the sense of regionalisation and trendy drama. Trendy
drama is considered to be a specific expression of regionalisation in terms of TV
productions and popular culture. In this part, the main methodology is an integrated
literature review, and the chapters in this part synthesise the literature review related to
the development of the global, regional and local TV industry from an historical
perspective.
Part II aims to provide a micro-examination of the specific elements and ideas of
trendy drama. This section is comprised of Chapters 5, 6 and 7, which analyse the two
Taiwanese idol dramas (trendy dramas). The analyses of the two dramas aim to
demonstrate that the specific elements and ideas have been reproduced through local
productions of this genre in East Asian countries such as Taiwan. The findings of this
part reinforce the evidence in Part I; and in particular Chapter 4, which shows how
trendy drama acts as a symbolic form to circulate certain cultural meanings.
Part III, Chapters 8 and 9, is related to the overall discussion on the development
of trendy drama and its future prospects, based on the interviews and previous
information from other studies.
The content of each chapter is outlined below.
Chapter One is an introduction, which gives a general sense of how trendy
drama emerged and how the Taiwanese TV landscape has changed because of the
emergence of this genre. This chapter also elaborates on the background of this project
and proposes the main argument of the thesis. The chapter establishes what this study
will attempt to deliver. The research background, the aim of research, the theoretical
framework, the treatment of the literature, research methodology to be implemented,
and the general approach and structure are laid out.
Chapter 2 discusses how the Asian TV landscape has changed based on the
political and economic framework of the 1980s, 1990s and 2000s. The changes in the
different stages are used as milestones to explain the transformation from globalisation
to regionalisation in the Asian TV market. This chapter shows that globalisation, led by
American cultural imperialism, influenced the Asian TV market and its policy of

31
importing foreign TV programs in the 1980s. After the 1980s, Japanese TV production
has been able to increase its power in the Asian area, because of heightened political
and economic reasons. Therefore, Japanese TV programs became the major imported
TV products in the Asian TV market in the 1990s instead of the American genre. Since
then, the influence of Japanese TV programs has extended popular culture specifically
to the Asian region, with the rise of regionalisation in the East Asian TV industry being
initiated. This chapter argues that adaptation was the key factor in the process of how
the TV markets in Asian countries were integrated in the Asian region. In this process,
Japan was a major player among Asian TV markets in the 1990s. At that time, the
Japanese TV industry acquired the greatest resources to develop a new TV genre and
generate new audience groups in Asia. This situation led to an adaptation of the
Japanese genre, South Korea being the first to begin a new style of local production
based on the adaptation of this trendy drama.
Chapter 3 aims to narrow the scope of the discussion initiated in Chapter 2 to
focus on the situation in Taiwan. Due to its specific colonial history and political
background, Taiwans response to the rise of regionalisation in the East Asian TV
industry is discussed in this chapter. The discussion highlights the importance of
adapting Japanese TV productions by the Taiwanese TV industry. The argument is that
the early American cultural imperialism and the following Japanese cultural domination
in the Taiwanese TV market were caused by specific government policies. This
situation led to a lack of local productions in Taiwan. However, in the early 2000s, the
Taiwanese TV industry began to adapt Japanese trendy drama to develop its local
productions. In consequence, it has now produced comparable TV dramas to compete
with foreign TV programs in the Asian TV market as a response to the rise of Asian TV
industries. The Taiwanese TV industry now has the power to represent its local culture
and achieve cultural exchanges within the region.
Chapter 4 focuses on the new genre, trendy drama, arguing that drama is a
symbolic form to circulate certain cultural meanings for the East Asian TV industry.
Based on this argument, the chapter begins by elaborating on the notion of trendy drama,
and examining in what specific context the Japanese TV industry commenced
producing this TV genre. The origin of trendy drama is explored in order to understand
how it represented a contemporary social phenomenon and became legitimised in the
Asian region. For this, the specific elements in trendy drama are examined to show how
audiences identified it as a new TV genre. Moreover, I investigated the specific ideas

32
represented in trendy drama which could be connected to contemporary fashionable
ideas circulating within Taiwanese society. The ideas were investigated by analysing
several segments of Japanese, Korean and Taiwanese trendy dramas. The segments
were selected to highlight the fact that certain cultural meanings were initiated by the
Japanese TV industry and were then followed by the Korean and Taiwanese TV
industries.
Chapter 5, 6 and 7, in essence, examine the findings resulting from Chapter 4.
The chapters aim to demonstrate what has been produced, reproduced and emphasised
in trendy drama. In particular, these chapters examine material in trendy dramas that are
transformed into symbols by using the method of semiotics with filmic formal analysis.
This approach attempts to show the high production values in this genre. Further, the
analyses of these chapters aim to reveal how particular elements of TV dramas are used
to reproduce certain cultural meanings, which become part of popular culture in Asia.
Chapter 5 analyses a Taiwanese idol drama, Black & White (Yu & Tsai, 2009),
to show the elements used to signify Japanese-oriented modern lifestyles and
contemporary cultural values, such as the norm of beauty embodied in the photogenic
characters. The aim of this chapter is to examine how the elements employed in
Taiwanese idol drama are successful in reflecting and representing a modern,
contemporary Asia and becoming part of its popular culture, as evidenced by new
audiences in the Asian region. The argument of this chapter is that the production of
Taiwanese idol drama has been influenced by Japanese trendy drama. Due to this, the
Taiwanese idol drama has become very popular in Taiwan, and competitive with
Japanese trendy drama among the Asian countries.
Chapter 6 analyses the Taiwanese idol drama My Queen () (Fang &
Lin, 2009) thus continuing the focus on the specific elements applied in trendy drama
productions. The chapter aims to show the specific cultural meanings related to the
images of modern Asian women and the new attitudes towards love relationships which
were established in Japanese trendy drama as explored in Chapter 4. This chapter
attempts to demonstrate how Taiwanese idol drama is produced in order to address
contemporary fashionable ideas that generate certain cultural meanings for the large-
scale TV market in Asia. Notably, My Queen () was made by SETTV which
claims to produce idol drama based on a representation of Taiwanese local culture.
Despite this, the drama was also popular in the Asian TV market. This situation shows
that the Taiwanese TV industry now has the capability to create a new genre, drawing

33
upon local resources and by doing so, achieving cultural exchanges within the Asian
region. The findings of this chapter show that popular culture in Asia seems to be
integrated through certain cultural meanings that can be identified by Asian audiences.
Chapter 7 continues by analysing My Queen () (Fang & Lin, 2009)
and focuses on how the Taiwanese TV industry depicts different social classes through
costuming. In particular, costuming also represents the contemporary style of fashion,
which could signify the images of modern women and the modern context in Asia. By
dividing characters into different social classes through costuming, this drama
demonstrates that the Taiwanese TV industry has symbolic power through its resources
to produce a mediated social experience for the audience.
Chapter 8 draws on data from in-depth interviews and reviews of Taiwanese TV
directors and producers perspectives on the development of Taiwanese idol drama.
The aim of this chapter is to provide practical insights to support the proposed
theoretical viewpoints and investigate the findings of the previous chapters. The main
argument of this chapter is that since 2000, the Taiwanese TV industry has attempted to
develop its own fashion, and in turn to produce a new genre, the Taiwanese idol drama.
In doing so, Taiwanese TV industry now finds its conditions are advantageous for
competing with the TV industries of other countries within the Asian TV marketplace,
and in particular to enter and gain a slice of the market in Mainland China.
Chapter 9 integrates the main findings of each chapter to produce an outcome
for this study. The overall outcome of the study demonstrates that the rise in the East
Asian TV industries in the Asian TV market has integrated popular culture in Asia. The
outcome demonstrates the significant position of media in the contemporary age,
supporting the notion that East Asian TV industries have the symbolic power to
circulate certain cultural meanings through the specific form of trendy drama, and then
to mediate popular culture and social reality in Asia. In closing, I make suggestions for
future research and for the development of trendy drama. Most notably, the TV market
in Mainland China has become more liberal than before. In particular, based on the
similar cultural origin and cultural proximity, the Taiwanese TV industry has more
opportunities than other Asian countries to sell TV programs to Mainland China. In
consequence, the Taiwanese TV industry is capable of enlarging the profitable scale of
its TV products within the Asian TV marketplace.

34
Limitations
This study has indicated that the emergence of satellite TV in Asia in the late
1990s enabled local TV programs to be broadcast across the borders within the Asian
region. Asian audiences thus became part of a regional base. At present, technology has
been developed becoming increasingly advanced. For instance, the Internet has become
another channel to circulate TV programs globally. In particular, online video could
replace traditional DVD to deliver programs globally across many borders. However,
the main focus of this research is on media content, which is deemed the most
important part of concentration of media power. Technology is considered one element
of the resources that the TV industries use to circulate their production. In this sense, the
form of online video is taken as an extension of the distribution of TV production.
Therefore, online video is beyond the discussion of this study.
The other limitation is the rising TV market in Mainland China. The recent
development of free-trade commerce in Mainland China provides an opportunity for the
Taiwanese TV industry to expand its market. The reason for this is a significant cultural
proximity existing between China and Taiwan based on their similar historical
background and ethnic origins. In the present circumstances, the TV market in
Mainland China has become the target of Taiwanese idol drama and popular cultural
products. However, the Chinese TV market is still complicated because of political
control, the Chinese government still being very sensitive to imported media programs,
particularly programs and cultural products from Taiwan. For instance, the Chinese
government initially welcomed Taiwanese entertainers and actors who appeared on TV
in previous years. However, recently, the Chinese government has restricted the number
of Taiwanese entertainers and the proportion of their performance on TV in China
(Yang, 2011). This Chinese policy has resulted from the governments awareness of the
soft power of Taiwanese popular culture which has spread over Mainland China
through Taiwanese acting and programs. This example implies that the TV market in
Mainland China seems open, but it could be changed at any time according to the
Chinese government policies. Therefore, the TV market in Mainland China is discussed
merely in terms of the possibilities for the Taiwanese TV industry in the future; it is not
included in the scope of the research.

35
PART I
DISCOVERING A SENSE OF REGIONALISATION IN
ASIA

Part I comprises Chapters 2, 3 and 4. Through a review of literature, Part I
addresses the relationship between the two fields of scholarship: media and cultural
studies. This part primarily aims to investigate at a macro level so as to establish the
context for this study. Chapter 2 outlines a review of literature detailing how the TV
markets in Asia were in a global system of media production that laid down the
structures for the emergence of regionalisation. This chapter provides an understanding
of the context where regionalisation in the Asian TV market was formed. Chapter 3
exemplifies Taiwan as a case to discuss the transition to regionalisation in a TV market
in the Asian region. Taiwan has a specific historical background in developing its TV
landscape which is based on the former regulated and restricted political and economic
conditions, and the later free-trade circumstances. This specific historical context
highlights the significance of regionalised development in Asia at present. Chapter 4
introduces the new genre trendy drama with its emerging context and characteristics.
Further, Chapter 4 discusses how trendy drama became a popular TV genre in the Asian
TV market.

36
Chapter 2
From American and Japanese Cultural Imperialism to
the Rise of Regionalisation

Introduction
In this study, regionalisation is the major framework, drawing on a political and
economic perspective to examine the development of the Asian TV landscape from the
1970s to present. In particular, the idea of regionalisation is used to discuss how TV
productions and popular culture in Asia have been integrated and make a contribution to
the economic rise of East Asian TV industries in the Asian TV market. However, the
idea of regionalisation has not previously been emphasised in the literature on the East
Asian television industry. Most of the literature focuses on the influence of
globalisation which is more about U.S. domination. Now, regionalisation is expressed
in terms of the recent circulation of TV production within East Asia and popular culture
in Asia. Notably, since overall free trade and deregulation among the Asian countries in
the 2000s, television has played a crucial role in circulating images and texts in the
context of regionalisation in Asia. Local productions, such as Japanese TV programs,
could be broadcast on a regional-based scale. The power of local TV industries is then
accelerated, based on political-economic privilege at that time. Thus, the Japanese TV
industry appears to have been the most powerful in Asia, becoming an initiator of
regionalisation in the Asian TV market.
Despite the main focus on regionalisation, globalisation cannot be ignored in
this study, since it provides the context for regionalisation. In other words,
regionalisation has developed based on the global flow of TV products as part of world
trade. In particular, media globalisation enabled Japan to appropriate westernised
models and then to be the most advanced nation among the Asian countries in the 1990s
(Iwabuchi, 2005). This privileged Japan to promulgate its TV productions and culture to
the other countries in Asia, and Japanese TV programs became the major imported TV
products to Asia instead of those of American in the 1990s. In this situation, the growth
of regionalisation increasingly prevailed over globalisation within the Asian region.

37
The main aim of this chapter is to explore the process of the globalised and
regionalised development in the Asian TV market. For this, I focus on the
transformation from globalisation to regionalisation, as represented in the Asia TV
market, so as to examine how the Japanese TV industry acquired its leading position in
the Asian region. It is hypothesised that American and Japanese cultural imperialism
occurred sequentially in Asia before 2000. After 2000, the free trade among Asian
countries and their economic growth changed past dominant players into the
competitive game of East Asian countries beginning to develop their local productions
to be regional TV productions, so as to pursue a larger market.
The argument of this chapter is that adaptation is a key factor in the process of
how TV markets in Asian countries were integrated in a region. At first, the TV markets
seemed to be scattered within Asia; the major imported TV products, American TV
programs, became the dominant cultural resources outside the Asian region. However,
when Japan began to imitate the American model of TV productions and provided
comparable quality TV programs, the Asian TV market began to show its preference for
Japanese TV programs, rather than the American kind. Subsequently, other East Asian
countries like South Korea and Taiwan began to adapt the Japanese model to produce
TV programs. Accordingly, the East Asian TV industries became an automatically
cooperative force which initiated the rise in regionalisation in the Asian TV market.
The methodology of this chapter is the integrated literature review, in which the
key concepts, including globalisation and regionalization, are defined to be explanatory
of the situation in Asia. The transformation from globalisation to regionalisation has
been gradual and without definite temporal stages. Therefore, I use the popularity of
different TV dramas in Taiwan as a baseline to delimit the development of globalisation
and regionalisation, because TV drama has been the most popular genre in Taiwan since
TV broadcasting began. The pattern (see Figure 2.1) is used to provide a basic
framework to examine how the transformation from globalisation to regionalisation
occurred in Asia, and how East Asian countries such as South Korea and Taiwan
reacted to the transformation.

38

Figure 2.1 The three phases of evolution of TV development in Taiwan
Source: the author
The three phases of TV development in Taiwan has been conceptualised as a
pattern (see Figure 2.1). During the first phase, the influence of the U.S. TV production
remained from the 1970s until the 1990s. In the late 1990s, the free-trade markets in
Asia led to the circulation of TV programs in a one-way flow: from Japan to other
Asian countries. This period of time refers to the second phase in the pattern. During
this phase, Japanese TV productions became major imported broadcasting resources in
Asia, and the specific genre Japanese trendy drama became the most popular type of
TV program. During this time, the domination of Japanese TV production in Asia
initiated a rise in regionalisation, with South Koreas response of adapting Japanese TV
production techniques, and developing a similar genre Korean trendy drama. The
situation evolved into the third phase in the 2000s. At that time, the overall free trade in
Asia represented an intense interaction within the region; in particular, the Taiwanese
TV industry commenced its local production in a similar genre, Taiwanese idol drama,
to compete with Japanese and Korean trendy drama, both domestically and overseas.
Broadly speaking, these three phases of the pattern are used in this chapter and the
following chapter to establish the main argument for the rest of the thesis.
In this chapter, I will focus on the first two phases, and discuss how American
and Japanese cultural imperialism were represented in Asia, and how South Korea
responded to the rise of regionalisation as the result of the Japanese incursion.
Subsequently, Taiwan will be considered as a special case (Chapter 3). This chapter will
be divided into three sections. The first section reviews the concept of globalisation but

39
focuses on the debates relevant to the contexts in this study. In particular, the
perspective of cultural imperialism as a critical, negative aspect is used to examine how
globalisation had an impact on the Asian region in terms of TV market and popular
culture. The second section focuses on the rise of regionalisation, clarifying its various
definitions. In addition, this section investigates how regionalisation commenced and
how it has been represented in the global trade of TV production within the Asian area.
Moreover, the section examines how Japan became the major player in the formation of
regionalisation in East Asian TV industries. The final section discusses the influence of
the Japanese TV production in encouraging South Korea to adapt the popular TV genre,
Japanese trendy drama. In this situation, adaptation can be deemed as a reaction to the
rise of regionalisation initiated by the Japanese TV industry.
American Cultural Imperialism as Globalisation Coverage
Globalisation still exists today, and, in its modern sense, is connected to the
contemporary technology of media through which the circulation of images, audio and
texts flow into and within regions. Keane, Fung and Moran (2007) propose that
contemporary debates on globalisation indicate key ideas about the transfer (p. 25) of
resources and skills. Globalisation here is related to how images and texts are
transferred from one place to another using resources and skills. Keane et al. stress that
the transfer involves how effective globalisation is (p. 24) occurring in regions and
how local content is reasserting across regions and national cultures (p. 25). In
particular, on the basis of the development of technology now occurring in most
countries in the world, the skills can be transferred across national boundaries with ease.
In order to connect the concept of globalisation to the first phase of the pattern,
the earlier perspectives of globalisation are reconsidered because this helps to clarify the
manner in which globalisation presented the cultural and economic hegemony of the
U.S.A or the west in the 1970s, 1980s and 1990s. The hegemonic power forced smaller
countries, such as the countries in the Third World, to accommodate the domination of
the West. These perspectives have been represented differently. Hoskins and Mirus
(1988), Lee (1980) and Moran (2004), tend to discuss globalisation from an economic
perspective, simply treating it as international media trade. In essence, they
acknowledge that an early perspective of globalisation, American imperialism, no
longer represents the complicated situation of the present age. Contrarily, Herman and
McChesney (1997) and Herb Schiller (1969; 1991) maintain that globalisation still

40
needs to be examined from traditional perspectives that consider globalisation as
American cultural imperialism
In the situation of the Asian TV market, the traditional perspectives seem to be
helpful in explaining the reason for American TV productions having great influence on
the Asian TV market and other cultural aspects in the 1970s and 1980s. For example,
Taiwan had imported largely American programs during this period thereby receiving
and absorbing the American values, attitudes and culture represented in the programs
(Ishii, Su & Watanabe, 1999). This thesis utilises the traditional perspective which
relates globalisation to American imperialism, namely to examine the U.S. influence in
the Asian TV market and culture during the first phase (1970s-1990s). In this section,
the definition of American imperialism is clarified so as to point to the main argument
of this chapter and contribute to the discussion which follows. In addition, the
development and influence of American imperialism are discussed subsequently by
focusing on Asia.
Definition of American cultural imperialism
Historically, the term American imperialism possesses specific meanings to
show the domination of the U.S. media industries in the world. Before the discussion of
American imperialism, the term imperialism needs to be clarified. According to
Williams (1976), imperialism has developed through at least three stages: politics,
economics and so-called American imperialism. In political terms, imperialism can be
related to physical colonisation through military occupation; and in an economic sense,
comprehended as an economic system of external investment and the penetration and
control of markets and sources of raw materials (p. 160). In other words, economic
imperialism refers to the stage during which most countries in the world have had
economic dependence on a few dominant countries in power, such as the U.S. and the
United Kingdom (Magdoff, 1978). In particular, in the immediate post-world war two
period, the U.S. controlled most sources of capital and the centralised global financial
network in the world like the trade and investment ties with the imperialist network
(Magdoff, 1978, p. 239). In this situation, most undeveloped and developing countries
had to rely on the U.S. economic system.
Subsequently, the so-called American imperialism transposed itself into the
cultural aspects, mainly initiated by media production. This stage is deemed to be based
on the powerful economic conditions existing in the U.S. at that time. Hoskins and
Mirus (1988) indicate that the U.S has sufficient economic resources, such as a large

41
population, high per capita income and a share of advertising revenues (Hoskins &
Mirus, 1988, p. 501), which became advantageous, enabling the U.S. to establish
transnational corporations, and to produce better quality media productions. Further,
based on economic privilege, American culture and media could be expanded to other
countries which did not have relative economic strength, especially the countries in the
Third World. According to Straubhaar (2007), the U.S. owned Time Warner, which was
the top major global conglomerate, achieved $43.70 billion in revenue in 2005. This
amount was nearly twice that of the first non-American-capital media conglomerate,
Vivendi thus signifying that the American media industry had greater economic power
to invest in the production of profitable programs, and hence gain financial advantage.
Based on this domination in media production, American imperialism enabled
an overwhelming cultural flow and distribution of media products from the U.S. to the
rest of the world. In earlier scholarship, such as Schiller (1991), globalisation was an
expression of American cultural imperialism because it was indeed driven by the three
major groups (p. 13), composed of the First World, the Second World and the Third
World. Schiller (1991) argues that the geopolitical and technological conditions (p.14)
enabled these three signal world schisms to maintain, as a general map, that the
United States was by far the most powerful individual state in the First World and in the
other two categories (p. 13) in the late 20
th
century. In the circumstances, media-
cultural imperialism is a subset of the general system of imperialism (p. 14).The First
World enabled the U.S. to control most capital and resources due to its experience of
being a colonial power. This perspective was primarily based on the economic
conditions of a nation and its power over others. Although the United States did not
have many colonies, after world war two it was deemed to be the most powerful nation
in the world because of its military and economic power. Schiller further indicates that
globalisation accelerated American cultural imperialism, so that the U.S. became more
aggressive and entered other countries with its invisible cultural power (p. 319). The
Third World therefore became an extremely vulnerable and deliberate target of
American cultural exports (p. 319). In particular, when television became the most
popular technological form of entertainment, the U.S. was predominant in TV
production because of its economic resources.
American cultural imperialism was reinforced by the development of television,
which became the main medium for representing American cultural values. In particular,
when the U.S. became a leading agent of globalisation in terms of media exports,

42
Schiller (1991) insists American dominance was expressed through the popularity of
American TV programs over the world. In other words, American cultural and social
values became prevalent with the U.S. dominance of media export. Hoskins and Mirus
(1988) indicate that the U.S. was the biggest exporter of TV programs in the world with
a record of 75% of all TV exports in 1983. They suggest that the size of the U.S.
population was sufficient to allow it to make a profit locally, proposing:
The huge American market is the only one where a producer can spend $1
million or so per hour for a top production quality drama series and make an
expected profit on this investment from domestic sales alone. (p. 502)
In particular, the U.S. dominated the main TV market internationally through
having a common global language, which Hoskins and Mirus identify as English (p.
501) at that time.
More specifically, there is evidence that the U.S. domestic market provides a
sufficient budget to produce quality programs. Waterman and Everett (1994) show that
in 1989, 99% of TV programs broadcast in the U.S. were produced domestically. In
comparison, smaller countries were not able to produce the same quality of TV
programs as America, nor with the same efficiency or the same economic cost. For
instance, the population of individual countries in Asia other than China was much
smaller than in the U.S. in the late 1980s (Waterman & Everett, 1994). The population
of the larger countries, such as Indonesia and Japan, was approximately 175 and 122
million respectively (Waterman & Everett, 1994), whereas the U.S. had 245 million
people, which was nearly twice the population of each of the two countries.
In another comparison, the current population of Taiwan is about 23 million
2
; it
is still much smaller than Americas population of about 300 million
3
. Therefore,
Taiwan faced the challenge of having a small-scale TV market, which was not allowed
or able to find sufficient capital to produce high quality TV programs through its
domestic market. This discussion about the influence of the U.S. domination of the TV
market in Taiwan is continued in Chapter 3.
The U.S. dominance of the global TV market may be demonstrated through a
political-economic and commercial prism. This is particularly evident in the coverage of

2
According to the latest official statistics in April 2010, the population was estimated at 23,133,074.
(Department of Statistics, Ministry of Interior, Republic of China: http://www.moi.gov.tw/stat/)
3
The population of the U.S. was estimated over 300 millions in 2011 (Current U.S.A. Population,
2011) http://geography.about.com/od/obtainpopulationdata/a/uspopulation.htm

43
American TV production across the Asian area between the 1960s and 1970s
(Straubhaar, 2007). Guback and Varis (cited in Straubhaar, 2007) indicate that, during
these two decades, the distribution of TV productions was asymmetrical, favouring the
Americans, because when the cost of TV productions had been recovered at home,
those same programs were sold cheaply abroad much below the local costs of
producing programming in the 1960s in most countries (p. 173). Further, Tunstall
(2008) proposes that by the 1970s, most countries in Asia imported numerous American
TV series, nearly 30% of the entire TV programs in each country being from the U.S. In
particular, during 1971 and 1972, American TV programs were exported to South and
East Asia (excluding China and India) in large quantities, comprising 50% of all TV
programs. The situation was indicative of the Asian TV market relying heavily on
American TV production during the 1970s.
Another crucial factor of U.S. TV dominance in Asia was the language used.
Indeed, English is not only widely spoken in the world (it is one of the global
languages), but is also deemed the common language for international communication
(Waterman and Everett, 1994). Therefore, American TV productions did not suffer
from the limitations of language as much as other countries when exporting their local
TV programs. Even in Asia, where there are so many different languages, English is
usually used to communicate. Consequently, the use of English language in some Asian
countries improved the reception of American TV programs by the populace. For
example, in some Asian countries with larger English-speaking populations, including
Hong Kong, Malaysia, the Philippines and Singapore, people watched American TV
programs for around 40% of a two week period on average in the late 1980s (Waterman
& Everett, 1994). It seems that even in the less populous countries in Asia, the common
English language enabled the domination of American programs. Gradually, English
and American TV production became mutually reinforcing. The English language made
American TV programs acceptable, and the popularity of American TV programs made
the use of English more prevalent in the world. The situation led to American cultural
imperialism in Asia.
Development of American cultural imperialism
The prevalence of the English language, alongside the popularity of American
TV productions, generated a new perspective of American imperialism. For instance,
Solanas and Getino (cited in Williams, 1976) propose that the use of English language
in Hollywood films, which initiated American cultural domination, was a form of neo-

44
imperialism (p. 160). Solanas and Getino (1969) claim that U.S. media productions
urged worldwide viewers to absorb American values, these being based on the common
use of the English language. Furthermore, the media consumption of English leads to
the adoption of the ideological forms that gave rise to precisely that language and no
other (para. 27). The authors indicate that the language embedded in media
productions has been created and organised in order to generate certain ideologies
(para. 27). Based on these viewpoints, the typical media production in the U.S., the
Hollywood movie, can be deemed to be an ideological weapon which could penetrate
other countries via local media.
Furthermore, many Hollywood films were eventually shown on television, so
that the common use of television exposed people to American culture even more
frequently than before. Solanas and Getino (1969) indicate that American values
conveyed through the English language used in the Hollywood films were spread with
ease based on the films broadcast on TV throughout the world. In such a way, people
around the world accepted American culture without any necessary military or political
force. The authors claim that neo-imperialism does not refer to physical, but to mental
colonisation. Therefore, neo-imperialism can be equated with neo-colonialism
(Williams, 1976, p. 160), which is an indirect control of weaker countries through
media by the economically more powerful.
Consequently, American culture and common values were spread throughout the
world in different ways due to the persistence of American domination in the 1990s. In
particular, U.S. lifestyles portrayed in the media became familiar, popular and adopted
by many people. Schiller (1991) contends that the cultural submersion now includes
the English language itself, shopping in American-styled malls listening to the music
of internationally publicized performers and eating in franchised fast-food
restaurants around the world. (p.13). American culture appeared to be overwhelming
and influencing peoples everyday life. Next, the manner in which American cultural
imperialism had had an influence on Asia will be discussed.
Influence of American cultural imperialism in Asia
The influence of American imperialism in Asia can be deduced from the
prevalence of U.S. TV productions screened in eastern Asia, particularly in the late
1980s. Waterman and Everetts (1994) survey conducted in 1989 found that the U.S.
was the primary supplier of the imported programs (p. 98) in Asia and the situation
appeared to be an overwhelmingly one-way diffusion. They related their findings to the

45
non-exchange of media trade among Asian countries at the same time, proposing that
Japanese, Hong Kong, and Taiwanese exports accounted for small percentages of
program imports in a few countries of the region; however, other intraregional trade
was very low (p. 98). Thus, the Asian TV markets were relatively dependent on the
importation of the U.S. TV productions.
More specifically, the U.S. domination of TV distribution and broadcasting of
American programs over Asia can be considered as a form of American cultural
imperialism described as the invisible power that invades other fragile cultures. For
this, Schiller (1991) argues that American programs acted as a form of total cultural
package (p. 13). Further, this invisible power is also described as the power that is
received and absorbed in a seemingly natural way. Nye (cited in Schiller, 1969) coined
the term soft power (p. 35), claiming that the power:
occurs when one country gets other countries to want what it wantsThe
ability to affect what other countries want tends to be associated with
intangible power resources such as culture, ideology and institutions The
United States has more co-optive power than other countries. (p. 35)
Soft power, as indicated here, can be associated with the skills and human
resources that specifically refer to TV production professionals; in this sense, American
imperialism exists through the institution of transnational corporations. Schiller (1991)
indicates that transnational corporations such as Philips and Sony were organised by
non-American capitalists. However, these corporations adopted the standards of the U.S.
and continued the characteristics of American domination to influence people around
the world. In particular, Japanese Sony purchased Columbia, the takeover including a
large Hollywood production system and associated technologies (Tunstall, 2008). These
transnational corporations tended to keep American creative and managerial media
people in executive positions (Schiller, 1991, p. 22). Consequently, the skills of TV
production, which represented American values, functioned as soft power to reproduce
American cultural imperialism.
In Taiwan, the agents who took charge of selecting Hollywood movies were the
branches of American and British companies, such as United International Picture (UIP)
(Lii, 1996). The head offices in the U.S. and U.K. usually had responsibility for key
policies regarding human resources and finances. Lii further asserts that the branches in
Taiwan played a role in managing the Hollywood movies locally with little regard to
Taiwanese local culture. With these management principles and organisation practices,
transnational corporations reinforce American standards and standardisation. American

46
domination was maintained and influenced Asian standards because of the branches of
the U.S. corporations in different countries.
Furthermore, even when the skills were transferred from transnational
corporations to those locally, the norms of American cultural values, such as the
perspectives on beauty and the so-called modern lifestyle, were adapted from the
American model. Undoubtedly, Japan is the nation that initially adapted the American
model to develop its own media in Asia, but these initial stages were unclear and
ambiguous. The stage was assumed to commence in a transitional period as Iwabuchi
(2005) indicates:
Since World War II, Japanese popular culture has been deeply influenced by
American media. But Japan quickly localized these influences by imitating
and partly appropriating the original, rather than being dominated by
American products and colonized by America. (para. 7)
In essence, Japan absorbed American culture in its adaptation of American
management model even though it was not dominated by the consumption of American
cultural products. This is simply because Japan had to adjust its local culture to Western
culture in order to obtain global success in the TV market. Iwabuchi (2005) proposes
that the localization strategies of Japanese cultural industries in Asian markets are [sic]
informed by their reflection on Japans own experience of indigenization of American
popular cultural influence (para. 7). In other words, Japan was dominated by American
cultural imperialism through being forced into modernity (Ang & Stratton, cited in
Iwabuchi, 2005, p. 20). Based on imitating the American model, the Japanese media
production became powerful in terms of one-way-flow from Japan to other Asian
countries, consequently causing an uneven cultural flow in Asia. By this time, Japanese
culture had become a key cultural strand in the places like Korea and Taiwan. The
phenomenon led to the emergence of Japanese cultural imperialism, the discussion in
the next section.
Regionalisation and Japanese Cultural Imperialism
This section moves to the second phase of the pattern (1990s-2000s), when the
transformation from globalisation to regionalisation occurred. During this phase,
Japanese imperialism co-existed with American imperialism; however, Japan became
more competitive and aggressive than the U.S. in Asia. Therefore, the context of
globalisation needs to be re-directed to focus on the Asian region. In the new context,

47
Japan began to have a greater influence than the U.S. on the TV markets of other Asian
countries. The Waterman and Everett (1994) survey found that the U.S. TV programs
still dominated the Asian TV market in the late 1980s, and the intra-regional TV
network seemed to be quiet at that time. However, their survey also showed that Japan
was less dependent than other Asian countries on American TV programs. Taking the
public TV service as an example, the Japanese audiences spent only 3% of total TV
program hours watching American programs; in comparison, Hong Kong audiences
spent 34% and Malaysian audiences spent 36% (Waterman & Everett, 1994). Statistics
show that Japan was capable of producing good quality TV programs and satisfying its
domestic market. Therefore, Japan had no need to import American programs as did
other Asian countries. This position enabled Japan to become a competitor with the U.S.
in terms of TV production.
Along with the US, Japan became another dominant player in the Asian TV
market based on its self-sufficient media conditions related economic aspects, and its
experience of transnational media cooperation. Moreover, since Japanese popular
culture was deeply influenced by American media after World War II, Japan had
absorbed western popular culture, as well as developing its own studio and audio
technology, and building up its own television system (Iwabuchi, 1998; Chan & Ma,
1996). Gradually, the power of the Japanese TV industry appeared as a magnet,
attracting markets within the Asian region. The markets had initially been isolated and
scattered, but slowly Asian TV industries began to insert themselves into the Asian
regional context. As a result, Asian countries imported more and more Japanese TV
programs instead of American programs. American TV productions were still imported
into the Asian market; however, the influence of these programs was not as great as it
had been previously. Therefore, the prevalence of Japanese TV production in Asia
initiated the formation of regionalisation.
In this section, the definition of regionalisation is firstly clarified in order to
examine its formation based on the Asian context. This helps to understand how the rise
of regionalisation in the East Asian TV industries emerged through the power of these
industries. Further, the Galtungs (1971) structure of imperialism is simplified to argue
the reasons why Japanese imperialism occurred in Asia replacing American imperialism
in the 1990s. The examination will serve to demonstrate how the transformation from
globalisation to regionalisation occurred, and how Japan took the leading role in this

48
process. In particular, specific cultural attributes are proposed to explain the reasons
why Japan was able to initiate regionalisation in the Asian region.
Definition of regionalisation
In general, regionalisation refers to the contemporary and ongoing trend of
integrating resources and media productions within a geographic region. Barker (2000)
asserts that there has been a distinct move towards regionalisation of markets on the
basis of shared language, culture and historical trade links (p. 283). Based on sharing
these resources, the intra-Asian TV market trade affected the gradual transformation
from globalisation to regionalisation. Keane, Fung and Moran (2007) indicate that Asia
now develops its own media market based on the Asian network with less dependence
on the West, whereas formerly the U.S. took a leading role. In addition, Chan and Ma
(1996) maintain that regionalisation occurring in Asia developed in a specific way to
achieve the flow of Asian produced programs and the exchanges of expertise within
the Asian region (p. 53). The rise of regionalisation in East Asian TV industries
occurred based on the specific context of the free-trade mechanism of the Asian TV
market. This free-trade within the Asian region contributed to the formation of
regionalisation.
The word regionalisation is chosen in this study (rather than regionalism)
depending on the regionalised development of TV production in Asia. Munakata (2004)
hypothesizes that the regionalised trend in Asia was not triggered by a formal institute
or relationship, such as the governments intervention or free trade agreements
(FTAs) (p. 2). Instead, the trend generated from a rapid intra-diffusion through the
market process. To support this viewpoint, the definition of regionalisation, based on its
development in Asia, is explored.
Regionalisation is a recent notion related to a group of countries within the same
geographical regions (Munakata, 2004; Turner, 2004; Dent, 2008). As Dent (2008)
proposes, the regional context could be defined in terms of regionalism and
regionalisation; both refer to the development of many aspects on a regional basis.
However, regionalisation is chosen specifically in this case because, for this research
into Asian TV markets, regionalism and regionalisation possess different levels of
meanings. According to Dent (2008), regionalism was formed by policy-driven, top-
down mechanisms; in contrast, regionalisation was driven by social-driven, bottom-
up influences (p. 7). More clearly, regionalism works within the framework established

49
by government policies; whereas regionalisation relates to the social phenomena that are
generated from non-government collective power.
Regionalisation is also discussed from a perspective of business marketing.
Rugman (2000) suggests that the world market has been running as regionalisation from
the beginning. Rugman divides the world market into the three strong regional trading
and investment blocs (p. 12): the U.S., Europe and Japan. Rugman argues that the
world market functioned as the regional mechanism initially, not in the global context.
Thus, globalisation has only recently existed. Rugman emphasises that regionalisation is
not a substitute for globalisation; rather, it is a complement to globalisation (p.15).
Based on this perspective, Dent (2008) proposes:
In broad terms, we may refer to regionalism as the structures, process and
arrangement that are working towards greater coherence within a specific
international region in terms of economic, political, security, socio-cultural
and other kinds of linkages (p. 7).
Based on the above viewpoints, the key elements related to the meaning of
regionalisation can be summarised as: socially-driven and bottom-up influence and
collective power within a region. In this sense, regionalisation refers to an automatic
reaction to the changing trend of the global landscape based on non-authoritarian, civil-
collective and commercial-oriented force. Japan exemplifies this formation of
regionalisation in Asia because it appeared as the most powerful nation capable of
attracting centrifugal (Erni & Chua, 2005, p. 7) force, and as a consequence have the
capability of organising the scattered markets in Asia. In other words, the markets in
Asia were centralised around Japanese TV production automatically because of the rise
of regionalisation in Asia.
The connection between regionalisation and the case of Asia can be
demonstrated by the circulation of Japanese TV programs in the 1990s. Since the 1990s,
Asia has been the biggest receiver of Japanese cultural products, even though Japan
claims that the export of TV programs or cultural products to other countries was not its
strategy. Nakano (2002) indicates that nearly 50% of Japanese TV programs were
exported to Asia, and Asia has been the number one destination for Japans US$40
million total TV content exports (p. 233). As a consequence the Japanese domestic
market has been strong and growing steadily (p. 234). At that time, Japan and the U.S.
were economically comparable.

50
Japanese appropriation of western (aka American) TV models was an essential
component to enabling regionalisation of the Asia TV market. Clearly, the U.S. did not
physically colonise most countries, but its culture predominated across the world
through its powerful media. Equally, the influence of Japanese TV productions was not
caused by political authoritarianism after the Second World War. Some countries in
Asia resisted Japanese cultural production through official media policy for some time.
Nevertheless, most Asian countries absorbed Japans culture, and were dominated by its
TV production. Munakata (2004) posits that the Asian TV industries and production
were previously under the control of their governments, and international activities
relied on official assistance. However, more recently, the TV market in Asia appears to
be an intra-flow operating at the level of free trade and the markets supply-and-demand.
Indeed, regionalised and globalised formations did not interfere with each other;
instead, they co-existed and reinforced each other. The situation particularly accelerated
the asymmetrical diffusion of media products in an area. This is in accord with the
Rugman (2000) perspective that regionalisation was indeed a complement to
globalisation.
In summary, since Japan adapted the American model to develop its own TV
production in the late 1990s, Japanese cultural imperialism has emerged in a similar
fashion to American cultural imperialism. In order to show the connection between
American and Japanese cultural imperialism, I subsequently analyse the process of
transformation from American cultural imperialism to Japanese cultural imperialism.
The process will show how the models of co-existence and co-operation worked
between these two powers. Meanwhile, the analysis is applied in TV markets and
productions to demonstrate how Japan became the most powerful TV market in Asia. In
the following discussion, the Galtung (1971) model is applied to discuss how the
Japanese domination of the TV market was generated in Asia.
Japanese imperialism in the Asian region
Galtungs (1971) model is based on the notion of there being two parts in the
world, the Centre and the Periphery. Basically, the model implies that the Centre and
the Periphery are regions, in which the most powerful nations (the U.S. and Japan for
example) exchange resources with each other. Thus, both countries can reinforce and
maintain their power in the two regions. In addition, the model does not deny the
existence of globalisation; instead, globalisation and regionalisation can co-exist in a
region. In this sense, American imperialism in the global region can explain how

51
Japanese imperialism emerged, because Japan cooperated with the U.S. and adapted the
U.S. model. This crucial viewpoint contributes to the argument of this chapter that
Japan imitated the U.S. style and developed its cultural imperialism over its Asian
neighbours.
The Centre and the Periphery comprise the two parts of the world (Galtung,
1971, p. 81). These have an inter-dependent relationship, but basically the Centre
dominates the Periphery. This is a form of imperialism, Galtung also naming it as a
form of structure violence (p. 81), in which domination happens based on a
bridgehead which the center [sic] in the Center [sic] nation establishes in the center [sic]
of the Periphery nation, for the joint benefit of both (p. 81). Moreover, imperialism
could be re-represented within the Periphery because the centre in the Periphery
acquires support from the Centre to be the leading power in the area. Importantly, this
type of alliance-formation between the two centers aims to develop long-term
strategies (p. 84). Gultungs world system is conceptualised according to the chart
below:

Figure 2.2 A conceptualisation of Galtungs (1971) world system
Source: the author
According to Galtung, the centre in the Periphery seems to act as a
transmission belt of the Centre (p. 84), that is, it transmits resources for the centre in
the Centre. Galtung proposes:
Dominance relations between nations and other collectives will not
disappear with the disappearance of imperialism; nor will the end to one
type of imperialism (e.g. political, or economic) guarantee the end to
another type of imperialism (e.g. economic or cultural). (p. 81)

52
Based on this model, Japan may be deemed as the centre in the Periphery
representing the Asian region. This may be the reason that Japan considered itself as
cultural translators of the West for Asia (Iwabuchi, 2005, para. 14) and attempted
to have a dominating role in the region. This viewpoint is conceptualised in the chart,
(see Figure 2.3) explaining the actual example:

Figure 2.3 A conceptualisation of relations between Japan and the U.S.
Source: the author
Comparing Figures 2.2 and 2.3, the U.S. and Japan are depicted as representing
the two centres of the Centre and the Periphery in which imperialism occurred
simultaneously. This can be related to the previous perspectives of the co-existence and
co-operation of globalisation and regionalisation. Japan relied on the U.S. due to shared
economic interests; in contrast, Asian countries depended on Japan because it had the
most resources and skills for producing TV programs in the Periphery. Thus Japan
became the most capable nation for centralising the region. It was this transnational
cooperation that enabled the U.S. models to be appropriated by Japan. Moreover,
transnational cooperation between Japan and the U.S. also provided resources such as
TV channels, timeslots and audiences to the U.S. This type of cooperation is an
alliance-formation (Galtung, 1971, p. 84) between the two centres which could enable
long-term strategies of selling their cultural products to Asian countries.
Furthermore, the co-operation, economic interests and exchange of media
products tended to strengthen the interaction between the two centres. Galtung (1971)
suggests that the nations carry out an exchange according to the principles of
comparative advantages for different values (p. 85). The values that Japan took from
the US were liberal capitalism, consumerism and democracy of a kind. Japan also
partook and shared with the US emerging technologies, especially in the areas of media

53
and electronics, and their associated skills. Through this sharing of values and material
culture the so called modern life-styles developed thence represented in popular culture.
In contrast, Japan offered the U.S. such market resources as capital, TV channels and
audiences. The two powers exchanged values, the Asian audience and TV market
becoming their ultimate target. The Japanese TV industry enabled its programs to attract
the attention of Asian audiences; yet, the messages conveyed by the programs
symbolised American cultural values. Ultimately, the Asian audience, at any one time,
was exposed to and dominated by either American cultural imperialism or so-called
Japanese cultural imperialism.
The relationship between the two members either in the Centre or the Periphery
may become unbalanced on account of the uneven distribution of resources. Galtung
(1971) indicates that when the scattered resources were centralised in the
conceptualized centres without return, the other nations would have experienced the
effect of depletion (p. 86), which led to unequal exchange or asymmetrical
interaction (p. 86). This is most likely to occur at the peripheries of the Periphery
because of a gap between centres and the peripheries. For instance, South Korea
developed very quickly in terms of TV production because of its adaption of Japanese
models; however, the exchange of programming and resources between South Korea
and Japan was not equal. While South Korea continued to supply a considerable
audience to Japanese TV programs, Japans sharing of its technology and skills with
South Korea was limited. Contrarily, Japanese audiences watched relatively few Korean
TV programs (Park, 2005). The result of Parks study shows that younger Korean
people spent 25% of their media usage time on Japanese products; however, a similar
demographic of Japanese people spent only 2% of their time on Korean productions.
This demonstrates there to be an asymmetrical flow of media and cultural products
between Korea and Japan.
Japan and South Korea had an unequal exchange and asymmetric interaction,
illustrating Iwabuchis (2005) description of asymmetrical power relations in the
Asian region (para. 29). He propounds that the flow of TV production and popular
culture in the region was still one-way, that is, from Japan to the other Asian countries.
This one-way flow occurred because Japanese audiences did not accept cultural
products from other Asian countries. In addition, the one-way flow suggests that other
cultures were not as familiar as Japanese audiences and other Asian audiences were
with Japanese culture. Straubhaar (1991) extends Galtungs viewpoint of asymmetrical

54
interdependence, arguing that countries with smaller populations would not be able to
represent their own culture effectively because their media industries had fewer
resources. Consequently, the asymmetrical interdependence contributed to the
dominance of Japanese culture in TV programming in the Asian region.
The domination of Japanese culture in Asia can also be demonstrated in the
situation in Taiwan. Taiwan was the major importer of Japanese trendy drama. After
cable TV was established legally and broadcasting of Japanese TV programs was
deregulated, 188 imported Japanese trendy dramas were broadcast on 14 channels in
2002 (Cai, 2003). This situation was called the recent J-drama boom (Nakano, 2002,
p. 231). As these Japanese trendy dramas formed a new genre of TV programs, Japan
was seen in East Asia and around the world as innovative, fashionable, and cool
(Tunstall, 2008, p.238). Due to the popularity of Japanese trendy drama, Taiwanese
audiences formed a particular group, the Japan-crazy tribe (Lee & Ho, 2002, p.15).
This group came into contact with Japanese popular culture primarily by watching
Japanese trendy drama, and began to adore Japanese popular culture. Consequently,
specific groups like the Japan-crazy tribe are evidence of Japanese cultural imperialism
in Taiwan.
To sum-up, the Galtung (1971) model helps in the examination of the reasons
for the external economic and political factors of U.S. cooperating with Japan mediated
the internal relations in a region, that is, Japanese cultural imperialism in Asia. Clearly,
Japan appropriated the American model through media transnational cooperation to
develop its own domination in Asian TV. Being at the centre of the Periphery, Japan
was the nation with the most resources which enabled economic and cultural exchange
with the West (the U.S. in particular). The conditions at the time enabled Japan to take
the lead position in the new structure of power relations between Japan and other Asian
countries. In this structure, Japan could influence other Asian countries through
Japanese cultural imperialism in the media.
The next sub-section focuses on the cultural dimension that allowed Japan to
take on the mantle of U.S dominance in the Asian region. Three key terms are useful in
explaining how Japan became dominant in the TV market in the region; these are
cultural discount, cultural proximity and cultural imagination.

55
Cultural discount, cultural proximity and cultural imagination
Within the recent Asian TV landscape, cultural attributes became crucial internal
factors to the explanation of how the regional TV market was shaped to revolve around
Japanese programming in Asia. Based on media technology, audiences had more choice
of TV programs across borders within Asia. Often they chose programs based on
similarity of cultural background. In this sense, I propose three key terms to discuss
how Asian audiences were attracted to Japanese TV programs instead of American
programs. The three terms: cultural discount, cultural proximity and cultural
imagination, provide a cultural perspective as to the reasons audiences chose
quality programming, when available, often similar to their own cultural
backgrounds.
Cultural discount is usually used in media studies to explain why media
products have a loss of economic value when they cross national borders
(Hoskins & Mirus, 1988). Advocates of cultural discount assume that most media
products are produced for national markets, and only after their use in that
market they might be exported. However, the products could be profitable if the
cultural discount can be minimised. The reason cultural discount is discussed in
this section is because this notion connects to cultural proximity. The economic loss
of cultural discount is usually offset by the economic gain through cultural proximity of
media products, so the two concepts are complementary.
The concept of cultural discount was coined by Hoskins and Mirus (1988) to
explain why American TV productions were preferred as international programs
throughout the world during the 1980s. During this time, the use of English in American
programs was deemed to be a crucial factor in their prevalence, because English was
commonly used as a second language in many countries as previously discussed.
According to Hoskins and Mirus, the English language enabled American programs to
reduce the level of cultural discount for the non-English-speaking audiences. In Asia,
people did not watch other foreign programs, even if the programs came from the other
countries within Asia, as frequently as they watched American programs before the
1990s. This occurred because American programs had less cultural discount compared
with other TV programs spoken in other languages. However, in the late 1990s, the
popularity of Japanese TV productions demonstrated that language did not play as
important a role as before in terms of cultural discount. McFadyen, Hoskins and Finn
(2003) indicate that Japanese TV programs usually reduce their appeal to the Asian

56
audiences when they are watched with dubbing in local languages. However, the recent
success of Japanese TV productions in Asia highlighted the contention that the cultural
representations of Japanese programs transcended the limits of language, because they
represented Asian-ness, which American TV programs could not represent. According
to McFadyen, et al. (2003):
a particular program rooted in one culture, and thus attractive in that
environment, will have a diminished appeal elsewhere as viewers find it
difficult to identify with the style, values, beliefs, institutions and
behavioural [sic] patterns. (p. 50)
Their perspective could explain the view that the cultures of the West and
East are essentially different in values, attitudes, and emotional expression and not
limited to language.
Iwabuchi (2005) and Lee (2008) support the perspective of cultural discount
with the example of TV drama. TV drama, which is acknowledged as one type of
programming that suffers less cultural discount in international media trade because
romance and affective emotions have been deemed the most natural and common
emotions for humanity. Despite this, Iwabuchi indicates that for Asian audiences, it was
harder to relate to the culture represented in American programs compared with
Japanese programs (para. 20). One of the main reasons for this is that American and
Asian expressions of love, for instance, are too culturally different. As a consequence,
Asian audiences prefer to consume Japanese TV programs if they were of the same
type and quality as the American programs (McFadyen, et al. 2003, p. 50). To sum
up, Asian audiences were more satisfied with the culture represented in Japanese TV
programs than in American TV dramas in general.
Qualifying with appropriation of American television industry models also
contributed to a reduction in the cultural discount of Japanese programs. The norms and
standards of Americanised modernity adapted by the Japanese TV industry initially
appeared credible to Asian audiences. For example, Japanese trendy drama was
basically produced with a setting of urban locations and with the portrayal of modern
lifestyles; these representations were appropriated from depictions of American modern
lifestyles. Iwabuchi (1998) claims that Japanese media/cultural products usually
dismissed tradition in order to avoid Japanese-ness (p. 15); instead, the products
tended to represent modernity with a general sense of Asian-ness for the Asian market.
Iwabuchi described this strategy as using the essence of Asian modernity for the
Asian regional context (p. 28). By using this strategy, it was hoped that Asian audiences

57
or consumers would not associate TV or cultural products created by Japanese
industries with Japan itself. The strategy could then avoid cultural resistance (Erni &
Chua, 2005, p. 3) by Asian countries formerly colonised by Japan.
In summary, de-Japanisation reduced the level of cultural discount in the
Japanese programs on the one hand; on the other hand, the strategy for highlighting
Asian modernity enhanced the cultural proximity of Japanese programs for Asian
audiences (Iwabuchi, 2005, p. 28; Straubhaar, 2007, p. 26). The dual factors of cultural
discount and proximity influenced the attitudes of Asian audiences towards Japanese
TV products. Cultural discount, relatively speaking, highlighted the cultural proximity
among the Asian countries and both of these factors helped to re-shape the regional TV
market.
The next idea to be explored is how programs can create a feeling of cultural
closeness for the audience. The concept of cultural proximity is a useful term here
because it refers to geographical cultural identity, which is a way of saying that
countries in the same region can feel cultural closeness with one another. Straubhaar
(1991) indicates that cultural proximity implies a level of cultural reference (p. 39).
Cultural reference enables TV producers to create TV programs imported from within
the same region (p. 39) to be preferred by audiences. Straubhaar further contends that
people tend to recognise, identify and choose TV productions that are close in cultural
content and style to the audiences own culture(s) (p. 26). In this way, when people
have a wide range of choices on foreign TV programs, they prefer those that possess
cultural relevance to their own background.
Moreover, cultural proximity could lead audiences to consume TV programs on
a cultural-linguistic regional basis (Straubhaar, 2007, p. 26). In particular, ethnicity
(p. 205) could be the key link for an audiences preferences. In other words, when Asian
people started to have access to a greater diversity of TV programs, they began to
attach more value to elements involving their own music, dance, language, and local
cultures (Sen, cited in Chan & Ma, 1996, p. 52) as well as ethnic appearance, dress,
style, humor, historical reference, and shared topical knowledge (Straubhaar, 2007, p.
26). Therefore, Asian audiences would have felt that the West is so far away
(Iwabuchi, 2005, para. 20), and that cultures represented in American programs looked
too remote from their everyday lives (p. 30) even though American TV programs had
been popular throughout the world.

58
In comparison, Japanese culture represented in the TV programs is closer to the
culture of most Asian people. In particular, the physical appearance and skin colour
of Japanese performers are quite similar to Asian features (Iwabuchi, 2005, para. 20).
Straubhaar (2007) indicates that the ethnic makeup of a television programs cast
affects its visual appeal to audiences (p. 205). The TV programs possess cultural
proximity when Asian audiences can identify themselves with the ethnic type on
screen (p. 205). Straubhaar continues, highlighting that ethnic appeal can come from
actual ethnicity or ethnic ideals (p. 205). This viewpoint is evident in the trend of
stereotyping Asian TV celebrities, which was initiated by the Japanese idol boom
during the 1970s and 1980s (Iwabuchi, 2005, para. 11). The Japanese cultural industry
produced Japanese idols based on the methods used to choose musical band members:
that is, appealing looks were much more important than musical ability. Later, the
system of Japanese idols was employed strategically in producing Japanese trendy
drama. The casting based on physical and ethnic appearance was the basic element to
attract Asian audiences which can identify and recognise their similar cultural or ethnic
background.
In particular, Japanese appropriation of American norms that appeared in their
programming included aspects of beauty, which had been deeply cultivated by the
Japanese from an Asian sensibility. Western physical features were still preferred, but if
they were embodied in Asian idols, they appealed more to Asian audiences. Iwabuchi
(2005) emphasises that Asian celebrities fashions, hairstyles, and attitudes, which
subtly localize [sic] American influence are much more stimulating to Asian viewers
than [are the] American original stars (para. 11). Therefore, cultural proximity adds to
the popularity of Asian idols who were deemed to possess the features of beauty
modeled on American television. This further explains why some Japanese trendy
dramas were adapted from Japanese girls manga, which had already established
popular western-oriented figures.
Undoubtedly, manga is rooted in Japan. The narrative and content has an
exclusively Japanese thread. However, the figures in manga have raised issues about
Caucasian-oriented or Japanese. As indicated by Hays (2009, para. 90), Many manga
and anime characters have big dewy eyes, dual-gender faces and childlike Caucasian
features even though they are supposed to be Japanese adults. In addition, Ashcraft
(2012, para. 5) proposes that the images portrayed in manga essentially possess white
facial features. These quotations explain a westernised model of Japan. Furthermore,

59
other studies show that the western-like norm of beauty depicted in Japanese manga not
only mediates the Japanese perspective of beauty, it also influences other Asians
opinions on beauty. Kramer (cited in Bissell & Chung, 2009) asserts similarly to Japan,
the ideal beauty images among Asian cultures have been assimilated to a Westernized
[sic] look concurrently (p. 228). This trend has created a collective psyche (Isa &
Kramer, cited in Bissell and Chung, 2009, p. 229), which forms an image of so-called
beauty through the prevalence of American media in Asia. Bissell and Chung (2009)
propose that using Caucasian-looking models (p. 229) is particularly evident in many
South Korean fashion magazines.
In addition to cultural discount and proximity, cultural imagination is the other
factor which explains how Japanese cultural imperialism initiated Asian regionalisation.
Cultural imagination, according to Chen (cited in Chiou, 2002), refers to an imagined
space in the relationship between a coloniser and it colony. It may still be generated
even if the colonial relationship ceases because the colony would have feelings of
nostalgia toward the coloniser. Indeed, cultural imagination was the concept that Chen
draws from Edward Saids perspective of imperialism and culture (Chiou, 2002). Saids
(cited in Chiou, 2002) perspective indicates that imperialism accomplished a set of
cultural stereotypes and its structure of feeling (p. 53). Chen synthesised cultural
stereotype and structure of feeling into the term cultural imagination (p. 53) in order
to maintain that cultural imagination is a result of the encounters between colonialism,
local history and culture. Moreover, cultural imagination may be expressed in different
fields and in different contexts through specific functions. These functions could be
media, the education system, literature or even technology.
Chens (2002) perspective of cultural imagination has been applied in this thesis
to explain the relationship between Japan and other Asian countries. According to
Chiou (2002), cultural imagination implies a top-down power relationship between
Japan and other Asian countries because of Japans colonial history in Asia. Many
countries in Asia were colonised by Japan territorially: Taiwan (1895-1945), Korea
(1910-1945), Hong Kong, Malaysia, Singapore, Indonesia, the Philippines, and Burma
(all during 1941-1945). Part of China was also governed indirectly by Japan during the
Second World War (1937-1941) (Hulbert, 1999; Keene, 2005; French, 2007). From
Chen and Chious perspective, Japans colonial legacy lasted in these countries until the
21
st
century, this contributing to the development of cultural imagination; particularly,
the colonised imagination which is reinforced by Japanese TV programs in Asia.

60
Basically, Chious claim of Japanese media domination and cultural imperialism in Asia
is based on the colonial background of Asian countries. Chen (cited in Chiou, 2002)
also proposes neo-imperialism to imply that the colonised countries duplicate the
cultural stereotypes of the coloniser; the colonised countries, thereby continue the
cultural imagination of being imperial countries while they were developing. Chiou
(2002) supports Chens viewpoint with his discussion on the popularity of a Japanese
TV drama, Oshin (Okamoto & Sugako, 1984). Chiou maintains that Oshin was
broadcast in more than 40 countries over the world, most being in Asia. Based on their
past colonial history, the drama depicted a cultural imagination in which Asian
audiences longed for Japanese modernity and culture.
Despite Chen and Chious view about cultural imagination in relation to
colonialism, I argue that the cultural imagination of Japanese cultural imperialism is a
result of regionalisation and should be associated with medias symbolic power, rather
than the colonial past. The medias symbolic power produced by the Japanese TV
industry could create a space for cultural imagination through conveying certain cultural
meanings which mediate social reality. In this sense, it is proposed that the domination
of Japanese media and culture that occurred in the 1990s was due to the symbolic power
of the Japanese TV industry. At that time, the Japanese TV industry was seen as the
most capable of producing quality TV productions for the Asian TV market. Through
TV production, the Japanese TV industry represented popular culture and lifestyles
exemplifying late modernity in Asia; ultimately these productions stimulated an Asian
cultural imagination. Japanese trendy drama was an exemplar produced to signify a
modern Asian society.
This viewpoint is proposed for three reasons. First, the new genre, Japanese
trendy drama, targeted the middle class as the main audience group, whose lifestyle
became the main depiction in the dramas. At that time, the middle class appeared
successively in Asia in the late 1990s, examples being Thailand, the Philippines, Korea,
Hong Kong, Taiwan and China (Chiou, 2002). Therefore, the depiction of the middle-
class lifestyle as lived in Tokyo provided sufficient cultural imagination for
neighbouring countries which now had an example of what a specific middle-class
lifestyle could be.
Second, in the emergence of the middle class, the social status of Asian women
was also promoted; coincidently, most Japanese trendy dramas heightened the position
of modern Asian women. These depictions in trendy drama created a distinctive popular

61
culture text, which signified new trends, fashionable tastes and contemporary
fashionable ideas. All these aspects also signified late modernity in Asia. Therefore, the
depictions in Japanese trendy drama provided a specific cultural imagination, which
seemed attractive to the Asian audiences. Based on this, cultural imagination is more
related to medias symbolic power in portraying the contemporary trends, rather than to
the colonial past. The representation of how modern Asian women were represented is
discussed in Chapter 4.
Third, Japan removed its political and martial control over Asian countries after
the Second World War. Since then, cultural imagination registered in media content has
not been generated from the cultural legacy of the colonisation, but simply through the
Japanese TV industrys symbolic power.
My viewpoint about cultural imagination can also be illustrated by the
popularity of Korean trendy drama, which was adapted from Japanese trendy drama. In
the late 1990s, the popularity of Japanese trendy drama and popular culture encouraged
other Asian countries to imitate its model. In the early 2000s, South Korea adapted the
Japanese model and created a fad for Korean cultural products, including TV drama,
idols, and pop music and bands. This success led to a prevailing phenomenon, which
was termed the Korean Wave (Park, 2004, p. 267) or hanliu in Chinese. The specific
phenomenon attracted a wide range of fans across borders to follow Korean-based
popular culture. According to Parks survey on Chinas consumption of Korean TV
dramas in 2004, the hanliu phenomenon cause[s] Chinese people to believe that other
Chinese people like Korea, Koreans and Korean culture more than they actually do (p.
281). The phenomenon that South Korea created is cultural imagination through
medias power, not based on colonial power, because South Korea had not colonised
any Asian countries. Thus the popularity of Korean TV productions and its
accompanying fads demonstrates that the cultural imagination did not originate from a
colonial context; rather, the cultural imagination was created by the Korean TV industry
to make a connection between South Korea and Asian modernity for the Asian
audiences.
Thus, cultural discount, proximity and imagination became internal factors
contributing to the formation of the regional TV market in Asia in the late 1990s. The
three cultural attributes reinforced Japans leading position in the initial process of
regionalisation in Asia. Moreover, the three cultural attributes show that Asian
audiences preferred Japanese TV programs more than American programs because of

62
their similar cultural background. This situation accords with Dents (2008) definition
of regionalisation, a social-driven, bottom-up influence (p. 7) that is, regionalisation
and Japanese cultural imperialism were backed by civil power, which includes medias
power. Media power, through Japanese cultural imperialism in the Asian region,
encouraged other East Asian TV industries to participate in the rise of regionalisation.
South Korean Reaction to Regionalisation
South Korea was the first nation to respond to the formation of regionalisation
based on adapting the Japanese TV production model. In particular, in the early 2000s,
the government of South Korea started developing and sponsoring local TV productions
for a larger TV market (Yang, 2004; Kim, 2005). The government even included the
development of Korean trendy drama under its cultural policy (Yang, 2004) because it
was aware of the power of popular culture and the domination of Japanese culture in the
media. Since the government provided its support, the production of Korean trendy
drama has acquired sufficient budgets for the production of quality comparable to
Japanese trendy drama. Accordingly, South Koreas reaction to the rise of
regionalisation is based on a political-economic framework showing how government
involvement can bolster television production. This section will discuss how South
Korea reacted to regionalisation in the late 1990s as a result of government support and
the cooperation between the government and the TV industry. In the discussion, I will
explore how the Korean medias power reinforced the regionalisation that the Japanese
TV industry initiated.
Reaction through government support
South Korean government sponsorship for the local cultural industry was driven
by an attempt at national economic revival. Since the Asian Financial Crisis directly
affected South Korea in 1997, cultural development has been emphasised as one of the
major policies to revive Korean economics (Park, 2004). In particular, the previous
South Korean president, Kim Young-sam emphasised cultural development by
announcing that if Disneys annual profit could be comparable to that of IBM, a country
should develop their movie and TV industry (Lin, cited in Yang, 2004; translation by
the researcher). In order to support relevant cultural productions, the government has re-
established its economic system, based on the cultural industry, and founded cultural
institutes, such as the Korea Creative Content Agency (KOCCA), the Foundation for
Broadcasting Culture and the Centre for Asian American Media (Yang, 2004).

63
At the same time, the cooperation between the government and the cultural
industry began to heighten the policy of cultural development in South Korea. The
government encouraged and invested in the cultural industry to develop animation,
online and video games, films, dramas, pop music and stars similar to the Japanese
model as part of its culture (Yang, 2004). At that time, the overall deregulation and
privatisation of TV occurred in such Asian countries as Taiwan, Vietnam and Mongolia
(Park, 2004). Trade borders between Asian countries were broken and free-trade-
oriented Asian markets were released. In the circumstances, South Korea showed its
attempt to promote its cultural products overseas, in particular for the Asian regional
market. Korean popular culture therefore became prevailing, and its popularity swept
across Asia in the 2000s, forming the hanliu (Korean Wave). As Faiola (2006) observes:
Today, South Koreas trend-setting screen stars and singers dictate
everything from what hair gels people use in Vietnam to what jeans are
bought in China Korean Wave, a term coined a few years ago by
Beijing journalists [who were] startled by the growing popularity of South
Koreans and South Korean goods in China. Now, the craze for all things
Korean has spread across Asia, driving regional sales of everything from
cars to kimchi. (para. 2; para. 8)
Within the phenomenon of hanliu, the new TV genre, Korean trendy drama has
been the main cultural product in the governments cultural policy. Since the first
Korean trendy drama, Endless Love, was produced in 2000, the volume of Korean
trendy drama exports has increased annually. In 2001, 9,515 episodes of Korean trendy
drama were exported, but by 2002 it had risen to 12,363; this had grown from a profit of
8 million to 16 million U.S. dollars during these two years (Yang, 2004). In 2003,
Korean trendy dramas created 43 million U.S. dollars in export profits. One famous
Korean trendy drama, Winter Sonata (Lee & Yoon, 2002), was broadcast in over 70
countries including Japan, which had previously been the major exporter of TV drama
in Asia (Faiola, 2006). Based on the striking performances, Korean trendy drama has
been thought of as the pinnacle (Is Korean TV Losing its Competitive Edge, 2008,
para. 1) of the hanliu phenomenon, thereby making a great deal of profit annually
within the Asian region.
Based on the governments cultural policy, Korean trendy drama has been
promoted as the most representative TV program to convey the contemporary local
cultures of South Korea. However, this new genre of Korean TV drama has been seen
as an imitation of Japanese trendy drama (Lee, 2003). The features of Korean trendy
drama, including the latest lifestyles, the theme of love, beautiful landscapes, and the

64
representation of the new attitudes of younger generations are similar to the elements of
Japanese trendy drama. This leads Lee (2003) to define Korean trendy TV drama as an
imported genre from Japan, and has classified it as (post-) trendy drama. Lee further
indicates that the notion of Korean trendy drama is clearly borrowed from Japan, rather
than having gradually taken shape on its own (p. 256). He takes some specific
features of Korean trendy drama as examples to demonstrate his viewpoint, such as
relying on the stars of new generation, sensitive and light-hearted in depicting
romantic love, emphasizing [sic] visual imagery, fast tempo and cheerful
background music, and following the latest fashion (p. 261). These specific features
show that Korean trendy drama shares similar cultural elements with Japanese trendy
drama and, because of that, appeals to most Asian audiences. Based on the Japanese
model this is an example of how South Korea developed its cultural policy, and how it
reacted to Japanese cultural imperialism in the rise of regionalisation.
Another notable cultural product in the phenomenon of hanliu is that of Korean
idols, which have also been emphasised in the governments policy. The South Korean
government and the TV industry have established a system of national stars to change
the stereotyped ethnic image internationally. The system is also deemed to be a copy of
how Japan established Asian idols for its entertainment business. The following sub-
section will discuss how the system has functioned in response to the rise of
regionalisation in Asia.
National stars and Asian beauty
Just as Japan established Asian pop idols, so South Korea followed by
promoting pop music bands. For example, a pop singer, Rain, has become well known
across Asia (Farrar, 2010). The largest showbiz management agency, SM Entertainment,
has created the most famous pop bands, such as TVXQ, Girls Generation, Super Junior,
SHINee and f(x). The founder of SM Entertainment, Lee Soo-man proposes that
producing Korean stars for Asia has been a target to globalise Korean pop culture
(Showbiz tycoon with global ambitions for K-pop, 2011). Therefore, the popularity of
Korean pop stars has been the most representative symbol of hanliu.
The South Korean government and the TV industry even established a
national star system to emphasise Korean idols. The idols are cast in TV dramas in
order to highlight the brand of Korean trendy drama. One of the actors in Winter
Sonata, Bae Yong-joon, was stereotyped as a national star as well as the most
famous star in Korean Wave (Kim, 2005). In order to promote Bae Yong-joon as a

65
national star, acting in TV dramas is deemed to be a strategy to pave the way to
greater heights in the entertainment business. In such a way, Bae Yong-joons image
has been considered a powerful symbol of Korean popular culture and as a result,
many Asian people have changed their attitudes toward the typical ethnic image of
Koreans (Kong, 2005). This shows the influence of South Koreas national star
system. Lee, who is a specialist of the Korean entertainment industry, proposes that
we have produced stars through long-term planning and investment (Showbiz
tycoon with global ambitions for K-pop, 2011, para. 7). Strictly speaking, the
image of Bae Yong-joon is not the typical image of traditional Korean men.
However, his image was established as a gentle man, like the new norms of Asian
beauties. This trend is associated with Asian idols initiated by the Japan.
Accordingly, the system of national stars in South Korea may be thought of as a
reaction to regionalisation which was initiated by the Japanese TV industry.
Reaction through media power
It is clear that South Korea has developed its popular culture from its own
political-economic framework and at the same time has adapted the Japanese TV
production model. In particular, the ideas of cultural discount and proximity that
contributed to the development of Japanese popular culture are also demonstrated in the
popularity of Korean popular culture in Asia. Sung, a Korean TV professional, proposes
that Even though the languages are different, we share an Eastern mentality (Farrar,
2010, para. 8). Based on a similar cultural background, the production of Korean trendy
dramas heightens the feelings and thinking of Asian people in its representations. As
Sung has said, There is a low cultural barrier to cross over with our content Asian
people love to enjoy Korean [goods] (Farrar, 2010, para, 9). The ideas of cultural
discount and proximity integrated in TV productions promoted Korean TV programs to
enter the Asian market with ease. One Thai scholar, Duangchinda (cited in Farrar, 2010)
reinforces this viewpoint, describing how young people in Thailand pursue Korean
popular culture, noting that:
they start watching Korean drama on television and then after that come the
pop songs from the boy bands. All of it has influence in Thailand After
that, they become fans of everything Korean Korean food, Korean culture.
Many of my students can even speak Korean because of [the entertainment].
(para. 13)
The description of how Korean culture influences Thai youth not only implies
the widespread popularity of Korean cultural products in Asia based on similar cultural

66
backgrounds, but it also shows that the fad for Korean popular culture is a type of
cultural imagination. This imagination is generated from the medias symbolic power
which began with the Japanese TV industry in Asia. Based on this power, Korean
popular culture was transformed into cultural imagination for the East Asian TV
industry through the massive phenomenon of the Korean Wave, which occurred across
nations within the Asian region. This is what Couldry (2000) claims about medias
symbolic power that through symbolic power, media institutions are capable of
generating social effects on a large scale because ordinary people believe in the
authority of media discourse in countless local contexts and believe that most others
believe the same (p. 5). In such a way, the media is able to create and generate a
specific social phenomenon which can mediate social reality.
More specifically, the cooperation between the South Korean government and
the cultural industry played a key role in the case of South Koreas response to the rise
of regionalisation. The governments cultural policy and sponsorship reinforced the
medias symbolic power; at the same time the medias symbolic power enhanced the
image of the nation. In this way, the National Brand of South Korea was re-
established. The outcome of the establishment of the South Korean national brand is
evident in increased tourism in the region. According to Kong (2005), the number of
Asian people traveling to Korea increased rapidly during 2003 2005; in particular, the
tourists tended to visit the locations where trendy dramas were set and filmed, such as
Chejudo Island where Winter Sonata was filmed. Moreover, the electronic products
made in South Korea have become credible and popular overseas recently (Yang,
2002). In particular, this rise in tourism and the purchase of Korean products can be
traced back to the influence Korean national stars on television as symbolic
representations of Korean culture.
In summary, South Korean reactions to the rise in regionalisation were based on
the medias symbolic power, which was specifically bolstered by positive government
policy. However, the crucial aspect of how the medias symbolic power initiated the
Korean Wave is related to adaptation of the Japanese programming model. South Korea
adapted the Japanese model to promote its local productions and popular culture within
the Asian TV market successfully. Therefore, it may be considered that the Japanese TV
industry had the symbolic power and was basic in the promotion of popular culture to
the Asian region. The cultural meanings that the Japanese TV industry established to

67
mediate popular culture in Asia were then imitated by other East Asian countries. For
this, Iwabuchi (2005) proposes that:
Asia is reconstructed by Japanese media industries, which are enchanted
with the idea of Japanese orchestration of a pan-Asian entertainment project,
as a bounded capitalist space of ardent consumer aspiration for indigenizing
eastern modern culture, in this space, it is assumed, Japan does not simply
share the latter with other Asian nations but is also qualified to guide them
in how to develop local forms of vernacular consumer and popular culture.
(para. 13)
Iwabuchis discussion relates to the concept of know how that is, the
Japanese TV industry not only had the budget, but also the skills and resources to adapt
American culture in the first place. The Japanese TV industry had the symbolic power
to centralise most resources and skills to produce elements that could be associated with
so-called Asian modernity. Later, the Asian countries sought to emulate Asian
modernity by imitating the Japanese model and its representations of popular culture in
Asia. The South Korean adaptation of the Japanese model is an advanced example of
this situation. From Couldrys (2000) perspective of media power, the adaptation is to
reproduce the symbolic power of the Japanese TV industry.
Conclusion
As proposed in the introduction of this chapter, the most important viewpoint
attempts to show that Japan initiated the rise of regionalisation in the East Asian TV
industries based on appropriation of the American model. In doing so, the
transformation from globalisation to regionalisation occurred in Asia in the late 1990s.
The first section of the chapter explained what globalisation means specifically in Asia
and how it influenced the Asian TV market between the 1970s and 1990s. In particular,
the concept of American cultural imperialism is proposed as the essence of globalisation,
which dominated the Asian countries through the overall distribution of American TV
programs in the region. This provided a historical reference to the further argument that
Japan appropriated the American model to subsequently dominate the TV industries of
other Asian countries. Moreover, this section has indicated that through transnational
cooperation, American cultural imperialism was preserved in Japanese appropriation of
American cultural values and the norms of beauty.
In the second section, the notion of regionalisation was proposed and the recent
integration of TV productions and popular culture in the Asian region was introduced.

68
Regionalism and regionalisation were differentiated and the Theory of Central and
Peripheral Influence were utilised to discuss how political-economic aspects contributed
to the rise of Asian regionalisation. Moreover, three key cultural attributes were
proposed to posit how Japan rose in significance in the region through the adaptation of
the American model of media production with an Asian complexion, thereby appealing
to the peoples in the region. This model was further adapted by South Korea, with
government assistance, to place it at the forefront of regional popular culture, as
discussed in the final section. The final section also outlined the way South Korea
developed its popular culture and how this was considered to imitate the pattern Japan
used.
The outcomes of each section were then connected so as to respond to the
argument of this chapter, namely that adaptation of television programming has been a
key factor in integrating the Asian TV market. First, the Japanese industry created an
Asian-oriented modern lifestyle in a new genre, that of trendy drama. In trendy drama,
the TV industry illustrated certain cultural meanings related to the lifestyles of the
growing Asian middle class. Subsequently, when other Asian countries (East Asian
countires in particular) adapted the genre of Japanese trendy drama, certain cultural
meanings were also reproduced. In this situation, trendy drama was emphasised as
performing a specific symbolic form, thus enabling the East Asian TV industries to
circulate certain cultural meanings, which then became a heightened part of popular
culture in Asia. This situation showed that the Japanese TV industry had the symbolic
power to incorporate popular culture in its programming and to initiate a rise of
regionalisation in the Asian region. Furthermore, the Japanese TV industrys symbolic
power drove the adaptation of programming, encouraging South Korea to participate in
the Asian media market in the region.
A further example of adaptation occurred in Taiwan. Indeed, when South Korea
commenced its regional cultural strategies, Taiwan also began to react to the rise of
regionalisation with its local TV productions, also based on adapting Japanese trendy
drama. However, in contrast to the case of South Korea, the Taiwanese reaction to the
rise of regionalisation was without government support; it was initiated by independent
Taiwanese drama production companies. The Taiwanese reaction to regionalisation has
shown that the Taiwanese TV industry has more and more possibilities to compete
within the Asian TV marketplace. Therefore, this chapter foreshadows the following
chapter will deal with the emergence of Taiwan as a major regional media player.

69
Therefore the focus will be on Taiwan, explaining how it has become an exemplar of a
rise in regionalisation in East Asian TV industries.

70
Chapter 3
Taiwanese TV Industry as Examplar
Regionali sation

Introduction
In Chapter 2 I discussed how the idea of regionalisation represents the recent
development of the Asian TV industries in the Asian TV market. This chapter continues
the discussion focusing on the situation of Taiwan. As mentioned in Chapter 2, Taiwan
began to respond to the rise of regionalisation during the time when the Korean Wave
influenced Asia in the early 2000s. The Taiwanese reaction to regionalisation was also a
turning point for Taiwanese local TV production. During this time, Taiwanese local
productions had developed from the ground up to respond to the trend of regionalisation
and now it shows possibility of success in a larger TV market.
Basically, the Taiwanese political background, national identity and the local
television industry influenced the timing and the Taiwanese reaction to Asian
regionalisation. For example, Taiwanese national identity (Is Taiwan a legitimate nation
or not?) has been evolved through cultural expressions in local TV productions.
Therefore, the Taiwanese TV industry did not acquire its own position in the free-trade
TV environment until the late 2000s. Since 2000, Taiwanese local productions have
gone in a new direction, which is to target a larger TV market-based on producing the
new TV genre, Taiwanese idol drama. This new direction is not only a response to the
rise in regionalisaton; it also is a result of the national cultural policy. The significance
of this change to the development of Taiwanese local productions urged the current
Taiwanese President Ma Ying-jeou to treat cultural policy as a soft power in his
political program.
This chapter explores how Taiwan has reacted to the rise of regionalisation in
East Asian TV industries since 2000. In particular, the Taiwanese reaction was lacked
government sponsorship being simply initiated by the independent TV productions. The
situation implies that the Taiwanese reaction to the rise of regionalisation was driven by
civil power; it is also close to the definition of regionalisation examined in Chapter 2.

71
Highlighting this, the chapter also examines how Taiwan had to confront internal
cultural suppression and external cultural submersion to become a powerful competitor
among Asian countries in the region through the adaptation of Japanese trendy drama.
In discussing the case of Taiwan, this chapter is expected to add to my argument that the
rise of regionalisation in East Asian TV industries has developed in the Asian region as
being more important than globalisation led by the American TV industry.
The main argument in this chapter is that Taiwanese local production was
dominated by foreign TV programs, due to the long-term political control from the
1970s to the 1990s; later, it competed with foreign TV programs domestically and
internationally. Internally, the political control repressed local culture to preserve
Chinese culture, which was emphasised by the government. Externally, the government
appeared to be active in introducing American TV programs as the main imported TV
product. The one-way distribution of foreign TV programs in Taiwan therefore caused a
weakness in Taiwanese local production. However, in the early 2000s, adoption of the
Japanese programming model enabled Taiwanese local production to find an
advantageous position to emulate the intra-regional competition in the Asian TV
marketplace.
The main methodology of this chapter is to apply the pattern drawn in Chapter 2
(see p. 35) to review the literature. I will elaborate on the development of Taiwanese TV
production during three phases, specified in the pattern: the Hollywood phase; the
Japanese drama phase; and the Taiwanese idol drama phase. These three phases are
also used as sub-headings for the three sections in this chapter. During the three phases,
relevant information and perspectives to support the main argument will be put forth.
The first section, the Hollywood phase, examines how the Taiwanese
government promoted Chinese culture, at the expense of local culture, based on
Kuomintang (KMT) political control between the 1970s and 1990s. During this time,
the KMT government imported American TV programs for diplomatic purposes; this
was the key point at which the Taiwanese people began to receive American culture.
The outcome of the first section will provide a historical reference to examine how the
Taiwanese TV industry had difficulties in competing with the imported TV programs.
The second section refers to the Japanese drama phase, focusing on how Japanese and
Korean trendy dramas became the most popular imported programs in Taiwan. During
this phase, the Taiwanese reaction to the rise in regionalisation was represented through
the domestic TV market. The final section refers to the Taiwanese idol drama phase, in

72
which Taiwan began to react to the rise of regionalisation by developing local TV
productions. In this phase, the adaptation of Japanese trendy drama became the main
solution for the Taiwanese TV industry to develop local productions in its own fashion.
Therefore, the most popular local TV production, Taiwanese idol drama, has not only
become successful in the domestic TV market, but enhanced the overseas profits of the
Taiwanese local TV productions in the Asian TV market. During this phase, the
Taiwanese TV industry was eventually able to confront competition in the Asian TV
market and represent Taiwanese local culture based on cultural exchange. Taiwans role,
in turn, changed from being an adaptor to a competitor in the Asian TV marketplace.
Before this discussion section, I provide a clear timeline of technological
milestones in the development of Taiwans television technologies over the period,
including type of technology used (satellite, cable, broadcast and download), and extent
of penetration, particularly in regard to illegal broadcasts or pirated source materials.
Table 3. 1a The development of Taiwans TV technology 1930-2012
Year/ Period The development of Taiwans TV technology
1930s Experimental broadcasting
1960-1990
Terrestrial TV Period
Establishment of Taiwan TV (1962)
Establishment of the China TV Company (1969)
Establishment of the Chinese TV Service (1971)
1990s
Illegal and legal satellite,
Cable TV, the fourth
Terrestrial TV Period
Illegal and Pirate Satellite TV (1990-1993)
Illegal Cable TV (1990-1993)
Legal Satellite and Cable TV (1993)
Formosa TV (1994)
2000-2012 Downloading and Digital TV
Source: the author




73
The Hollywood Phase (1970s 1990s)
During this phase, the KMT government played a major role in suppressing
local Taiwanese TV and culture. At that time, the media were utilised primarily for the
purpose of politics. Under the KMTs policy, the media emphasised the Chinese-
oriented cultures; meanwhile, the government allowed American TV programs to be
shown as the main imported TV production. This situation was based on maintaining
the KMTs regime and the diplomatic relationship with the U.S. Accordingly, American
culture became the major source of foreign culture which then became a form of
American cultural imperialism in Taiwan between the 1970s and the 1990s. This section
reviews the specific policy of suppressing local culture by the KMT government and
examines how the situation led Taiwanese local TV production to present certain
content. In addition, a rise in localisation that resisted the Chinese-orientation and
American programming toward the end of this phase is discussed. During the time, a
specific TV genre, Tai-yu language drama appeared to represent a rise of localisation in
Taiwan. Tai-yu drama emerged in the late 1990s, and became very popular. It was
produced in the major mother tongue to highlight the trend of localisation in Taiwan.
Political control over local TV productions
The KMT rule between 1945 and 1988 may be regarded as a milestone in the
history of the Taiwanese TV industry. Therefore, I use this milestone to discuss how
Taiwanese local production was influenced by American TV production. Before this
discussion, the Taiwanese multi-colonial backgrounds and the early establishment of
TV stations is introduced.
Since the 16
th
century, Taiwan had been colonised successively by Portugal
(1544), the Netherlands (1624-1661), Spain (1626-1642) and Japan (1895-1945).
Subsequently, in the late 20
th
century, it was controlled by the KMT, which moved from
Mainland China with Chiang Kai-shek in 1945. The KMT, the Chinese nationalist
government in China, established the Republic of China in Nanjing in 1912; it was
based on an anti-Communist ideology (Peng, 2002). The end of Japanese occupation
years in 1945 heralded the conclusion of Taiwans colonial history. However, a debate
about Taiwans loss of sovereignty has lasted until now, the debate being instigated by
the Taiwanese populace which considers the KMT as a form of inside colonisation. In

74
other words, the KMT was deemed to be a foreign regime by native Taiwanese people
4
,
because it was originally formed by Chinese people who came to Taiwan after the
Second World War.
In 1949, the nationalist forces, led by Chiang Kai-shek, were defeated by the
communists, led by Mao Zedong, in a civil war in China. Chiang Kai-shek then fled to
Taiwan with his nationalist military forces. He established Taipei as the capital and
Taiwans official name became the Republic of China (in Taiwan), which referred to its
being distinct from the regime of the Communist Party. The KTV regime was in power
for more than fifty years, under three leaders: Chiang Kai-shek (1945-1971); Chiang
Ching-kuo, the son of Chiang Kai-shek (1972-1987); and Lee Teng-hui, the first elected
Taiwanese President (1987-2000). During its long rule from 1949 to 1987, the KMT
imposed martial law in Taiwan (Wu, 1971).
The television and broadcasting industry in Taiwan was initially established
during the period of Japanese colonisation (1895-1945). One important aspect of this
colonisation was that Japan was active in experimenting with broadcasting in Taiwan
during the 1930s (Liu, 2004). During this time, transmitting TV broadcasts between
Taipei and Tokyo was trialed (Liu, 2004). After the KMT gained control of Taiwan in
1945, the KMT government began to develop the television industry. At that time,
Japanese media companies continued to have a 20% control over the first TV company
in Taiwan (Cheng, 1993). As a consequence, Japan influenced Taiwans TV industry
for a substantial period of time. After the KMT seized Taiwan, its government
attempted to decolonise Taiwans society by taking control of the media, in order to
consolidate its political power and preserve Chinese tradition (Wu, 1971, pp. 76-77). A
few radio stations, established previously in Mainland China, were introduced into
Taiwan by the KMT. The first TV station, Taiwan TV (TTV), was established later in
1962 (Peng, 2002). Following the establishment of TTV, another two TV stations,
China Television Company (CTV) and Chinese Television Service (CTS), were
established in 1969 and 1971 respectively. The KMT government essentially had major

4
The current population of Taiwan is 23 million. Basically, all inhabitants of Taiwan today are called
Taiwanese (Taiwanren in Mandarin Chinese). They include a variety of ethnic backgrounds the so-
called Min-nan-ren, Hakka, indigenes and Mainlander groups. Among the Taiwanese, the Min-nan-
ren is the largest ethnic group (roughly 73.3% of the population), followed by the Hakka (about 12% of
the population), the Mainlanders (approximately 11% of the population), and the indigenous people
(about 1% of the population), who consist of a number of different tribes.

75
ownership of all three TV stations. In this situation, the Taiwanese TV industry became
a nationalised media because of KMT media policy.
During the time of KMT control, there were no specific laws restraining media
ownership; however, the media was still regulated by the KMT government in terms of
broadcasting languages and content based on the imposition of martial law (Peng, 2002).
All regulatory bodies were authorised by the government, including the Ministries of
Education, Communications, and of Culture, and the Government Information Office.
The range of regulations included the approval of broadcasting licences and censorship.
In addition, languages, ideology, and cultural values in TV programs were mostly
regulated according to KMTs values. In particular, TV drama was strictly controlled
because it was deemed to be a crucial genre in representing social reality and historical
memories (Cai, 2000). Therefore, I call this period of mono-political domination of
the media, and being influential during the Hollywood Phase.
Before the commencement of the KMTs control on media, TV programs were
not restricted in terms of language, so that TV programs such as Tai-yu drama, which
were spoken in dialects
5
, could be aired without limitation. Therefore, in the 1970s,
many TV dramas were produced in the Tai-yu language, with actors dressed in
traditional costume. In the costume drama, characters were dressed in pre-modern
costumes, and told stories that purportedly occurred in pre-1911 China (Zhu, Keane
& Bai, 2008, p. 7). This genre conveyed the KMTs nostalgia for Chinese tradition
because Chiang Kai-shek continued to consider he was the rightful ruler of China,
expecting to re-take it at any time and hoping to reclaim control over the mainland
(Peng, 2002). However, by the middle of 1974, the government began to restrict the use
of the Tai-yu language in TV programs; this language limitation became the crucial part
of the KMT's strategy to suppress the Taiwanese local culture and maintain Kuomintang
legitimacy. At the time, the KMT did not allow the rise of Taiwanese consciousness,
which was later evident in the production of different kinds of TV production and TV
drama.
TV drama was not broadcast regularly until CTV introduced a TV series from
Japan in 1969. The first locally produced TV series, Jing Jing () (spoken in

5
In general, there are four different languages used in Taiwan. About 70% of the people in Taiwan belong
to the Hoklo ethnic group and speak both Taiwanese (or Tai-yu) as their mother tongue, and Mandarin.
Mandarin is officially recognised as the national language and is spoken by the vast majority of residents.
The Hakka ethnic group uses the Hakka language. Taiwans indigenous minority groups mostly speak
their own native languages, although most also speak Mandarin.

76
Mandarin), was broadcast for 15 minutes from Monday to Saturday. Because of the
popularity of the stories and the characters, the broadcasts were extended to 20 minutes,
and then to 30 minutes a day with a total of 102 episodes. Since then, the TV drama
series has become the main type of TV drama produced in Taiwan (Kao, 2004). In 1974,
a costume TV series called Bao Biao () began to be exported to other countries
throughout the world, particularly to Chinese-speaking communities such as Mainland
China (Kao, 2004). Moreover, with the increase of TV ownership, watching TV drama
became Taiwanese audiences regular viewing habit, the viewing rates for TV series
usually being around 40-50% (Kao, 2004). In particular, residents in the central and
southern parts of Taiwan were used to watching TV drama series because these were
agricultural areas in which entertainment outside the home was scarce.
Thus TV drama series became a popular genre, and was regularly broadcast on
Taiwanese TV channels. TV stations subsequently established the prime-time system
to indicate the most popular viewing timeslot. Prime time refers to the time slot between
8 and 9 p.m. on weekdays (Mondays to Fridays), which has been called the golden
prime time (Teng, 2001, p. 22) by the television channels in Taiwan. This is because
advertising during that time period produces more revenue for the television stations
than during any other single time slot. In addition, the television audience between 8
and 9 p.m. is larger and more varied than at other times. At that time, TV drama series
like Feng Xiao Xiao () (1970), Nu Shen Long () (1973), Bao Biao ()
(1974) and Judge Bao () (1974) became the most popular dramas, and they were
produced in many episodes, each involving more than 200 episodes.
The TV dramas mentioned above all belonged to the costume drama genre, the
content focusing on the ancient times and Chinese heritage. The KMT aimed to promote
Chinese culture through the depiction of Chinese history in TV drama. In addition,
through this strategy the KMT showed that it devalued Taiwanese local culture with the
government drawing up a language policy for the media.
In terms of the language policy on media, Tai-yu was the main dialect language
prohibited from use in TV programs, particularly the programs spoken in Tai-yu which
were forbidden to be broadcast during the golden prime time. Moreover, not only was
pure Tai-yu banned in the media, but Mandarin was spoken with a Tai-yu accent,
strictly limited to TV. The intent of the media language policy was to repress dialects by:

77
Tai-yu programs could not produce more than 30% of the total programs and be
aired at the prime time, 8p.m. (Peng, 2002).
TV programs spoken in dialect could not constitute more than 30% of the total
number of TV programs, except for Mandarin (Su, 1993).
All scripts of dialect TV dramas had to be examined by a board of censors
before being produced(Su, 1993).
The percentage of non-Mandarin television programming was to be reduced
annually beginning 1976 (Su, 1993).
In essence, during its early ruling period the KMT government controlled the
media production of Tai-yu programs through martial law. The imposition of martial
law by the KMT government played a crucial role in the early stage of the development
of the media industry (Peng, 2002, p. 29). In particular, the limitation of Tai-yu
programs was included in the language policy. Subsequently, the restriction of local
languages on media was specified in the Broadcasting and Television Act, which was
constituted in 1976. In the Act, the proportion of Tai-yu language in TV programs had
to be determined by the Government Information Office.
Table 3.1 shows that TV programs spoken in Tai-yu fell from 17% in 1972 to
9.3% in 1991. There was little usage of the Tai-yu language on either CTV or CTS
during these years.
Table 3.1 Proportion of programming in the Taiwanese language (Tai-yu)
TV Station 1972 1976 1977 1983 1990 1991
TTV 17% 10% 11% 11% 8.5% 9.3%
CTV 20% 12% 12% 11% NA* NA*
CTS 16% 12% 10% 11% NA* NA*
*NA= not applicable: CTV + CTS did not broadcast Tai-yu programs during this time.
Sources: Lee, 1980, p. 157; Su, 1993, p. 270.
In comparison, as stated in the Broadcasting and Television Act, Mandarin
Chinese was deemed to be the predominant language spoken in television programs.
The Act shows that the KMT government legislated to protect the Chinese culture.
Article 20 of the Act prescribed that broadcasting systems should produce programs

78
primarily in Mandarin, and that the programs in local dialect should be decreased year
on year. In order to consolidate Mandarin into a position of authority and to maintain
Chinese traditions, broadcasting was enjoined to the government to promote the
Chinese culture and national missions, rather than communism and Taiwanese
independence. Mandarin Chinese was promulgated as the official language and was
used as widely as possible throughout the country.
In summary, the KMT imposed martial law in 1949 in order to consolidate its
political controlling power over most of the native Taiwanese, including Min-nan-ren,
Hakka and indigenes. Since then, Mandarin has been the official language used in TV
production (Su, 1993), TV programs spoken in Taiwanese dialects being limited to less
than 10% of the total broadcasting time. In particular, the KMT instituted a set of
telecasting regulations in 1969 to forbid Tai-yu language programs between 8 and 9 pm,
which was the so-called prime-time slot. Furthermore, the KMT enforced regulations
that were even more specific to limit dialect programs in 1972, dialect TV programs
being prohibited from forming more than 16% of all broadcasting time (Su, 1993).
Additionally, all scripts for TV dramas had to be inspected by a board of censors first
before they could be produced.
Even after lifting the curfew in 1987, the KMT still maintained control of the
languages used in TV programs, for example, Chinese programs constituted 83%, Tai-
yu programs 8%, Hakka programs 1%, and none of the indigenous languages were
permitted in programs broadcast by the Taiwan TV station in 1991 (Su, 1993). In
addition to suppressing local languages, the KMT enforced a de-colonisation policy
after the retreat of the Japanese regime by removing Japanese language and education
from TV in particular and from society in general (Wu, 1971).
Two dimensions indicate the KMTs influence on Taiwanese local production.
The first is that the content of Taiwans media did not represent local and diverse
cultures, due to the restraints of the language policy. The circumstances led to the types
of TV programs which lacked creativity on the three national TV channels (Su, 1993).
This point is based on the perspective that Taiwans multi-colonial history and multi-
ethnic groups essentially encompass a wide range of cultural categories including
indigenous, Han (Chinese, Hakka, Hokkien), Taiwanese and western. However, the
KMT attempted to maintain pure Chinese culture at the core of Taiwanese society by
restricting the extant diversity of cultural and media representations.

79
The second dimension concerns the symbolic power of Taiwanese media during
the KMT government. The leader of the KMT, Chiang Kai-shek, had indeed proclaimed
his desire to regain China after he fled to Taiwan. Therefore, Mandarin became the
symbol of propagandising Chinese culture; and conversely, Tai-yu was downgraded to
being a language of low status in Taiwans society. In particular, the KMT had
controlled media and treated it as a political mechanism. The KMTs suppression of
local culture and practice of the language policy regarding the media reveals that the
KMT utilised media power to maintain their specific language (Mandarin), and
Chinese-oriented visual images and TV genre alive in the minds of Taiwanese people.
The situation resulted in the full expression of Chinese culture at different levels of
social institutions in Taiwan. More specifically, the KMT attempted to create a Chinese
cultural imagination in the Taiwanese society through media power. Therefore, the
Taiwanese TV industry was used to represent Chinese culture, anti-Communism and
demote Japanisation, based on the KMT authority at that time.
Consequently, the two dimensions led to the reality that local productions in
Taiwan appeared monotonous and solely represented Chinese hegemony. In spite of the
popularity of the previous TV drama, locally produced Taiwanese TV dramas were not
sufficient in number to be influential; thus, a few foreign TV programs like I Love Lucy
(an American television sitcom) and Combat (an American television series), were
imported into Taiwan, appealing to audiences in the 1970s (Kao, 2004). During the time,
American culture became the most influential foreign culture in Taiwan, and was
imported officially (Liu, 2004) because the KMT endeavoured to obtain Japanese de-
colonisation on the one hand and to establish a stronger diplomatic relationship with the
U.S. on the other hand. It may be seen that the KMT reinforced American cultural
imperialism in Taiwan. Next, I will discuss how the importation of the American TV
programs influenced the Taiwanese society during this phase.
Active importation of American culture
When local TV productions were insufficient in number to fulfill the domestic
TV market in Taiwan, imported TV programs were considered. Between the 1960s and
1980s, American TV programs were the main imported TV production. For the duration
of the KMTs rule, the imported TV programs broadcast on the Taiwanese TV channels
were more in number than Tai-yu programs. For example, in 1976, 24% of TV
programs on TTV were imported (see Table 3.2); however, only 10% of TV programs
were self-produced Tai-yu programs (see Table 3.1). At that time, imported programs

80
included Hong Kong dramas. However, the popularity of Hong Kong drama continued
just for a short time, because the Taiwanese TV stations started to produce programs of
a similar genre instead of importing them (Kao, 2004). The major TV production
imported came from America for its TV programs took nearly 85 % of all imported
programs (Lee, 1980). American TV dramas were especially popular. The Broadcasting
and Television Act limited foreign programs to airtime of less than 20% of all TV
programs; however, 17% were American programs, demonstrating that American TV
programs were the most popular and culturally influential among imported programs.
Table 3.2 Percentage of imported programs on television between 1969 and 1998
TV Station 1969 1975 1976 1982 1991 1998
TTV 33% 16% 24% 14% 18% 16%
CTV 35% 19% 19%
CTS 11% 14%
Note: Figures are rounded.
Sources: Lee, 1980; Taiwan Television Company, 1976; Wang, et al. 2000.
The popularity of American TV programs in Taiwan during the KMT rule lasted
throughout the early stages of cable TV development. In this stage, American TV
programs were still the main foreign productions imported into Taiwan to satisfy cable
TV timeslots. According to Fang and Su (cited in Ishii, Su and Watanabe, 1999), in
1993, 99% of foreign TV programs came from the U.S. (p. 422). A significant survey
conducted by them in the late 1990s analysed Taiwanese audience preferences for
foreign TV programs. Their findings (p. 427) show that the U.S. programs most
frequently watched by the audience were movies (66.1%), dramas (36.1%) and
information programs (10.4%). In other words, during the 1990s the Hollywood style
was the main source of foreign TV programs and influence in Taiwan. In particular, the
imported American programs provided much information about American culture,
lifestyle and social values, which then started to form the specific strand of popular
culture in the Taiwanese society.
The Taiwanese audience preferred watching American programs in English with
Chinese subtitles, considering that dubbing would make the programs seem unnatural
(Ishii, et al. 1999). This implies that the Taiwanese audiences commonly enjoyed
American TV programs in their original cultural expressions. Ishii, et al. note that

81
audiences thought there should be more American programs imported into the
Taiwanese TV market, because American programs are appreciated for their quality
and exciting stories (p. 429). Further, Su (cited in Ishii, Su & Watanabe, 1995)
indicates that the Taiwanese audience has very positive attitudes towards foreign TV
programs because 30.7% of Taiwanese think that TV channels should have more
foreign TV programs, and only 4% think that they should have fewer (p.425). To sum
up, the popularity of American TV programs in Taiwan showed audience preferences
for American TV programs from various aspects, including its cultural expressions and
quality.
Audiences that watched American programs were often from the middle-aged
group, and were deemed to be of higher educational and economic class than those who
did not watch American TV programs. Ishii, et al. (1999) found that 50% of the
Taiwanese people who participated in their survey often watched American programs,
and this group was from a higher socio-economic group than those Taiwanese who
watched local and regional programs. Ishii, et al. suggest that the viewing American
programs seemed to be an indicator of a higher social status and a higher level of
education, because their behaviour showed an ability to understand English and read the
Chinese subtitles. In particular, the preference for American programs and acceptance
of American culture usually occurred among the intellectual community (p. 419),
which is generally called the middle class. This group had experienced the social
changes in Taiwan and had witnessed the power of American culture. The researchers
did not expand on their statements regarding the results; however, it appears that the
American TV programs were preferred, and the American culture was promoted as a
particular taste in their lifestyles. This phenomenon led to Taiwanese peoples cultural
preference and acceptance of American values (Huang, 1999). It also demonstrated that
the KMTs suppression of local Taiwanese consciousness and Japanese cultural legacy
resulted in the Taiwanese audience receiving and being influenced by American TV
programs and culture with ease.
The influence of American programs in Taiwan was directly represented in the
existence of American culture in the Taiwanese society. Ishii, et al. (1999) note:
the impact of American culture on Taiwanese society can be seen from a
range of evidence high-ranking government officials and university
professors in Taiwan usually choose to study in the U.S. among the top
10 ranking magazines in Taiwan in terms of circulation, the Chinese version
of Readers Digest is rated highest, followed by three instructional
magazines for English study A content analysis of advertisements in

82
journals published in Taiwan shows that a Western orientation, expressed
by indicators such as usage of English, became increasingly common in
Taiwan during 1980s. (p. 418)
The situation shows how American culture influenced the Taiwanese society
during the 1908s, when the American TV programs were most prevalent in Taiwan. It
also demonstrates that the governments repression of local culture and the importation
of American culture resulted in Taiwanese audiences identifying with American culture
via media. Consequently, this situation led to the domination by American TV
productions in Taiwan. At that time, Taiwan seemed to be a collaborator to American
cultural imperialism on the one hand, and on the other hand, it appeared as a receptor of
outside cultures. The governments emphasis on Chinese culture and the introduction
of American TV programs became a dual-dimensional force to reinforce the influence
of globalisation and American cultural imperialism. Subsequently, a resistant force
emerged to react to the Chinese authority and American cultural imperialism. This force
emerged in the 1990s with the rise of Taiwanese local consciousness and was expressed
in local TV production.
Resistance to Chinese authority and American cultural imperialism
In the late 1980s, the Taiwanese political scene shifted from autocracy to
democracy. The first elected Taiwanese President, Lee Teng-hui (1988-2000), was a
native Taiwanese who emphasised localisation. When Lee became the President, he
proposed a phrase, New Taiwanese (Feng, cited in Peng, 2002, p. 24) to heighten
Taiwanese identity. Lee claimed, as long as you grow up in the land of Taiwan, no
matter which ethnical group you belong to, you are a Taiwanese (p. 24). His claim was
important for the subsequent development of Taiwanese cultural identity. Since then,
Taiwanese local culture has been promoted in the Taiwanese society.
The shift of the political scene and former President Lees claim upon
Taiwanese identity influenced the domestic broadcasting landscape. The broadcasting
policy of restricting TV production loosened. In particular, Article 20, which was
related to limitation of Tai-yu language programs, was removed from the Broadcasting
and Television Act in 1993 (Teng, 2001). During this time, local TV dramas began to
be produced more frequently in Tai-yu language, and to be aired during the prime-time
slot. The convention of scheduling Tai-yu drama in the prime-time slot was initiated by
the fourth terrestrial TV station, Formosa TV (FTV), a non-KMT shareholding
terrestrial channel in opposition to the three official TV channels (TTV, CTV and CTS).

83
The birth of FTV was in accordance with the structure of media industries
shifting, initiated following the political transition of the late 1980s. The notion of
establishing Formosa TV as the fourth terrestrial TV channel was proposed by the
Democratic Progress Party (DPP) which was the major opposition party in Taiwan. In
order to resist the KMTs monopoly, the DPP developed their philosophy into a public
agenda, since the gradual emergence of democracy. In the previous years, during
democratic politics, the DPP claimed that the KMT government should not occupy all
terrestrial broadcasting resources, and should release them to the public. Therefore, the
shareholders of FTV now consist of various types of investors without any government
involvement (Peng, 2002). Contrarily, FTV has been deemed to be representative of the
DPP and its political tendency.
Based on the underpinning of its establishment, FTV considered itself to be the
non-official terrestrial TV channel the other power aiming to resist the domination of
the three KMT-controlled television networks. Therefore, most programs produced by
FTV during the early stage of its establishment focused on Taiwanese local culture. In
particular, FTV enhanced the concept of Taiwanese consciousness by producing TV
dramas in the Tai-yu language. At that time, Tai-yu became a symbol of localisation.
Meanwhile, the maintenance of Chinese culture and the rise of local culture appeared to
oppose each other; the media, and TV drama in particular, became the dialectical space
to form a new and specific social phenomenon.
Tai-yu drama series made by FTV were based on specific Taiwanese lifestyles
and backgrounds. Stepmother () (Song, Chao & Iv, 1998) was the earliest
typical Tai-yu drama produced by FTV. It described a traditional Taiwanese womans
struggle in her marriage, which represents the situation for many traditional Taiwanese
women of that age group. Stepmother () was later awarded a prize by the
Government Information Office for the best program. This implied that Tai-yu was not
a subordinate language to Mandarin in Taiwanese society any longer; moreover, the TV
programs spoken in Tai-yu became popular. The trend influenced subsequent
production of Tai-yu dramas. The Powerful Family (), Unequal Marriage (
), and Fate
6
() (Peng, 2002), each produced by FTV, were very
popular. These Tai-yu dramas portrayed ordinary Taiwanese families and stories; they

6
AC Nelsons report in 1999: the watch rate of Formosa TVs serial dramas was 6.85 on average the
champion among all TV programs at the prime time.

84
represented Taiwanese traditions and there were fewer overt Chinese elements. At the
time, the Tai-yu drama series became the mainstream among prime-time TV programs,
and the conventional dramas in the Chinese language declined in popularity (Teng,
2001).
In essence, the political viewpoints of former President Lee, DPP and FTV were
in accord with the heightening of Taiwanese local consciousness. Therefore, the rise of
this consciousness was supported by the government, a political party and the media. In
particular, FTV was deemed as the power in opposition to the Chinese-emphasised TV
stations; it centralised most resources related to Taiwanese local culture, such as the use
of Tai-yu language in TV production and the skills of local depiction. The concept of
Taiwanese consciousness was to be reproduced and repeated in many Tai-yu TV
programs with FTV being a 24-hour-slot service. Therefore, the social phenomenon of
localisation became emblematic being formed to resist Chinese authority and American
cultural imperialism.
However, the popularity of Tai-yu and the rise of Taiwanese localisation
continued for only a short period because satellite broadcasting and the cable TV system
were introduced. Foreign programs imported by satellite and cable TV operators
resulted in multiple choices for Taiwanese audiences and made Taiwans TV market
more competitive. Given this, FTVs power seemed to decrease among the multiple
cable TV channels. Tai-yu dramas were less popular than Japanese and Korean trendy
dramas imported and aired on most cable TV channels. More specifically, the overall
liberation of satellite and cable TV in Taiwan initiated a response to regionalisation,
which had been led by Japanese TV productions (see Chapter 2). In the next section, I
will discuss the phase in which Taiwan acted through its TV market in response to the
rise of regionalisation. During this phase, the Taiwanese TV market was open to
receiving mostly Japanese TV programs. The prominence of Tai-yu drama was on the
decline, particularly during 1997 2002. The circumstance led to Japanese media and
cultural domination in Taiwan, and reinforced the Japans leading position in the Asian
TV marker in the region.
The Japanese Trendy Drama Phase (1990s-2000s)
The Taiwanese audience began to watch Japanese TV programs through illegal
satellite broadcasts in the early 1990s. After the overall deregulation of cable TV in
Taiwan, the operators purchased numerous Japanese TV programs to satisfy the

85
Taiwanese audience which sought the programs. This period of time commenced in
accordance with the general importation of Japanese TV programs in Asian countries
(see Chapter 2). In particular, the popular genre, Japanese trendy drama, became
prevalent over the Asian area; even Taiwan was a country mostly importing Japanese
TV programs (Kao, 2004) and the newly-coined, J-drama boom (Nakano, 2002, p.
231). At that time, Japan took a leading place in the Asian TV market which led to the
emergence of Japanese cultural imperialism replacing American cultural domination in
Asia.
The rise of regionalisation stemming from Japan materialised as if by chance,
urging other East Asian countries, such as South Korea, to adapt the Japanese model
(see Chapter 2). Korean trendy drama became an exemplar of adapting the Japanese
model. Due to the similar quality, Korean trendy drama became highly popular among
Taiwanese audiences, becoming the second major imported TV program aired on
Taiwanese TV channels. The successive emergence of Japanese and Korean trendy
dramas explained why Taiwan expressed its reaction to the rise of regionalisation
through the domestic TV market. In this next section, I will examine how the popularity
of Japanese and Korean dramas occurred in Taiwan, based on the Taiwanese TV
circumstances existing in the late 1990s. The discussion will add to an overall
illustration of the contemporary conditions in which the Asian TV markets became
integrated in the region.
The impact of satellite and cable television
Satellite and cable TV expanded throughout Taiwan just three years after the
authorisation of commercial satellite and cable TV in 1993. The ownership by citizens
of cable TV in Taiwan in 1996 soon exceeded 75% (Su, 1993); thus, receiving satellite
and cable TV programs became common for Taiwanese audiences. This form of media
offered many channels and a 24-hour service so there were numerous day slots that
needed to be filled with many programs. At that time, the percentage of foreign
programs on cable TV was much greater than on terrestrial TV (Wang, cited in Ishii, et
al. 1999) because the availability of local programs was insufficient. Meanwhile, for
cable TV operators, the cost of buying foreign programs seemed much lower than the
cost of producing local programs. For example, the Japanese TV drama, Oshin
(Okamoto & Sugako, 1984), was imported for one-tenth of the price of producing a
Taiwanese TV drama series (Ishii, cited in Ishii, et al. 1999). In addition to the lower
cost of importing foreign programs, cable TV operators found imported programs like

86
Japanese drama were very popular with Taiwanese audiences. Oshin, for example,
created a viewing audience of approximate 30% in 1994.
Due to the dual factors, lower costs and higher profits, Japanese TV programs
were considered to be the priority for importation of foreign programs by cable TV
operators. Indeed, Japanese TV programs, especially TV dramas, were very popular in
Taiwan, even before cable TV was legalised. Ishii, et al. (1999) indicate that since 1993,
Taiwanese audiences received Japanese TV programs primarily through the Fourth
Channel. This Fourth Channel differed from the four terrestrial TV channels (TTV,
CTV, CTS and FTV) mentioned previously; it referred to an illegal cable station. Since
the Fourth Channel was received by householders in Taiwan in the 1990s, Japanese TV
programs have been the main type of foreign programs broadcast on Taiwanese TV
channels.
The subsequent development of satellite and cable TV significantly altered
Taiwanese media consumption patterns after the late 1990s, one pattern being the
audiences viewing model. The 24-hour service that cable TV provides includes
scheduling and rebroadcasting of programs. For cable TV, prime time differs from
that of terrestrial TV; it is usually later than terrestrial TVs golden prime time, pointing
to the timeslot between 9 p.m. and 10 p.m. on weekdays. This has occurred because one
early marketing strategy of cable TV was to schedule foreign programs in non-prime-
time terrestrial slots in order to avoid competition with the conventional programs and
encourage greater audience share (Cai, 2002). For example, Japanese trendy drama was
usually aired at 9 p.m. on cable TV channels; therefore, audiences who usually watched
conventional programs at prime time could continue their viewing on other channels.
Notwithstanding, Japanese programs were broadcast later on fixed weekdays, or every
day; usually between 8 p.m. and 11 p.m., and were re-broadcast late evening or the next
day for audiences who missed the first showing. Broadcast and re-broadcast scheduling
not only reduced many of the costs of production but also made viewing times more
flexible for audiences.
Satellite and cable TV changed Taiwanese media consumption patterns also
including the Taiwanese audiences preferences over TV programs. The reason for this
was that the nearly 400 cable TV operators provided a surfeit of foreign programs, thus
giving Taiwanese audiences a wide range of choices of TV programs. In particular,
younger people showed their preference for the imported TV programs aired on the
cable TV channels. According to Ishii, et al. (1999), the most popular channels that

87
broadcast foreign programs were American owned, such as ESPN, HBO, Discovery,
TNTY, Sun Movie and Disney; and the Japanese channels including Gold Sun, NHK
Asia, Video Land Japan and Boshin Toei. Japanese trendy dramas were the most
popular genre among the imported programs.
Japanese trendy drama in Taiwan
The popularity of Japanese trendy drama in Taiwan may be associated with the
specific cultural attributes examined in Chapter 2. Lee and Ho (2002) and Iwaubichi
(2005) indicate that cultural proximity encourages the Taiwanese people to prefer
Japanese trendy dramas more than American soap operas. Straubhaar (2007, p. 26)
proposes that cultural products could be particularly appealing to consumers according
to their proximities to regional cultures within transnational cultural regions or
spaces. Thus, cultural proximity ensures Taiwanese people feel familiar with Japanese
culture as conveyed in the drama. Accordingly, the lifestyles and love stories portrayed
in Japanese trendy drama appears to be closer to Taiwanese people than those
represented in American dramas. For example, the depiction of relationships between
family, lovers or social relations in Japanese trendy drama looks more relevant to
Taiwanese culture; it shows similar cultural reference, including behaviours, viewpoints
towards life and the similar cultural values of Japan and Taiwan.
A further cultural attribute is that of cultural imagination (see Chapter 2). I
proposed that medias symbolic power explains the reason for Asian people preferring
to watch Japanese trendy drama, namely because they had cultural imagination about
what was depicted in the drama. In other words, the Japanese TV industry had the
symbolic power to portray and deliver modern Asian lifestyle in its TV production.
Therefore, Japanese trendy drama was not only popular; it also initiated the specific
social phenomenon of adoring Japanese culture. In Taiwan, a few sub-cultural groups
appeared, basing themselves on the popularity of Japanese trendy drama, such the
Japan-crazy tribe. These groups deemed the elements in the drama, including physical
expressions and contemporary fashionable ideas, to be their learning materials, and
adopted them into their cultural reference. In this sense, watching Japanese trendy
drama implies the desire to recognise and identify with Asian cultural imagination, as
illustrated in Japanese trendy drama.
To sum up, the popularity of Japanese trendy drama in Taiwan shows that the
Taiwanese TV market depended on Japanese TV production in the 1990s. In particular,
Taiwanese cable TV operators were active in importing Japanese TV dramas without

88
the programming strategies by the Japanese TV industry. Zhao (2000) indicates that the
consumption of Japanese trendy dramas in Taiwan was driven by the needs of the
domestic TV market. Consequently, Taiwan can be thought of as a receptor of Japanese
culture and TV products in a one-way flow during the Japanese trendy drama phase.
During the same phase, the Taiwanese TV market expressed its reaction to the rise of
regionalisation in the subsequent importation of Korean trendy drama.
Korean trendy drama in Taiwan
Since the 2000s, cable TV operators have gradually reduced their purchases of
Japanese trendy drama due to its increasing price; instead, they sought lower priced
foreign programs. During the time, South Korea began to develop a similar genre,
Korean trendy drama. The similar quality and features between the two dramas
encouraged the Taiwanese audiences to accept Korean trendy drama quickly (Yang,
2004). In particular, Korean trendy drama was imported into Taiwan based on its
relatively lower price when compared with Japanese dramas. In the circumstances,
Korean trendy drama became another popular foreign drama imported into Taiwan. At
that time, both Japanese and Korean trendy dramas were the mainstream of foreign TV
programs in the Taiwanese TV market.
Indeed, the introduction of Korean trendy drama into Taiwan was due to the
needs of the domestic TV market, the circumstance not being unlike that pertaining to
Japanese trendy drama. Before this specific genre became popular nationwide, Korean
TV dramas had been aired on a Taiwanese TV channel being firstly imported by the TV
broadcasting station, P Channel. The channel featured the broadcasting of such
programs that represented Taiwanese local culture in 1997 (Su, 1993), as Pili dramas
7
.
These early Korean TV dramas airing on P Channel were dubbed with a Taiwanese
dialect and subtitled in Mandarin. At that time, Taiwanese audiences were enchanted
with Japanese trendy drama, while Korean dramas did not seem to satisfy the audience.
Moreover, the Korean dramas failed to be popular because they approximated
Taiwanese traditional dramas and were seen to be of a lower quality than Japanese

7
Pili drama is the genre based on hand puppetry shows (PiLi's Entertainment Shocks the World, n.d.).
Hand puppetry shows were a type of opera using cloth puppets that originated from the Qing Dynasty in
the South of China and have developed into a popular art form in Taiwan (PiLi's Entertainment Shocks
the World, n.d.). In Taiwan, the Huang Family is the famous for its hand puppetry shows business. The
later generation, Huang Chun-hsiung, then established hand puppetry shows on the P Channel and
labelled them Pili dramas (Lin & Chao, 2010.).

89
dramas. For that reason, the channel ceased purchasing Korean dramas, despite their
low cost.
Subsequently, a new genre of Korean TV programs, Korean trendy drama
appeared on the Taiwanese TV channels, becoming very popular. The cable channel
Gala Television Co (GTV) was the first to introduce Korean trendy drama, and has
promoted itself by broadcasting the drama since it was established in 2000 (Jiang, 2004).
The channel is deemed to be a key factor triggering the popularity of Korean trendy
drama in Taiwan. Between 2001 and 2003, GTV imported 56 Korean trendy dramas in
total (Jiang, 2004). During this time, the viewing rate of Korean TV drama was higher
than that of Japanese trendy drama, and Korean TV drama became the most popular
foreign TV programming in Taiwan. In the following five years, the popularity of
Korean trendy drama overtook the position of Japanese trendy drama in Taiwan,
becoming the main imported programs. This popularity induced other TV channels to
introduce Korean trendy drama. Between 2000 and 2003, there were around 200 Korean
trendy dramas in Taiwan. At that time, Taiwan seemed to be the largest importer of
Korean dramas in the 2000s (Jiang, 2004). According to the statistics provided by the
Ministry of Culture and Tourism of South Korea, South Korea exported
US$12,356,000 worth of programs to other countries within Asia in 2001. Of these,
20.1% went to Taiwan (Kim, 2005, p. 186), the largest proportion to a single country
thereby demonstrating the popularity of Korean trendy drama in Taiwan.
The above situation also indicates that the popularity of Korean trendy dramas
had a huge impact on Taiwanese local production, following Japanese trendy drama. It
resulted in the Taiwanese government being obliged to consider the Korean boom in
Taiwan as having a noteworthy cultural impact on local culture. Therefore, the
government drew up a particular regulation to restrict the broadcast of foreign dramas in
2006 (Kim, 2005). This move highlights the fact that local TV production in Taiwan
could not compete with imported programs. It appeared that Taiwan was able to react to
the rise of regionalisation only through its TV market. In this situation, Taiwan and its
popular culture appeared to be dominated by Japan and South Korea through TV
production in the early stage of regionalisation.
Nevertheless, the Taiwanese TV industry began to produce a similar genre based
on the adaptation of Japanese trendy drama which proved to be a turning point for the
situation in which Taiwanese local TV production in 2000 had been dominated. The
Taiwanese TV industry produced a similar genre and highlighted it as Taiwanese idol

90
drama. Since then, the production values of Taiwanese idol dramas have improved to
compete with the Japanese and Korean productions. This new genre has enabled the
Taiwanese TV industry to be a competitor rather than an adaptor in the Asian TV
marketplace. The next section will move to the final phase of the pattern focusing on
how Taiwan reacted to the rise of regionalisation.
The Taiwanese Idol Drama Phase (2000-Present)
In the 2000s, the Taiwanese TV industry commenced its reaction to the
abundance of Japanese and Korean trendy dramas available in Taiwan by developing
local productions based on adaptation of the popular others. By adapting Japanese
trendy drama, the Taiwanese TV industry produced a similar genre, Taiwanese idol
drama. The first Taiwanese idol drama, Meteor Garden () (Chai &Tsai, 2001),
was produced to attract younger Taiwanese audiences, but surprisingly, it also appealed
to audiences in other countries of Asia (Kao, 2004). Since the popularity of this drama,
the Taiwanese TV industry has found a way to respond to the Asian TV market, by
Taiwanese idol dramas which have been sold to the Asian TV market. Furthermore,
since the late 2000s, this genre has developed its own style, based on local scripts, and
has still appealed to the Asian audiences. In the circumstances, Taiwan has become a
competitor in the Asian TV market promoting the Taiwanese idol drama phase. The
next section will illustrate the manner in which the Taiwanese TV industry has
developed its role from adaptor to a competitor in response to the rise of regionalisation
in the Asian TV market.
Reaction through an attempt at adaptation
Meteor Garden () was a remarkable work, produced during the earliest
embryonic stage of Taiwanese idol drama production; it was an experiment by the
Taiwanese TV industry to produce the new genre locally. Meteor Garden ()
did not only succeed in gaining Taiwanese audiences interest but also succeeded in
being popular in Japan, Mainland China and other countries in Asia. The success of
Meteor Garden () initiated the trend of idol drama production in Taiwan (Kao,
2004) and was thought of a standard example to be emulated in the subsequent
productions of Taiwanese idol drama. Consequently, the adaptation of Japanese trendy
drama opened up a new direction in the development of Taiwanese local productions.

91
The production of Taiwanese idol drama was initiated by an independent
production company, Comic International Productions Co. The producer of the
company, Feng, indicates that the adaptation provided a new style for Taiwanese local
production. He contends that the adaptation was the basis of a new kind of production,
and its success has been evident in its popularity throughout Asia (Lin, 2006, p. 42;
translated by the researcher). The director of Meteor Garden (), Tsai (cited in
Kao, 2000) proposed that a new TV drama production style was necessary for the
contemporary Taiwanese TV environment and this played a crucial role in future
possibilities of Taiwanese TV productions. Tsai further indicates that the adaptation
guided local production to a new level. However, early Taiwanese idol dramas were
considered to be copies of foreign dramas, representing Japanese and Korean lifestyles
(Lin, 2006). Therefore, this new TV genre was thought to lack creativity (see Chapter 1).
As Japanese and Korean trendy dramas, the most notable feature of Taiwanese
idol drama is the photogenic nature of the characters that are usually stereotyped as
idols. In order to promote Taiwanese trendy drama, the Taiwanese TV industry
adopted as its main strategy, the sale of images of Taiwanese idols. Accordingly, the
genre was re-termed Taiwanese idol drama. The convention in Japanese trendy drama
was to emphasise idols; and South Korea established the system of national star in order
to copy Japanese strategies in selling this popular cultural product. In Taiwan, as a point
of difference, the idols were selected through advertising and talent competitions. After
the extremely photogenic people were selected, they were trained and promoted to be
singers and TV idols by the TV industry. For example, the four main male characters in
Meteor Garden () were the members of a music band F4. Their appearances
were stereotyped and promoted as Asian stars (see Figure3.1), becoming very popular
throughout Asia (Chen, 2008). This has been a crucial strategy for enabling the
Taiwanese TV industry to gain entry into the Asian TV market.

92

Figure 3.1 The Taiwanese pop band, F4.
Source: news.yule.com.cn

93

Figure 3.2 A Taiwanese idol, Jerry Yan.
Source: enjoy.eastday.com

Figure 3.3 A Taiwanese idol, Vic Chou.
Source: www.huaxia.com

94

Figure 3.4 A Japanese idol, Takuya Kimura.
Source: im.tv
Strictly speaking, the appearances of F4 were not the typical Taiwanese males.
Their appearances show the specific features of Japanese idols. For example, the
members, Jerry Yan (see Figure 3.2) and Vic Chou (see Figure 3.3) look similar to the
most popular Japanese star, Takuya Kimura (see Figure 2.7). This implies that the
norms of beauty that the Japanese TV industry emphasised were a stereotype of
Taiwanese idols. In such a way, the Taiwanese idols can be associated with the image of
Asian stars and become a symbol for Taiwanese popular culture. As a consequence,
the Taiwanese TV industry is able to participate in developing popular culture in the
Asian TV market. The specific norms of beauty initiated by Japan and then adapted by
Taiwan will be analysed in Chapter 5.
Taiwan began to respond to the rise of Asian regionalisation through adaptation
in the early 2000s. By the late 2000s, the production of Taiwanese idol drama had
developed into local production based on original material, including local scripts and
local culture. This change placed Taiwanese local production into a new position; it was
now capable of competing with Japanese and Korean local TV productions within the
Asian TV marketplace.
Reaction to local TV creativity
Since the late 2000s, Taiwanese producers have endeavoured to create idol
dramas based on original material. They sought original creations and explored more
local elements to develop production of the genre. These local-material-based dramas

95
were also created by independent companies. For example, the director of Meteor
Garden ( ), Tsai Yueh Hsun, established his own company, Yang Ming
Production Co., producing in 2006 The Hospital (), which is based on a local
novel. In addition, his recent work, Black & White () (Yu & Tsai, 2009) was
also produced based on a local script. Tsais work has been very popular in Taiwan,
Mainland China and other Asian countries. Another mainstream producer was Shali
Entertainment Television (SETTV), which emphasised developing Taiwanese idol
drama as being quality drama based on local scripts. In particular, SETTV organised a
team which included experts in scriptwriting, casting, setting, costuming and marketing,
to create Taiwanese idol dramas strategically (Lin, 2009). Significantly, these recent
Taiwanese idol dramas, based on local materials, were popular and profitable abroad.
They have been exported around Asia, including Mainland China, Thailand, the
Philippines, Malaysia, Indonesia and Singapore. The Indonesian TV industry, for
instance, spent more than one billion Taiwanese dollars (1USD =29 TWD) on
purchasing six Taiwanese idol dramas from SETTV in 2006 (Lin, 2009). Domestically,
Taiwanese idol dramas have become more and more popular because they are deemed
to be closer to Taiwanese social reality when compared with Japanese and Korean
dramas.
Despite the success that Taiwanese idol drama has demonstrated in domestic and
overseas TV markets, the quality of idol drama has room for improvement. The director
Tsai claims that the new production style for TV drama has now been established;
however a successful drama cannot simply be based on idols. Instead, it should be
improved in its content and enhance the spirit of the genre, which means representing
contemporary fashionable ideas. Therefore, during the late phase of the Taiwanese idol
drama since approximately 2005, the genre has developed its local content by
portraying contemporary social reality in Taiwan. For instance, recent Taiwanese idol
dramas such as My Queen () (Fang & Lin, 2009) and The Fierce Wife (
) (Wang & Xu, 2010) depict the authentic situations that contemporary single and
married women confront in Taiwanese society.
It is noteworthy that the Taiwanese TV industry is now very clear about its
advantageous position in the Asian TV market, a position that has changed from being
an adaptor to a competitor. Thus, there are two primary directions in which the
Taiwanese TV industry can develop Taiwanese idol dramas. One is targeting the Asian

96
market and the director Tsais work is representative of this. The other is aiming at the
Chinese market, of which SETTVs production is an example. In 2009, when Tsai was
awarded the Best TV Director Award at the Golden Bell Awards
8
for his recent work,
Black & White (), he stated:
the Taiwanese TV industry has represented a specific phenomenon during
the last two years. It began to generate a particular power, which has been
gradually expanded to its market in the basis of the Asian region. This
dream has nearly come true. The success of Black & White represents a
possibility. I hope this success makes us to believe that this dream can be
achieved. (Golden Bell Award, 2009, 2:48; translated by the researcher)
The statement shows that Tsais intention for TV production is to make
Taiwanese TV dramas acceptable for Asian audiences. The other direction I proposed is
supported by the Executive Vice President of SETTV, Mei Su. She proposes that
Taiwanese idol dramas have been popular in the Chinese communities because the
dramas highlight Taiwanese local cultural specificities that particularly appeal to
Chinese people (Lin, 2011). Further, Su suggests that the key point of the success of
contemporary Taiwanese idol drama is that topics related to certain meanings that can
be related to popular culture in Asia are addressed.
Basically, both of these mainstreams of Taiwanese idol drama production have
been popular in Asia and the Chinese communities. In particular, it is worthy of note
that political issues still exist between China and Taiwan. In Taiwan, SETTV is a
specific TV station, whose political position seemed to interfere with that of the
Peoples Republic of China, which considers Taiwan as a part of China. Despite this, it
has been the largest importer of Taiwanese idol dramas since STTV began selling the
genre to the area.
In summary, Taiwanese idol drama has been the primary genre of local
production since the Taiwanese TV industry adapted Japanese trendy drama. During
this time, Taiwanese local production gained opportunities to revive and participate in
competition in the Asian TV production market. More specifically, the Taiwanese TV
industry turned its role from being an adaptor to a competitor in response to the rise of
regionalisation in the East Asian TV industries. This change also demonstrates that the
Taiwanese TV industry began to accrue sufficient symbolic power to facilitate

8
The Golden Bell Awards have been held annually for Taiwanese television production since 1965. They
are the first television production awards in Chinese circulation. In Taiwan, the Golden Bell Awards are
equivalent to the Emmy Awards in the USA (History of Golden Bell Awards, n.d.).

97
development of its own local TV production for the Asian TV market. The power even
came to the attention of and urged official action. The Taiwanese government
subsequently noticed the importance of the development of Taiwanese drama
production and established a cultural preservation policy so as to maintain Taiwanese
local culture by limiting foreign TV programs. In the next sub-section, I will discuss
how the government adopted the action to preserve Taiwanese TV programs and local
culture.
Preserve local culture through policy NCC
When Taiwanese TV producers began to produce TV drama in competition with
foreign programs, the government had not conceived of the idea of confronting
imported programs until 2006. Subsequently, an official institution, the National
Communications Commission (NCC) was established as the top authority to control the
abundance of foreign programs. The NCC developed regulations based on the
Broadcasting and Television Act; however, the purpose of the NCCs regulation differs
from the previous regulation of the government. The essence of the Broadcasting and
Television Act executed by the previous government was to limit Taiwanese local
culture shown on the media with the government and political power. However, the
NCCs main aim when it came into being was to support the claim that the government
and military withdraw from the media and preserve its independence and Taiwanese
culture.
Responsibilities regarding broadcasting held by NCC include balancing the
diversity of local cultures in Taiwan and respect for the disadvantaged groups,
maintaining trading orders, and managing broadcasting resources (National
Communications Commission [NCC], 2006). In addition, the NCCs responsibilities for
broadcasting involve ensuring fair and effective competition in the communications
market. In order to execute its duties and missions effectively, the NCC also has an
official functions which involve issuing broadcasting licences and monitoring
operations, regulating the content of broadcasting, and engaging in international matters
relating to communications operation. However, the operation of cable TV and satellite
broadcasting has not been systematic. This is because the new conditions of media were
not managed by well-organised regulations when satellite and cable TV became
legalised.
At present, there are 5 terrestrial TV stations (TTV, CTV, CTS, FTV and one
public television service), 63 cable TV companies and 135 satellite channels in Taiwan

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(Government Information Office [GIO], 2005). In recent years, imported programs
abound in Taiwans TV market and are broadcast on most of these TV channels. In
addition to cable and satellite channels, the three terrestrial TV channels (TTV, CTV
and CTS) started to broadcast imported TV drama series a few years ago. Korean trendy
drama, in particular, has been the most imported TV program. Therefore, Korean drama
series has not only been aired largely on cable TV, but has been regularly aired on
terrestrial TV. This circumstance occurred because the terrestrial TV channels had to
compete with cable TV channels which often obtained high viewing rates because they
broadcast Japanese and Korean trendy dramas. Moreover, the terrestrial TV stations
schedule Korean TV dramas in prime-time slots when they do not have sufficient local
dramas available to broadcast.
The terrestrial TV channels do not offer a 24-hour service so they do not need
many programs to fill time slots. However, their priority of arranging Korean TV
dramas in prime-time slots demonstrates the pressure of the low cost, popular Korean
trendy drama in the Taiwanese TV market. Therefore, in 2008, the NCC attempted to
decrease the percentage of foreign programs broadcast at prime time in order to prevent
too many imported programs in the domestic TV market (Xu, 2008). To do so, the NCC
claims it has enlarged the percentage of local programs aired on cable TV and at a
prime time. Despite the NCCs reaction, TV stations have continued to broadcast a large
number of foreign programs on cable and terrestrial channels. In 2009, the
circumstances were even worse. According to the NCCs statistics, more than 60% of
the drama broadcast on the terrestrial TV channels between January and July of that
year were imported TV dramas (Lin, 2009), Japanese and Korean trendy dramas in
particular.
Since the NCC announced its aim to restrict the broadcasting of foreign TV
programs, the terrestrial TV stations have agreed to avoid scheduling foreign programs
in prime-time slots. Zhou, a director at Taiwan TV station, TTV, proposed that TTV
would broadcast local dramas both at prime time and at 10 p.m (Xu, 2008). Zheng, a
chief at China Television Company (CTV), also said the broadcasting direction of the
station will change to include local dramas. Moreover, the Vice General Manager, Hu,
agreed that Chinese Television Service (CTS) will endeavour to air local dramas. Xu
(2008) indicates that local production has been insufficient in the competitive TV
environment, even though the terrestrial TV stations showed their willingness to be in
accord with the NCC's proposal.

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To sum up, the constitution of the NCC shows that the recent Taiwanese TV
market has been dominated by the imported programs, Japanese and Korean trendy
dramas in particular, and this situation was out of the previous regulations control.
Apparently, the Taiwanese governments reaction to the trend of regionalisation in the
Asian TV market has been more passive than and not as active as the Taiwanese TV
industry. The governments priority is to preserve local production. But, the policy of
preservation seems ambiguous, and does not provide clear directions on how to help
Taiwanese local TV production resist the impact of imported programs. Nevertheless,
the official action shows that the Taiwanese TV industry has enough symbolic power to
influence government policy that has begun to emphasise the development of TV and
cultural industries.
Conclusion
This chapter has discussed Taiwanese media development throughout the
Hollywood, Japanese drama and Taiwanese idol drama phases which showed the
changing TV landscapes represented in Taiwan. During the Hollywood phase, the
Taiwanese TV industry was under the KMT government control, being treated as a tool
of politics. During this phase, the media had the symbolic power to emphasise pertinent
Chinese cultural aspects and the KMT utilised these aspects at the national level to
cultivate Chinese culture in the Taiwanese society. As a result, local TV dramas were
produced to convey Chinese-oriented elements and backgrounds, while they were
limited when showcasing Taiwanese local culture. At the same time, the KMT
government played an active role in importing American TV programs as the major
foreign program and introducing American culture into Taiwan. In such a situation, the
role of the government and media was shown to have reinforced American cultural
imperialism in Taiwan. Taiwan was influenced by globalisation and reacted to it by
receiving American culture. Consequently, this finding contributes to the demonstration
in Chapter 2 that American cultural imperialism had occurred in Asian countries
between the 1970s and 1990s.
During the Japanese drama phase, Taiwan had been dominated by Japanese
culture instead of American culture, because the political and TV scenes shifted. At that
time, evidence presented revealed importation of more Japanese TV programs than
American programs based on the reaction to the contemporary Asian TV market. In
particular, the emergent satellite and cable TV system was identified as enabling

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Japanese TV programs to appear more frequently than American TV programs, which
were broadcast on the three terrestrial TV channels (TTV, CTV and CTS) during the
KMTs rule. Therefore, the influence of Japanese TV production in the Taiwanese
society was observed to be greater than any other time. At that time, Taiwan reacted to
the rise of regionalisation initiated by the Japanese TV industry through the domestic
TV market. The finding showed that the Japanese TV industry represented the power of
the Asian media and initiated regionalisation in the 1990s and 2000s. The finding also
enhanced what had been argued in Chapter 2, that Japanese cultural imperialism
prevailed over Asia instead of American cultural imperialism during that time.
During the Taiwanese idol drama phase, Taiwan was shown to react to the
regionalised TV market by producing the most popular genre, trendy drama. The
Taiwanese TV industry adapted Japanese trendy drama to produce idol drama first and
then developed its own specific fashion later. Based on adaptation, the Taiwanese TV
industry found a way to enter the Asian TV market to compete with Japan and South
Korea. This was emphasised as the milestone that Taiwan achieved; that is, becoming
an active participant in the rise of regionalisation in Asian TV industries and taking the
leading role over Japan and South Korea in the Asian TV market. In particular, the
Taiwanese TV industry had attempted to produce idol drama using multiple resources,
including Chinese language, depicting lifestyles, landscapes and fashion to develop
certain cultural meanings, which could be related to popular culture of Asian-ness and
Chinese-ness. In doing so, Taiwanese local productions could be sold overseas in a
large-scale TV market; moreover, they were revealed to be more popular in the Chinese
communities than Japanese and Korean TV productions because of cultural proximity.
This was also given as the reason for the Taiwanese TV industry seeking trans-
cooperation within the Asian region in order to produce better quality dramas based on
the adequate present sponsorship. This was deemed to be a new configuration for
Taiwanese local production and its future development in the Asian market.
The discussion of how Taiwan reacted to the rise of regionalisation in Asian TV
industries was shown to generate findings that reinforce the argument in Chapter 2. The
main finding was that adaptation was a key factor in initiating the formation of
regionalisation in the Asian TV market. This also demonstrated that trendy drama
became a significant genre to be produced in order to reach the Asian TV market.
Therefore, trendy drama was deemed a specific genre: a cultural-linguistic regional
program production (Straubhaar, 2007, p. 26) in Asia. Japan, and then Korea,

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developed the new genre Trendy Drama. Due to its appeal to a new young audience,
trendy drama leads to Japan and Korea being able to exercise symbolic power, as
described by Couldry (2000), in the Asian region. Then, the adaptation of the TV
production, Taiwanese idol drama became successful in the Asian TV market. Thus the
Taiwanese TV industry began sharing the symbolic power of the Japanese and Korean
TV industries. As a consequence, the production of trendy drama was proved to become
a regional production, signifying the Asian TV industries symbolic power. In this
situation, trendy drama was thought of as the symbolic form which has enabled the
Asian TV industries symbolic power to develop, circulate and mediate popular culture
and social reality in Asia.
In the next chapter, I will discuss how trendy drama has become a specific, new
TV genre in the Asian TV market, how it has functioned as the symbolic form for the
Asian TV industries, and what certain cultural meanings about popular culture in Asia
has depicted and conveyed.

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Chapter 4
Trendy Drama as a New Genre in the East Asian
Region

Introduction
Chapters 2 and 3 have provided the configuration of how regionalisation in the
Asian TV industries has been developed, and how Taiwan has responded to it through
the domestic TV market and local production. One important aspect of this
development is that the contemporary Asian TV markets have been re-shaped according
to their cultural and geographic proximity. Based on this aspect, Asian TV industries
tend to portray certain cultural meanings to neighbouring countries. Therefore, the
Asian TV market now represents a rise in regionalisation, more so than globalisation. In
the research reported in Chapters 2 and 3, the specific TV genre, trendy drama, has
played a pivotal role in the rise of regionalisation in Asian TV industries because it has
been adapted by the different Asian countries and circulated in the Asian market. As
indicated in Chapter 2, trendy drama was a new genre created by the Japanese TV
industry for the middle classes in the 1990s; it now has at least a 20-year history.
During these years, trendy drama has developed based on specific elements, which have
produced certain cultural meanings for the Asian TV market. Accordingly, the specific
elements described enabled trendy drama to be recognised as a new genre in the Asian
region.
The aim of this chapter is to explore how trendy drama was legitimised in Asia
and Taiwan. To do so, the chapter examines its origins and traces its history. Thus, the
specific elements used in producing trendy drama are also clarified. This will help to
understand why trendy drama can be distinguished as a new genre from traditional
drama. In addition, some specific ideas that have been represented as contemporary
fashionable ideas in trendy drama will be investigated.
This chapter will argue that in the South Korean and Taiwanese adaptations of
Japanese TV production, trendy drama has not only played a role as being a particular
TV genre, but it has acted as the symbolic form which has been conveying, repeating

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and circulating certain cultural meanings within the Asian TV market. With the
popularity of trendy drama, the cultural meanings conveyed in this genre have become
part of popular culture in Asia. This is seen as contributing to the rise of regionalisation
in Asian TV industries. The main section of the total thesis methodology explicated in
this chapter will be a review the literature, by which the specific elements and
contemporary fashionable ideas adopted in trendy drama are summarised. Moreover, I
will apply Couldrys (2000) notion of symbolic power to discuss how trendy drama
became legitimised in Asia; Taiwan will be a particular example.
This chapter consists of three sections. The first section outlines the history of
trendy drama to provide a brief understanding of the context of this genre. Subsequently,
the specific elements used in trendy drama will be explored. The second section will
examine how trendy drama became legitimised as a new TV genre in the Asian TV
market, and how the genre has been promoted as a representative TV production. The
third section will analyse specific, contemporary fashionable ideas that have been
conveyed in trendy drama according to a few scenarios of trendy dramas summarised in
the section. The outcome will demonstrate how trendy drama works as a symbolic form
to convey certain cultural meanings.
The Context of Birth: Trendy Drama in Japan
Trendy drama, as a new terminology, stems from Japan in the late 1980s. It was
coined by the Japanese TV industry as a formal title for this new genre. Indeed, trendy
drama was produced for the emerging middle class in Japan at that time; accordingly,
the term itself conveys certain cultural meanings. The word trendy provides a literal
understanding for audiences to grasp immediately the focus of the drama. Trendy,
according to the Oxford dictionary, is an adjective term that means very fashionable or
up to date (Oxford, n.d.). In addition, the Chambers dictionary defines trendy as
being said of clothes, music, clubs, bars, etc as being fashionable at a particular
time (Chambers, n.d.). To sum up, trendy conveys trendiness or being up with the
times; it is embodied in the materials used or specific ideas in the films production.
What is more, trendy could also be associated with a group, a place or a trend that is
being new or modern. Therefore, the term trendy drama essentially indicates what is
expected to be seen in the drama. These could be fashionable apparel, modern lifestyles
and contemporary ideas. This section will provide a background to trendy drama before
examining its specific elements.

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Japan: A birthplace of trendy drama
Trendy drama is an English translation from in Japanese and
(or Qu-Shi Ju) in Mandarin. In these two languages, and Qu-Shi
mean trendiness in English, symbolising the popular tastes of the time. Popular taste is
also changing with time. Trendiness also signifies new ideas that form a specific social
phenomenon in a society. Therefore, the storylines of this genre are usually depicted
within the contexts of modern life and the fast tempo of a modern society. Modleski
(1997) maintains that the formula of traditional soap operas usually includes being
situated in a small town and involve[s] two or three families intimately connected with
each other (p.38). On the contrary, Ota (2004) proposes that trendy drama centres upon
the encounters of free individuals within a large city space, and tries to appeal to
metropolitan dwellers. Moreover, trendy drama features younger peoples loves and
lives in an urban setting (Iwabuchi, 2005, para. 18). It appears that generations,
settings and relationships are different in the two distinctive formulae of trendy and
traditional dramas. Two kinds of TV drama may also be distinguished, based on basic
plotline, age group and representation styles.
Trendy drama was originally produced for the younger middle classes in Japan
in the late 1980s. During this time, Japan was experiencing the bubble economy boom
(Ota, 2004, p. 70), which encouraged the Japanese TV industry to develop a variety of
TV programs constrained by sufficiency of budget. At that time, the existing programs
were deemed to lack variety; most types of TV drama attracted audiences of people in
their 40s, 50s and even above. This situation did not aid the expansion of the domestic
TV market in Japan. Therefore, the Japanese TV industry began to target younger age
groups, people in their 20s and 30s, as its main audiences, and to produce the distinctive
genre of TV drama for this specific youthful group.
The first TV drama of this genre was The Summer Story of Seven Men and
Women (Danjo Shichinin Natsu Monogatari) (Kamata, Shono & Kiyohiro, 1986) aired
on the Tokyo Broadcasting System (TBS). The producer, Toshio Kamata (cited in
Wang, 1999), notes that this drama was the first to revolve around love affairs;
heretofore, love affairs were just used as an interlude or small part of the story. This
type of TV drama, therefore, became very popular with its focus on love stories.
Subsequently, other Japanese TV stations adopted the idea into their TV drama
productions. Fuji TV produced a similar type of drama called I Want to Hold You
(Dakishimetai) (Matsubara, Kawake & Mitsuno, 1988) and officially titled the drama

105
trendy drama in its advertisements. The director of the drama, Kawake (cited in Wang,
1999) indicates that Fuji TV designed this drama to attract an audience of members who
were younger than 30. Kawake (cited in Wang, 1999) defines trendy drama as having
the features of enhancing the urban atmosphere, dismissing superior-subordinate
relations in a family and company, and highlighting relationships between individuals
and other people in a society. In addition, the drama was designed in an exquisite form,
using specific settings, costumes, dialogue and music. For example, in the two dramas
mentioned above, the characters have professional occupations, live in luxurious chic
apartments, and appear in expensive locations such as high-priced restaurants (Wang,
1999); moreover, they mostly appear in the latest of fashionable clothes. These elements
produced an atmosphere of trendiness, and having the dramas characterized as a new
style of TV drama. Furthermore, they made the drama distinctive among existing TV
dramas in Japan and influenced the direction of the later production of TV drama.
Subsequent productions of TV dramas based on similar elements to the two
above successfully appealed to Japanese audiences. For example, Tokyo Love Story
(Toukyou Rabu Sutori) (Saimon & Nagayama, 1991) popular among younger people in
the age range between 20 and 34 also became famous in other Asian countries (Tang,
2000). Long Vacation (Rongu Bakeishon) (1996) was also popular with this age group,
ranking among the top 10 most popular dramas in Japan (Nakano, 2002). Since then,
this new genre of TV drama has focused on specific audience groups, avoiding the
strategy used in traditional dramas of the one-program-for all (Nakano, 2002, p. 2389).
This new type of drama has gradually been recognised as a new genre: trendy drama.
The popularity of trendy dramas among Japanese younger people was even
coined gekku (Tang, 2000, p. 16) to refer to trendy dramas in Japan. Gekku is a word
abbreviated from getsuku, meaning Monday at 9 p.m., the prime time for Japanese
television programs (Tang, 2000), but the only evening of the week remaining free
because it was a convention to watch baseball games aired by TV on every other night
of the week. All other TV programs made way for possible changes to the TV schedule
due to late games. Subsequently, it has been commonly recognised in Japan that TV
dramas broadcast during this Monday timeslot are the most popular (Tang, 2000).
Getsuku was mentioned very often among young peoples conversations, and they
deemed trendy drama to be the most popular of TV programs at getsuku. Later, getsuku
developed into a shorter word, gekku, and this specific timeslot was eventually
associated with the most popular trendy dramas. The Japanese media industry thus

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began to appropriate this new word, gekku, to refer to trendy drama instead of the term
relating to a specific time of broadcasting (Tang, 2000). Consequently, gekku and
trendy drama became synonyms; furthermore, gekku is not only used to indicate the
specific timeslot, but also to represent the popularity of Japanese trendy dramas.
In accord with Couldrys (2000) media power, gekku can figure as a result of the
Japanese TV industrys media power. It functioned as the media frame to shape the
audience preference for the particular TV programs in the Japanese society. When Fuji
TV continuously scheduled popular trendy dramas in the gekku timeslot (9p.m. on
Mondays), the audiences were encouraged to believe that this timeslot carried the most
frequently watched TV dramas. In such a way, the Fuji TV station successfully
established this scheduling convention as a routine through which the Japanese audience
became involved through watching and discussing trendy drama. This specific timeslot
was even associated with the broadcasting of trendy drama by the audiences. This
situation is what Couldry describes when he indicates that media power is usually
naturalised as habitus, history turned into nature (p. 17). In other words, when young
people became accustomed to honour the convention and began to find topics of
everyday conversations from it, the power of the Japanese TV industry was equally
reproduced through talk, belief, and action (Couldry, 2000, p. 40).
To sum up, for the audiences, gekku became the ritual contact with the media
world from the ordinary world (Couldry, 2000, p. 102); the audience expectations of
the convention urged them to adopt their ritual action (p. 160) through viewing
practices. Therefore, watching trendy drama, for the audiences, is equal to participating
in the process of social experience.
Later the popularity of trendy drama in Japan attracted external attention. People
in Asian countries commenced watching the emerging Japanese genre after Hong Kong
and introduced it into their TV markets through satellite TV in the 1990s. Based on the
features represented in Japanese trendy drama, Taiwanese young people contented
themselves with viewing trendy dramas, considering their watching habits as a
particular cultural taste, or being modern, trendy and cool (Lee & Ho, 2002; Yang,
2008). Iwabuchi (1998) indicates that Japanese trendy drama was specifically popular
with university students in Taiwan at first. Most of them even watched the same
Japanese trendy drama twice, such as Tokyo Love Story (Toukyou Rabu Sutori).
Yoshiko (2002) supports this contention, explaining that the university students thought
of trendy drama as the programs that featured actors of their age group, revolved

107
around their problems, and illustrated their aspirations (p. 238). For younger people,
trendy drama was considered to be the story of our generation (p. 238). Therefore,
Japanese trendy dramas became the most popular TV programs in Asia.
In comparison with Japanese trendy drama, traditional drama was deemed
lacking in cultural messages to which younger people could relate to their experiences.
Cai (cited in Zhao, 2000) targeted 37 Taiwanese university students to undertake
research on university students attitudes toward TV dramas in 1999. The research
showed that Taiwanese university students could not regard traditional Taiwanese TV
dramas as the stories of their generation because the characters in the dramas were
usually more than 30 years old. Cai reinforces the fact that the main characters in
tradition drama were in the middle-age groups, concluding that the stories were mostly
related to the experience of this age group. Contrarily, university students and their
experience were rarely mentioned. Cais research also indicates that most university
students watched dramas based on storylines, issues and context; they considered the
viewpoints represented in traditional dramas as being too conservative and too
unrealistic. To sum up, the specific elements in trendy drama became a key factor in
attracting younger people to watch the genre. In the following sub-section, the key
elements which featured in this new genre will be discussed.
Elements of trendy drama
Japanese trendy drama appears to be distinctive among conventional TV dramas
because of its style which is comprised of several specific elements. According to
Iwabuchi (1998), Hei-Niao-Li-Zi (1997) and Lin (2001), these are:
mini-series format;
theme of love;
diverse storylines and topics;
new style of scenes and metropolis;
photogenic characters; and
high production values (such as high-profile theme songs and camera
strategies).
The broadcasting format of trendy drama belongs to the category of mini-series.
A trendy drama is usually a mini-series with 10 to 13 episodes, each episode taking one

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or one-and-a half hours. Subsidiary themes occur in each episode, and eventually
become connected as a whole story which synthesises the 10 to 13 subsidiary themes
(Nakani, 2002). Therefore, the whole story can usually be broadcast within three
months, no matter how popular it is. Creeber (2001) proposes that:
the mini-series more successfully exploits the fundamental dynamics of
television consumption. In particular, they tend to encourage intense
audience involvement through the use of multi-narrative cumulative
storylines that tends to bring back audiences week after week. (p. 36)
In the mini-series format, trendy drama engages the audience through its intense
plots. Accordingly, trendy dramas are deemed to be exquisite; and the stories seem
attractive.
In contrast, there are often 40 episodes or even more for a traditional drama;
some soap dramas even continue for many years. Moreover, traditional TV dramas are
made with extra episodes of apparently meaningless interludes, in order to extend
audience viewing, particularly when the viewing rate is high (Kao, 2004). This situation
happens frequently in the broadcasting of Taiwanese traditional dramas, the dramas
being rarely finished within the originally scheduled timeframe and extended by having
many episodes. Therefore, traditional TV dramas have been criticised by the Taiwanese
audience because of their unscheduled episodes (Lee & Ho, 2002). The audiences think
that the extra episodes make Taiwanese TV dramas seem boring, slow-moving and
uninspiring.
The theme of love in trendy drama has been the most crucial element in
attracting the younger generations. Unlike traditional dramas, the love stories in trendy
drama must happen in a contemporary context. Iwabuchi (2005) emphasises that one of
the attractions of Japanese trendy dramas is its new style of portraying love (para. 18),
which is often combined with the depiction of work and life issues. In particular, the
depiction of love in trendy drama is usually established based on modern society values;
therefore, the love story is interwoven with the portrayal of everyday life in urban
settings. To sum up, modern love in a modern city is the vital depiction, highlighting the
distinction between trendy and traditional dramas.
In comparison with trendy drama, love stories depicted in traditional TV dramas
appear to be monotonous. Nakano (2002) indicates that the themes in traditional dramas
are less about love stories and are more related to poverty, misery and life history (p.
238). Lee and Ho (2002) compared TV dramas broadcast on three terrestrial television

109
channels with those on Star TV between January, 1995 and September, 1996. They
discovered that TV drama aired on the three terrestrial TV stations
9
focus on rural,
miserable, and admonishing stories (p.32). Qiongyao drama had been the
mainstream of TV programs in Taiwan and it also features romance. However,
Qiongyao drama is considered to be too idealised, clichd and unrealistic to
contemporary women. In particular, as compared to Japanese trendy drama, dialogues
in Qiongyao drama are remote and flowery (Lee & Ho, 2002, p.32, translated by the
researcher) despite the fact that the dialogues previously satisfied mature women
(housewives in particular). Cai (cited in Zhao, 2000) argues that the lifestyle in
traditional dramas lacks variety; characters in the stories are similar to those in other
stories. The groups involved in the stories are mostly families and peers, whereas
couples appear less in the scenes. These elements make traditional dramas unattractive
to contemporary audiences.
The diverse storylines and topics concerned with everyday life are also
important for portraying love stories in trendy drama. According to the principles of
this element, a specific idea can be used to develop into different topics to show
modern peoples attitudes. For example, womens social status is usually highlighted
as a contemporary fashionable idea discussed in trendy drama through the depiction of
female characters occupations (Iwabuchi, 2005). In Tokyo Love Story (Toukyou Rabu
Sutori), the two main female characters, Rika and Satomi are both professional women
in their society. Rika is a lady employed in an office, very intelligent, independent and
speaks two languages competently; Satomi is a kindergarten teacher, very capable and
efficient. The depiction of these female occupations in this drama appears to add to the
diversity of the storyline which was particularly attractive to audiences in the early
1990s. Traditional TV dramas by comparison, often emphasise traditional values about
womens subordinate place in society; contemporary young audiences did not relate to
this tradition. The attractiveness to the audience of the diverse storylines in trendy
drama was also notable in1990s Taiwanese society. Cais (cited in Zhao, 2000) work
investigated Taiwanese TV dramas broadcast by the three main TV stations between
1960 and 1990. Cai found there to be 203 costume dramas aired during these 30 years
with an average of seven costume dramas during each year in Taiwan. Several
costume dramas had even been reproduced and broadcast continuously for two years.

9
The three terrestrial television channels TTV, CTV and CTS usually broadcast traditional dramas,
which were locally produced, in the early stage of popularity of trendy drama in Taiwan.

110
These dramas did not rate well with most audiences of the time because the content
conveyed in the dramas was not readily associated with contemporary life. As a result,
Cai claims, contemporary social structures and norms shifted and the conventional
attitudes and values also changed. The existing TV dramas merely represented
repetitive, conservative opinions and avoided new and controversial topics. For
example, in these costume dramas, the growth of womens independence was not
portrayed; equal rights did not replace respectful attitudes towards elders and betters;
and moral codes were indeed, contrary to current social reality.
The diverse storylines and topics also enabled trendy drama to satisfy the
different age groups audiences. The age range of the audience has been enlarged to cater
for different groups, and trendy drama accordingly developed various storylines to
attract the various demographics during the succeeding two decades. Ota (2004)
remarks that the faithful followers of Tokyo Love Story (Toukyou Rabu Sutori) were
ageing into 30 and 40 year olds. The original elements of trendy drama which revolved
around the issues of young people aged in their 20s, appeared too childish to these
age groups. Therefore, producers also needed to target a higher age group (p. 82), not
only the 20-year-old generation. By varying the storylines during these 20 years, the
target audiences of trendy dramas were extended to incorporate groups of young people,
professional women, and particularly single, financially independent females (Nakano,
2002; Chen, 2008). In recent times, producers made a number of trendy dramas
revolving around particular issues related to these groups, such as My Name Is Kim Sam
Sun (Nae I-reum-eun Kim Sam-soon) (D-W. Kim & Y-C. Kim, 2005), Around 40
(Chumon no Oi Onna-tachi) (Katsuaki, Mahoko & Yoshida, 2008), My Queen (
) (Fang & Lin, 2009) and The Fierce Wife () (Wang & Xu, 2010).
The new style of scenes and metropolis backgrounds are the elements used to
depict the current trendiness of the expanding genre. The term trendy drama indicates
its type and its relationship to modern lifestyles. Accordingly, love stories in trendy
drama, backdrops of modern cities, famous dating spots and metropolitan landmarks are
necessarily chosen as the settings. To achieve this outcome, trendy dramas are filmed
mostly in urban settings; some dramas are even titled with the name of a city or famous
landmark, such as Tokyo Love Story (Toukyou Rabu Sutori) (Saimon & Nagayama,
1991), Tokyo Cinderella Story (Imoto Yo) (Mizuhashi, Nagayama & Hayashi, 1994) and
Destiny of Love in Tokyo Bay (Tokyo Wankei) (Hara, Murakami & Hirai, 2004).
Moreover, the stories are often designed to take place within a fashionable context, such

111
as characters wearing fashionable clothes, having stylish hairdos and using modern
products. Most materials that appear in the dramas reflect the trend of modern
consumption and current lifestyles (Iwabuchi, 2005). Based on modern settings and the
fashionable context, trendy drama is recognised as having up-to-date cultural messages,
such as food, consumer goods and music which then become popular topics of
conversation among younger viewers.
The photogenic characters play a vital role in the production of trendy drama.
Emphasis in Japanese popular culture was placed on idols; this convention was to
become fundamental to the production of trendy drama in later years. The Japanese TV
industry sought extremely attractive actors, able to play roles of the photogenic main
characters of trendy dramas, which were to appeal to young people. Indeed, the
extremely beautiful characters in trendy drama also signify the perception of western
beauty, because most Japanese trendy dramas were adapted from Japanese girls manga.
Most figures in the manga were delineated as pretty people with particular facial
features, similar to westerners, such as big, deep-set eyes with double-fold eyelids,
which do not represent typical Japanese (Asian) people. In other words, the facial
features that represent Asian beauty in the dramas were, in essence, based on the norms
of western beauty. However, these facial features have now become the norms of
beautiful actors who are cast in trendy dramas. This convention, highlighting beautiful
actors in TV productions affected the subsequent productions of Korean and Taiwanese
trendy drama. In particular, the Taiwanese TV industry placed emphasis on beautiful
actors and promoted them as idols; this genre was then re-labeled idol drama in
Taiwan.
The element of high production values in trendy drama is important for
differentiating the genre from other types of good quality drama. Among the specific
elements of trendy drama, the new style comprising attractive scenes, a metropolis and
photogenic characters concerns material and physical objects. They can be variously
represented in high production values through diverse camera strategies, high-profile
theme songs and exquisite costuming. In particular, diverse camera strategies are
considered a key innovation in producing TV dramas (Chen, 2010). For example, close-
up shots are used frequently in trendy drama to provide a closer view depicting details
of actors and actress facial features and ensuring their beauty appears photogenic. In
addition, scenes in trendy drama are usually designed so that drawing on various camera
angles and camera movements reinforce a metropolitan atmosphere of a city. Based on

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high production values, trendiness of the genre is conveyed through good quality thus
enabling the program to become an advanced model of TV drama production (Lee,
cited in Hu, 2008, p. 115); these become specific strategies of TV production, urging
innovative procedures.
On the basis of the specific elements discussed above, Tokyo Love Story
(Toukyou Rabu Sutori) can be deemed the most typical trendy drama. It is a mini-series
of 11 episodes, each lasting an hour. The drama follows a young couples love story
from when they were 20 years old; the story occurs in the metropolis, Tokyo. The main
characters portrayed in the drama have a profession and individual personalities.
Nakano (2002) indicates that these specific elements enabled Tokyo Love Story
(Toukyou Rabu Sutori) to be distinguished from conventional TV dramas and to become
highly popular in both Taiwan and Hong Kong. The specific new elements also led to a
public agreement on the high quality of Japanese trendy drama when it was aired on
Star TV in 1992.
To sum up, the mini-series format, the theme of love, the diverse storylines and
the new style of scenes, photogenic characters and high production values, taken
together, serve to construct trendy drama as a unique entity. Based on these specific
elements, trendy drama came to be recognised as a new genre in Japan and then in Asia.
Specifically, for including the new elements, the TV industry needed to invest time and
money to enable trendy drama to appear expensive valuable. For example, a soap drama
is shot quickly but high production values take time. This means that the TV industry
has the symbolic power to invest time and money to establish trendy drama as the
specific genre. In this sense, trendy drama may be thought of as a symbolic form, able
to be used by the media industry to gain media power in the region. In this regard, how
trendy drama has been legitimised as the representative TV genre in the East Asian
region will be discussed in the following section.
Legitimising the Genre in the Region
The recent popularity of TV dramas made in Japan, South Korea and Taiwan
has given rise to the term trendy drama, which uses the concept of trendiness to
include all similar dramatic programs broadcast mainly in the Asian area. Among the
three main countries producing trendy dramas, Japan was the first nation-state to
produce this genre. When Japanese trendy drama was first broadcast widely in the
region, the term Japanese trendy drama seemed to specify the genre as a cultural realm,

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as well as referring to a nationality. The term functioned similarly to the word
Hollywood, which acts as an indication of the power of American filmmaking
industries, both culturally and nationally. Likewise, Japanese trendy drama indicates the
strength of Japanese studio industries and Japanese cultural background. Therefore,
Japan became the leading place for trendiness and popular culture, and was able to
compete with the U.S in the Asian market. Furthermore, trendy drama was to become a
formal genre through which East Asian TV industries developed their own local
productions. As a whole, trendy drama may be thought of as a signifier of the power of
East Asian TV industries and of the integration of East Asian TV productions and
popular culture presently dominant.
The purpose of this section is to discuss the process of trendy drama becoming
legitimised as a formal TV genre, and now being acknowledged as the dominant genre
among all TV programs in Asia. In order to explore this duality, genre needs to be
defined, and its meaning needs to be considered based on the Asian context. Therefore,
the first part of this section provides the definition of genre, drawing on TV genre
theory. This will add to an understanding of how a TV genre functions in a society.
Following this, the section will move on to discuss how trendy drama became
legitimised in Asia, taking the situation in Taiwan as an example.
Definition of genre
Genre literally refers to type or kind, its function being to categorise similar
styles of media products as groups within the media form. For example, genre was first
used when labeling Hollywood movies to indicate the scale of film production in the
beginning (B. Casey, N. Casey, Calvert, French, & Lewis, 2002). Later, the label was
applied to the categorisation of TV programs based on their content and styles in the TV
market. In the media form of television, genre may be deemed to be part of TV products
per se, which provides an indication of program choice within the medias unilateral
definition for the TV market. Mittell (2004) contends that genres are cultural products,
constituted by media practices and subject to ongoing change and redefinition (p. 1),
and that industries use genres to produce programs, to define brands and identities, and
to target audiences (p. xi). In brief, this means that establishing a genre is a means
for a TV industry to form a specific group among the mass audiences, and to lead a
popular trend in taste. Audience groups, reception habits and viewing habits are thus
guided, but they are also confined. Based on this interpretation, TV industries seem to

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have the power to manage genres, so that they become a general convention for TV
markets, directing the audiences activity to their particular programs.
In order to establish a genre, content and style of TV productions are usually
specified. According to Neale (cited in Chan, Karpovich & Zhang, 2011), genres:
offer a way of working out the significance of what is happening on the
screen: why particular events and actions are taking place, why the
characters are dressed the way they are, why they look, speak and behave
they [sic] way they do (p. 2).
Based on content and style, genres act as a mode through which audiences can
search for specific cultural messages portrayed within their expectations of the genre.
For this, the elements that compose a specific style of a genre appear to be essential.
Lacey (cited in Neale, 2001) proposes that the key principles of establishing a genre are
the repertoire of elements, encompassing a standard setting, a standard set of
characters, a narrative, an iconography and a style (p. 3). For example, trendy
drama was considered to be a new genre based on its distinctive style. The style, is
congruent with the elements already discussed, enabling trendy drama to be recognised,
because it includes a metropolis (a standard setting), photogenic characters (a standard
set of characters), the theme of love stories (a narrative), exquisite filming form (an
iconography) and fashionable costumes (a style). Laceys proposal, the repertoire of
elements for a genre, adds to the idea that trendy drama can be considered a genre that
formally and distinctively exists among TV programs in Asia.
In defining genres, audiences are also considered to be a vital role in
contributing to the definition of a new genre in addition to that of the media industry.
Turner (2001) contends that many television genres are subject to market pressures
that influence the shape of their texts (p. 5). Turner further claims that genre is the
product of a text- and audience-based negotiation activated by the viewers
expectations (p. 7). Put another way, the composition of a genre also involves the
audiences desires and expectations. More specifically, the assumed audiences for a
genre participate in its composition by understanding, recognising and being involved in
its text. Therefore, the presence of a genre is generated from the interaction between the
TV industry and the audience, as well as being acknowledged by both of them.
Regarding genre definition, Japanese trendy drama seems to be a specific TV
genre that the Japanese TV industry developed strategically to produce something
different from traditional TV genres. In particular, trendy drama emerged based on a

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particular context in which the drama was produced during the late 1980s specifically
for a middle-class audience aged 20 30 years. In addition, trendy drama possesses the
repertoire of elements to establish a new genre, as exemplified above. Moreover, the
drama was defined and identified as a new, stylish and contemporary TV product, in
view of its specific elements. Accordingly, trendy drama became recognisable among,
and distinctive from other conventional genres. In such a way, trendy drama was
developed as a formal genre in Japanese society.
Trendy drama did not merely function as a formal genre in Japanese society; it
subsequently became the representative genre in the East Asian TV market. The
popularity of trendy drama stimulated adaptations within East Asia; local productions
revived and became eligible to enter the larger-scale market. In such circumstances,
trendy drama is not only a new genre in the region but also developed into a particular
genre with high prestige, thereby initiating the integration of TV productions and
popular culture in Asia. Next, the manner in which trendy drama became legitimised
and developed to be a regional genre in Asia will be discussed.
To be a regional genre
The process of trendy drama becoming legitimised as a new genre involves two
stages. One is adaptation and the other is media power. Indeed, adaptation could be
included in the scope of media power, because it implies the capability of Japanese TV
production which as driven adaptations. The adaptation of trendy drama has been
discussed previously; therefore, this sub-section focuses on media power, and examines
how East Asian TV industries wielded social resources in order to legitimise the genre.
For this, I continue to apply the genre theories proposed primarily by Turner (2001) and
Mittell (2004). Their theories help to unmask the function of genre, which can be
associated with the main argument of this chapter that treats trendy drama as the
symbolic form for East Asian TV industries symbolic power. In the following
discussion, other media forms are assumed to contribute to the prestige of trendy drama;
this viewpoint will be discussed by exemplifying Taiwan.
In the process of legitimising a genre, TV industries seem to be dominant in
organising the particular information related to peoples social experience and showing
it on the screen. Audiences attitudes toward social reality could therefore be influenced
by this form of media. This is linked to Althussers (cited in Altman, 1999) insights that
the genre is manipulated by TV industries, which act by luring audiences into
accepting deceptive non-solution[s] (p. 27) that are constructed in a story and cannot

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be related to everyday problems. In such a way, genres become a particular role and
importance, for it is through generic conventions that audiences are lured into false
assumptions of societal unity and future happiness (p. 27). In brief, this false
assumption is generated by the media function of framing social experiences on the
screen through a genre. Therefore, rather than society per se, it is reality as constructed
in the minds of media audience that makes the genre legitimate.
Initially, trendy drama was highlighted as being a new genre that portrayed
modern lifestyles and the appearance of contemporary Japanese society. The portrayal
successfully appealed to Japanese audiences, and was conceived as being a reflection of
their modern society. According to Ota (2004), many young Japanese people yearned to
find a professional job in Tokyo and to live the urban lifestyles described in the
Japanese trendy drama. In other words, the portrayal of city life in Japanese trendy
drama lured audiences into the social reality it represented, and through which the
audiences associated trendiness, happiness and dreams in the drama to real social
experiences. Furthermore, with the popularity of the genre in other parts of Asia, the
audiences in these countries could also imagine what modern Asian society looked like
and how people behaved in a modern city.
The genre established to lure audience desires and expectations also provokes
the audiences participation in legitimising the genre. Mittell (2004) states genres help
audiences organise fan practices guide personal preferences, and frame everyday
conversations and viewing practices (p. xi). That is, audience practices in recognising,
repeating and discussing what a genre represents actually enhance the legitimisation of
the genre. This viewpoint can be linked to Couldrys (2000) contention that media
authority is reproduced through the details of what audience[s] do and say (p. 4).
Therefore, in addition to the media industry, the members of the audiences themselves
help to legitimise the genre.
For example, the heroines dialogue in the final episode of The Fierce Wife (
) (Wang & Xu, 2011) provoked a public discussion on what kinds of attitudes a
modern Taiwanese woman should hold towards her marriage (see Chapter One).
Through the discussion, the audience members became involved in reproducing the
ideas conveyed in this new genre. This is the medias function: framing contemporary
fashionable ideas for ordinary people. Moreover, the popularity of the ideas portrayed in
the drama helps circulate cultural meanings within a culturally-proximate area, and
encourage the genre to be legitimised in the context of a broader Asian society. The

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story line of The Fierce Wife () also appealed to audiences in other countries
in Asia, the overseas countries reproducing drama and therefore reinforcing the
popularity of the genre. In this situation, certain cultural meanings inherent in the drama
were able to be conveyed to the rest of the region.
Although the TV industry has the power to develop a genre and encourage
audience participation, the genre may also be significant in society through a third
party the other media forms. Mittell (2004) opines that the television industry
contributes to the creation and maintenance of genre definitions through other practices
such as genre-specific channels target marketing and alliances with other
industries (p. xiv). In particular, this is an era of multiple media, so the development of
the TV genre could be reinforced by being re-defined by these other forms of media.
Couldry (2000) reinforces the same point contending that all media, including press,
radio and magazines, could contribute to the process of legitimising a TV genre
simultaneously. The meanings of a genre could be reproduced by many media sources
acting together (p. 43). Based on this viewpoint, the following discussion highlights
the importance of the third party, focusing on how other media forms help in
legitimising a TV genre. The discussion will focus on Taiwan as an example.
The third party in this instance refers to other media forms which provide
secondary information by transferring the main sources related to and in a TV genre.
Referring to this type of information, Lukow and Ricci (cited in Neale, 2000) propose
an inter-textual relay (p. 39) which can be represented in various media forms, such
as critiques, reviews and reports on details of a TV genre. Inter-textual relay conveys
the TV industrys messages and audience opinions simultaneously; it plays a crucial
role in generating expectations and providing labels and names for genres (Neale,
2000, p. 1). Accordingly, a TV genre experiences re-definition through the inter-textual
relay. In particular, the wide range of technological platforms in the present age
provides various channels as media forms for developing a new TV genre.
In Taiwan, the inter-textual relay of trendy drama appears to be concerned with
criticism at the time when Japanese trendy dramas were formally introduced into the TV
market. It primarily showcased conventional print media, such as newspapers and
magazines. For instance, in 1996, Wang began her own special column, which
discussed trendy drama in the China Times using her Japanese pseudonym, Hei-Niao-
Li-Zi (Zhao, 2000). The issues discussed by Wang revolve around Japanese trendy
drama topics: Tokyo Love Story is the most appealing Japanese trendy drama; Who is

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the toughest heroine in Japanese trendy drama?; Can we organise a trendy drama
group traveling to Japan? and Why the hero in Japanese trendy drama does not smile.
Wang expatiated on the most attractive storylines, actors performances, depiction of
women, theme songs and beautiful landscapes in Japanese trendy drama (Zhao, 2000).
Wangs criticism seemed to be copious in quantity; it was then collected to be published
as books, such as the famous Hei-Niao-Li-Zi White Book (1997). The attitudes
expressed by Wang in the late 1990s could be thought of as being the main platform for
other forms of media that provided information for Taiwanese audiences who enjoyed
watching Japanese trendy drama and who attempted to learn more about the genre.
Nowadays, the inter-textual relay of trendy drama appears mostly in new media.
The variety of new forms of media provides numerous personal and public forums for
users in comparison with the conventional print media. The criticism of trendy drama
can therefore be represented on fan and official websites and personalised blogs such
asblog.ttv.com.tw and blog.udn.com. Both of these sites offer space for criticism of
trend dramas especially. In particular, websites and forums enable users to put forth
their attitudes towards the programs immediately, such as on-line fans clubs, the
comment space of YouTube, the official website of the trendy drama program and the
individual blogs of fans. The rise in new media has occurred concurrently with the
heyday of trendy drama in Taiwan; accordingly, trendy drama has been categorised as a
new and separate item on popular search websites, in order to distinguish it from other
TV genres. It thus becomes a fashioned brand of TV productions and cultural products
to attract public attention. For example, on the front page of the Chinese Yahoo News
website, the various new items are usually grouped into politics, business, sports,
science, health and entertainment. When Japanese and Korean trendy dramas were
popular in Taiwan, there was a distinctive section called Japanese and Korean trendy
drama under the category, Entertainment News, providing information related to
trendy drama such as events and idols (Japanese and Korean News, n.d.). Now,
entertainment news has developed a sub-category, TV drama, of which news is mostly
involved about the content of trendy drama.
In summary, all three components, the TV industry, the audience and the inter-
textual relay, can be thought of as major players in developing trendy drama as a new
genre. Strictly speaking, the TV industry has the greatest power to manipulate the genre;
but the audience and the inter-textual relay act as agents reproducing the industrys
power. This opinion concurs with Couldry (2000) when he argues in terms of media

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institutions possessing the ability to centralise social resources to distribute their
symbolic power as the complex outcome of practices at every level of social
interaction (p. 4). Therefore, the audiences and inter-textual relay reinforce media
power through what they do and talk about in relation to the genre. Consequently, the
genre became legitimised.
Furthermore, trendy drama seems to function beyond a simple TV program
category. It can also be a particular path through which the audience members can
discover preferred cultural messages. This is the reason why Mittell (2004) deems TV
genres to be cultural categories (p. 1), arguing:
genres can be seen as key ways that our media experiences are classified
and organized into categories that have specific links to particular concepts
like cultural values, assumed audience, and social function. (p. xii)
Indeed, Mittells perspective of considering TV genres as cultural categories is
in accord with Couldrys (2000) attitude towards the medias function of framing.
Therefore, it can be understood that trendy drama, as a specific genre, acts as a
symbolic form that conveys certain cultural meanings to address an audience formed
across the whole social range (p. 42). Based on its specific function, trendy drama
appears to be the representative genre integrating TV productions and enhancing certain
cultural meanings so that they become part of popular culture in Asia.
Based on the notion of trendy drama acting as a symbolic form, I will examine
what has been conveyed in trendy drama which can be connected to certain cultural
meanings, the aim being to demonstrate how the East Asian TV industries wield
symbolic power to produce Asian cultural imagination through the genre.
Departure from Traditional Dramas
The specific additional elements used in TV production enable trendy drama to
appear different from traditional drama. Indeed, to be distinguished from traditional
drama, trendy drama also needs to show at least one new cultural value. Therefore,
new cultural values are usually conveyed as contemporary fashionable ideas in trendy
drama. In this section, I propose three key contemporary fashionable ideas that were
found to be initiated in Japanese trendy drama and then repeated in Korean and
Taiwanese adaptations of the genre. They are:
new attitudes towards love relationships;

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a rise in womens self-conviction; and
a rise in individualism.
These three ideas have been portrayed in trendy drama, addressed in different
ways and specifically referring to new cultural values in the Asian context. They make
the storylines of the genre seem diverse, and they enhance the idea of trendiness in the
genre.
New attitudes towards love
As indicated in the previous section, the theme of love is one specific element of
trendy drama. Most love stories in trendy drama are depicted as being based in urban
settings, to signify that the love stories are occurring in a contemporary context.
Therefore, love stories in trendy drama are also highlighted as reflecting new attitudes
about romantic love in modern society. This also differentiates the genre from
traditional dramas. The producer of Tokyo Love Story (Toukyou Rabu Sutori), Ota (cited
in Tang, 2000) indicates that:
Love stories have been a trump card for Fuji TV. I have been thinking what
so-called a trendy sense of time is. It doesnt mean to take daily news
events as elements in dramas, but rather, to capture the feeling of trendiness
in dramas even in romances. (p. 7, translated by the researcher)
The feeling of trendiness according to Ota can be related to new attitudes
towards love. The most specific new attitude to love is the triangular relationship, which
involves four people. Compared to traditional dramas, this is a new representation of
romantic relationships. This idea can be termed a double triangular relationship
because a love triangle usually develops another triangular relationship from one of the
three people. The term signifies a complex, romantic relationship among four people,
rather than the two, or sometimes three people in a traditional drama. It is portrayed in
trendy drama to show that contemporary people have changed the way they think about
love so that need not be as many restrictions on what a relationship is at present. In
other words, people are now more open concerning who is in a relationship and how
that relationship is managed. Therefore, this would be a new attitude, and a new way of
accepting what love and a relationship can be.
Japanese trendy drama was the first genre to convey this new attitude in the
stories of the 1980s. Popular dramas in the beginning of the genre production, such as
Long Vacation (Rongu Bakeishon) (Kameyama & Nagayama, 1996) and Tokyo Love
Story (Toukyou Rabu Sutori) (Saimon & Nagayama, 1991), depict the love stories of

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the double-triangular relationship as occurring in Tokyo. For example, in Tokyo Love
Story (Toukyou Rabu Sutori), the female character, Satomi, and the two male characters,
Kanji and Mikami, grew up together in a small town. As background of the story, it is
revealed that these three major players have developed a triangular relationship dating
from their younger days. Both Kanji and Mikami love Satomi but she gives more
emotional response to Mikami. However, the relationship among them becomes
interwoven when they come to Tokyo and work in the city. The other main female
character, Rika, a colleague of Kanji, has crush on him and the situation enhances the
complexity of the love triangle between Kanji, Satomi and Mikami. The four main
characters in the drama, Kanji, Rika, Satomi and Mikami, become involved in a double-
triangular relationship. The following is a brief summary, which illustrates the kind of
the relationship in Tokyo Love Story (Toukyou Rabu Sutori) (Tokyo Love Story, n.d.):
Snagging a new job at Heart Sports sales department, Kanji transfers to the
Tokyo office, where he meets his new colleague Rika and is reunited with
his best friends from home, Satomi and Mikami. After seeing Mikami
forcedly kissing Satomi, Kanji felt despair; however, then he quickly
developed a strong affection for Rika who was always energetic, funny,
encouraging and caring. Their relationship was rather unstable to begin with,
given Kanjis history with Satomi as well as Rikas secret affair with her
and Kanjis boss Sendo. This affair was much more of a determinant in the
original manga than in the drama, when Rika became pregnant bearing
Sendos child (not shown in the drama version). This was one of the reasons
why Kanji chose Satomi over Rika. In the meantime, denied by Satomi who
thought Mikami was just playing with her, Mikamis attempts on pursuing
his medical school classmate Nagasaki had also been frustrating. (Synopsis)
Compared to trendy dramas portrayal of love, the love triangle among three
people of traditional drama seems to be too simple to depict the complexity of love
relationships occurring in modern society. The double-triangular relationships in Tokyo
Love Story express how people who live and work in a city get involved in love affairs
within their intricate social networks. The depiction of the double-triangular
relationships was deemed to be very close to contemporary situations, and has therefore
been characterised as a new attitude toward love relationships being dramatised in
trendy drama. The adaptation of the genre, an analysis of the Taiwanese idol drama, My
Queen () (Fang & Lin, 2009), retains this new attitude, the representation of a
double-triangular relationship in trendy drama. It will be examined in Chapter 6.
A further specific idea reflecting new attitudes toward love is womens sexual
liberation. In particular, sexual liberation as expressed in trendy drama is a new way of
considering sex for Asian women. Moreover, womens sexual liberation is not merely

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represented as distinct from traditional drama; it also signifies a different expression of
love from that of westerners because, sometimes in the dialogue spoken by the heroine,
sex liberation highlights female authority over their bodies in a relationship.
For instance, in Tokyo Love Story (Toukyou Rabu Sutori), when Rika is in a
relationship with Kanji, she often says to him: Kanji, lets have sex (Iwabuchi, 2005,
para. 22). This dialogue implies Rikas character to portray that of a modern woman;
she has a new attitude towards love. Moreover, in the drama, Rika is single but she
develops love affairs with Kanji and her boss simultaneously. Her attitude of sexual
liberation dismisses the idea of fidelity of women (Iwabuchi, 2005, para. 23) in
traditional dramas. Similarly, a female character in Long Vacation (Rongu Bakeishon)
often expresses womens sexual liberation. Momoko is the best friend of the heroine,
Minami, but in Episode 1, when Momoko visits Minami, she sees Minamis new male
housemate, showing an interest in him. Minami notices this and admonishes Momoko:
You had better stay clear of this man; he is not the kind of realistic lover (Long
Vacation, 1996; Episode 1, 00:31:22; translated by the researcher). Afterwards,
Momoko responds to Minami, saying that:
It is for sure, but to be a husband is another consideration because you never
know how many men you will sleep with from birth to death Anyway,
when I meet a good man, I will think about having sex with him first (Long
Vacation, 1996; Episode 1, 00:33:08; translated by the researcher).
Momokos words reveal the new way an Asian woman considers sex, which
accord with Rikas attitude to love. Both characters are eager to have sexual authority
and not to be limited in sexual exploits.
The idea of womens sexual liberation in trendy drama is merely an oral
expression of the new attitudes to love relationship. It does not need to be represented in
actual scenes of sex, because the spirit of love conveyed in trendy drama is more related
to a pure one rather than sexual desire. Therefore, womens sexual liberation is mostly
registered through female characters dialogue. Sometimes, the dialogue is expressed as
slogans to emphasise the freedom that exists internally as a desire of Asian women. The
literal expression, rather than the actual depiction in the scene, signifies the conflicting
inner self of modern Asian women. In the recent Taiwanese idol drama My Queen (
), the heroine, Wu-Shuang tells her friend that she wants to sleep with a man on
her 33-year-old birthday. When she accidently meets the hero, Lucas, and takes him
home to sleep with him for one night, ultimately she does not allow herself to make it

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happen. The depiction shows Wu-Shuang, as a modern Taiwanese woman, desires
sexual authority; however, her inner-self is still restricted by the conservative
perspective of womens sexual liberation in her society. Therefore, the idea of sexual
liberation for Asian modern women conveyed in trendy drama is metaphoric rather than
practical.
In the discussion above, new attitudes to love relationships depicted in trendy
drama operate alongside the complicated social relations of modern Asian society. In
particular, new attitudes are deemed to be in connection with a rise in womens self-
conviction. Tang (2000) demonstrates the new representation of relationships in trendy
drama as showing that the contemporary Asian women expect more than living a
monogamous life; they are not content with a one-to-one relationship. For these reasons,
the depiction of love in traditional dramas, which are often concerned with one-to-one
or simple triangle of love relationship, has gradually become unattractive to modern
Asian women. Accordingly, the task of the Japanese TV industry, as Yamada (cited in
Tang, 2000) suggests, is to make the womens dreams come true in the dramas through
the depiction of new attitudes towards love. Therefore, the new attitudes towards love
have established a new representation of inter-twined human relationships in this new
genre.
In addition, the happy ending of love stories in trendy drama might not be a
marriage, but only the beginning point of a couple. The hero may decide to pursue the
heroines dream or be willing to wait for the heroines return after pursuing her dream.
Therefore, the new depiction of love stories in trendy drama can be connected to a rise
in womens self-conviction. In other words, the new attitudes towards love and the rise
of womens self-conviction both influence the representation of trendy drama. Next, I
will discuss how trendy drama conveys a rise in womens self-conviction as a new idea
in its production.
A rise in womens self-conviction
In trendy drama, the role of women is emphasised equally with that of man,
while in traditional drama, this is reversed. In traditional drama, contemporary
fashionable ideas, such as the growth of modern womens independence, are not
represented. Niu (cited in Zhao, 2000) reveals there are usually more descriptions of
male figures than female in traditional dramas, including occupation and attitudes, while
womens opinions are less portrayed. This shows that the depictions in traditional
drama cannot be associated with social change and contemporary phenomenon. In

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contrast, the image of modern women is usually heightened and given new status in
trendy drama, being portrayed as having self-conviction.
Based on the idea of womens self-conviction, women depicted in trendy drama
are usually independent and invest much effort in seeking their life goals. They deem
their dreams to be priorities in life, rather than marriage, which is usually emphasised as
womens desire or the happy ending of the relationship in traditional drama. An
emphasis on womens self-conviction in TV dramas was initiated in the Japanese trendy
drama, which also depicted a different style of love stories. One Japanese TV producer,
Kitagawa Eriko, attempted to shift the image of women from one of weakness to one of
strength in trendy dramas (Tang, 2000). Her emphasis on the new image of Japanese
women is evident in her works, Say You Love Me (1995, TBS), Long Vacation (Rongu
Bakeishon) (1996, Fuji) and Last Love (Rasutorabu) (1997, TBS). Tang (2000)
indicates that she continuously conveyed the idea of womens independence in dramas
in order to down-play the traditional image of Japanese women relying on men in
Japanese society.
In Long Vacation (Rongu Bakeishon), the heroine, Minami is an independent
and uninhibited 31-year-old woman. She was a fashion model, but then worked
infrequently as a leisure-time model. In the story, Minami previously had a fianc, but
he stole all her money and eloped with a younger girl on their wedding day. Afterwards,
Minami meets Sena, who is very supportive, and then develops a new relationship with
him. However, she finally leaves Sena because she does not want to continue being
protected by him; Minami does not want to develop a relationship based on an unequal
status and be too dependent on Sena financially. Tang (2000) maintains that the
producer, Eriko, attempted to portray womens strength in Long Vacation (Rongu
Bakeishon) because the story revolves around the rise of womens self-conviction by
conveying the heroines faith in her own independence.
With its emphasis on womens independence, Last Love (Rasutorabu) also
highlights the rise in womens self-conviction through depiction of the heroines
strength. The heroine, Aki was an orphan, and has been working as a girl on the streets.
She meets a sixth-year medical student, Toru, and falls in love with him. Toru has
played a protective role in Akis life; he attempts to create a radical change in her
present lifestyle. Toru has thought that he can do everything for Aki; however, she
resists his attempts at protection, finally leaving him. As Aki is departing, she asks Toru:
Is it not possible to find happiness on my own? (Tang, 2000, p. 113; translated by the

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researcher). Her words are revealing; she desires to explore her strength and to be
independent. This desire for independence, especially in this circumstance, conveys
womens self-conviction vividly. Through the depiction of the female characters
personalities in these two dramas, the new image of Japanese women is that they are
expected to be more independent financially, spiritually and physically.
The rise of womens self-conviction in Japanese trendy drama influenced other
producers perspectives in the following production of this genre. For instance, Yumiko
Aoyagi emphasises that women should pursue the right to act based on their own will.
Her work, such as Good-bye My Loneliness (1997, TBS), Last Friend (Rasuto Furenzu)
(1997, TBS) and Single Noble (Hitori gurashi) (1996, TBS) portray the sense of
womens independence and capability of being able to stand-alone (Tsai, 2004, p. 49).
Aoyagi (cited in Tang, 2000) claims that love relationships and marriages are not the
primary focus of modern womens lives for they can also pursue self-actualisation in
their lives. Womens self-conviction subsequently became a specific contemporary
fashionable idea that has been adopted in producing trendy dramas. It also influences
the adaptations of the genre which followed, such as Taiwanese idol drama. The rise of
womens self-conviction adopted in Taiwanese idol drama will be investigated in
Chapter 6.
Indeed, the idea of womens self-conviction was developed from a sense of
individualism, which is another contemporary fashionable idea conveyed in trendy
drama. This study has found individualism to be treated as a specific cultural framework
to develop certain cultural meanings in trendy drama. These cultural meanings are
mostly anti-traditional, so that they make trendy drama distinct from traditional drama.
In the following sub-section, I will clarify the definition of individualism, and examine
how the idea has influenced the production of the genre.
A rise in individualism
Individualism is a specific term that originally appeared in western society, and
was used to carry a wide range of cultural meanings in western thought. Lukes (1973)
indicates that individualism is considered an ideological structure which embraces basic
ideas, such as self-direction (p. 52), privacy (p. 59) and self-development (p. 71).
In addition, individualism is used to signify a modern sense that individuals have
assumed consciousness of their autonomy and that every one demands the respect of
all the others (Lukes, 1973, p. ix). Indeed, these ideas can be connected to a rise of
individual self-conviction. For instance, self-direction, the equal to autonomy, means

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that an individual is able to decide the way of thinking and acting simply based on
his/her own will. Privacy emphasises an individuals liberal space for his/her own
choices within a public world (p. 59). Moreover, Lukes concludes self-development
to imply the norms to balance pure egoism (p. 71) and strong communitarianism (p.
71) with different ideas of the self (p. 71). In such a way, an individual is able to see
him/herself as a priority and then connect him/herself to the whole society.
In modern society, the philosophy of individualism has influenced the
relationship between an individual and society. Blance (cited in Lukes, 1973) proposed
that:
The principle of individualism is that which, taking man out of society,
makes him sole judge of what surrounds him and of himself, gives him a
heightened sense of his rights without showing him his duties, abandons
him to his own powers (p. 11)
Blances words show that individualism heightens individuals action based on
their own agency, rather than collective power within the social system. Therefore, as a
social institution within the system, family is undervalued under the framework of
individualism. Tocqeville (cited in Lukes, 1973) reinforces the fact that individualism is
to make a man draw apart with his family and friends (p. 13). Matsumoto, Kudoh and
Takeuchi (1996) also indicate that individualism encourages self-expression and the
pursuit of individual dreams and goals, and highlights person emotions (p. 82). In this
sense, a persons freedom and choices are given priority in life, rather than a moral
obligation to family. At the present time, individualism and the modern ideas related to
it is mostly associated with American attitudes (Matsumoto, et al. 1996; Rego, 2008;
Takano & Osaka, 1999) and is deemed an American philosophy, which is applied to
developing particular lifestyles. This is the reason for American society being generally
considered as an example of a modern world.
In the Japanese tradition, individualism ultimately violates social norms and
moral values because the philosophy that Japanese society has expressed traditionally is
the cultural expression opposite to individualism, that is, collectivism. Collectivism
originated from Confucian values (Gossmann & Kirsch, 2007, p. 5). Confucian values
refer to a specific conceptual framework which was proposed by the Chinese
philosopher, Confucius. His philosophy developed and established a particular logic,
which was then generalised to Confucianism, that is, Confucian values and Confucian
philosophy, becoming one of the basic spiritual perspectives of Asian cultures. Its
principles have been perceived as a code of morals, behaviours and attitudes in life

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(Chang, 2010). In particular, Confucianism emphasises harmony, cooperation and
obedience, which are in accord with the concept of collectivism. Collectivism provides
positive attitudes towards the group and family (Gossmann & Kirsch, 2007; Matsumoto,
et al. 1996). It stresses individual sacrifice and social obligation (p. 83), which
dismisses personal desires to accomplish collective expectations.
In Confucianism, the family is highlighted as being important in Asian and
Chinese cultural values. Lee (cited in Park & Cho, 1995) shows that the family is
thought of as the social functions of education and socialization, guided by moral and
ethical principles in Confucian values (p. 117). The relationships between family
members are emphasised as involving peace, intimacy and respect. In particular,
Confucianism highlights the pecking order among brothers and sisters, and expects
people to obey their parents and elders. The family values of Confucianism have had a
significant influence on Asian countries (East Asian countries in particular), including
Chinese communities, Japan and South Korea.
The traditional values illustrated above have been devalued and replaced by the
so-called modern sense in Japan. Matsumoto et al. (1996) aver that since the 1970s,
individualism has been highlighted in Japanese society, whereas collectivism has been
less stressed. In particular, younger generations have had less collectivist attitudes,
Matsumoto et al. indicating that younger people also valued individual profit greater
than societal profit, regardless of gender (p. 85); as well, they seek a personal lifestyle
over family traditions. These authors propose that more and more young Japanese
people, particularly aged in their 20s, wished to leave a unified family and live by
themselves in 1994. It shows that this social phenomenon was influenced by notions of
individualism which are assumed to be embodied in part in metropolitan lifestyles in
Japan (Takano & Osaka, 1999). Therefore, the group of people who lived in the urban
areas showed their preference for an individual habitation rather than staying with their
parents and other family members.
As discussed, trendy drama was established as a new genre that mainly depicts
modern peoples lifestyles in urban settings. Based in an urban context, characters of
trendy drama usually live singularly in apartments; accordingly, family scenes are
shown less frequently in the drama. Thus, it is rare to see a character, acting as a
member of the family, or to see a setting of a family in the drama. The characters may
still mention their families, but this often happens only in dialogue. The parents or
families rarely appear in person. Tang (2000) points out that, in many Japanese trendy

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dramas, family members are not visible on the screen even though the dialogue is
sometimes about them. Moreover, the interaction and relationships among families are
depicted less. This suggests that trendy drama draws on the concept of individualism to
highlight modern lifestyles in society.
Individualism is also expressed in the exposition of how young people confront
difficulties without family support. Tang (2000) contends that some stories in Japanese
trendy drama represent how young people get hurt, thus becoming more mature,
through their experience of friendship, love relationships and their own consciousness
instead of family encouragement. In addition, Gossmann and Kirsch (2007) state that
Japanese TV dramas usually developed the pattern of struggle, which is modern
individual vs. traditional familial (p. 4); furthermore, Japanese are constructed as
individualist and modern in contrast to family-oriented (p. 4). Even in a few trendy
dramas that depict extramarital affairs, the unfaithful women are usually portrayed as
finding true love based on self-conviction, without much consideration of the family.
Kim (2005) insists that extramarital affairs in trendy dramas were usually described as
romantic stories or unforgettable love, whereas similar stories in traditional dramas
often ended up with woman returning home and getting due punishment scenario (p.
191). This is also a pointer to family values being devalued in Japanese trendy drama.
Korean trendy drama does not seem to represent individualism to the same
degree as Japanese trendy drama, even though it has been adapted from the Japanese
genre. The Korean TV industry employs elements of Japanese trendy drama, such as the
photogenic characters, beautiful landscapes and romances, in its production of trendy
drama; however, the younger characters usually live with their parents, even with their
grandparents. In particular, the love themes in Korean trendy drama are usually
portrayed as tragic love, in which the existence of the family appears specifically
important, for example, when the hero or heroine suffers from illness, the other person
in the relationship usually gets support and comfort from their family.
In some Korean trendy dramas, the family love between parents or grandparents,
and children or grandchildren, is specifically portrayed as the sub-theme. Gossmann and
Kirsch (2007) show that the values of the family are not dismissed in Korean trendy
drama because Confucianism still influences Korean society. Gossmann and Kirsch
exemplify a TV drama, Korean Aunties Are Wonderful, which was aired in Japan in
2002, as portraying the two typical women who represent Japanese and Korean women
respectively. In the drama, the Japanese woman looks for her professional occupation in

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South Korea when she immigrates to the society with her husband. However, her
profession does not help her to find a proper job, because society expects women to be
at home being good housewives. In particular, the phrase she expresses in the final
episode: Korea is a country of Confucianism (cited in Gossmann & Kirsch, 2007, p. 7)
heightens the cultural differences between the two societies. Further, the sentence
spoken by the character that represents Japanese cultural values in the drama,
specifically contrasts the two different cultural values.
By comparison, Taiwanese idol drama, another adaptation of Japanese trendy
drama, seems to convey both of the concepts, individualism and collectivism which are
mainly represented through the prism of a family. In the early stage of the adaptation,
the production of Taiwanese idol drama was based on the materials of Japanese manga.
Accordingly, the Taiwanese idol dramas, as an imitation of Japanese trendy drama,
show more individualism than collectivism. However, the Taiwanese TV industry
began representing local culture in idol dramas based on local scripts; thus, some idol
dramas still emphasise family. Consequently, depending on the styles of production, the
ideas of individualism and collectivism are both conveyed in idol dramas.
The director Yueh-Hsun Tsai produces idol dramas in an attempt at reaching the
Asian TV market. His style of productions tends to be in accord with Japanese trendy
drama by incorporating certain cultural meanings that convey late modernity in the
Asian society. Therefore, the family is not mentioned much in his work. Even in his
early work Friendas (Y-M. Tsai & Y-H. Tsai, 2003), which is a story based on
depictions of traditional Taiwanese society, the family was not emphasised throughout
the episodes of the drama. It describes the struggle of several young people from the
countryside who live in the capital city, Taipei. The main emphasis of the story
portrayed involves issues around friendships and love relationships; family relationship
is mentioned less. Tsais following productions, including The Hospital () (Yu
& Tsai, 2006) and Black & White () (Yu & Tsai, 2009), do not show issues
regarding the family.
The other style of producing idol drama as representing Taiwanese local cultures
is to show parent roles as an example of traditional values, which are still preserved in
the Taiwanese society at present. However, traditional values are usually included as a
contrast to modern sensibility in the dramas. For instance, a setting of a family in the
drama may be used to reinforce Taiwanese younger peoples desire to pursue their goals
despite their parents expectations. In this type of drama, a family sometimes appears to

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reinforce the qualities of personal freedom, privacy and self-development. For example,
in the first Taiwanese idol drama, Meteor Garden () (Chai &Tsai, 2001), the
heros mother dislikes his girlfriend. The heros resistance to his mothers control
highlights his desire for personal freedom. Similarly, in My Queen () (Fang &
Lin, 2009), the intimacy of the mother-daughter relationship is shown through the
interaction between the heroine and her mother; however, some excerpts from the
drama also convey the different values a Taiwanese mother and a modernistic daughter
have about life.
Conclusion
As outlined in the introduction of this chapter, my proposition in this chapter is
that trendy drama, as a new genre, is now acknowledged as the most representative TV
program of modern lifestyles in Asia. In this situation, trendy drama functions as a
symbolic form to enable the East Asian TV industries media power to be distributed
throughout the Asian television market. In order to support the proposition, the key
elements of trendy drama were examined in discussing how this genre became
legitimised in the Asian TV market. In particular, the legitimisation of trendy drama
from aspects of participation of the audience and other media caught my attention. This
supports the claim that East Asian TV industries garner enough symbolic power to
encourage every social level to reinforce the legitimisation of trendy drama.
Section one showed that trendy drama originated as a new genre in Japan in the
late 1980s, with a target audience of young adults from the middle classes in their 20s.
The age group and the social class then became indications of depicting modern
lifestyles and ideas in trendy drama, which are reproduced incorporating particular
cultural meanings through its key elements. In trendy drama, the love stories have been
depicted in metropolitan settings or beautiful landscapes. In addition, the stories mostly
revolved around issues related to younger generations. Moreover, it was essential that
the characters in the drama be photogenic. These specific materials were shown to be
enhanced through high production values, such as diverse camera strategies. The new
elements were representative of trendy drama, enabling it to be distinguished from other,
more traditional, TV dramas by audiences. In such a way, trendy drama has experienced
a process of being legitimised as a new genre in Asian societies.

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Section two provided an illustration of how trendy drama became legitimised as
a new genre. In particular, the Taiwanese society was taken as an example to discuss
how the Taiwanese audiences and other media forms participated in this process. The
purpose of this section was to show that East Asian TV industries wielded social
resources to promote the genre, and to encourage the audience and the other media
forms to recognise it. Consequently, trendy drama became legitimised and could act as
the symbolic form for the TV industries. Now, trendy drama was shown as not merely
a TV program category for TV production, but also as a credible indicator in the TV
market of mainstream popular programs and popular culture in Asia. It is even thought
of as a credible media frame through which the audience can obtain social knowledge
and use it as a form of cultural resource.
Section three provided evidence of how specific, contemporary fashionable
ideas have been circulated in trendy drama. In particular, the adaptations of the genre in
the East Asian countries enabled the ideas to be emphasised across borders within the
region while developing certain cultural meanings. The ideas discussed in this section
were clearly specified as being new, such as the new attitudes towards love, a rise of
womens self-conviction and a rise of individualism. These concepts have been
reproduced and emphasised in different storylines so as to be compatible with the core
values of Japanese, Korean and Taiwanese trendy dramas. Usually these are then related
to modern cultural values which become part of popular culture in Asia.
The findings of each section have been combined to demonstrate the importance
of trendy drama in playing a vital role in disseminating the symbols of Asian and
modern aspects among TV productions. Further, this circulation of trendy drama in
Asia becomes a platform to enable the East Asian TV industries to develop popular
culture compatible with the regional TV market. The outcome, therefore, reinforces the
core of the discussions given in Chapters 2 and 3: that trendy drama is the most
representative regional genre and that its adaptation worked as an engine to drive the
formation of regionalisation in East Asian TV industries.
This chapter concludes the investigation at the macro-level; now the study
moves to another level, a micro-level examination. Chapters 5, 6 and 7 will focus on
detailed analyses of Taiwanese trendy dramas to show evidence of the specific elements
and ideas in this new genre, wherein the Taiwanese TV industrys symbolic power is
located. In particular, the elements reinforce each other to show the medias symbolic
power. For instance, high production values enhance the image of the photogenic

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characters through advanced camera facilities and skills. This demonstrates that the
production with the investment in time and money differentiate trendy drama from other
TV genre. The next chapter will primarily analyse the physical elements, such as the
photogenic characters and a back-grounding metropolis. In addition, it will attempt to
show how trendy drama mediates social reality through the depiction of fiction.

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PART II
ANALYSING TAIWANESE IDOL DRAMAS

This part comprises Chapters 5, 6 and 7, and analyses two Taiwanese idol
dramas (trendy dramas), Black & White () (Yu & Tsai, 2009) and My Queen
(Fang & Lin, 2009), drawing on textual analysis with semiotic analysis. By analysing
the two dramas, this part aim () to demonstrate the specific elements and the
key ideas employed in Japanese trendy drama (see Chapter 4). Chapter 5 focuses on the
specific elements in trendy drama, including photogenic characters, metropolitan
settings and diverse storylines, which are applied in Black & White (). Chapter
6 examines certain ideas that have been conveyed in trendy drama, which are used to
portray a new image of a Taiwanese woman in My Queen (), such as the rise
in womens self-conviction and new attitudes towards love. Chapter 7 discusses the
costume designs applied in My Queen () and shows that ideas about fashion
are utilised to highlight different social classes in the drama. The elements and ideas
investigated in these three chapters taken together demonstrate how trendy drama is a
specific symbolic form, which enables the East Asian TV industries to have symbolic
power. In conclusion, these three chapters are a micro-level investigation in order to
support the macro-level discussions in Chapters 2, 3 and 4.

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Chapter 5
Analysing Black &White (): Highlighting
Asian Idols, Metropolis and Fantasy

Introduction
In Chapter 4, this thesis found that trendy drama based on its specific elements
is recognised as a new genre by the Asian TV industries and their audiences. In
particular, these specific elements such as photogenic characters and metropolitan
settings have been adapted for South Korean and Taiwanese trendy dramas. These
specific elements have been portrayed as having certain cultural meanings within the
Asian TV market. It was also found that East Asian TV industries have the economic
power to centralise most social resources and to use advanced techniques to develop
these elements as symbolic forms, so as to produce this new style of TV genre.
The aim of this chapter is to examine how the Taiwanese TV industry adapted
the new Japanese style of TV production when creating Taiwanese idol drama. The
focus will be on specific elements that are emphasised and in what way the industry
highlights these specific elements. The argument in this chapter is that the Taiwanese
TV industry attempts to achieve success in the Asian TV market based on such specific
elements established in Japanese trendy drama as photogenic characters with norms of
beauty in Asian idols. Hence, the Taiwanese TV industry shows its ability to centralise
symbolic forms and television production techniques to produce a similar genre to
Japanese trendy drama.
The main methodology used in this chapter is textual analysis. I draw on
semiotic analysis in order to examine the specific visual elements depicted in the
Taiwanese idol drama, Black &White () (Yu & Tsai, 2009). In particular, this
analysis is based on formal filmic concepts to examine how these specific elements may
be emphasised through camera strategies. In this way, high production values have been
used in this drama which highlights how different trendy drama is from those in other
traditional genres. The main camera strategies used include focus on the use of shot type,
angle and composition. For instance, close-up shots could highlight the images of

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photogenic characters and reinforce the norms of beauty in Asian idols. In addition,
close-up shots are used to highlight the images of Asian idols by depicting their
emotional expression without relying on dialogue.
Black & White () (Yu & Tsai, 2009), which is taken as the sample of
Taiwanese idol drama employed for conducting this analysis, was produced by the
director Yueh-Hsun Tsai. As mentioned in Chapter 3, the director Tsai was the first
person to produce Taiwanese idol drama, and his productions are usually created for the
Asian TV market. This means that his productions tend to represent certain cultural
meanings that can be recognised by other Asian audiences, in addition to the Taiwanese
audiences. Black & White () is an example demonstrating that director Tsai
has transformed the materials into specific symbols to convey certain cultural meanings
for the Asian TV market. In doing so, he has ensured Taiwanese local productions can
be sold to a larger TV market.
This chapter comprises three sections. In the first section, drawing on the ideas
of Japanese and Korean idols, I discuss how the Taiwanese TV industry stereotypes
Taiwanese idols as Asian iconic faces in trendy drama. In particular, this section
examines how Asian idols possess a new representation of masculinity, conveyed
through the physical features of Japanese, Korean and Taiwanese idols. The section also
examines the kinds of camera strategies used to produce the images of Taiwanese idols
thereby enhancing Asian idols. The second section identifies the settings of the drama
which were portrayed as iconic locations to signify a metropolis in Asia. The specific
camera strategies used in the aspect of settings are explored to examine how the director
enables the settings to be associated with the metropolitan context. The third section
examines how the director has created a fantasy for this drama, showing the diverse
storylines employed to attract a cosmopolitan audience.
Face as an Icon: New Masculinity in Trendy Drama
This section examines a new representation of masculinity in Black & White (
) (Yu & Tsai, 2009) by focusing on two heroes, Pi-Zi and Ying-Xiong. These
two characters are photogenic and are stereotyped as iconic figures of Taiwanese idols.
Essentially, the appearances of Pi-Zi and Ying-Xiong are very similar to the
appearances of Japanese and Korean idols that have specific features in common such
as less-masculine appearance. Their facial characteristics signify the young male and

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are less connected to a more mature traditional mans appearance. In trendy drama, the
photogenic male characters have been re-interpreted and developed into being pretty
and cute, rather than handsome and mature as in traditional drama. Accordingly, the
new norms of beauty in men are established, opening up a new image for Asian popular
idols.
The beauty of the photogenic characters is highlighted through camera strategies
using different filming techniques. For example, close-up shots are often utilised to
depict the facial features of the character, Pi-Zi, in order to reinforce the specific
physical symbols of the established image of popular Asian idols. Based on these
observations, this section aims to examine how the representations of Pi-Zis and Ying-
Xiongs physical appearances subvert the rules of male representation in conventional
dramas.
New masculinity as Asian idols
Basically, photogenic characters in trendy drama usually have a lighter skin
pigmentation than average skin for Asian people. This is because an attractive male face
is considered to possess more feminine characteristics than masculine ones. The
convention stems from the two popular Japanese terms bishonen and kakkoi
(Daring-Wolf, 2003, p. 79), coined by the Japanese TV industry for referring to a
beautiful boy (p. 79). These two terms imply that the new representation of
masculinity has influenced the contemporary perception of beauty in men.
Bishonen refers to the male who looks as pretty as a girl and is baby-faced.
Based on this feature, a bishonens facial appearance usually possesses less masculine
and relatively more feminine qualities. In other words based on this new perception of
beauty, characteristics of being youthful and pretty that are usually expected in a
woman can now be embodied in men. Since this perception was developed into new
norms of beauty for men, the Japanese TV industry, via the entertainment companies,
has been seeking male actors with youthful faces. The biggest entertainment company is
Johnnys Jimusho, which has been the most famous talent agency in Japan having been
established to train male idols (Darling-Wolf, 2003). The company is called Pretty
Men Factory (Schilling, 1997, p. 232) because it selects and trains many young
Japanese males who fit the norms of bishonen to be Asian popular idols.
One archetype of bishonen is Takuya Kimura who was promoted to be a
superstar in Asia when he was in his 20s. Kimura was one member of the popular male

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band, SMAP, formed by Johnnys Jimusho. This production of new norms of beauty for
men was the first stage of promoting a Japanese idol as the primary entertainment
strategy discussed in Chapter 2. Kimuras specific physical features representing new
masculinity include his full, almost feminine lips, shoulder-length hair, smooth skin and
trim, hair-less body (Daring-Wolf, 2003, p. 73). These features highlight his image as
an icon for the advertisement of a lipstick, this being unusual in Japan where women
normally advertised lipstick. Daring-Wolf proposes that the popularity of Kimuras
image reflected the different codes of masculinity (p. 73) for Japanese society.
Therefore, his image could be commonly recognised as a new iconic Japanese male. In
addition, the popularity of Kimuras image of the new masculinity has been constant for
more than 15 years across 14 countries in Asia (Daring-Wolf, 2003; 2004). This
situation is a result of the symbolic power of the Japanese TV industry which initiated
and circulated the symbolic bishonen phenomenon by stereotyping Asian idols within
the Asian region.
The bishonen phenomenon has had firstly, an influence on South Korean
popular culture. A special Korean term, eoljjang, which literally means face king
(Bissell & Chung, 2009, p. 228), describes a person who has an extremely handsome or
pretty face. The authors indicate that the recent emphasis on male appearances in the
South Korean media was generated by the cross-culture adoption (p. 228), which
refers to the Japanese emphasis on idols. Therefore, the popular Korean term, eoljjang,
reflects that the norms of beauty in the Korean society have been influenced by the
media based on the adoption of the Japanese perception of beauty.
A further Japanese popular term, kakkoi, is used to describe similar facial
features to those implied in the word bishonen; however, a kakkoi male usually shows
his personality through particular behaviour. In other words, a kakkoi male has a pretty
face, and often behaves in a particular way such as showing self-confidence. The firstly
image of kakkoi males in Japan subsequently influenced South Korean popular culture
and developed into a specific term in South Korea, momjjang(Bissell & Chung, 2009,
p. 228). Momjjang literally signifies body king in English and indicates a person
with a toned body (p. 228). Basically, kakkoi and momjjang males have youthful looks,
like bishonen males, and show fewer qualities of traditional Asian masculinity; however,
the physical bodies of kakkoi and momjjang males look strong. This type of male then
becomes another depiction in the mainstream of new masculinity in the Asian media.

138

Figure 5.1a The two heroes in Black & White () (Yu & Tsai, 2009), Mark
Chao and Vic Chou.
Source: NetEast, Inc.


Figure 5.1b The two heroes in Black & White (), Mark Chao and Vic Chou
Source: NetEast, Inc.

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The two heroes in Black & White () (Yu & Tsai, 2009), Pi-Zi and
Ying-Xiong, possess the features of bishonen and kakkoi respectively (see Figures 5.1a
&5.1b). Pi-Zi, the main character in Black & White () played by Vic Chou, is
a funky, playful, light-hearted policeman. Usually, Chous face (see Figure 5.2) is
given more emphasis than his body, because he has a baby-ish, pretty face as the
popular Japanese superstar, Kimura (see Chapter 3). Strictly speaking, Chous facial
features are not typical of a Taiwanese male; rather, his facial features are similar to
western norms of beauty: that is, he has lighter and smoother skin, gentle lines, deep-set,
rounded eyes with double-fold eyelids, a high bridged (prominent) nose and full,
shapely lips. With these features, Chous appearance is deemed to be in accord with the
image of bishonenin Japan or eoljjang in South Korea.

Figure 5.2 Vic Chou
Source: NetEast, Inc.
The other hero, Ying-Xiong, played by Mark Chao (see Figure 5.3) has the
character of a cool (stylish), reserved, solemn, self-assured policeman. Similar to Vic
Chou, Mark Chao also has smooth, lighter skin and baby-ish face. However, Chao has
typical Asian single-fold eyelids, which show more the quality of traditional Asian
masculinity than Chou. In particular, Chao often appears to have a toned body. In Black
& White () (Yu & Tsai, 2009), Ying-Xiong is a keen, fast acting policeman
who often displays his martial art skills, this character coinciding with the actors

140
appearance. Therefore, Chaos appearance can be related to the Japanese term kakkoi
or the Korean term momjjang because his image is a baby-ish face with a toned body.
Thus the character Ying-Xiong is representative of the new masculinity of Asia.

Figure 5.3 Mark Chao
Source: NetEast, Inc.
Clearly, the new representation of masculinity of Asian idols was initiated by
the Japanese TV industry, and adapted by the Korean and Taiwanese TV industries. In
particular, by examining the two heroes in Black & White (), it may be seen
that the heroes appearances preferred by Taiwanese TV industry are similar to that of
the Japanese idols facial features. This illustrates the director aim: to promote
Taiwanese idols through the stereotype of Asian idols, based on Japanese norms of
beauty, thence achieving entry into the Asian TV market.
Indeed, the new masculinity represented by Asian male idols signifies western
norms of beauty. This has, as Bissell and Chung (2009) indicate when referring to the
appearance norms of Asian idols, originated from the Americanized beauty (p. 228);
in other words, the perception of beauty in Asian countries is broadly influenced by the

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norms of western beauty. This influence may be found either in Japanese manga or
popular TV drama: the figures are extremely pretty and look like westerners, or persons
of mixed Anglo and Asian race who have deeper contours of the face and lighter skin
than ordinary Asian people. This phenomenon demonstrates that Japan appropriated the
American model to develop its TV production and popular culture. In adopting this
model, the Japanese TV industry also adopted American cultural values, including the
norms of beauty (see Chapters One and 2). This practice has also influenced the
subsequent casting policy of the Taiwanese TV industry which in recent years has
shown the actors parents to be usually couples comprising a Taiwanese and a westerner
(Tsai, 2011).
The iconic figures stereotyped as Asian idols in Black & White () (Yu
& Tsai, 2009) also demonstrate that the Taiwanese TV industry has the symbolic power
to separate the media world and ordinary world with mystique (Couldry, 2000, p.
100). According to Couldry, if the audience becomes fans of stars on TV, these stars
may enhance the mystique for the media world, because they are marked off from the
ordinary (p. 99). Therefore, the imagined contact with (p. 99) the stars could draw
the audience closer emotionally to them. In trendy drama, the imagined contact with the
stars could be embodied through the use of close-up shots. Next, the manner which the
director Tsai employs the close-up shot to highlight the countenance of the character Pi-
Zi is examined. It will show how his beauty is transformed from a symbol into mystique
in Black & White ().
Close-up shots highlight photogenic characters
Close-up shots can be deemed one aspect of technical innovations that
demonstrate high production values and reinforce the images of photogenic characters
in trendy drama. Compared with traditional dramas, in which long or medium shots are
often used, trendy drama can show its distinctiveness through the flexible use of
different shot sizes. The shot sizes used frequently to depict a characters expressions
are close-up and extremely close-up shots. Both of these are employed widely to
highlight actors countenances or actions in trendy drama. According to Stadler and
McWilliam (2009), close-up shots include medium close-up, close up and extreme
close-up, which convey the intimacy between the audience and the subject on the screen.
Through close-up shots, the characters faces and their personas are accentuated and
encoded simultaneously. In particular, the close-up shots can depict a characters
expressions, emotions, and facial characteristics. In this way, the photogenic

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characteristics in trendy drama are highlighted. Moreover, extreme close-up shots can
highlight the actors expression, and then provide the audience with access to the actors
inner feelings.

Figure 5.4 Vic Chou acting as a tramp
Source: Black & White, Episode 11
In Black & White () (Yu & Tsai, 2009), the character, Pi-Zi (acted by
Vic Chou) has two different identities. He was a tramp (see Figure 5.4) in the past, and
his face was changed by plastic surgery before he became a policeman; however, he
does not know who arranged his new job and his later life. In the story, Pi-Zi has
suffered in his past life, and this is finally uncovered by people around him, including
his work partner, Ying-Xiong (played by Mark Chao). Therefore, Pi-Zi sometimes
dwells on his past and appears despondent. His alter ego, the actor, Vic Chou, normally
has a sad expression in his eyes, which is captured mostly by extreme close-up shots in
the drama. In these, the expression in Vic Chous eyes could symbolise what Gallagher
(n.d.) terms the beauty of suffering. In addition, the utilisation of the close-ups on Vic
Chou in Black & White () has at least two functions: the enhancement of both
the mystery of Pi-Zis background; and the contrast between Pi-Zis inner and outer self.
The suffering face of Vic Chou under the close-ups hints at his unknown complexity;
Chous playful persona and the sad expression in his eyes plunges his audience into a
deeper attachment for the character, Pi-Zi. Therefore, Vic Chous iconic face, Pi-Zis
portrayal of mystery, and the close-up shots have centralised to produce a strong image
of an idol, heightening the new masculinity, the new norms of beauty and the mystique

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of the drama. The director used Pi-Zis dual identities to create mystique and convey the
masculine beauty of Vic Chou through close-up shots.
In Episode 11, the scene begins with a shot of Pi-Zis luxurious studio. Pi-Zi is
sleeping on the bed; then, a long shot from a high angle films his whole body before
changing to an extreme close-up depicting Pi-Zis fingers on his right hand. This scene
denotes that Pi-Zi is about to wake. Subsequently, a shot of Pi-Zi from behind his head,
captures Pi-Zi talking in his sleep: Dont arrest me (Black & White, Episode 11,
00:03:54). Then, Pi-Zi gets off the bed and walks haltingly and timidly, like a tramp. He
finds money, a persons information papers with a photo his new identification and
resum for entering the Central Police University and credit and debit cards on a desk.
He thinks he is in someone elses home but when he looks around and walks close to a
display cabinet, he is shocked to see himself in the reflection of the glass doors.
Pi-Zi immediately tries to run helter-skelter, mistakenly colliding with a cheval
mirror. Thinking he has bumped against another person, but actually his own reflection,
he immediately says, Im sorry I didnt mean to steal your money (Black & White,
Episode 11, 00:06:10), covering his face with his arm. At that moment, the scene
freezes for five seconds after which Pi-Zi finally carelessly discovers the figure in the
mirror is himself (see Figure 5.5). He approaches the mirror very slowly gazing at
himself. Taking a sudden deep breath he begins feeling over his face and head with
hands; he then gasps. He sees a note on the mirror, which says: do not scratch your face
for a month. At the close of this segment, Pi-Zi still thinks he is a tramp, and grabs all
the valuables, putting them into a large black rubbish bag.

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Figure 5.5 The footage of Vic Chous close-ups
Source: Black & White, Episode 11
This segment, when Pi-Zi hits the mirror, is the most intriguing part. The camera
constantly focuses on Pi-Zis facial expression in the footage of close-up shots to show
his pretty face and to signify his new identity. The director shifts the shot from long
shots to close-ups skillfully, so as to signify the interaction between Pi-Zis unfamiliar
environment and himself. Pi-Zis fear of his environment is especially highlighted in the
close-ups which focus on the expression in his eyes. The close-ups reflect Pi-Zis inner
intensity of emotion: in particular, his doubt, shock, fear and agony, and his feeling of
being overwhelmed. His strong emotional expression also hints at his uncovered past,

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and his face, captured by the close-ups, enhances his emotion and acts as another
signifier connoting intimidation, identification, and impact (Stadler &
McWilliam, 2009, p. 35). These close-ups serve to draw the audiences intimately into
Pi-Zis feelings; moreover, this scene lasts about 9 minutes Pi-Z is peaking just two
sentences, totaling only 5 seconds. Thus, the close-ups function more dramatically than
the dialogue. This lack of dialogue can be considered a characteristic of the silent
movies era: an actors facial expression conveys the most dramatic effect (Chuang,
2005).
The specific scenes discussed above show that the footage of the close-up shots
highlights Vic Chous beauty. This works because, as Gallagher (n.d.) contends an
icons close-up is privileged at the expense of the narrative rhythm and importance
of the all shots which gives the icon an added, supra-narrative importance (para. 5).
Use of close-up shots constitutes the most significant distinction between trendy and
traditional TV drama. Traditional TV drama often uses long and medium long shots to
narrate a story, and uses close-ups only to highlight the relationships between characters.
Elam (1980) proposes that in traditional dramatic performance, the actors body
acquires its mimetic and representational powers by becoming something other than
itself, more and less than individual (p. 9). However, the frequent use of close-ups in
trendy drama aims to stress an actors individual persona. The means of highlighting
actors as idols in trendy drama is in accord with the maintenance of the symbolic
hierarchy (Couldry, 2002, p. 100) between the media and the ordinary world the
boundary (p. 101) separating the two worlds and enabling the idols to represent the
mystique of the media world. Therefore, in trendy drama, an actors individual persona
plays the role of a sign-vehicle (Elam, 1980, p. 9) to stress the actors physical
appearance and his public image, which both appear to represent the media world.
Dramatic illusion, conveyed in close-up shots without much dialogue, also
contributes to the enhancement of mystique in dramas. Chuang (2005) argues that close-
ups offer more information about the characters expression than do dialogue, because
the facial expression can be deemed a monologue. Balazs (cited in Chuang, 2005)
suggests that monologue is equal to facial expressions; it is more intensely emotional,
intimate and direct. For this, Gallagher (n.d.) proposes the example of the character in
Sunset Boulevard (1950), Norma Desmond, who says, we didnt need dialogue; we
had faces (para. 1). Her words register that facial expressions have more significance
than dialogue. Furthermore, Balazsuses a term, inferface (p. 149), to describe an

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actors face in acting without dialogue. The interface refers to the dual faces of the actor,
which include the actors face and the characters face. Each has different levels of
expression.
In Black & White () (Yu & Tsai, 2009), inferface is particularly
represented by the character, Pi-Zi, played by Vic Chou. The face of Vic Chou
represents three different faces: the present (a policeman); the past of Pi-Zi (a tramp);
and Vic Chou himself. Therefore, the face of Pi-Zi conceals three individual
characteristics playful, dispirited, and depressed. His complex level of facial
expression may serve to enhance the mystique of the story, and draw the audiences into
the drama emotionally.
The emphasis thus far has been on the photogenic characters face through the
close-up strategy playing a vital role in the drama because Vic Chous public persona
heightening the mystique of this story. There are three reasons for this occurrence:
firstly, the image of Vic Chou, heightened in the drama, is associated with an Asian idol;
then his image conveyed in the close-ups, provides an imagined contact for the
audiences; and third, his public persona can be considered as a public contact. In this
way, his image becomes a symbol representing the media world for this story.
Furthermore, the multiple usage of camera size, focusing on Vic Chou, demonstrates
how the Taiwanese TV industrys investment of time and money in highlighting the
actor as an idol enables the drama to enter the Asian TV market.
In summary, this section indicates that since Japanese media commenced a new
representation of masculinity in the late 1990s, Asian audiences have been exposed to
images of ideal beauty and attractiveness (Bissell & Chung, 2009, p. 227), which
were based on Japanese norms of appearance. However, contemporary popular idols in
Asia represent Japanese adoption and appropriation of American beauty norms. This
situation implies that the beauty of the Asian icon is valued above American images. In
this sense, the images of Japanese icons which have become Asian idols can be
considered a symbol, which initially signifies the cultural imperialism of the Japanese
TV industry (see Chapter 2). However, this symbol can now be thought of as a cross-
cultural artefact within the Asian TV market. In Black & White (), it is clear
that the director cast Vic Chou and Mark Chao to play the two main characters, in order
to breach the Asian market. In other words, the director has attempted to establish
culturally-exchanged representations in this drama and to encourage cross-border
cultural consumption. For this, Vic Chou becomes the embodiment of the Taiwanese

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idols and their response to the Asian TV market. Thus his beauty and his popularity in
Asia represent the possible exchange of cultures in the wider Asian region.
De-localisation: Metropolitan Settings
In Black & White () (Yu & Tsai, 2009), the idea of the metropolitan
settings was applied to establish the modern context for the story. In particular, the
representative landmarks of a city were filmed using skilful camera strategies, so as to
produce an atmosphere of being metropolitan in the drama. Through specific camera
strategies, the images of the metropolitan settings show de-localisation, which then can
be related to Asian modernity. In other words, the director utilises camera strategies to
highlight familiar landmarks as the metropolitan settings, which can be typified as the
Asian region without being burdened with the image of the specific domestic locations.
The landmarks represented through camera strategies also show that the settings in
trendy drama are usually based on actual locations, whereas the contexts of traditional
drama are often established in studio-based locations.
This section examines how the sense of being metropolitan in trendy drama is
represented through the depiction of the representative landmarks of a city; and through
this depiction, the audience can imagine the diverse and latest lifestyles in a modern city.
In particular, the director manages shot sizes and camera angles to turn the landmarks
into the image of a metropolis, which may be identified by Asian people as an Asian
modern city.
In Black & White (), the setting is established based on the second
biggest city in Taiwan, Kaohsiung, where the city centre has been developed into a
metropolis by the local government in recent years. This section attempts to explore
how the famous landmarks of Kaohsiung are drawn to produce specifically geographic
symbols and generate the metropolitan atmosphere of the drama. By drawing on filmic
formal analysis this aspect will be demonstrated by exploring the camera strategies used,
for example, long shots with diverse camera angles and movements are employed to
signify a metropolitan atmosphere that characterises de-localisation at the same time.
The aim of this section is to show that the representation of being metropolitan
increases the popularity of this Taiwanese idol drama, which then has the potential to
become profitable in the Asian TV market.

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Trendy drama and the city: iconic geography signifies metropolis
Trendy drama and the city have been inseparably linked since the popularity of
the Japanese trendy drama of the 1990s, Tokyo Love Story (Toukyou Rabu Sutori)
(Saimon & Nagayama, 1991). Based on this convention, the drama in turn reflects the
latest fashion of the city, so conveying an atmosphere of trendiness. As a consequence,
when the audiences watch a trendy drama, they also read the city, its fashions and
lifestyles simultaneously. Shiel (2001) proposes that the city is the most important
form of social organization as the relationship between media and the city operates
and is experienced in society as a lived social reality (p. 1). Shiels opinion reinforces
the importance of portraying the city in the drama, which can indicate specific social
meanings for the story. Moreover, according to Ota (2004) and Iwabuchi (2005),
lifestyles based in the city depicted in Japanese trendy drama can represent the
contemporary economic boom in Japan; so, when the audiences watch the drama, they
are involved in the social meaning of the city. Therefore, in order to signify Asian
modernity, the settings of trendy drama were designed to portray the city as being
metropolitan.
Following the convention of Japanese trendy drama, most scenes in Taiwanese
idol dramas are based in the cities. The stories are usually expected to happen in the
multiple and diverse scenes within beautiful city landscapes or popular dating spots,
where younger people prefer to visit, such as a popular street scene, or a landmark.
Based on the specific locations, the drama can convey particular social meanings that
signify contemporary social phenomena. Lefebvre (cited in Stadler & McWilliam, 2009)
defines the specific locations of the scenes as iconic geography (p. 13), which can be
depicted by a landmark or even a single street of a city, and becomes a special kind of
metaphor for the whole city. Lefebvre indicates that when the specific location is
depicted as iconic geography, it virtually transcends its function as the setting and
becomes the subject of the narrative (p. 13). In this sense, iconic geography enables
the specific locations to symbolise the metropolis in trendy drama, in particular when it
is established through specific camera strategies.

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Figure 5.6 The plainclothes policeman walking around KMRT
Source: Black & White; Episode 1
In Black & White () (Yu & Tsai, 2009), certain sites are adopted to be
iconic geography, signifying the metropolis, and drawing on different shot sizes and
camera angles in the course of narrating an event. In the initial scene of the drama
(Episode 1, 00:04:06), a plainclothes policeman attempts to inspect the environment
before starting his assignment. He walks down the stairs into one of the stations of the
Kaohsiung Mass Rapid Transit (KMRT), Formosa Boulevard Station, to investigate the
route that the other two disguised policemen will use later (see Figure 5.6).
Subsequently, a telephoto lens takes the undercover policeman walking in the station
with a low angle to signify the relationship between him and the surrounding
environment (see Figure 5.7). The footage signifies that the policeman is special in the
crowd, and he has a special task. The telephoto lens zooms out slowly to frame the
space where the character is located; the policeman first walks through the public art
space area, the Dome of Light, and then progresses toward the platform.

Figure 5.7 The footage of the policeman walking around KMRT
Source: Black & White; Episode 1


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Figure 5.8 The scene focusing on the Dome of Light
Source: Black & White; Episode 1
During the course of the 38-second footage of the actor moving, the focus
changes from the policeman to the site of Kaohsiung Mass Rapid Transit, the Dome of
Light (see Figure 5.8) drawing the audiences attention to this iconic geography. In
particular, the still camera enlarges the scale of the shot via a creeping zoom, so as to
invoke the audiences curiosity regarding the characters surroundings. This strategy
aims to generate suspense or draw the audience into their emotional experience
(Stadler & McWilliam, 2009, p. 46). In this way, the audience may be invited to
observe the surroundings from the view of the camera. During this tour of inspection
there is some dialogue related to a task that will be executed. Meanwhile, several other
shots are inserted to show police preparations, including disguising, camouflaging and
arming themselves (see Figure 5.9). Consequently, the footage composed of the main
shots of the environment and the inserted shots produce an atmosphere of suspense to
urge the audience to ask: what is happening in this city?

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Figure 5.9 The inserted scenes of the polices preparations for the task
Source: Black & White; Episode 1

Figure 5.10a The Dome of Light
Source:Tourism Bureau, Republic of China (Taiwan).

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Figure 5.10b The Dome of Light
Source: Tourism Bureau, Republic of China (Taiwan).
In the scene, the Dome of Light, a public art space of KMRT, becomes the
iconic geography of the context. The colourful and bright pattern of the design is a
metonymy for all that the city represents (see Figures 5.10a & 5.10b). It purports to
show that the setting is a diverse, alive and modern city. Moreover, the scene showing
the crowd in KMRT is intended to convey settings representative of the advanced but
ordinary, convenient, and busy lifestyle of the modern city. This is, Stadler and
McWilliam (2009) suggest, the relevance of certain iconic places in film because they
signify national and personal identity; such spaces are also socially and culturally
defined (p. 13). The Dome of Light signifies Kaohsiung City as an artistic metropolis.
By highlighting a particular location as an iconic landmark in the drama, the urban
characteristic of local charm represents trendiness which can be relevant to a global
audience.

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Figure 5.11 The footage of the two policemen standing under The Dome of Light
Source: Black & White; Episode 1
To heighten the iconic nature of the image, the Dome of Light, appears again in
the subsequent scene. In the same location, the two other policemen, who are each
disguised respectively as a drug dealer and a bodyguard, wait for the drug transaction
(see Figure 5.11) (Black & White, Episode 1, 00:07:17). A low angle long shot films
these two characters and keeps focusing on them while panning. The round design of
the Dome of Light is scanned using a horizontal low angle pan of the ceiling.
Passengers in the station pass by these two characters, both in front and behind them, so
it appears that the two policemen are surrounded by people and by unknown danger.
When the camera pans slowly to establish a suspicious atmosphere, it gives a wide
survey of the space where the characters are located. Following this, the shot moves to
focus on the iconic geography again with the characters aside (see Figure 5.12). The
scene is followed by an over-the-shoulder shot of the monitors set up by the police (see
Figure 5.13). The chief of the criminal section watches the monitors which film the
different corners of the station, including the place where the two policemen are
standing. This shift of scene implies that the two characters are being controlled and

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their actions are expected to be passive. Meanwhile, the scene of the output from the
monitors displaying the stream of people in the place gives the impression of a busy city.



Figure 5.12 The footage focusing on the Dome of Light and the two policemen
standing aside
Source: Black & White; Episode 1


Figure 5.13 The scene of the chief watching the monitors
Source: Black & White; Episode 1

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At the end of the same scene, the low angle telephoto lens enlarges the image of
the art design and represents the relationship between the surrounding sand the people
in the scene. This signifies that people have frequent access to this iconic geography,
and shows the imagery of a modern metropolis. To sum up, the camera strategies used
in these two scenes aim to enlarge and highlight the Dome of Light. In this case, the
context is more significant than the characters, so the director emphasises the space
rather than the figures.
Long shots with birds eye view initiate metropolitan imagery
Long shots with a birds eye view are also employed to give an overall
impression of the metropolis in Black & White () (Yu & Tsai, 2009). This
strategy attempts to achieve de-localisation by dismissing the limited interpretation of
signs, which connect to certain locations or particular geographic features; instead, the
signs are created to be arbitrary, a term proposed by Fiske and Hartley (1978, p. 39).
In other words, this kind of filming allows for an unlimited explanation of signs, the
birds eye view shot situates the audience as spectators in an elevated position, looking
straight down at the object (Stadler & McWilliam, 2009); the scene is not easily
decoded, due to the audiences lack of personal experience of this particular location.
Therefore, the imagery of an iconic geography can be perceived by the audience as a
cultural symbol; according to Fiske and Hartley, as the signified is determined by our
culture, not by some external nature reality (p. 39). In particular, iconic geography can
signify modern imagery, such as the metropolis, when using aerial shots in which the
object is filmed from a gliding aircraft giving a birds eye view.


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Figure 5.14 The footage of iconic geography, Tuntex Sky Tower
Source: Black & White (); The Prelude of the theme song


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In order to highlight urban imagery in Black & White () (Yu & Tsai,
2009), the director depicts some specific locations as iconic geography, drawing on
aerial shots. This is done by taking some representative landmarks of Kaohsiung City to
compose pictures to be used as a prelude to the theme song. These landmarks include
Love River, Kaohsiung Harbour, Kaohsiung Arena, Fishermans Wharf, Kaohsiungs
major tourist attractions, Xin Jue Jiang, and the Tuntex Sky Tower, which is an 85-floor
building alongside the harbor of Kaohsiung city. In particular, at the beginning of the
scene (00:00:00 00:00:09), there is a shot of Tuntex Sky Tower (00:00:00 00:00:03),
encircled by other smaller buildings (see Figure 5.14); the shot cuts to a close-up
focused shot of the roof, with Kaohsiung Harbour in the background, followed by an
extreme long shot of buildings surrounding the Tuntex Sky Tower. These three aerial
shots shift rapidly over 3 seconds, using different scales. According to Stadler and
McWilliam (2009), aerial shots are usually associated with hallucinations, dreams or
other out-of-body experiences (p. 46). Thus, the intensive footage may stimulate an
inexplicable thrill. In particular, in full sight of Tuntex Sky Tower from the birds eye
view, the audiences attention is positioned to imagine the whole environment where the
building is located.

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Figure 5.15 The footage of specific locations in Kaohsiung City
Source: Black & White (); The Prelude of the theme song
The next scene is composed using other aerial shots of the Kaohsiung Arena,
Fishermans Wharf, Love River, Xin Jue Jiang, Kaohsiung Harbour, and a nightclub
(see Figure 5.15). Meanwhile, a few shots are inserted to represent symbols of policing,
including the police armed force, police cars patrolling and patrol helicopters landing.
Thus, metropolitan imagery is initiated. This nine-second montage of the prelude
gives the genre an immediate impression of being metropolitan. Moreover, there is a
particular scene filmed at the end of the theme song (see Figure 5.16) which reinforces
the idea of being metropolitan; it is a shot of two policemen, who are the main
characters. The tilting of the camera upwards rapidly to the sky and seamlessly

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dissolving into a gliding aerial shot, films the buildings alongside Kaohsiung Harbour,
including Tuntex Sky Tower at night. The daytime and evening shots of Tuntex Sky
Tower are heightened as iconic geography of the metropolis, and also correspond to the
title of this drama, Black & White ().


Figure 5.16 The end pictures of the prelude of the theme song
Source: Black & White (); The Prelude of the theme song
Using this filming strategy, the signifiers include long, extreme long, low-angle,
high-angle and aerial shots to highlight the iconic geography; this denotes metropolitan
context. Moreover, the images of iconic geography connote a modern, trendy, dramatic,
exquisite, varied, mysterious and fascinating urban imagery for this drama. A diversity
of camera strategies is used to indicate the context rather than a place in this case the

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context is the global background of the screen text and de-localisation. In other words,
the specific representation of the city invokes audience imagination about the modern
city, but not about a specific location belonging to a specific nation. Therefore,
audiences from Asian countries other than Taiwan might not relate to the settings of
Kaohsiung City; however, they might associate the settings to a metropolis.
Indeed, the iconic geography that been converted into metropolitan settings,
demonstrates the medias power to promote local tourism in Kaohsiung City. After
Black & White () was broadcast, the iconic locations portrayed in the drama
became tourist sites. Public transportation in the city has even designated specific routes
for visiting the sites as a one-day trip. This situation is what Couldry (2000) explains as
the media function of framing: these locations become ritual places in which the
audience can discover the pleasure of participating in the fiction (p. 70); therefore,
visiting the places is equal to a ritual activity and as a result the symbolic power of the
media is reproduced.
Diversity of Storylines: Fantasy Through Myth
As discussed in Sections 1 and 2, two of the specific elements in trendy drama,
the photogenic characters and metropolis were adopted in Black & White ()
(Yu & Tsai, 2009). In order to do this, these two elements were represented by
transforming the iconic figures and geography to symbols with certain cultural
meanings. The male characters of the drama show the images of Asian idols, while the
iconic locations signify the metropolitan context for the drama. Subsequently, how the
drama Black & White () develops another element of this genre will be
discussed, that is, the diverse storylines and topics as new styles of Taiwanese TV
drama.
Specifically, Black & White ( ) (Yu & Tsai, 2009) belongs to a
subgenre, that of detective drama, dealing with crime and detection. Unlike other trendy
dramas, Black & White () has less romance; however, I found that the
producer and director both attempted to create a fantasy, which in Japanese trendy
drama was emphasised by the Japanese producer, Ota. He (2004) proposes that trendy
drama appeals to audiences because it is close to reality, but still remains imaginative.
Therefore, the audiences may oscillate between reality and fantasy (p. 77) and involve
themselves in the drama. Being a detective drama, fantasy becomes a vital narrative in

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Black & White to focus the audiences attention on suspicious events which seem real in
the society. This section investigates how the director has utilised visual semiotics,
drawing on diverse filming forms, to create the aura of fantasy in Black & White (
).
Fantasy elements produced by visual semiotics
The storyline of Black & White () (Yu & Tsai, 2009) is fictional, yet it
is based on the Lafayette scandal, a factual event which happened in Taiwan in 1992.
The scandal involves a large-scale sale of the six French frigates. The story involves the
Mafia, the Ministry of National Defence, a chief of police and policemen who were
intertwined in a complicated relationship. In the drama, an international criminal
organisation, Sa Ke Ci, is one of the fictional parts of the story. The organisation is
mysterious and removed from the audiences everyday experiences. The role of Sa Ke
Ci is important to the plot because it is the organisation that surreptitiously helps the
Ministry of National Defence to murder persons who have information about that
Ministrys involvement in the procurement of illegal arms. In the course of the police
investigation, the members of Sa Ke Ci appeared mysteriously several times in the
previous episodes of the drama. They murder a group of people who are involved in the
investigation of the scandal, such as a prosecutor; they also rob a bank.
The mystery of Sa Ke Ci is represented by a character, Ma, who reveals this
criminal organisation later in the drama. In the drama, he is stereotyped as a
professional bodyguard who was previously a member of Sa Ke Ci. In the later episode,
Ma pretends to be a street vendor, selling hamburgers near the police station; but he is
indeed hired by the leader of San-Lien Gang as a bodyguard to protect his daughter, Lin.
His task includes monitoring the two policemen, Pi-Zi and Ying-Xiong, because both of
them are very close to Lin. The following excerpts taken from the episodes are used to
examine the fantasy conveyed in the drama. The excerpts are based on English subtitles,
but have been modified to improve the subtitles conveyed in the original Mandarin.
In Episode 12, Ying-Xiong takes on Mas background, the Unknown Soldier
who in the military records of the Ministry of National Defence was dead. In the
episode, the official provides the information, which initiates Mas mystery role in the
drama:
He was a soldier who died on duty in July 2005. He penetrated into North
Korea and the North East part of Chang-Bai Mountain. Losing contact after
two weeks, we assumed that he might have been taken and executed.

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(Black & White, Episode 12, 00: 29:52)
Up until this point, Mas real identity has been a mystery, and was being
investigated by policemen Pi-Zi and Ying-Xiong. Then, Ma decides to tell them the
truth. In Episode 14, Ma invites the two policemen, the forensic officer (Xi-Ying) and
Lin to a location. He attempts an experiment using an explosive to show how a previous
accident was, indeed, caused by a premeditated murder. In doing so, Ma reveals his
identity as a previous member of the Sa Ke Ci group. As a member he was trained as a
highly intelligent killer able to make explosives with ease.
Ma: I am going to do a little experiment for you.
(The four people walk to Ma.)
Ying-Xiong: What experiment? Is it something related to the explanation
youre going to give us?
(Close-up of Ying-Xiong cuts to extreme close-up of Ma.)
P-Zi: Let me read this for you.
(Pi-Zi takes a bottle of chemical.)
Pi-Zi: Its a ..
(Close-up of the bottle cuts to low angle close-up of Xi-Ying.)
Xi-Ying: Is this acetone?
(Cuts to a frame of Ma and Pi-Zi; Ma, standing, looks bigger than
Pi-Zi, sitting.)
Ma: Yes. Officer Chen (Pi-Zi), are you sure you want to sit close to the
experimental utensils?
(Medium close-up shot of Ma, taken with a low angle over Pi-Zis
shoulder.)
(Black & White, Episode 14, 00:44:26)
In this scene, Ma is mostly shown in medium close-up, low-angle shots.
According to Stadler and McWilliam (2009), a low angle shot tilts the camera up to film
the main figure on the screen. In this way, the figure appears to dominate screen space
(p. 37) and seems important. In particular, the medium close-up shots film Ma and
another characters conversation with over-the shoulder shots which can even highlight
Mas domination of the other person on the screen. Thus, the images in this scene imply
that Ma is a key person in revealing the mystery of Sa Ke Ci before he begins to narrate
the story about the organisation.

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Figure 5.17 Ma speaks to Pi-Zi: are you sure you want sit close to experimental
utensils?
Source: Black & White, Episode 14

Figure 5.18 Pi-Zi looks up to Ma
Source: Black & White, Episode 14
For example, when Ma prepares to conduct the experiment, Pi-Zi is sitting near
him. Ma speaks to Pi-Zi: Are you sure you want sit close to experimental utensils?
Both Ma and Pi-Zi are filmed in the shot; however, the camera angle tilts upwards
towards Ma over Pi-Zis shoulder who thus appears smaller than Ma in the picture (see
Figure 5.17). Further, when the shot changes to focus on Pi-Zi, the camera focus is
moved to tilt down over Mas shoulder with the high angle (see Figure 5.18). This angle
implies that Pi-Zi has a lack of knowledge about the experiment, indicating that he is
disempowered (Stadler & McWilliam, 2009, p. 37).

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Figure 5.19 Ma concentrates on manipulating the experimental utensils.
Source: Black & White, Episode 14
Subsequently, the footage remains focused on Ma, drawing on close-up and
extreme close-up shots to film his actions in manipulating the experimental utensils and
his concentrated facial expression (see Figure 5.19). This footage remains one minute
and 10 seconds without any dialogue but with inserted close-up shots of the other
characters, slowly panning at their eye level (see Figure 5.20). The close-up pans to
Mas face first, then to Xi-Ying, Ying-Xiong, Lin, Pi-Zi and back to Ma. This footage
provides the audience with a means of surveying Mas surroundings with the four
characters waiting for the result of the experiment. In particular, the close-up shots at
the eye level of the four characters align the audiences view with the characters
thinking. The audience is being positioned to observe the proceedings and in this way,
Ma still has the major role of the scene.


Figure 5.20 The inserted close-up shots of the characters looking at Ma
Source: Black & White, Episode 14

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Figure 5.21 The footage of Mas action on the experiment
Source: Black & White, Episode 14
In the last shots of the scene, several extreme close-ups successively film Mas
fixed gaze on the beaker, intently mixing the chemicals, putting the beaker into an ice-
box and inserting a thermometer into the ice (see Figure 5.21). The last extreme close-
up shot signifies that the cooling period will take some time. The scene then changes to
the next one.
Ma begins to tell the other characters the story about his real identification and
the connection to Sa Ke Ci.
Ma: I was a soldier deserted by the military. Three years ago, my three
comrades and I entered the mountains of North Korea for a fight. On our
return we were found by the enemy. We were under violent attack. While
we were under fire from the enemy, I met a bunch of very unique people.
During the fierce combat, I thought I was dead. And when I woke up, I
knew I could not go back to the original military anymore. I got a new ID, a
new superior and new assignment.
Pi-Zi: What assignments?
Ma: Any assignment, you name it. To capture any newly discovered
chemical weapon, to annihilate an armed force or to let some VIPs vanish
from the world. For the smooth completion of these tasks, every special
soldier, including me, needs to have brain surgery. After surgery, we can
face targets without any compassion and hesitation, even when the target is
a child.
Xi-Ying: You belong to Sa Ke Ci?

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Ma: Youre very smart. No wonder youre the number one student of Prof.
Roger in the New York Lab.
Ying-Xiong: So, now you dont belong to Sa Ke Ci, right?
Ma: I escaped from that because my surgery failed which would have
affected the execution of my missions. My superior was not satisfied with
my performance. I felt distressed, too. Therefore I fled from them. Theyve
been around here lately. Guess theyve already found me here. Theyll want
to kill me.
(Black & White, Episode 14, 00:46:10)



Figure 5.22 The footage of Mas narration for his story
Source: Black & White, Episode 14
In this footage, low and high angle close-ups are again used to highlight Mas
importance and his power status among these characters. Ma is filmed with close-up,
low angle shots, thereby being recognised as the key narrator. Further, the close-up
shots of the other characters inserted in the scene depict their facial expressions based
on the high camera angle over Mas shoulder (see Figure 5.22). They appear lower than
Ma. In addition, the inserted close-ups draw the audience into an intimate relationship
with the screen characters in order to invoke sympathy and enhance the reality of Mas
statement. In such a way, the shot scales, and camera angles and movement, combine to
move to the second order of significance myth (Barthes, cited in Fiske & Hartley,
1978, p. 41). This enables Mas narration to seem actual, as well as fictional in a scene
which is deployed to trigger the audiences imagination about the reality of Sa Ke Ci.

167
From the scenes discussed above, the mystery of Sa Ke Ci has been represented
by Ma through his narration about his personal experience of being a member of the
organisation. In the narration and drawing on the specific camera strategies, the director
utilises visual semiotics to reinforce the power of Ma revelation about his role in Sa Ke
Ci. Thus the fantasy of the story seems real because the addition of visual semiotics
and verbal signs enhance the authenticity of the fantasy.
Designed dialogue reinforces the myth
The above footage reveals Mas stable tone and composed facial expression as
signifying his professional experience. Seemingly, Mas dialogue in this scene explains
his previous identity through the flashbacks; however, the suffering he experienced and
his subsequent survival convey a message that he was, and still is, not as evil as Sa Ke
Ci. In this way Ma gains the audiences sympathy, and makes the audience fantasise
about Sa Ke Ci simultaneously. Nevertheless, the other characters such as Pi-Zi, Xi-
Ying and Ying Xiong question the responses inserted into Mas narration. Their
questions and facial expressions suggest they are doubtful and puzzled. These questions
and responses act as dialogue hooks (Stadler & McWilliam, 2009, p. 76), which serve
to draw the audience back to reality. For example, when Ma mentioned his previous
tasks, Xi-Ying guesses Mas past afflictions, saying: You belong to Sa Ke Ci. Xi-
Ying gives inkling of Mas narration which follows. A further example is the question
proposed by Ying-Xiong when Ma admits his secret identity indirectly: Ying-Xiong
says: Now you dont belong to Sa Ke Ci, right? Ying-Xiong provides a clue to Mas
present identity.
Furthermore, in the following scene, Ma opens the ice-box and takes out the
beaker carefully. He then balances a filter paper on the rim of another beaker, and pours
the liquid from the first beaker into the second as preparation for displaying the result of
the experiment (see Figure 5.23):
Ying-Xiong: What is that?
(Low angle close-up of Ying Xiong)
Ma: This is the demonstration of the experiment. It will probably make a
sound; step back, please.
(Neutral-angle close-up of Ma cuts to the scene of these five characters
in a long shot. Ma throws the solution into an iron pail at a distance;
the solution suddenly explodes.)
Pi-Zi: What is this? How did you make it? Its awesome.

168
Xi-Ying: So, thats the combination that I couldnt analyse.
Ma: Whether you think the explosion that happened at the Burger Store was
the gas explosion or not, it is just camouflage. In fact, it was caused by this
chemical explosive.
(Black & White, Episode 14, 00:49:25)




Figure 5.23 The footage of Ma displaying the result of the experiment
Source: Black & White, Episode 14
In the dialogue, Mas profession is highlighted. As a forensic officer, Xi-Ying
usually has more professional knowledge related to chemicals. However, when Ma
completes the experiment and demonstrates the explosion, Xi-Ying expresses her
surprise, saying: Thats the combination that I couldnt analyse. It signifies that Mas

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knowledge related to his and Xi-Yings profession is the superior of hers. This adds
enhancement to Mas credibility of being a one time member of Sa Ke Ci.
The two parts, visual and verbal semiotics employed together enable the scenes
to appear dramatic and locate the audience in-between fantasy and reality. Based on
verbal semiotics, Mas narration with the flashbacks produces the necessary imagination
about Sa Ke Ci for the story. The detailed depiction of Mas actions when conducting
the experiment, and the images of Mas nattering in a rage of camera angles
demonstrate the reality of the story. For the audience, the actual internationally known
criminal organisation, North Korean based Sa Ke Ci, is remote. However, the story
suggests the organisation can appear anywhere in the world, even in the audiences own
society. Further, through Ma, the audience perceives that Sa Ke Ci is a criminal, violent,
cruel, evil, anti-social group committing many crimes. In conclusion, the director used a
stylistic approach, by which the visual and verbal signs function to stimulate myth and
mediate reality, and to immerse the audience in the swing between reality and fantasy.
Conclusion
As proposed in the introduction to this chapter, the vital perspective that I
attempted to demonstrate is that the Taiwanese TV industry adapts the specific elements
of trendy drama to produce a similar genre. In doing so, certain cultural meanings are
reproduced, such as the norms of beauty. Further, by analysing Black & White (
) (Yu & Tsai, 2009), I argued that the Taiwanese TV industry now has symbolic
power to centralise relevant resources to convey the cultural meanings that help local
TV productions achieve a regional marketplace in Asia. This chapter has examined the
photogenic characters in Black & White (), and their features as stereotyped
Asian idols. In addition, the iconic geography that was converted into a metropolitan
setting is analysed. Moreover, the depiction of the fantasy in this drama, which adds to
attracting the audience is investigated. All these aspects were shown by exploring the
deployment of diverse camera strategies in this drama.
The first section showed that the photogenic characters in Taiwanese idol drama
are selected to be similar to the image of Asian idols. In this way, contemporary
Taiwanese idols represent new masculinity as Asian idols. In particular, the images of
the idols in this new genre are stereotyped through an emphasis on facial expression in
close-up shots. Meanwhile, idols appear closer to the audience through such shots on

170
the screen, and becoming the imagined point of contact with the audiences. These close-
up shots enhance the symbolic hierarchy between the media world and the ordinary
world. Due to this hierarchy, the audience pays more attention in the beauty of the idols,
and in everyday life attempts to reproduce these new norms of Asian beauty.
The second section highlighted how the director has adopted a few specific
locations in the city to convey metropolitan settings through advanced camera strategies.
In particular, the manner of establishing the metropolitan imagery of the drama through
the specific camera skills has shown that this Taiwanese local production has a desire to
reach the Asian TV market. Therefore, the locations were portrayed as iconic geography
which was de-localised. Based on these locations, the context of this drama has then
been related to a modern, trendy and fast-tempo urban lifestyle, usually emphasised in
trendy drama.
The third section found that the director successfully employs visual and verbal
semiotics to describe the fantasy for this drama. Invoking the audiences imagination in
this strategy is adapted from the production idea of Japanese trendy drama, as
mentioned previously. In addition, the fantasy portrayed in this drama demonstrates that
the Taiwanese TV industry invested time and camera skills to narrate a plotline with the
diverse sub-plots which is distinctive from traditional TV dramas.
Based on the findings in the three sections of this chapter, I have demonstrated
that the Taiwanese TV industry has the symbolic power to develop its local productions
as the specific symbolic form by which certain cultural meanings have been legitimised
for the Asian TV market. The implication for the Taiwanese society is that local cultural
representations could also be shown in the global context of the Asian TV market. The
former aspect indicates that the norms of beauty embodied in Asian male idols, for
example, have changed the Taiwanese perception of beauty and the popular images of
men. The latter aspect indicates that Taiwanese local TV production also enhances local
idols, settings and scripts to the Asian TV market based on the specific elements in this
genre. In doing so, Taiwanese idol dramas may also achieve cultural exchanges within
the Asian region. In this sense, Taiwanese idol drama, as well as trendy drama, may be
deemed as a specific symbolic form to enable certain cultural meanings to circulate in
the broader configuration of the media marketplace. The following chapter supports this
viewpoint; I will therefore examine the specific new ideas conveyed in Japanese trendy
drama by analysing another Taiwanese idol drama, My Queen () (Fang & Lin,
2009).

171

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Chapter 6
Analysing My Queen () (1): Representing the
New Image of Taiwanese Women

Introduction
The previous chapter examined the specific elements of trendy drama by
analysing Black & White () (Yu & Tsai, 2009). The findings showed that the
Taiwanese TV industry selects photogenic characters based on the established image of
Asian idols, as initiated by the Japanese TV industry. In addition, the settings in the
drama were portrayed as the backgrounds drawn from the Asian modern context, in
which an Asian audience may relate the locations to a familiar metropolis. Moreover,
Black & White () also contains diverse storylines. The previous chapter
demonstrated that Taiwanese idol drama conveys specific symbols in order to reach the
Asian TV market. In addition to the specific elements, trendy drama is deemed to be a
new genre because it conveys specific new ideas (see Chapter 4). In particular, new
attitudes toward love and the rise in womens self-conviction have been significant
ideas in portraying contemporary thoughts in this new genre.
The aim of this chapter is to examine how the Taiwanese TV industry adapted
the specific new ideas summarised in Chapter 4 to portray the new image of Taiwanese
women. In particular, the rise in womens self-conviction has become a key element in
developing their image. It is hypothesised that this new image of Taiwanese women was
stereotyped and based on the rise in womens new attitudes toward love; thus a few
characteristics of a modern Taiwanese woman, such as confidence, enthusiasm for
professional employment and a reduced passion for marriage become stereotyped new
image of women. This chapter will explore the specific dramatic techniques combined
with the filmic forms that the director utilised to reinforce the depiction of a modern
Taiwanese woman. In doing so, the high production values in the drama are also
demonstrated.
The main argument of this chapter is that the characteristics of the new female
image were first illustrated in Japanese trendy drama; later, directors of Taiwanese idol

173
drama adapted these same characteristics to depict modern women in the Asian society
in general. Therefore, the specific new ideas in trendy drama were repeated in
Taiwanese idol drama and circulated within the Asian region. In this situation, the
Taiwanese TV industry shows its power in conveying the established, preferred
cultural meanings in idol drama. Therefore, the audiences could then feel that
Taiwanese idol drama is very close to zeitgeist, the spirit of the age, which is indeed
the mediated social reality. The main methodology used in this chapter was semiotic
analysis, drawing on filmic formalist concepts to analyse the Taiwanese idol drama, My
Queen () (Fang & Lin, 2009).
This chapter comprises of two sections, the first examines how the director
stereotypes the image of modern Taiwanese women by comparing the different values
held by two different generations. Moreover, it explores how the director reinforces the
image of modern women by representing mens perspectives. The second section
examines how the image of modern Taiwanese women was highlighted, based on their
new attitude towards love. It also examines the double-triangular relationship in this
drama to demonstrate how it is adapted to depict contemporary Taiwanese womens
attitudes towards love.
The New Portrayals of Taiwanese Women
Distinct from Black & White (), which focuses on representing the
new masculinity of Asian male characters, My Queen () portrays the new
image of Taiwanese women through the heroine. However, the focus is not upon the
beauty of the photogenic female characters, but relates to the spirit of being a modern
woman. The topic of My Queen () revolves around a bachelorette (Brunner,
2010, p. 88) who is more than 30 years old. A bachelorette is the term that Brunner
(2010) uses to describe the main female characters in the popular American television
series Sex and the City, who are single modern women leading a stylish lifestyle. In
Taiwan, being a bachelorette is a social trend at present; however, it is considered an
awkward situation, because modern Taiwanese women do not have similar liberal
values to the same extent as American women. Based on this situation, modern
Taiwanese women often appear confident and professional, but they still oscillate
between traditional and modern values.

174
In My Queen (), a modern Taiwanese woman is represented by the
heroine, Wu-Shuang, a 33-year-old bachelorette. She is a professional, leading a
lifestyle that is stylish, such as living alone in a modern apartment, wearing fashionable
clothes and having a challenging job. This depiction of such a single woman is a typical
example of the current Taiwanese society. In the drama, Wu-Shuang meets Lucas, a 25-
year-old romantic guy, and falls in love with him. However, their age difference makes
their relationship difficult. This section examines how the new image that the heroine
represents is established as the new portrayal of Taiwanese women. In the methods of
filmic forms used in this drama, I will focus on two specific dramatic techniques,
monologue and soliloquy, which are often adapted to become the narration in films.
These two techniques are employed frequently in this drama to heighten the image of a
modern Taiwanese woman. This section also examines the specific camera strategies
utilised to reinforce the effects of monologue and soliloquy, such as close-up shots and
the combination of the filming techniques enhanced to convey a modern womans inner
conflicts.
Traditional versus modern values in My Queen ()
As a modern woman, Wu-Shuang desires to be successful. She is a professional
journalist, working for iFound magazine. She works very hard and performs well in her
job. Despite this, Wu-Shuang often persuades herself to conform to the social norm by
which a woman should get married at her age. In the drama, the director utilises the
specific dramatic techniques, monologues and soliloquies, to represent her inner
thoughts about being single. Through these techniques, Wu-Shuang sometimes appears
to be confident, but sometimes has an inner conflict between traditional and modern
values.
Monologue can also be termed internal monologue (Brunner, 2010, p. 89),
interior monologue (Giannetti, 2005, p. 249) and voice-over (Giannetti, 2005, p.
353; Stadler & McWilliam, 2009, p. 68). Monologue was used as a type of narration in
poems and literature during the early 18
th
and 19
th
centuries (Sinfield, 1977) and then
began to be adapted in plays (Giannetti, 2005). Later, monologue was adopted in film-
making and TV production through a technique called voice-over soundtrack
(Giannetti, 2005, p. 249). This technique allows a characters monologue to be
expressed on the soundtrack while he/she remains silent, because the character does not
speak as such the voice-over delivers their inner thoughts to the audience. Stadler and
McWilliam (2009) define voiceover narration as:

175
a speech that does not originate from a visible source on screen, and that
cannot be heard by other screen characters. It is dialogue to which only the
audience is privy, and which often seems to emanate from an unseen
narrator or from a protagonists thoughts. (p. 68)
Therefore, a voice-over on the screen conveys intimacy between the character,
who speaks in the voice-over, and the audience, which is able to listen to the characters
thoughts and share the secret. In other words, the audience only knows the characters
innermost thoughts beside the character themself.
In Episode 1, the opening scene commences with Wu-Shuangs monologue. In
this scene, Wu-Shuang is riding a bicycle, which she has hurriedly borrowed from a
Santa Claus, the series hero, Lucas, who is in disguise. At that moment, Wu-Shuang is
heading to her office to meet the deadline of broadcasting the latest news, while Santa
Claus runs after her to reclaim his bicycle. When both of them are fleeing, Wu-Shuang
speaks in her voice-over:
I, Wu-Shuang, a woman who has always put effort into going forward for
33 years and have never run after anyone. I have a successful career and a
quality lifestyle, but when I turn around I dont see any guys chasing me
except this one, who does not exist in the real world, Santa Claus. Well, it
doesnt matter. Life is worth living as long as you speed up.
(My Queen, Episode 1, 00:00:01; translated by the researcher)
This monologue scene initiates the image of Wu-Shuang as workaholic, because
she still works on Christmas Eve. The voice-over sounds a brief introduction about
herself, including age, relationship status, living conditions and attitude towards life.
The voice-over also conveys Wu-Shuangs personality: unbending, confident and
determined.
When the monologue of the scene finishes, Wu-Shang sums up with a question
in her voice-over: is it? (My Queen, 2009; Episode 1, 00:00:37; translated by the
researcher) Then, the scene changes to a temple where Wu-Shuangs mother, Chun-Zhi,
proposes a request to the spirit. She believes that Wu-Shuang has too much bad karma
to find a husband, so she makes a ceremonial prayer for Wu-Shuang. Subsequently, the
scene films Wu-Shunags photographs of her childhood. At the same time, Chun-Zhi
speaks in monologue:
My daughter, when you went to elementary school, you were well educated
in moral, intellectual, physical, aesthetic and team endeavours. Therefore,
you received awards for these five. You hold the record in your hometown.
When you studied in high school, you were the champion of the speech
competition. Afterwards, you entered the best university easily. Since your

176
childhood, you have always succeeded. However, now, you become the
only girl who has not married in the hometown. Your status is going down
from the worthiest champion to a worthless defeated dog.
(My Queen, Episode 1, 00:02:52; translated by the researcher)
In this monologue scene, Chun-Zhis narration heightens the image of Wu-
Shuang: she has been disciplined, excellent and hard-working. However, Chun-Zhis
monologue also conveys a mothers attitude toward Wu-Shuangs single status: a
bachelorette is worthless, no matter how successful she is in her profession.
Chun-Zhis monologue signifies traditional values that contrast with Wu-
Shuangs attitudes towards her present life. In order to represent the two different
attitudes of the two generations, Wu-Shuangs question, is it? is spoken at the end of
her monologue. The question implies that her self-conviction is challenged with Chun-
Zhis following monologue conveying the opposite opinion. In particular, the scene
where Chun-Zhis tone is sympathetic but the photographs of the successful Wu-
Shuang signifies the latter is not successful as a woman, based on traditional values. In
particular, Chun-Zhi uses the term, defeated dog, to imply her negative attitude toward
her daughter being a single woman. Defeated dog is a term originally from Japan,
signifying an unmarried woman who is more than 30 years old. In Japan, a beautiful and
talented woman who is more than 30 years old is called a defeated dog if she is still
single (Sakai, 2006). This term has later been adopted into other forms of media and
become a popular term with a certain cultural meaning in Asia.
Basically, the sound and the images in Chun-Zhis monologue scene are
produced non-synchronously. According to Giannetti (2005), this strategy can create
witty and often cynical juxtapositions (p. 222). In this way, a voice-over can provide
an ironic contrast with the visuals (p. 249) and establish a tone thats different from
an objective presentation of a scene, creating a double perspective on the events (p.
469). Consequently, Wu-Shuangs successful photographs and experiences with Chun-
Zhis narrating in a sad tone in this sequence create two different perspectives between
Wu-Shunag and Chun-Zhi an example of the ordinary experience between a daughter
and mother.
Furthermore, the two monologue scenes arranged to appear successively help
the audience to interpret closely the two narrators minds. The audience becomes the
only listener for the voice-over, being positioned to feel sympathy towards the narrators.
Accordingly, the scenes allow the audience to understand that a modern Taiwanese

177
woman like Wu-Shuang has to confront the pressure of the traditional values held in her
society. In the later episodes, Wu-Shuang sometimes appears to be confused about her
single status, especially when she has feelings of love. Her confusion is usually
represented as inner conflict. Next, I will explore how the director utilises monologues
mixed with soliloquies to convey Wu-Shuangs inner conflict.
Taiwanese modern womens conflicting feelings about romantic love
In My Queen (), Wu-Shuang is a modern woman who is so focused on
her job, rarely thinking about romance. Therefore, when she finds herself falling in love
with the hero, subtle feelings are generated within her, these feelings being depicted as
Wu-Shuangs inner conflict. The director utilised another dramatic technique, the
soliloquy, to mix in monologue scenes to convey Wu-Shuangs inner conflict,
represented at a different level in the psychological process.
Soliloquies were the early form of a character talking aloud to him or herself in a
monologue in a play. When the advance of talking pictures was developed, expressing
ones thoughts on screen could be recorded by a voice-over soundtrack (Bordwell &
Thompson, 1986; Giannetti, 2005). Therefore, in films, soliloquies refer to a character
speaking out his thoughts. The character talks aloud to himself, but does not intend to
be heard. However, his soliloquies may be heard by other characters because they are
spoken aloud on the screen. Monologues, in comparison, are used to show a character
talking to himself in a private, internal and illusive manner. Moreover, soliloquies are
usually recorded at the same time as a character acting; thus, soliloquies are included as
synchronous sound (Stadler & McWilliam, 2009, p. 66). Conversely, monologues can
occur in the image without the actor actually speaking; therefore, monologues can be
non-synchronous sound (Giannetti, 2005, p. 221). If soliloquies and monologues,
which are both spoken by the same character, are used in a scene, they could convey a
characters different levels of inner thoughts.

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Figure 6.1 Wu-Shuangs monologue
Source: My Queen, Episode Six


Figure 6.2 The footage of Wu-Shuangs monologue
Source: My Queen, Episode Six)
In Episode Six, Wu-Shuang is alone on New Years Eve when she receives a
text message from Lucas, who became one of her colleagues just two days previously.
Lucas sends his greetings and teases her by saying, I wish you would find a partner and
not to be on the shelf any longer for the next year. After reading Lucass message, Wu-
Shuang speaks in her monologue:
A 33-year-old woman who passed her use-by date is delighted by a light-
hearted message this bustling evening, but how long can this feeling last? Is

179
it as long as a firework? Does it disappear in a minute and just last a short
time like a spark in my life?
(My Queen, Episode 6, 00:20:42; translated by the researcher)
When Wu-Shuang speaks to herself in the monologue, she stands alone on the
street, pondering, in the close-up shot (see Figure 6.1). She hears the sound of fireworks
exploding in the near distance and turns her head to look up (see Figure 6.2).
After the fireworks disappear, Wu-Shuang seems to return to reality. She
speaks to herself aloud in a soliloquy (see Figure6.3):
Well, forget it! Why am I thinking about this question which does not have
an answer? Damn! People seem so happy to celebrate New Year, but I am
alone. Why?
(My Queen; Episode 6, 00:21:10; translated by the researcher)

Figure 6.3 Wu-Shuangs soliloquy
Source: My Queen, Episode Six)
In this sequence, Wu-Shuangs monologue seems to divulge her feelings about
Lucas; she is starting to be attracted to him, and wonders if they will fall in love.
However, she is afraid that the feeling is not mutual. According to Byron (2003), one of
the functions of the monologue is to indicate humanity (p. 139), which shows that the
narrator has emotions and desires and feelings (p. 139). However, Wu-Shuangs
emotion at the moment is interrupted by her rational thoughts. More clearly, after she

180
speaks in her mind, she talks to herself again in soliloquy. The scene therefore appears
like one of which Wu-Shuang answers the imagined question that she asked herself so
recently. In particular, her comment initiated by saying well, an interjection, suddenly
draws herself from her imagination back to reality. It seems that she convinces herself
not to fantasise.
In this sequence, the director utilises Wu-Shuangs monologues and soliloquies
simultaneously to represent her complicated feelings; on the one hand she is expecting
romance, but on the other she is being passive. In particular, the monologue in the scene
registers hallucinations and fantasies (Stadler & McWilliam, 2009, p. 71), whereas
the soliloquy signifies reality (Bordwell & Thompson, 1986). Therefore, during the
course of Wu-Shuangs narration, the audiences are encouraged to invest their emotion
in her inner world. Subsequently, they are pulled back to her actual expression of
thoughts. This strategy allows the audience to read Wu-Shuangs inner conflict as
represented by different psychological processes.
The new image of Taiwanese women registered through male attitudes
As discussed thus far, the image of modern Taiwanese women that Wu-Shuang
represents has been depicted through her mothers thoughts about her and how she
looks at herself. The image is therefore established through the different perspectives of
the two generations of Taiwanese women. In this section, I will examine how the
director reinforces this image by representing male attitudes toward a modern woman.
In the drama, the director arranges for the hero, Lucas, to represent male attitudes
towards a modern Taiwanese woman based on his own perceptions of Wu-Shuang.
In specific sequences, the director skillfully utilises the diverse techniques to
represent Lucass perceptions of Wu-Shuang. The techniques include dramatic
conventions and filmic technology, such as synchronous and non-synchronous diegetic
sound effects. Lucas monologues belong to the non-synchronous diegetic sound, which
was inserted with different images and a few synchronous segments. Moreover, the
monologue scenes were swung to reality using synchronous and non-synchronous
sounds. These strategies attract the audiences attention and gain their sympathy for the
character. In the particular scenes, Lucas is the first-person narrator (Giannetti, 2005,
p. 418), acting as an off-screen spectator to observe Wu-Shuangs behaviour. This
strategy, seemingly invites the audience to an imagined space to view a play that is led
by Lucas. Therefore, the audience is enabled to participate in his observations and
accept his perceptions.

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Figure 6.4 Lucass monologue
Source: My Queen, Episode 7)
In Episode 7, Wu-Shuang attends an arranged appointment with a man in a
restaurant. She has asked Lucas to accompany her, but he has to sit at another table by
himself. The man proposes terms and conditions of choosing an ideal wife that sound
ridiculous to Wu-Shuang. She retorts frequently with opposing views in order to irritate
the man; the man dislikes her and interrupts her by pretending to receive a text message
on his mobile phone. At the same, she pretends, in a quick action, to receive an
emergency call from her boss, and needs to leave. Wu-Shuang says goodbye and leaves
the man abruptly. At that moment, Lucas sees Wu-Shuang leaving the restaurant and
turns to look at the man. He speaks in a monologue (see Figure 6.4):
Pretended to have a text message? Such a stupid man! It is impossible to try
to get rid of Wu-Shuang using this trick; Wu-Shuang is a queen who always
strikes before anyone else; she even pulls the trigger much earlier than you
can.
(My Queen, Episode 7, 01:10:20; translated by the researcher)
This monologue is non-synchronous diegetic sound, representing the scene as if
Lucas is the off-screen spectator. From Figure 5, the columns framing the scene at the
top and bottom enable the shot to look like a play in the screen. Lucas monologue
functions as a leitmotif, analysing Wu-Shuangs behaviour. Through Lucass opinion
about Wu-Shuang, the scene also represents how a man looks at a modern Taiwanese

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woman. From his point of view modern women are perceived to be quicker than men in
their reactions and do not lose any chances. The image of Wu-Shuang is then
established.
Similarly, Wu-Shuangs image has been reinforced by drawing on Lucas non-
synchronous diegetic sound in Episode 7, wherein after Wu-Shuangs several failed
blind dates, Lucas suggests that she should change her appearance to become more
attractive. Lucas then has a plan to transform Wu-Shuangs appearance. At the
beginning of the scene, Lucas wakes Wu-Shuang in the morning by saying: Cheer up!
From now on, dismiss the turtle woman; commence to be a new woman. Go!
Subsequently, Lucas becomes the off-screen narrator, speaking in the non-synchronous
diegetic sound:
Recognise the turtle womans five scary features which keep men away: too
harsh, too unfriendly, too self-centred, a workaholic and too sharp tongued.
Want to dismiss the image of the turtle woman; have to cure these five
terrible habits. From internal to external, completely change. Firstly, I will
remove the stereotype of your harshness.
(My Queen, Episode 7, 01:49:05; translated by the researcher)


Figure 6.5 Lucass voice-over
Source: My Queen, Episode 7

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In this non-synchronous diegetic sound, the picture shows Wu-Shuangs past
behaviour in a series of flashbacks appeared in the previous episodes. These images of
Wu-Shuang are integrated to display her previous behaviour (see Figure 6.5), which
Lucas defines as the turtle woman. The turtle woman is a sobriquet that Lucas gave
Wu-Shuang, describing a woman who has a harsh appearance like a turtles shell, but
also has a soft heart. In the sound, the turtle woman sounds like a proper noun, which
could be associated with a group of women in general. Thus, turtle woman can be a
metaphor, referring to all these kinds of women. Therefore, the images of Wu-Shuangs
previous behaviours displayed in the scene seem to be the examples of a turtle woman.
As the off-screen spectator, Lucass non-synchronous sound in the flashback
suggests that he is summing-up contemporary women. In the sound, there is no
subject in the sentences of Lucas voice-over. Not only the word you (as a subject)
but the word if (as a hypothetical condition) is absent in the sentences, such as Want
to and have to They become imperative sentences. Lucas is seemingly talking
to someone else except Wu-Shuang, who is not expected to hear Lucas voice-over on
the screen. The audience becomes the only listener; this scene appears to be another
event by which Lucas, again, interprets what a modern Taiwanese woman looks like
and the characteristics possessed for audience consumption. Furthermore, in the final
phrase, Lucas indicates a definite object, the stereotype of your harshness, which can
be related to the women of this kind in general, and Wu-Shuangs depiction is a
convincing example.
Subsequently, Wu-Shuangs image is reinforced by Lucas in the next scene,
which represents another event. Wu-Shuang is preparing to go to work, but Lucas
carries a dress for her, conversing (see Figure 6.6):
Lucas: Black and white colours are not allowed to be worn. Fashion is
more attractive. (Lucas gives the dress to Wu-Shuang.)
Wu-Shuang: The way I dress is professional.
Lucas: Yes, it is. But it is too professional. Being professional is tough.
That is why men think of you as their working partner, but dont consider
you as an attractive woman who they would fall for. Go! Get changed!
(My Queen, Episode 7, 01:49:33; translated by the researcher)

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Figure 6.6 Lucas stops Wu-Shuang and brings her a dress
Source: My Queen, Episode 7
Then, the scene changes to the next. Lucas preparing an evening bag for Wu-
Shuang (see Figure 6.7).
Lucas: This is your new lifestyle.
Wu-Shuang: Come on. Its too small! It is not big enough for A4 papers and
project files to fit in.
Lucas: Why do you have to fill the bag with A4 papers? A womans bag
means her lifestyle. Let me look into your bag.
(Wu-Shuang hands her bag to Lucas, and he takes out items one by
one.)
Lucas: Work (he takes out a file.), work (he takes out an A4 envelop) and
still work (he takes out a magazine) (see Figure 6.8).
(My Queen, Episode 7, 01:49:55; translated by the researcher)

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Figure 6.7 The footage that Lucas brings an evening bag for Wu-Shuang
Source: My Queen, Episode 7


Figure 6.8 The footage of Lucas talking out items one by one from Wu-Shuangs
bag
Source: My Queen, Episode 7
In the following scene, Wu-Shuang is walking into her office wearing the dress
Lucas chose for her. Lucas stops her and silently puts a scarf around her neck. He does
not have a dialogue for this action, but the action is filmed with his non-synchronous
diegetic sound: to get rid of a harsh image and to emanate female charm, sometimes
using accessories will make a difference. It will provide you with an unexpected
attractiveness (My Queen, Episode 7, 01:50:26; translated by the researcher) (See
Figure 6.9). When the sound is finished, one of Wu-Shuangs colleagues walks by them

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and comments with surprise: Wow, Wu-Shuang, you look so different today! (My
Queen, Episode 7, 01:50:40; translated by the researcher). The colleagues dialogue in
the synchronous diegetic sound shows that Lucas opinion is approved. In this scene,
Lucas non-synchronous diegetic sound acts as a monologue, establishing intimacy by
telling the audience how to be womanly. Again, it is a way of inviting the audience to
observe the way by which Lucas shows his perceptions of Wu-Shuang and modern
Taiwanese womanhood.

Figure 6.9 The footage of Lucas putting a scarf on Wu-Shuangs neck
Source: My Queen, Episode 7
Technically, the scenes last analysed were virtually filmed drawing on a specific
dramatic technique, called breaking the fourth wall. The fourth wall originated from the
traditional play, and refers to the dimension of the actors performance on stage. On a
traditional dramatic stage, the actors usually perform as if there is no audience sharing
the same space. Therefore, there is an imaginary boundary at the front of the stage
between the actors and the audiences: the fourth wall (Bell, 2008). The fourth wall
functions to preserve the actors privacy and means that the action is performed
according to the actors imagination (Hagen & Frankel, 1973). Thus, the audience
members need to interpret the actors performance using their own imagination.
Sometimes, the actors in the play address the audience directly. This situation is called
breaking the fourth wall. According to Cargill (2009), breaking the fourth wall meant
that someone onstage was stepping out of their fictional universe to talk directly to or
acknowledge the audience (para. 1). Breaking the fourth wall is usually used to subtly
prompt laughter or sympathy.
Applying the technique of the fourth wall in films or television enables the scene
to appear like a play in the drama. Cargill (2009) explains that the fourth wall in film,
television, and video games is defined as the screen in front of you that line of

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demarcation between you and the story (para. 1). In the scenes containing Lucas
voice-over, all his actions appear in the frames within the screen; they look like a few
stories in the drama. Therefore, Figures 6.4-6.9, directly retrieved from the digital
videodisc of the TV drama show, record the occasions, particularly the manner in which
Lucas looks at Wu-Shuang. In this context, the audience seems to be located in the
theatre, viewing the live TV show. Therefore, when Lucas speaks in his voice-over
using sentences without naming himself as the subject, he breaks the fourth wall to
address the audience directly.
Furthermore, when Lucas breaks the fourth wall, his monologue is used to tell
the audience how a modern woman should dress. In other words, his monologue
conveys a private speech about his inner thoughts. However, it also seems that he is
talking to people outside the story who are seemingly invited to join the context of the
story. In particular, Lucas addresses the audience several times through his use of
imperative sentences in this sequence. In this way he signifies that he is telling the
audience what he is doing about his plan, such as putting a scarf on Wu-Shuang.
Consequently, Lucas voice-over is used to teach the female professional members of
the audience how to become more fashionable, modern and feminine.
In summary, the strategies used to represent mens perceptions of modern
Taiwanese women are deemed as reinforcing the function of media framing. That is,
Lucas opinions as to the reasons for a modern woman looking too harsh, and how she
can change her image through fashion and behaviour transmit clear cultural meanings
concerning a modern woman in the Taiwanese society. In particular, the design of the
fourth wall in the scene seems to bring the audience into a deeper world to look at how
Lucas helps to change Wu-Shuangs image. In this way, the audience is attracted to
being closer to the media world, and to being more persuaded by Lucas male point of
view.
This section has discussed how a Taiwanese woman is portrayed anew in
Taiwanese trendy drama. In My Queen (), a modern Taiwanese woman is
represented to have self-conviction; Wu Shuang as a modern Taiwanese woman is
aware of what her life goals are not just to get married. In addition, she has
enthusiasm for her profession and her position. However, she also realises that her
profession and remaining single might be going against the traditional views of her
society. For example, Wu-Shuangs mother, Chun-Zhi, devalues her professional
success and terms her the defeated dog. In the drama, Chun-Zhi represents traditional

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mothers who think that a woman should get married and devote herself to her family not
career. The role of Chun-Zhi in the drama shows that Wu-Shuang lives in the society
where the traditional values are still important. Therefore, she often has to resist
traditional values with her self-conviction.
In My Queen ( ), womens self-conviction becomes the core,
contemporary fashionable idea to convey through different dimensions of the story; in
particular, the director adopted the other ideas from Japanese trendy drama to emphasise
it. For instance, one of the new attitudes towards love the double-triangular
relationship was adopted to depict how Wu-Shuang gets involved in the complicated
relationship but still keeps her self-conviction. In the following section, I will discuss
how the image of a modern Taiwanese woman is reinforced in My Queen ()
by representing Wu-Shuangs new attitudes towards love.
New Attitudes Towards Love
As discussed in Chapter 4, the female characters in Japanese trendy drama are
often portrayed to be independent, attempting to pursue their life goals and having less
desire for marriage. Therefore, the happy endings of love stories in the drama are no
longer the couples getting married and having a family together. Instead, they stay
happily in their relationship without marriage, the hero being with the heroine to pursue
her dreams. Clearly, love stories in trendy drama often reach a conclusion based on the
rise in womens self-conviction. This section aims to discuss how the rise in womens
self-conviction is highlighted in love relationships, as in the happy ending in My Queen
(). First, I will discuss how a modern Taiwanese womans self-conviction is
highlighted through an incompatible love relationship in the drama. Then the manner of
Wu-Shuangs self-conviction being heightened through depiction of the double-
triangular relationships in the drama is explored. Finally, I will examine how the happy
ending of the love story in this drama is depicted differently, based on a modern
womans perspective of her life.
My Queen (): Womens self-conviction in love
In My Queen (), a rise in womans self-conviction represented by Wu-
Shuang has been highlighted through an incompatible love. The incompatible love here
does not involve extra-marital affairs as it does in traditional drama; instead, it refers to
the love relationship between a mature woman and a younger man. In the drama, the

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relationship between Wu-Shuang and Lucas develops based on an incompatible love
because they have differences in age, experience, and financial and social status. Lucas
is younger than Wu-Shuang by eight years, their age difference making their
relationship difficult because a younger man such as Lucas is usually considered not to
be able to look after a mature woman in the Taiwanese society. Therefore, in the drama,
Wu-Shuang often confronts the inner conflict between her feelings of love for Lucas
and her self-convictions about love.
In the drama, Wu-Shuang and Lucas do not immediately have feelings for each
other or fall in love at first sight. They both consider there is no possibility of a
relationship due to their difference in age in the beginning. In particular, there are more
challenges for Wu-Shuang in accepting a potential husband whose social status is lower
than hers because of the traditional values in her society. Therefore, the attachment
between Wu-Shuang and Lucas unfolds little by little, in uncertainty. In the course of
depicting the development of the attachment, the incompatible love between Wu-
Shuang and Lucas has been highlighted by mixing dialogues, monologues and
soliloquies. In doing so, Wu-Shuangs self-conviction is enhanced. Next, specific
scenes of the drama are selected to examine how the director utilises various filming
techniques to convey a modern Taiwanese womans self-conviction in her love
relationship.
In Episode Six, after Wu-Shuang receives Lucass text message by her mobile
phone on New Years Eve, she goes later to find her best friend Lin. They have a
conversation concerning how Wu-Shuang feels about Lucas. In this conversation, Wu-
Shuang continues to state her own feelings; she seems to talk to herself even though Lin
is listening:
Lin: Wu-Shuang, you said you both fell into a hole in the forest the other
day, and then you kissed?
Wu-Shuang: It was an accident. An accident, OK? You know its
impossible for me to love a little boy.
Lin: Why is it impossible?
(Both of them are silent for a moment. Wu-Shuang, then, looks up
somewhere in the room with a pretend smoking action.)
Wu-Shuang: Thinking about this
(She seems to be talking to herself and pretending to shake out of the
cigarette ash.)

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Lin: Ouch ! Its scalding!
(Lin pretends to take the ash with her hands.)
Wu-Shuang: I think I should return to a mature womans track.
Lin: Um.
Wu-Shuang: And that its been too long since someone has treated me so
nicely. Therefore, I felt touched and got lost for a short while. But to a
33-year-oldwoman no, no way. I cant fall in love based only on feelings.
He is younger than me by eight years. If we start have a the relationship for
three years or so, and then he wants to break up suddenly, he will be just 28,
29 years old, and I will be 38 already! Time is much more precious than
gold to those defeated dogs like us, right?
Lin: But thats not really right, Wu-Shuang. If you dont fall in love based
on your feelings; then why else do you?
Wu-Shuang: Of course to fall in love by conditions.
Lin: conditions?
Wu-Shuang: I have to find a person whose age, income, life goals are
comparable to mine. Mens value increases as they get older; womens is
devalued when they get older. So! (Wu-Shuang stands up suddenly) I dont
have time any more. Falling in love is now like a gamble; I must win!
(My Queen, Episode 6, 00:21:29; translated by the researcher)

Figure 6.10 The footage of Wu-Shuangs pretence at smoking
Source: My Queen, Episode 6

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Figure 6.11 Wu-Shuangs dialogue as soliloquy
Source: My Queen, Episode 6
In this long conversation, Wu-Shuang is the main speaker and Lin is the listener.
The scene beings with the two womens gossip, but later, Lins question Why is it
impossible? shifts the atmosphere and provokes Wu-Shuang to think more deeply
before responding. According to Stadler and McWilliam (2009), Lins question acts as
the dialogue hook at the appropriate time to set up narrative transitions (p. 76). After
this question, Wu-Shuangs pretence at smoking refers to her now thinking so that she
does not notice Lins humour of acting when removing the scalding ash, but continues
to speak (see Figure 6.10). Wu-Shuangs expression shows that she is totally absorbed
in her thoughts; she uses many sentences starting with I, and she does not look at Lin
(see Figure 6.11). Therefore, her dialogue could be considered as a soliloquy. In
particular, the phrases I think I should , to a 33-year-old woman no, no way,
and I cant highlight her inner thoughts. Her soliloquy in this scene seems to
remind herself of the traditional and rational reasons for why she should not fall in love
with Lucas. In addition, her soliloquy allows the audience to observe the process by
which she persuades herself she does not love Lucas.
During Wu-Shuangs dialogue, Lin has proposed questions with a few words,
which can be deemed another dialogue hook to transfer to another topic for Wu-Shuang,

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to enable her to show her self-conviction. For example, when Wu-Shuang mentions the
conditions for falling in love with a man, Lin repeats the word in a doubtful tone. In
this situation, the dialogue hook that Lin represents can be the key elements to recap
and to reinforce meaning in the conversation (Stadler & McWilliam, 2009, p. 76).
Accordingly, Wu-Shuang can restate her attitude to choosing a potential husband.
Moreover, when she states the conditions for a potential husband with a determined
tone, she again seems to convince and remind herself to return to a mature womans
track. In particular, when she stands up abruptly and emphasises the word So! she
seems to make a declaration at the conclusion of her soliloquy (see Figure 6.12). She
speaks with a powerful and authoritative tone of voice: I dont have time any more.
Falling in love is now like a gamble; I must win! At that moment, her facial expression
is filmed in a close-up shot. Her image of a modern woman with strong self-conviction
is highlighted.


Figure 6.12. Wu-Shuang says: I must win!
Source: My Queen, Episode 6

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In My Queen (), Wu-Shuangs self-conviction about her feeling of
love for Lucas is reinforced by Lucas inner conflict. The director utilises an interlude
of monologues, each one or two sentences long in dialogues, to depict their mutual
inner conflicts in this incompatible relationship. In the drama, Wu-Shuang attempts to
look for a temporary partner in order to attend a year reunion of the climbing club in her
previous university because she does not want to be shamed by attending alone. Lucas
is aware of Wu-Shuangs intention. In Episode 7, she and Lucas have a drink together;
she is sitting on the bench. Lucas nears her, initiating a conversation: Have you ever
thought about taking me with you to the reunion? Never? (My Queen, Episode 7,
01:43:27; translated by the researcher). After Lucas asks the question, Wu-Shuang is
suddenly laughing, standing up and walking to Lucas.
Wu-Shuang: You? Want to pretend to be my boyfriend? Thank you, Lucas.
But you have hands and legs and are handsome and smart. And, you have a
nice body. Who is going to believe you love a turtle woman like me? Is that
right?
(The two shot frames Wu-Shuang and Lucas, who face each other.
When Wu-Shuang is talking, Lucas looks unhappy. Then, Wu-Shuang
walks closer to Lucas and speaks seriously.)
Wu-Shuang: You are a really nice person. If we didnt have this difference
in age of 8 years (Wu-Shuang takes a long, deep breath and sighs) how
good it could be.
(My Queen, Episode 7, 01:43:39; translated by the researcher)
In this scene, Wu-Shuang and Lucas are filmed together in a medium shot in
which they are facing each other. Lucas gazes at Wu-Shuang with a blank expression;
he looks lost. In the footage, the shot is gradually tracking in to film their faces in an
extreme close-up. This allows the audience to read the pairs minds from their vocal and
facial expressions (see Figure 6.13). The scene also signifies the intimacy between Wu-
Shuang and Lucas, which implies that their feelings of love for each other have
developed further.

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Figure 6.13 The footage of Wu-Shuang speaking to Lucas.
Source: My Queen, Episode 7
The scene continues with the next conversation.
Lucas: Hey, do you want to have a successful blind date, just the one? I will
help you; make it a one-off. Find a decent man; get your pride back; show
them at the climbing club.
(Lucas looks at Wu-Shuang. Wu-Shuang has a drink first and then
responds.)
Wu-Shuang: OK. Of course I want that!
(Wu-Shuang turns to look at Lucas; Lucas takes a breath and looks in
another direction.)

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Lucas: Alright then. Lets start tomorrow; you have to act according to my
training orders. Dont resist.
Wu-Shuang: Mmm.
(My Queen, Episode 7, 01:44:36; translated by the researcher)
After Wu-Shuang informally acknowledges Lucass proposal with an
exclamation Mmm, Lucas talks to himself in monologue: Agrees with me so quickly;
it seems she does really want to find a partner (My Queen, 2009; Episode 7, 01:45:20;
translated by the researcher) Wu-Shuangs monologue follows: So active to help me; it
seems he really wants me to have a boyfriend (My Queen, 2009; Episode 7, 01:45:26;
translated by the researcher). When Lucas and Wu-Shuang speak to themselves in
monologue, they are filmed, in turn, with a track-in close-up. The shot signifies they are
looking at each other (see Figure 6.14). The strategy represents Wu-Shuang and Lucas
starting to read each others minds, and infers that they both affirm with their lips what
they deny in their hearts. In other words, Lucas does not want Wu-Shuang to find a
partner other than himself, and neither does Wu-Shuang.

Figure 6.14 The footage of Wu-Shuangs and Lucass monologues
Source: My Queen, Episode 7
In the following scene, they both pretend to ignore their feelings:
Wu-Shuang: Um Im almost finished this wine. Ive got more and more
feelings.
Lucas: Isnt this for me to drink? Why is there only a bit left?
(Lucas takes the bottle from Wu-Shuangs hand and drinks directly.)
(My Queen, Episode 7, 01:45:38; translated by the researcher)
While Lucas is drinking, Wu-Shuang looks at him and realises that his lips will
touch the same part of the bottle that her lips just touched. At the moment, Wu-Shuang
says in a voice-over: Isnt this like the so-called indirect kisses? No, Wu-Shuang,

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you mustnt feel delighted about this kind of thing; wake up, you! (My Queen, 2009;
Episode 7, 01:45:52; translated by the researcher) (see Figure 6.15 )

Figure 6.15 The footage of Wu-Shuangs monologue
Source: My Queen, Episode 7
Later, Lucas speaks:
Lucas: Id never have thought we could have a chat like this, now, no curse,
no work. Really, we have to thank this bottle of wine. Still a bit left; do you
want it?
(My Queen, Episode 7, 01:46:01; translated by the researcher)
At that moment, Wu-Shuang seems to be lost and thinks aloud, again, in
monologue: Wu-Shuang, make up your mind! Be realistic and go on blind dates! An
attachment for this little strawberry must stop here! Today is the last day for these
feelings. (My Queen, Episode 7, 01:46:23; translated by the researcher).
The use of Wu-Shuangs and Lucass monologues concurrent with their
conversation is a way of mixing synchronous and non-synchronous diegetic sound
effects, which enable the scenes to signify the uncertain feelings between them. They
are not clear about how they think about each other, but they start to develop a love for
each other. In particular, Lucass monologue of speaking to himself about his uncertain
feelings for Wu-Shuang enhances her self-conviction. In other words, through the
depiction of Lucass inner thoughts and his reaction to her finding a partner, Wu-
Shuangs self-conviction is highlighted. For example, she resists her real feeling for
Lucas, telling herself twice to use her own name in the monologue to wake up! and
make up your mind! as a caution to herself against her affection for Lucas. This
shows that Wu-Shuang is conscious of falling in love with Lucas, but she thinks it
might be an incompatible love.

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From the first scene discussed in this sub-section to the third one, it has been
shown that Wu-Shuang plays a major role in developing the relationship with Lucas. In
the first scene, she seems to have little doubt about her feeling about Lucas; however,
her reasoning appears stronger than her emotions. In the scene, the director designed
Wu-Shuangs dialogue as a soliloquy, which acts as the communication with herself,
Therefore, Wu-Shuang appears to have a strong self-conviction against an incompatible
love. However, the second scene signifies that Wu-Shuang has increased her feelings
for Lucas. The director employs the close-up shot to film Wu-Shuang and Lucas, so as
to signify the intimacy between them even though she pretends not to consider Lucas as
a boyfriend in the conversation. In the third footage, the director starts using Lucass
monologue to produce the uncertainty juxtaposed with the emerging feeling of love
between Wu-Shuang and Lucas. Lucass monologue acts to provoke his reaction about
developing an attachment with Wu-Shuang. However, she still plays a major role in
developing the attachment and her monologue again demonstrates the strength of her
self-conviction in allowing this relationship to develop.
My Queen (): Double-triangular relationship
Wu-Shuangs self-conviction in showing her new attitude towards love has also
been emphasised through the depiction of the double-triangular relationship in My
Queen (). The double-triangular relationship was adopted to highlight Wu-
Shuang and Lucas incompatible love by arranging another two characters to match
Wu-Shuangs and Lucas ages. As discussed in Chapter 4, the double-triangular
relationship involving four persons in trendy drama was initiated in the Japanese trendy
drama, Tokyo Love Story (Toukyou Rabu Sutori) (Saimon & Nagayama, 1991); then
encompassing a new attitude towards love. This new attitude was used to portray the
complicated relationships between urban women and men. In the drama, Wu-Shuangs
attitude has been highlighted as showing how a modern Taiwanese woman might
express herself in this kind of relationship, based on her self-conviction. In this sub-
section, I will examine how the director utilised various filmic strategies to depict the
double-triangular relationship in My Queen () highlighting how this kind of
relationship causes feelings of jealousy and uncertainty.
In My Queen ( ), both Wu-Shuang and Lucas had previously
experienced a tragic romance. Wu-Shuang had a boyfriend, Leslie, a photographer with
whom she was very disappointed because he remained in Africa to complete a
photographic task on the day they should have got married. Therefore, Wu-Shuang was

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heart-broken, still having feelings for Leslie. When she thinks of Leslie, she always
looks at a photograph of a polar bear in the snow, because they had a dream to go to the
North Pole together one day. Lucas also has a tragic memory; his previous girlfriend,
Xiang-Yun, who was his age, drowned accidently in the sea. Lucas has not recovered
from his grief.
Wu-Shuangs and Lucass sad memories are sometimes depicted to make their
incompatible love seem even more difficult because they could not overcome their deep
attachments from the past. For Wu-Shuang, Leslie was her dream and an ideal life
partner, older than her but working in a related field of employment. For Lucas, Xiang-
Yun was a painful loss in his life; she does not exist in person in the drama but appears
in the drama in flashbacks; and therefore her character is not physically involved in the
double-triangular relationship with Lucas, Wu-Shuang and Leslie. Instead, Xiang-Yuns
younger sister, Jia-Jia, who is younger than Lucas, loves him, and intervenes between
Wu-Shuang and Lucas. Lucas and Jia-Jia both have the chance to work with Wu-
Shuang in iFound Magazine later. Wu-Shuangs previous boyfriend, Leslie, appears in
the later episodes of the program. He has a chance to explain his previous disappearance
and his desire to return to Wu-Shuang; thus, Leslie is situated between the Wu-Shuang-
Lucas relationship.
Accordingly, the four characters, Wu-Shuang, Lucas, Leslie and Jia-Jia are
involved in two complicated triangular relationships, one being the triangular
relationship between the Wu-Shuang-Lucas-Leslie triangle and the other is between the
Lucas-Wu-Shuang-Jia-jia affair. Subsequently, there are three particular footages
selected to examine how feelings of jealousy and uncertainty existing in this
relationship were produced.
The first scene focuses on the triangular relationship among Wu-Shuang, Lucas
and Jia-Jia in Episode 6. At the beginning of the scene, Jia-Jia carries food that she has
prepared for Lucas as his breakfast, and walks into the lobby of the building. Then she
meets three her colleagues, Romeo, Zhang and Madan. They see the food and tease her
by pretending to snatch breakfast; at that time, Lucas walks into the group, and says:
Hey, thats for me! Guys mustnt have any evil intention to Jia-Jia; I keep an eye on
her now, OK? (My Queen, 2009, Episode 6, 00:52:47; translated by the researcher)
After Lucas speaks, the colleagues are laughing and Madan says aloud: Oh, this love
breakfast is especially for you; how sweet this couple is! You guys must be having an
office romance, (My Queen, 2009, Episode 6, 00:53:02; translated by the researcher).

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Figure 6.16 Wu-Shuang is standing near the people and looks unhappy
Source: My Queen, Episode 6
At the same time, Wu-Shuang, who is at the gate and about to walk into the
lobby, hears what they say (see Figure 6.16). Their conversation continues:
Lucas: Jia-Jia and I are not having an office romance; she is just like my
younger sister.
Zhang: Oh, younger sister!
(Then, the colleagues start to be funny and sing a song together: Just like a
sister, a sister whom I knew just now .)
Romeo: This so-called sister is like the kind of artificial brother-and-sister
relationship. It has an ambiguous meaning that is beyond friendship and is
almost a relationship.
(My Queen, Episode 6, 00:53:05; translated by the researcher)
What the people say is heard by Wu-Shuang, who is standing near them and
looks unhappy in a close-up shot (see Figure 6.16). The next shot films Lucas and Jia-
Jia in the foreground, while they are talking to each other; then, Wu-Shuang abruptly
walks up to them and intends to pass between Lucas and Jia-Jia (see Figure 6.17). Wu-
Shuang says, Get out of my way! Why on earth are you guys standing here and not
hurrying to go to work? and then she goes straight to the elevator (see Figure 18).

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Figure 6.17 Wu-Shuang abruptly walks to pass between Lucas and Jia-Jia
Source: My Queen, Episode 6


Figure 6.18 Wu-Shuang goes straight to the elevator
Source: My Queen, Episode 6

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Other people follow Wu-Shuang to enter the elevator. When Lucas and Jia-Jia
are ready to enter the elevator, Wu-Shuang moves her body in between the door of the
elevator, trying to stop them both, and says: Its full, please wait for the next one. (My
Queen, Episode 6, 00:53:59; translated by the researcher) (see Figure 6.19). This leaves
Lucas and Jia-Jia standing outside the door of the elevator.


Figure 6.19 Wu-Shuang moves her body in between the door
Source: My Queen, Episode 6

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The scene cuts to the shot of Wu-Shuang, who is standing in the elevator and
speaking in a monologue (see Figure 6.20):
Humph! Younger sister! I dont mind; I dont mind; I dont mind; I dont
mind anymore! You two little strawberries go ahead and get stirred into
strawberry jam! Dont stand in my way to unfold my plan for blind dates!
(My Queen, Episode 6, 00:54:16; translated by the researcher)


Figure 6.20 The footage of Wu-Shuangs monologue
Source: My Queen, Episode 6
In this monologue, Wu-Shuang repeats the phrase, I dont mind; she is her
own auditor, speaking aloud to herself. Therefore, the repetitions of the phrase seem to
help her to contain the resolution of her jealousy. She appears to demonstrate to herself
that she does not care about Lucas friendliness to Jia-Jia and their close interaction just
now, but in fact, she does care. According to Davis (2007), the speaker of monologues
is not as rational as the speaker of soliloquies. Moreover, MacKay (1987) indicates that
the interior monologue definitely presents itself within the mental realm, with no
explicit intention to communicate, even to oneself (p. 14). That is, while Wu-Shuang
speaks the same phrase four times, this is not done on purpose; she does not realise the
repetitions.

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Furthermore, the audiences become another auditor in Wu-Shuangs monologue.
They can hear her private speech and realise first that she is jealous and irritated by the
situation; second, she feels uncertain about the Lucas and Jia-Jia friendship; and finally,
she attempts to control her emotions. Therefore, the audiences are indeed sharing and
involved in the dynamic of self (Byron, 2003, p. 144) of Wu-Shuang that her
monologue signifies. By closely sharing Wu-Shuangs inner thoughts, the audiences
may feel that she, at that moment, loses control over her emotions, but at the same time,
she tries to be rational and remind herself of returning to intention to go on blind dates.
This scene examined is to show that the director attempted to create the atmosphere of
Wu-Shuangs jealousy, drawing on the dramatic technique of monologues mixed with
the specific action design. The strategy reveals Wu-Shuangs inner conflicts, which are
highlighted with her genuine inner thoughts in contrast to her spoken words. The
following selected scene will show that other specific filmic forms were utilised to
reinforce the function of monologues.


Figure 6.21 Wu-Shuangs monologue
Source: My Queen, Episode 7


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In Episode 7, Wu-Shuang goes on a blind date, but she dislikes the man she
meets. She sends a text message to Lucas asking him to arrive at the same location to
help her escape from the blind date. When Lucas receives Wu-Shuangs text message,
he is with Jia-Jia. At that point, he decides to help Wu-Shuang, but he takes Jia-Jia with
him. Just as they arrive at the same restaurant, Wu-Shuang is ready to leave because she
has become very impatient with the man. At that moment, she sees Lucas and Jia-Jia
coming into the restaurant; she then immediately returns to sit back in her chair.
Subsequently, she speaks in monologue (see Figure 6.21):
Come here so late! Leave me here alone in such a tangle with this annoying
Guy. Fine! Now youre taking Jia-Jia with you to come and save me? Are
you guys Siamese twins?
(My Queen, Episode 7, 01:22:48; translated by the researcher)
Then, Lucas and Jia-Jia sit at a table near Wu-Shuang; Lucas looks back at Wu-
Shuangs back and speaks in the voice-over:
Ask me to help but didnt say whats happening. Why on earth are her eyes
opening that widely to stare at me now? That guy doesnt look too bad.
Damn! They seem to get along very well.
(My Queen, Episode 7, 01:23:14; translated by the researcher)
Lucass monologue is followed by one from Jia-Jia: Does Lucas bring me here
because he knows Wu-Shuang is here too? Is it possible that Lucas came just to see
Wu-Shuang? (My Queen, 2009; Episode 7, 01:23:26; translated by the researcher).
After this monologue ends, Wu-Shuang speaks in monologue: What? Taking another
person to watch the joke on me now? Well, I will show you how I make this date
succeed this time! (My Queen, Episode 7, 01:23:34; translated by the researcher).
This scene shows the three characters monologues consecutively Wu-Shuang,
Lucas, Jia-Jia followed by Wu-Shuang; there is no dialogue inserted. This strategy
allows the audiences to be aware of the characters private ruminations, whereby the
characters are all wondering what the other person is thinking at that moment. In this
way, the audience may understand that uncertainty exists in the triangular relationship
between Wu-Shuang, Lucas and Jia-Jia. Furthermore, the scene also signifies the
strengths of the relationships between Wu-Shuang and Lucas and Lucas and Jia-Jia,
drawing on specific close-up shots with varied filmic forms.

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In the scene, when Lucas enters the restaurant with Jia-Jia and chooses to sit at
the table, which is near, but behind Wu-Shuang, the long shot of the restaurant provides
the audience with an idea of their distance (see Figure 6.22). The sitting position of Wu-
Shuang, whose back is towards Lucass back, signifies Lucass attention to Wu-Shuang,
because he has to painstakingly turn his head around to look at her. In particular, during
Lucass monologue, the scene is marked by shot-reverse-shot sequences (Stadler &
McWilliam, 2009, p. 107). The tracking-in shot of Lucas close-up is followed by Wu-
Shuangs tracking-in close-up (see Figures 6.23 & 6.24). The scene alternates their
expressions, representing their viewpoints intensely. The close-up which swings
between Lucas and Wu-Shuang implies their intimacy and emotional attachment.


Figure 6.22 The long shot of the restaurant
Source: My Queen, Episode 7


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Figure 6.23 The shot of Lucass tracking-in close-up
Source: My Queen, Episode 7

Figure 6.24 The shot of Wu-Shuangs tracking-in close-up
Source: My Queen, Episode 7

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Figure 6.25 Jia-Jia looks vague and is out of focus while Lucas is in the deep-focus
shot
Source: My Queen, Episode 7
Furthermore, the close-up shot of Lucas during his monologue, films Jia-Jai in
the same frame, but she looks vague and is out of focus in the background with the use
of wide-angle lenses (or short lenses), while Lucas shot is a deep-focus shot (see Figure
6.25). With this strategy, Lucas and Jia-Jia, who sit at the same table, face to face, seem
to be emotionally distant. This strategy, as Giannetti (2005) suggests, shows how the
different foci of the wide-angle lenses can make an illusion of distance: that is, two
people standing a foot away from each other can appear yards apart in a wide-angle
image (p. 31). Therefore, the scene conveys the distance between Lucas and Jia-Jia in
such a way, that a triangular relationship between Wu-Shuang, Lucas and Jia-Jia is
conveyed, with Jia-Jia being the third person in the development of Wu-Shuang and
Lucass relationship.
In the same scene, the director utilised the camera strategies to enhance the
complexity of the triangular relationship. The close-up shot of Lucas looking toward
Wu-Shuang includes Jai-Jai, who is gazing at Lucas (see Figure 6.26). The director used
rack focusing (Giannetti, 2005, p. 31) to depict their attentions during Lucas and Jia-
Jias monologues, the shot focus of the wide-angle lenses, which shifts focusing on one

208
character to the other, signifies that Lucas and Jia-Jia do not have a mutual attachment,
and that Lucas does not have romantic intentions towards Jia-Jia (see Figure 6.27).
Consequently, in this monologue footage, visual semiotics conveys Wu-Shuang and
Lucass intimacy, in contrast to Lucas and Jia-Jias friendship (see Figure 6.28). The
monologues as semiotic language express their thoughts and attention. The footage
demonstrates that the director simultaneously utilised the dramatic techniques and
filmic forms to represent the triangular relationship between Wu-Shuang, Lucas and Jia-
Jia. In this relationship, Wu-Shuang and Lucas care for each other, and Jia-Jia is the
third party.

Figure 6.26 The close-up shot of Lucass looking toward Wu-Shuang includes Jai-Jai,
who is gazing at Lucas
Source: My Queen, Episode 7

Figure 6.27 The rack-focusing shots to signify that Lucas has no romantic intentions
to Jia-Jia

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Source: My Queen, Episode 7

Figure 6.28 The rack-focusing shots conveying Wu-Shuang and Lucass intimacy in
contrast to Lucas and Jia-Jias friendship
Source: My Queen, Episode 7

The third scene selected to examine the depiction of the double-triangular
relationship in My Queen () is the footage of Wu-Shuang, Lucas and Leslie.
In Episode 10, Wu-Shuang finally attends the reunion of the climbing club. She goes
alone, but Lucas comes to accompany her later, and sits beside her. When Lucas is
serving Wu-Shuang snow cake with a spoon, Leslie appears behind them in the near
distance, saying: I remember Wu-Shuang doesnt eat snow cake (My Queen, Episode
10, 04:24:41; translated by the researcher) (see Figure 6.29). At that moment, Wu-
Shuang appears astonished and frozen with the shock of hearing Leslies voice again
after his eight-year disappearance (see Figure 6.30).


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Figure 6.29 Leslie says: I remember Wu-Shuang doesnt eat snow cake
Source: My Queen, Episode 10

Figure 6.30 Wu-Shuang appears astonished and frozen with shock when hearing
Leslies voice
Source: My Queen, Episode 10


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In the scene, the medium close-up shot of Wu-Shuang and Lucas tracks
sideways towards Wu-Shuangs right side, enabling the audience to view her expression
in the foreground with Lucas, sitting beside her, blurring out of focus and into the
background (see Figure 6.31). Lucas talks to Wu-Shuang: Is he Mr. Polar Bear? Not
special! (My Queen, Episode 10, 04:25:12; translated by the researcher). However, she
does not react to his words (Figure 6.32). The focal centre remains on her expression,
and a flashback of Wu-Shuang and Leslies conversation, which occurred before they
were to be married, is inserted in the shot (see Figure 6.33). This deep-focus shot
remains on Wu-Shuang; it highlights her inner feelings of chaos, while Lucas is out of
Wu-Shuangs interior realm at this instant (see Figure 6.34).

Figure 6.31 The shot of Wu-Shuang and Lucas tracks sideways towards Wu-
Shuangs right side
Source: My Queen, Episode 10

Figure 6.32 Lucas talks to Wu-Shuang: Is he Mr. Polar Bear? Not special!
Source: My Queen, Episode 10

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Figure 6.33 The close-up shot of Wu-Shuang inserted with a flashback.
Source: My Queen, Episode 10

Figure 6.34 Deep-focus close-up shot on Wu-Shuang highlights her inner feelings
Source: My Queen, Episode 10





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Figure 6.35 Leslie is walking to Wu-Shuang slowly.
Source: My Queen, Episode 10

Figure 6.36 The deep-focus close-up shot of Wu-Shuang signifies that Leslie is not
part of her emotions
Source: My Queen, Episode 10

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The flashback and the shots of Wu-Shuang illustrate that her interior self at that
moment is full of emotions associated with Leslies re-appearance and the past. In the
scene, Leslie is walking to Wu-Shuang slowly, while the latter stays silent, looking
shocked (see Figure 6.35). The camera keeps filming Wu-Shuangs shocked expression
in a deep-focus close-up, while Leslie is away from the selected focal plane
(Giannetti, 2005, p.31) in the background (see Figure 6.36). Leslie is distant from Wu-
Shuang, yet he looks very near to her in the scene, because he is out of focus in this
frame. This strategy of using long lenses, which can flatten images, decreasing the
sense of distance between depth planes (p. 31), produces a semiotic message. Giannetti
suggests long lenses can verify the visual reception of the distance between the
characters in the frame; in other words, the two characters standing yards apart might
look inches away depending on the way long lenses are used (p. 31). Therefore, this
arrangement of the shots filming Leslie and Wu-Shuangs bodies aims to produce an
atmospheric moment, conveying that Leslie is very close emotionally to Wu-Shuang.
To sum up, in this footage, the director utilises long lenses inserted with the flashback
to depict the triangular relationship among Wu-Shuang, Lucas and Leslie.
As analysed, the three footages above portraying the double-triangular
relationship in My Queen () show that Wu-Shuang plays a major role in this
complicated relationship because Lucas and Leslie both love Wu-Shuang and contrarily
Jia-Jia has less influence on this relationship. In the first scene, Wu-Shuangs jealousy
is highlighted to signify the triangular relationship among, Lucas, Jia-Jia and her. Wu-
Shuangs self-conviction is also enhanced to show that she does not want to get
involved in the relationship. The second scene depicts Wu-Shuangs jealousy towards
Jia-Jia; however, the scenes which include monologues tell the audiences that Lucas
cares about Wu-Shuang more than Jia-Jia. In the final scene, Lucas demonstrates his
love to Wu-Shuang by attending the reunion with her and acting as her boyfriend.
However, the scene, the appearance of Leslie in the same occasion, signifies that the
triangular relationship among Wu-Shuang, Lucas and Leslie emerges in the drama.
Indeed, the double-triangular relationship in this drama was not represented
through many dialogues, but through the combination of strategies drawing on specific
dramatic techniques and filmic forms. The primary filmic forms used to highlight the
triangular relationships among the four characters are the variations of the camera focal
length between the foci of the wide-angle shot. This strategy used acts mainly as visual
semiotics, reinforcing the characters inner conflict. The complexity of the love

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relationship is therefore highlighted as an important element of trendy drama and is
represented as a new attitude of contemporary people towards love. Further, the way of
conveying the two triangular relationships through the filming arrangements enable the
drama to appear as different from traditional drama in which a triangular relationship is
usually portrayed simply based on dialogue and action. In summary, the sophisticated
filmic strategies employed in depicting the double-triangular relationship and a modern
womans self-conviction because of it demonstrate that Taiwanese idol drama can be
deemed as a symbolic form which repeats the key elements and ideas of trendy drama.
In this sense, the Taiwanese TV industry is considered to have media power in creating
this symbolic form.
My Queen (): New happy ending in trendy drama
By way of highlighting the new representation of women, the happy ending of
My Queen () is not in accordance with a conventional Hollywood romance, in
which the heroine marries the hero. In this drama, Wu-Shuang does not accept Lucas
proposal of marriage. They maintain their relationship at a distance, because Lucas
leaves for the U.S. to study for two years. Wu-Shuang has a new lifestyle, which does
not relate merely to her work. She works, falls in love, finds hobbies and is still very
busy. In the later episode, one scene is filmed around the conversation between Wu-
Shuang and Lucas on the phone to emphasise her lifestyle:
Lucas: I will come back to Taiwan next week.
Wu-Shuang: Next week? But I will have a symposium and will be on tour;
you might be alone often.
Lucas: What? Why are you always like this? You make me so insecure.
(My Queen, Episode 21, 02:58:48; translated by the researcher)
After Wu-Shuang has finished the telephone conversation with Lucas, she
smiles and the scene moves to the next scene, narrated by Wu-Shuangs voice-over:
Before, I thought that a 33-year-old woman has no time to waste a second;
so, I went forward with all my effort. But now, Ive learned to slow down
the pace. Now Ive started to realise that as long as I enjoy the beauty of life,
I can make time stop.
(My Queen, Episode 21, 02:59:05; translated by the researcher)

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Figure 6.37 Wu-Shuangs over-over
Source: My Queen, Episode 21
In this monologue scene, Wu-Shuang wanders down the street and then looks up
to the sky with a smile (see Figure 6.37). The pictures in this scene show her new
lifestyle; simultaneously, her inner monologue conveys her new attitude towards single
life which is more focused on enjoying life and not rushing into getting married, despite
her age. The image and sound appear non-synchronously to create the illusion that Wu-
Shuang is confiding her thoughts with the audience; at this moment, the audience seems
to be her closest friend. Moreover, she initiates every positive sentence with the word
I, to strengthen her motivation and purpose for conveying her pleasure of being single.
Wu-Shuangs way of expressing I as an opening for each sentence reveals several
ideas coming from individualism, such as self-direction (Lukes, 1973, p. 52) and
self-development (p. 71) to repeat and heighten her self-conviction.
In another sequence, Lucas and Wu-Shuang are the groomsman and bridesmaid
at a wedding; Wu-Shuangs mother, Chun-Zhi, who was a widow, is getting married.
When the wedding finishes, Lucas makes a proposal of marriage with a ring to Wu-
Shuang who accepts the ring. She has a conversation with Lucas:
Wu-Shuang: Well, I have the ring and will consider your proposal. I need to
confirm my schedule for this year, and see if there is spare time.

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Lucas: Come on! You have refused my proposal 12 times in the last two
years. Please be kind to me. It will just take several minutes to register the
marriage.
Wu-Shuang: I know, but I do enjoy my life now. Why do I need to get
married?
Lucas: Why do you need to get married! What about me? I have been
waiting for a long time.
Wu-Shuang: So? What should I do?
(Then, Wu-Shunag walks away with a smile.)
Lucas: Hey, Wu-Shuang! Look at what you did to me!
(My Queen, Episode 21, 03:11:01; translated by the researcher)
When Wu-Shuang walks away, Lucas looks at her back and speaks in
monologue:
This is the woman I love. The one who has never regretted her dream, who
has put in a devoted effort right up until the last minute. Having a strong
image, but with a soft heart; sophisticated but innocent. I see the beauty and
sadness that the woman hides. I wish to be beside her for the rest of my life.
I did not realise until now that the image of her going forwards is already
embedded in my mind ever since I met you for the first time.
(My Queen, Episode 21, 03:12:13; translated by the researcher)
Lucas monologue reveals his reasons for falling in love with Wu-Shuang. His
narration demonstrates his attachment, only to Wu-Shuang. Meanwhile, he persuades
himself and the audience to identify with his viewpoint. During this monologue scene,
Lucas is in a medium shot which looks towards Wu-Shuang; the shot cuts to a new shot
of her as she turns and walks away, so that her figure in the shot becomes smaller and
smaller. Later, the scene cuts back to a medium shot of Lucas, who is smiling (see
Figure 6.38). While Lucas is still narrating, the shot is tracking in continuously to film
his face. The footage depicts Lucas facial expression of gazing admiringly at Wu-
Shuang from the medium shots to the close-up shot, as he says: I wish to be beside her
for the rest of my life. This filming representation allows the audience to look into
Lucass mind, drawing them into a deeper, more sympathetic involvement with his
character.

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Figure 6.38 The footage of Lucas monologue
Source: My Queen, Episode 21
Lucas voice-over narration is followed by Wu-Shuangs monologue:
I am happy and not alone now. I found love, one I can cry and laugh with. I
think it will be alright to just keep a long relationship. It doesnt matter
about being a defeated dog or a victorious dog; dont need to care about
others opinions. The most important thing is to feel happy on your own,
because the standard of happiness should be determined individually.
(My Queen, Episode 21, 03:13:02; translated by the researcher)
In this narration, Wu-Shuang strongly conveys her self-conviction by her use of
the word, I. Her tone is self-possessed and determined, signifying that she does not
care what people think about her. Then, she starts to narrate her thoughts by using
words you and yourself in the middle of the sentence; she invites the audience to
identify with the image she portrays. In this monologue scene, Wu-Shuang provides a
definition of happiness for a modern woman; the words she conveys signify a rise in
womens self-conviction.

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Figure 6.39 The footage of Lucass soliloquy and Wu-Shuangs monologue
Source: My Queen, Episode 21

When the monologue is continued by Wu-Shuang, she and Lucas are filmed
close together in a medium shot. They stand in front of a church, both facing the camera
(see Figure 6.39). In this scene, Lucas speaks: Who says a single woman is just a
defeated dog? (My Queen, Episode 21, 03:15:12; translated by the researcher). He
speaks as a soliloquy because he does not want to talk to Wu-Shuang but to himself.
However, she is just beside him, and can hear his words at which she smiles,
proclaiming in monologue: Because in his heart I am the queen (My Queen, Episode
21, 03:16:01; translated by the researcher) (see Figure 6.39), which becomes the final
phrase in conclusion of the episode. During the final phrase of her monologue, a close-
up shot takes Lucas and her smiling and gazing at each other. The shot signifies
intimacy and a happy ending. Lucass soliloquy conveys his new attitude toward a
single woman over a certain age, and also attempts to influence the audiences
perspective. With this practice combined with non-synchronic and synchronic diegetic
sound, Wu-Shuangs private ruminations and Lucas public speech enables Wu-shuang
to give expression to a new image of a modern Taiwanese woman.

220
In the scene discussed above, the director used the sign of materials, including
the location, to reinforce the image of Wu-Shuang as a modern Taiwanese woman.
When she begins her final narration, the scene presented is of a panoramic view through
an extreme long shot, with the emblematic church in the background. In the scene, all
the characters are present on this occasion, including Wu-Shuangs mother and her new
husband, the other four couples, Lucas and Wu-Shuang. Wu-Shuang and Lucas are
located in the middle of the scene with the other characters filmed in the foreground
(see Figure 6.40). Wu-Shuang is wearing a white gown; however, she is not the bride.
The church in the film symbolises tradition and marriage; it can be related to the
journey of the woman, who is changing from a single modern woman to a woman who
has found love, and will soon join the ranks of married women. In such a filming, the
church becomes a symbol of tradition, to contrast with the image of the modern woman,
which is then highlighted.

Figure 6.40 The extreme long shot with the church in the background.
Source: My Queen, Episode 21

The sequences discussed above demonstrate that the director utilised the specific
dramatic techniques and filming forms to create a new, happy ending to the love
relationship. By creating a happy ending, the director was able to represent the
characters inner thoughts, drawing synchronous and non-synchronous diegetic sound
together. This dramatic technique highlights Wu-Shuangs self-conviction and her
image as a modern Taiwanese woman. These sequences also show the distinctiveness of
trendy drama productions. For instance, using a shot to track closely in towards Lucas
face, the use of Lucass monologue can represent his inner thoughts of satisfaction,
represented by his smile. His facial expression during this scene looks very natural
being close to the expression of ordinary people in their daily lives. By comparison,
filming representations in traditional dramas are less realistic, monologue scenes not

221
being used frequently in them. Even when they are used, they are often expressed in an
old-fashioned way, for instance, the characters inner thoughts might be represented
with an exaggerated facial expression.
In summary, one of the key contemporary fashionable ideas in Japanese trendy
drama, womens self-conviction, has been shown repeatedly through the depiction of
Wu-Shuangs inner thoughts using diverse filming strategies. The self-conviction that
Wu-Shuang represents has developed from the contradiction inherent in avoiding an
incompatible love with Lucas to having feelings for him. This process, described in
detail, highlights the Wu-Shuangs self-conviction, who finally decides to be with
Lucas rather than to consider the traditional values of her society. She has decided not
to marry Lucas immediately, but to continue enjoying her current lifestyle. All these
aspects combine to demonstrate that the Taiwanese TV industry has invested time,
finances and skills to produce TV drama of high production values. This also shows that
the Taiwanese TV industry is now capable of developing a specific symbolic form to
convey its power by representing the key elements of the genre.
Conclusion
The conclusion of this chapter shows it has reinforced the nascent self-
conviction of Taiwanese women. It has examined how the image of Wu-Shuang, who
represents a modern Taiwanese woman in My Queen () was stereotyped,
highlighting her self-conviction about marriage and love relationships. This aspect was
used to demonstrate that the depiction of the rise in Taiwanese womens self-conviction
has been adopted from that posed by Japanese trendy drama to become one of the key
ideas of its reproduction in Taiwan. In addition, this chapter analysed how the image of
a modern Taiwanese woman like Wu-Shuang could be highlighted by using specific
filming strategies. This second aspect demonstrated that abstract ideas contributing to
the rise in womens self-conviction, such as new attitudes towards love, are portrayed
through visual semiotics in high production values.
The first section showed Wu-Shuang as a modern Taiwanese woman, single and
above 30 years old, who has less passion for marriage and focuses mainly on her
profession. However, the social pressure based on traditional values is ever-present, one
being that a woman is expected to marry before her 30
th
year. Because Wu-Shuang has
focused on her career, she is often uncertain and has inner conflicts about her feelings of
love. This section has also provided mens perseption of Wu-Shuang, the symbol of

222
self-conviction, through Lucas opinions. Lucas considers the image of Wu-Shuang is
too tough and harsh that of a workaholic and this has become the reason she stays
single. Consequently, a new image of a Taiwanese modern woman is stereotyped by
depicting Wu-Shuangs current image in the drama.
The second section provided evidence that Wu-Shuang is a modern, single
Taiwanese woman who does not consider marriage as her goal even though she is in the
age group where marriage is deemed to be appropriate by the norms of society. Her
attitude towards love is conveyed at the conclusion of the drama when she decides to
accept Lucas love but not to marry him. This highlights a modern womans self-
conviction in which a modern Taiwanese woman does not need to change her lifestyle
when she enters a relationship. In addition, the section showed that Wu-Shuang has a
strong self-conviction towards considering an ideal partner, yet, later on decides to be
with a man who is incompatible with her in age and social status, but who she really
loves. Moreover, the section illustrates that Wu-Shuang does not show her sensibility
easily when another woman appears to insinuate herself between her and Lucas. Instead,
Wu-Shuang often pretends not to be aware of the triangular relationship. Thus, through
the depiction of Wu-Shuangs new attitude towards the relationship with Lucas and the
triangular relationships among Wu-Shuang, Lucas and Jia-Jia, the image of a modern
Taiwanese woman has been reinforced in this drama.
Both sections examined the filming strategies used by the director in specific
dramatic techniques and filmic forms such as those employed to represent the
complexity of the characters inner thoughts, particularly the psychological processes.
This art form rarely appears in traditional dramas, demonstrating that My Queen (
) is an example of current Taiwanese local production able to represent all the
characteristics of the new ideas and production values. Therefore, the new style drama
can be deemed as a genre equal to trendy drama, acting as a specific symbolic form to
demonstrate the symbolic power of the Taiwanese TV industry.
Based on this new-found symbolic power, the Taiwanese TV industry has
enabled Taiwanese idol drama to perform as the media frame to illustrate a new social
reality for the audience. This mediated social reality then becomes cultural information
for the ordinary people to perceive the ordinary, but changing world. In the next chapter,
I will examine how My Queen () highlights social class through costume,
which also shows the Taiwanese TV industrys symbolic power of framing fashion in
the ordinary world.

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Chapter 7
Analysing My Queen (2): Highlighting Social Class
through Costume

Introduction
The previous chapter examined the specific, contemporary fashionable ideas
conveyed to stereotype a new image of Taiwanese women in My Queen ()
(Fang & Lin, 2009). It showed the adaptation of Japanese trendy drama by Taiwanese
local productions, and demonstrated the symbolic power of the Taiwanese TV industry.
As being representative of a new genre of Taiwanese TV drama, My Queen ()
serves as a specific symbolic form enabling certain cultural meanings to circulate within
the Asian TV market. In particular, these cultural meanings become legitimised thence
the learning materials about life and lifestyles for modern Taiwanese woman. In such a
situation, this new genre has the function of being a media frame which mediates social
reality, providing a social experience. This viewpoint is further evident in the costumes
used in this drama.
This chapter will examine how the costume arrangements in My Queen (
) signify different social classes so reinforcing the incompatibility of Wu-Shuang and
Lucas love. In particular, this chapter explores how the image of Wu-Shuang is
highlighted visually through her costume and those of others. The main argument in this
chapter is that the costume arrangements in the drama contribute to stereotyping Wu-
Shuang as a modern woman, whose dress philosophy signifies individualism and
womens self-conviction. Wu-Shuangs costume signifies the rise of her self-conviction
in the process of developing a relationship with Lucas. Moreover, the arrangement of
the other characters costumes in the drama acts as a symbolic form, connoting social
class and, more specifically, middle-class fashion.
The main approach of this chapter is semiotic analysis which draws on Barthes
(1983) semiotic perspective on fashion to examine the signification of the costumes.

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Through Barthes semiology on fashion, the costuming in the drama seems to possess
more cultural meanings than simply the latest garment display. In other words, drawing
on Barthes semiology, fashion in trendy drama could essentially be perceived as part of
the cultural messages the Taiwanese TV industry attempts to convey. In particular, the
four characters, Wu-Shuang, Jia-Jia, Lucas and Leslie, who are involved in the double-
triangular relationship, belong to two different generations: Wu-Shuang and Leslie are
of the older generation; and Jia-Jia and Lucas are from the younger generation.
However, in the drama, Wu-Shuang and Lucas, who are from the different generation,
fall in love and become involved in the complicated love relationships with the other
two main characters. Therefore, the characters costumes will be the focus of how these
two generations are differentiated through costumes, thus serving to highlight the
different social classes in this drama. Additionally, the tokens used in this drama will
be defined and discussed along with the costumes.
There are two sections in this chapter. The first section examines the use of
tokens which belong to Wu-Shuang and Lucas respectively concerning memories of
their previous relationships, and signifying the different social classes of the pair
identified in previous episodes of the drama. The second section concentrates on the
costumes of the characters. In particular, Wu-Shuangs costume will be analysed as
being a representative image of a professional and fashionable woman. The specific
costume arrangements are then analysed also for the manner in which they convey Wu-
Shuangs inner conflict. Furthermore, the costumes of Jia-Jia, Lucas and Leslie will be
discussed, to show how these are used to highlight social classes in this drama.
My Queen: Love Tokens Initiate Social Class
Tokens are the material symbols that represent a couples love for each other
in trendy dramas. In this new genre, love tokens are used to convey the connection
between a couple and a memory of pure love. In My Queen () (Fang & Lin,
2009), tokens are utilised to denote Wu-Shuangs and Lucass past loves and connote
the different generations and social classes to which they belong. Both Wu-Shuang and
Lucas had experienced tragic love before they met each other. In the previous episodes
of the drama, their memories of past loves are registered when they show their tokens in
the relevant scenes. Wu-Shuang has a photograph of a polar bear in the snow, which
refers to the promise that Leslie would take her to the North Pole in the future (see
Figure 7.1). Lucas wears a rubber bracelet on his wrist, which was a gift from his

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previous girlfriend, Xiang-Yun (see Figures 7.2 & 7.3). These personal gifts become
personalised metaphors which refer to their previous, tragic experiences of love.


Figure 7.1 A photograph of a polar bear as a token for Wu-Shuang from Leslie
Source: My Queen ()



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Figure 7.2 The rubber bracelet, the token for Lucas from his past love
Source: My Queen ()

Figure 7.3 Close-up of the rubber bracelet token for Lucas from his past love
Source: My Queen ()
The photograph of a polar bear in the snow could have another level of
significance; it connotes a specific social class. First, the polar bear is rare belonging to
a well-known species in the world (Durner & Amstrup, 1995); thus, the image of a polar
bear could be associated with preciousness. In addition, the white colour of a polar bear,
symbolic of purity, heightens its preciousness as does the background of natural white
snow increase the feeling of preciousness. Therefore, the photograph of a polar bear in
the snow as the token of Wu-Shuang and Leslies dream and their love could infer their
social class: the middle class because they had dreamed of travelling to the Arctic to
photograph a polar bear represents a middle-class aspiration.
Conversely, Lucass token, a rubber bracelet has become a popular accessory in
Taiwan for the younger generation of 2010. Rubber bracelets were originally designed
by an organisation for a charity event in 2004 (Pop Culture History of Rubber
Bracelets, n.d.); and later, these bracelets were created in many colours and
incorporating various messages. These types of rubber bracelets were appropriated to
symbolise a group, a company or an event. At present, younger people wear rubber
bracelets in different designs just for making a fashion statement (Rubber Bracelets,

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n.d, para. 1). In particular, the surfaces of rubber bracelets could be produced in
different colours and phrases which conveyed meanings; thus, rubber bracelets were
deemed to be individualised accessories intending to raise awareness, and to be
turned into a fashion item (Rubber Bracelets, n.d, para. 1-2).
In the drama, the rubber bracelet worn on Lucass wrist signifies the 20s
generation and the specific social class. Originally, the rubber bracelet was designed for
those who love to water ski, so it signifies Lucass hobby, his recreational preference
and social class. Moreover, the material of rubber bracelets is not so expensive, and
Lucas can afford them because he has discontinued schooling and works casually.
Therefore, his rubber bracelet not only refers to his generation, but also signifies that he
of the working class.
The use of the tokens in this drama can be deemed to frame the audiences
perceptions of the choices of different social classes for their aspirations and hobbies.
Based on this purpose, tokens may lead to a trend in people using similar materials to
represent their identification with their social class, such as the popularity of rubber
bracelets among students and water skiers. This gives a sense of the medias symbolic
power; the Taiwanese TV industry in particular having the power of conveying the
importance of the tokens, transforming the materials of which they are made into the
specific symbols with certain cultural meanings in the popular culture of society.
Summarising, love tokens were used to emphasise the different social classes of Wu-
Shuang and Lucas, and imply that their relationship is incompatible. Next, I will
examine how costuming arrangements in this drama are developed to highlight social
classes.
My Queen (): Costumes Represent Social Class
In My Queen () (Fang & Lin, 2009), costume plays a vital role in
distinguishing characters social classes, so enhancing Wu-Shuang and Lucas
incompatible love. According to Giannetti (2005), costumes, including clothing, can
provide messages regarding the characters class, self-image and psychological
states (p. 337). In the drama, Wu-Shuang is stereotyped as a modern Taiwanese
woman who often has inner conflict between contemporary and traditional values.
Therefore, her costume arrangements throughout the drama often signify the changes of
her inner status in the different episodes. Other characters costumes in My Queen (

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) are also used to reinforce Wu-Shuangs image, for example, the character Jia-
Jia is portrayed dressed in a younger fashion that contrasts with Wu-Shuangs social
class. Similarly, the male characters, Leslie and Lucas represent mens fashion for
different social classes. In such a way, perceptions of Wu-Shuang and she and Lucas
incompatible love are heightened. This section will examine how the director
stereotyped the two social classes through fashion represented respectively by Wu-
Shuang, Jia-Jia, Leslie and Lucas. I will analyse the cultural meanings of their costume
based on the texture, cut, and colour of the clothing used in the drama, which are
deemed to be elements that create stereotypic images of the characters different social
classes.
Wu-Shuangs costume
My Queen () (Fang & Lin, 2009) was first produced in the wintertime
so the actors have various choices of wearing clothes according to the latest winter
fashion design. In particular, Wu-Shuangs clothing mostly shows a modern womans
freedom in Asian society, based on the various choices. Most of the time, she appears
well dressed to show that she has professional employment. She is a professional
journalist whose behaviour and stylish clothes are not confined by either social or
professional limitations. She represents her individualised image as portrayed by
fashion because there are two levels of social structure which liberate her clothing
choices: her occupation; and her social circumstance. Unlike other professions, it is not
necessary for a journalist to wear a uniform which aligns herself with a particular brand
or company. Wu-Shuang, the female journalist in the drama, has diverse choices, and
uses fashion to express herself. On the other hand, the way she wears clothes reveals
that society gives women the freedom to fully express themselves fully. Entwhistle
(cited in Bruzzi & Gibson, 2004, p. 117) suggests that contemporary urban life
opens up new possibilities for creating oneself, giving one the freedom to experiment
with appearance in a way that would have been unthinkable in a traditional rural
community. Therefore, Wu-Shuangs costume in this drama illustrates freedom of
fashion in urban life, which is a part of the production of trendy drama.

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Figure 7.4 Fashion conscious Wu-Shuang walking on the street
Source: My Queen, Episode 1


Figure 7.5 Fashion conscious Wu-Shuang walking on the street
Source: My Queen, Episode 1
In My Queen (), Wu Shuang usually wears fine apparel, often a two
piece outfit or long skirt so that, even when she wears a dress, it is matched with another
piece of clothing, such as a shirt worn inside the dress, with the collar folded out over

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the dress. For example, in her first appearance in the drama (Episode 1), she is wearing
a white blouse and white shirt. The belt, the cuff of the sleeves, the collar and a big bow
on the chest are all black (see Figures 7.4 & 7.5).
This combination of colours is significant, firstly, because black and white are
the most popular foundation colours matched as a set, signifying that Wu-Shuang is
professional. According to Shen (n.d.), black connotes a serious, professional attitude
and also signifies elegance; white usually refers to holiness and pureness. These
concepts of black and white coincide with Wu-Shuangs occupation because a journalist
is generally thought of in a similar way in her society: someone who must possess
serious and objective characteristics. Moreover, in Chinese culture, the words black
(hei in Chinese pronunciation) and white (bai in Chinese pronunciation) are not only
associated with colour but also refer to right and wrong. This judgment of right and
wrong appears in two Chinese idioms, which mean distinguish wrong from right and
either wrong or right. The connotations of black and white in Chinese philosophy also
accord with Wu-Shuangs profession, a journalist, who is expected to distinguish
objective facts from emotive opinions.
Wu-Shuangs costume represents the latest fashion even though it signifies her
profession, which is usually deemed to lack a fashionable sense in clothing (Barthes,
1983). According to Barthes, professional models are poor fashion; however,
psychological essences are rich (p. 254), and they can be conveyed in clothes. For
Barthes, the woman of Fashion is a collection of tiny, separate essences (p. 254); this
means that a womans fashion could show her profession and her self-conviction at the
same time. Therefore, Wu-Shuangs professional costume still exudes her
characteristics of being a modern woman. There are some elements of fashion design on
Wu-Shuangs professional, black and white coloured clothes, for example, a frill on the
bottom of the white garment and a big bow abate the sharpness of Wu-Shuangs image
of being a journalist. This fashionable design represented by her appears in some
sequences, thereby highlighting her image as a modern Taiwanese woman.

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Figure 7.6 Wu-Shuang appears in a white blouse and black skirt
Source: My Queen, Episode 2
In Episode 2, Wu-Shuang appears in a white blouse and black skirt (see Figure
7.6). The white garment is a lumberjack (short, thick jacket) with a ruffled collar,
popular during the last five years (Lu, 2010), and the jacket is of cotton-like material. Its
thick texture signifies her taste for high quality goods because the thickness implies
fineness (Barthes, 1983); and the ruffled collar adds femininity. Wu-Shuang appears as
a distant, austere image in terms of the colour of this outfit, but the design makes her
appear more relaxed and feminine. This logic is close to the notion proposed by Barthes
(1983) that she personalises the effect of fashion, the fashion that is a myth so we see
the woman of Fashion dreaming of being at once herself and another (p.256). In other
words, a person who moulds themselves according to a particular fashion, the
fashionable self then represents both him/herself and others because fashion is
established by a common appreciation and norms of beauty in Taiwanese society.
In Wu-Shuangs costumes her image as a modern, fashionable woman is
highlighted. The costume represents the sharpness in her profession but it also signifies
her femininity. Therefore, her image of sharpness connected to the fashion design
provides a dual image, a phrase of Barthes (1983) being descriptive: Youre
demanding, and youre sweet, too (p. 256). In Barthess perspective of fashion, people
can live a dual identity through fashion. He argues that wearing fashion seems to be
with the couturiers [and then] you discover you can be both, you can lead a double

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life (p. 256). In this sense, when a character is categorised by a specific style of fashion
in the drama, they are designated as a model representing the group in a similar style of
fashion. Furthermore, Barthes suggests that fashion multiplies the person without any
risk to her of losing herself because for Fashion, clothing is not play but the sign of
play (p. 256). Consequently, Wu-Shuangs costume could signify the image of a
modern woman, and represents the fashion that can be identified by the audience group
who are mainly single women of a similar social class.


Figure 7.7 Wu-Shuang carries a white leather bag
Source: My Queen, Episode 2
In the scene, Wu-Shuangs costume includes black high-heeled shoes and a
white leather bag (see Figure 7.7). The colours of these two accessories suggest
harmony. In particular, Lu (2010) indicates that the bag has a dumpling shape, which
has been popular since 2002. Accessories worn by Wu-Shuang also include a set of
silver jewelry, and a necklace and a bracelet of the same material and design (see Figure
7.8). This is similar to the sterling silver jewelry of Tiffany & Co., an international
fashion brand. This particular design has been the mainstream fashion choice for
jewelry since the 2000s (Lu, 2010); it is simple but eye-catching. Significantly, the
trendy drama producers chose the metal silver for Wu-Shuangs jewelry. This signifies
that her conservative nature does not care about money and jewelry, and that

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contemporary women dismiss the jewelry myth (Lu, 2010, p. 102; translated by the
researcher) that jewelry can only comprise of diamonds, gold, crystal or jade. In the
current fashion, charms are removed from necklaces, and gemstones or diamond are not
embedded in necklaces and bracelets. This popular, anti-conventional design also infers
an image of a modern woman.

Figure 7.8 Wu-Shuang wearing a silver necklace and bracelet
Source: My Queen, Episode 2

It is apparent that the analysis of Wu-Shuangs costume derives from knowledge
related to the latest fashion trend. Therefore, all these elements of fashion, including
Wu-Shuangs clothes, bag, shoes and jewelry are integrated to portray the image of a
modern Taiwanese woman. Moreover, as Barthes (1983) suggests: Fashion play[s]
with the most serious theme of human consciousness (who am I?) (p. 257), and the
audiences seek self-identification when they perceive fashion as appearing in trendy
drama. In this sense, Wu-Shuangs costume scopes the perceptions of fashion for the
particular audience group whose background is similar.
Further, the fashion shown in the drama becomes the main material for the
audiences to learn about fashion. Couldry (2000) proposes this when he says that the
media function of framing mediates ordinary peoples social experience. Therefore,

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framing of trendy drama enables it to act as the symbolic form for conveying ideas of
fashion.
In My Queen ( ) (Fang & Lin, 2009), Wu-Shuang represents an
independent modern woman who is as capable as men in her society. However, her
clothing reveals that she is still concerned about the traditional values based on the
norms of her society, especially male oppinions. For instance, she often dresses with a
matching belt, especially a wide belt. Wide belts have been deemed to be the current
retro trend, reflecting the royal style of the 19
th
Century (Gu, 2011); the style
particularly highlights the female bodys curve on the one hand. On the other hand, Wu-
Shuang often wears short skirts or miniskirts, which were a symbol of anti-tradition
after the baby boom of the 1950s (Gu, 2011). Miniskirts signify the power of women to
sexually attract men. Therefore, when Wu-Shuang is wearing a wide belt, her image
signifies her feminine fashion, and implies her concern regarding traditional male
perseptions of beauty.

Figure 7.9 Wu-Shuang wears a purple dress of knit-pile fabric
Source: My Queen, Episode 6
Wu-Shuang often wears clothes that have the texture of knit-pile fabrics, which
have been the main fabrics used for womens garments by some international brands,
such as DKNY. The texture is deemed high quality and soft, conveying a womans

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desire to be embraced and loved. In the scene of Episode 6, Wu-Shuang feels jealousy
when her colleagues think Lucas and Jia-Jia are a couple, and she is upset about the
uncertainty of the relationship between Lucas and herself. In the scene above, Wu-
Shuang wears a purple dress of knit-pile fabric (see Figure 7.9), the texture of the dress
coinciding with her inner feelings at that moment: her desire for Lucas love to be cared
for by him. In particular, the dress is worn with a white shirt inside it, with the shirt
collar outside the dress (see Figure 7.10). Folding back the collar of the shirt to make a
lapel exposes the inner surface of the dress, and highlights the difference between the
inner and outer parts. This means of dressing acts in the reverse (Lehmann, 2006, p.
48), which infers being in internal opposing or confronting positions. In other words,
the costume signifies Wu-Shuangs self-contradiction. In the scene, she tells herself not
to care for Lucas feelings, but she does care. Therefore, the significance of her costume
accords with her emotional condition; her external persona is an echo of her internal
emotions.

Figure 7.10 Wu-Shuang wears a purple dress of knit-pile fabric
Source: My Queen, Episode 6

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Wu-Shuangs clothes turn from the thicker fabric of the early episodes into
thinner fabrics in later episodes, possibly because of a shift in the seasons (see Figure
7.11). However, this change of fabric could also be interpreted as her heart becoming
lighter and freer than when she was trying to find a husband. Barthes (1983) supports
this interpretation, stating that thickness suggests being serious and thinness suggests a
more relaxed attitude. This idea accords with the change of Wu-Shuangs relationship
status and attitude. After she meets Lucas her personality changes subtly; she changes
from being tough, serious and hard-working to being tender, emotional and relaxed.
Moreover, the change of fabric used in Wu-Shuangs costume signifies that the freedom
of her single status emancipates her from the traditional values which have originally
persisted in her mind.



Figure 7.11 Wu-Shuang appears in thinner fabric clothes in the later episodes
Source: My Queen ()


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Figure 7.12 Wu-Shuangs hairstyle in the drama
Source: My Queen ()
A trend in the Taiwanese society led by Wu-Shuangs fashion can also be seen
in fashionable hair creations. Her short, straight hairstyle with a centre parting has been
popular since the drama aired in 2009 (see Figure 7.12); it is therefore termed a
defeated dog hairstyle, and usually adopted by single women over 30 years of age
(Kao, 2009). Moreover, this hairstyle represents the significant attitude of a single
woman toward her single life able to be herself, pursue her dreams as well as
happiness rather than getting married. This is another example of the implications of
trendy drama in society, legitimising certain cultural meanings in order that they
become part of popular culture.
Jia-Jias costume
In My Queen (), Wu-Shuang is stereotyped as a mature, professional
woman. Her image is highlighted through costume so as to contrast with the image of
another female character, Jia-Jia. Jia-Jias costume is designed to show that she belongs
to the same generation as Lucas. Therefore, Jia-Jias costume heightens the disharmony
of the love match of Lucas and Wu-Shuang.and reinforces that herself and Lucas are
more suitable to be a couple. Different from Wu-Shuangs costume, Jia-Jias style
signifies liberation, in which girls clothing is not limited by gender. Her generation
allows different feminine styles; girls can be neutral, girlish or womanly. Therefore, Jia-

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Jias costume can be related to a society where women are free to express themselves
differently in physical characteristics, according to their personal preferences. To sum
up, the styles of personal preferences reveal different generations and social classes.

Figure 7.13 Jia-Jias first appearance in the drama
Source: My Queen, Episode 1
In Episode One, a scene showing Wu-Shuangs first appearance in a fine suit is
inserted into a shot of Jia-Jias walking on the street; this is also Jia-Jias first
appearance. The shot with the insertion gives the first impression of Wu-Shuang and
Jia-Jia, and conveys the difference between them. In the scene, Wu-Shuang is dressed in
designer clothes for professionals; conversely, Jia-Jia appears wearing less ordered
clothing: no belt to bind her waist, and no systematic matching of colour, texture and
jewelry. Jia-Jia wears a bright, yellow blouse patterned with black stars, a long black
sleeveless jacket, a fringed scarf with a black, grey and white tartan pattern, and claret-
coloured pantyhose patterned with little white flowers (see Figure 7.13). In addition, she
carries a bag of multi-coloured tartan, akin to a design in mosaic (see Figure 7.13).
Clearly, Jia-Jias clothes are not as classical as Wu-Shuangs in design; Jia-Jias
costume is a mix and match style, which originates from street fashion.
Street fashion stems from London, where young, unemployed people were idle
on the street in the 1960s (Gu, 2011). These younger people did not have much money
so they purchased second-hand clothes in flea markets. Later, this way of mixing
clothing freely became a specific clothing fashion. In addition, Jia-Jias unsystematic
costume denotes layers of clothing, which originate from the style of Bobo-ism (Lu,
2010, p. 147; translated by the researcher), which combines Bourgeois and Bohemian
philosophies that refer to the new elites upholding of liberalism. Furthermore,
Schacknat (2006) proposes that the concept of this type of fashion connects the past,
present and future, associating here and there style with geo-chronicity (p. 319). The

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style possessed particular elements used to produce a unique fashion signifying
liberation.
In My Queen () (Fang & Lin, 2009), Jia-Jia represents her generation
and her social class in fashion displaying the relevant elements of street fashion: the mix
and match, and multi-layered design. Her free and unsystematic dress style can be
related to young female liberation, and contrasts with Wu-Shuangs professional
clothing. Jia-Jia does not wear tight clothes to highlight the shape of her body;
additionally, she does not wear feminine accessories to emphasise her gender. The
costume style makes Jia-Jia appear neutral and childish. In the scene, Jia-Jia wears a
fringed scarf similar to the style worn by Lucas and her sister, Xiang-Yun, who appears
in flashbacks only. The style of the scarf is neutral, can be worn by both genders, and
indicates the same generation and neutrality. Barthes (1983) contends: the boyish look
itself has more a temporal than a sexual value; it is the complementary sign of an ideal
age, which assumes increasing importance in Fashion literature: the junior (p. 258).
Further, the junior is presented as the complex degree of the feminine/masculine: it
tends toward androgyny; but what is more remarkable in this new term is that it effaces
sex to the advantage of age (p. 258). In other words, age is more important than sex in
fashion to account for Jia-Jias appearance. To sum up, Jia-Jia embodies the younger
persons fashion, which usually emphasises age rather than gender; the style she
represents is youth fashion, not womans fashion.
As illustrated above, both Wu-Shuangs and Jia-Jias costumes can be related to
the mainstream of world fashion. This signifies that they are located in a modern Asian
society, which endows women with more liberation than conservative societies.
Accordingly, the context of the drama is represented as being as modern as the west, in
which the modern senses, such as individualism and womens self-conviction, are
emphasised. In particular, their costumes represent the two different generations, in
which women are allowed to show their physical characteristics. This situation implies
there to be a rise in womens self-conviction, expressed by the different age groups and
different social classes in society. Moreover, they both belong to the younger
generations in their 20s and 30s, both of an era where the media crosses borders within
Asia. This situation is as Straubhaar (2007) indicates in the sense of cultural proximity
(see Chapter 2), namely that younger people tend to be more involved in global or at
least transnational cultural patterns than older people (p. 205). Therefore, Wu-

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Shuangs and Jia-Jais costumes convey certain cultural meanings, which can be
connected to the mainstream popular culture in the Asian region.
Lucas costume
In My Queen () (Fang & Lin, 2009), Lucas represents a young male
who falls in love with the mature woman, Wu-Shuang; his costume in the drama often
appears to be boyish, so as to highlight the tradition-inspired, incompatible love
between him and Wu-Shuang. In addition, the triangular relationship among Wu-
Shuang, Lucas and Jia-Jia was also arranged to enhance the incompatible love, because
Jia-Jia seems to match Lucas better than Wu-Shuang, both in age and in social class.
Accordingly, Lucas costume signifies the generation similar to that of Jia-Jia, being
born in the 1980s. In the drama, he is often costumed as depicting youth fashion, being
of liberal bent and diversity. However, his style is not as chaotic and mixed as Jia-Jias
neutral style. In the context of the story, a young man like Lucas is liberal in fashion;
yet neutral or even feminine-oriented in clothing. This situation corresponds to
Barthess (1983) perspective of fashion: There is a social prohibition against the
feminization of men, there is almost none against the masculinization of women (p.
257); therefore, Fashion notably acknowledges the boyish look (p. 257).
Furthermore, the actor, Ethan Ruan, who plays the character Lucas, has the
boyish-looking characteristic of kakkoi, (see Chapter 3). Kakkoi means a handsome
male with particular behaviour, possessing a baby-ish face and toned body. His clothing
usually portrays him as being cool and boyish. According to Kuyper (2006), the
boyish style became a kind of fashion in 1960. At that time, the mainstream fashion
represented the notion of unisex, now becoming no sex (p. 119). Adults tend to
liberate themselves from gender, using clothing, and informality (p. 119) for fashion.
Kuyper argues that the early function of fashion as representative of specific events or
social status has been gradually reduced; instead, fashion is focused on the younger
generations and their non-conformism (p. 119). In summary, Lucas boyish costume
has another level of signification, that of representing the traditional values of love
matches based on social class and the anti-traditional faith in pursuing true love.


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Figure 7.14 The colours of Lucas costume in the drama
Source: My Queen ()
The colours of Lucas costume are based on black and red (see Figure 7.14).
Black is an essential colour for street fashion. Japanese fashion designers, Rei
Kawakubo and Yohji Yamamoto, liberated black from funerals and blended the colour
with street fashion in the 1980s (Gu, 2011). Gu insists that red is associated with
passion and love. The two colours applied to Lucas costume highlight his youthful
image in contrast to Wu-Shuangs maturity in the drama. In particular, the texture of
clothes also signifies Lucas taste of the younger generation fashion. He wears a black
leather jacket most of the time, showing his style as punk, which is a subculture that
claims to be anti-establishment (Gu, 2011). Punk is a signifier against traditional
costume that is viewed as conservative and ossified, stiff and inflexible. In addition to a
black jacket, a specific hairstyle with a pointed line of hair shaped up on the head is
another symbol of punk. Although Lucas does not wear a punk hairstyle, he usually
wears a black helmet with a red pointed line on the top when he rides a motorcycle (see
Figure 7.15). All these elements represented in Lucas fashion add to the enhancement
of his youthful, kakkoi image.

242

Figure 7.15 Lucass black helmet with a red pointed line on the top
Source: My Queen, Episode 6

The emphasis of youth on Lucas costume is represented even when he wears a
suit. In Episode 5, Lucas wears a suit to attend an event with Wu-Shuang; that is the
first and only time he wears formal attire in the drama. The suit consists of three pieces
and in different tones of black: black, dark grey and light grey (see Figure 7.16).
Although a suit is usually formal, Lucass suit design is non-traditional, and related to a
younger form. According to Kuyper (2006), a dark, three-piece suit was previously
thought to be lower class and informal; yet this style of suit has become very formal,
and a marked trend during recent decades. In particular, dark three-piece suits are now
expected to be worn for multiple functions, the wearer attending casual events like a
cool party or formal occasions such as a funeral. Kuyper indicates that the suit, on the
one hand, corresponds to the rules of society; on the other hand, it subverts established
practice. Therefore, when Lucas is dressed in this type of suit, he still represents the
younger generation. In particular, the suit trousers are tight, and they fit Lucas very well,
highlighting his physical shape. This is the new style that younger men prefer wearing;
it is the trend for their generation.

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Figure 7.16 Lucas wears a three piece suit.
Source: My Queen, Episode 5



Figure 7.17 Lucas often wears hoodies in the drama
Source: My Queen ()

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Lucas boyish style is also embodied with several specific elements of dress
design, including colour, and Scottish patterns and popular motifs. The red colour
signifies Lucas youth, passion and love. The specific types of jackets he often wears
are hoodies (see Figure 7.17), a specific garment with a cowl. Hoodies have become
very popular among university students, and now signify the trend of popular culture
since for youth since the 2000s (Wilson, 2006; School adopts hoodie as uniform,
2005; Hoodies Hailed As Defining Fashion Trend, 2010). In addition, the patterns on
his hoodies are most alternative checks of tartan, which is a traditional Scottish style
(see Figure 7.17). The Scottish style has been deemed as suitable apparel for both
genders, and it is a college fashion also (Gu, 2011). The frequency of wearing Scottish
style clothes signifies two dimensions: he is a student and from a middle class family.
Lucas has discontinued his schooling, but still maintains his student identification.
In general, there are three significant elements used in Lucas costume: 1) black
and red as foundation colours; 2) a stylish helmet and leather jacket following punk and
hippie styles; and 3) alternative-checked hoodies following the Scottish mode.
According to these elements, his costume appears cool, young and trendy. Thus, his
image contrasts with Wu-Shuangs of being professional and mature. The contrast
between the costumes of the pair highlights their two different generations, social
classes and incompatible love. Furthermore, their images convey the shift of gender
images in trendy drama, previously discussed, showing modern women as asserting
their power of independence, whereas men seem to represent the new masculinity.
Leslies costume
The other main male character, Leslie, also embodies male fashion as
represented in My Queen () (Fang & Lin, 2009). In the story, Leslie and Wu-
Shuang were formerly a couple; they are in the same age group and social class. Leslie
is a well-known professional photographer, so his costume represents middle-class
fashion for men. In addition, his costume contrasts with that of Lucas, in order to show
his higher status in the triangular relationship among Wu-Shuang, Lucas and himself.
The token owned by Wu-Shuang reminds her of her relationship with Leslie
metaphorically signifying his social class even before he appears in the drama.
Therefore, when he appears in the scene his image tends to be in accord with audience
expectation.
The token symbolising a former attachment between Wu-Shuang and Leslie is a
picture of a white polar bear in the snow. Clearly, white is the main element of the

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picture, which signifies purity and perfection (Jacques Nicolas Paillot de Montabert,
cited in Giblett, forthcoming, 2013), and the polar bear is used to reinforce the
preciousness of their pure love. This concept of pure love is one of the main ideas
portrayed in trendy drama. The value of white and its signification can be traced back to
the 19
th
Century. In the 19
th
Century, white was thought to be the main colour used for
Greek and Roman sculptures, of which beauty was epitomized by their pure white
marble (Mirzoeff, 1962, p. 58). In addition, people thought that Greek statues were
created in white because whiteness conveyed the exquisite taste of the Greeks (p. 59).
With the origin of artistic forms, white has had a priority in our colour
perception of aesthetics; in addition, the connotations of whiteness came to convey an
intense physical beauty in itself (Mirzoeff, 1962, p. 59). When the film treats the token
of pure love in the drama, the image of Leslie seems to be a mystery, imagined figure,
that deserves pure love. For contemporary women, his mysterious image is like a prince
riding a white horse, and coming to the real world one day. Moreover, Leslie is
stereotyped as an ideal lover with classic clothing, and although his clothing may not
necessarily be white in colour, his costume connotes a particular taste, which adds to
enhance his ideal image in womens minds. His representations of a particular taste
through clothing will be examined in the following scenes.

Figure 7.18 Leslie jumps into the pool
Source: My Queen, Episode 6
In this scene of Episode 6, Leslie is taking photographs of a model showing a
classic brand of diving watch. After several attempts to portray the classic
characteristics of the watch using the models different postures, Leslie is discontent
with the results, and seeks a special effect to represent the value of the diving watch. He
chooses to take photographs under water, and he jumps into the pool (see Figure 7.18).

246
During this underwater photographic task, Leslies non-synchronous diegetic sound is
heard thus:
The value of a diving watch should be depicted perfectly in the water. I am
longing to represent the excellent function of the diving watch by
photography, showing it can still perform perfectly even though it is under
high pressure at the bottom of the pool. Therefore, all strategies, including
photography, composition, focusing and adjusting aperture, have to be done
instantly. This time, I will give them a perfect photograph.
(My Queen, Episode 6, 00:30:15; translated by the researcher)
Leslies voice-over explains his perception of the diving watch and his
perspective of how to represent it perfectly in photography; these thoughts inform the
audience of the depth of Leslies commitment to his profession, and also allude to his
class and taste.


Figure 7.19 Leslie wears a white shirt and dark blue jeans
Source: My Queen, Episode 6
In the scene, Leslie is clothed in a white shirt and dark blue jeans (see Figure
7.19). The shirt has a classic design incorporating a modern army-uniform style: two
pockets on the chest, two clear lines of sewing which define the shape of the chest and
waist, and rolled-up sleeves. This style has been adopted by a few international shirt

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brands like Burberry, Aquascutum and Darks (Gu, 2011; translated by the researcher).
The jeans Leslie wears are also of a special design: straight loose trousers, which are
specifically termed Lyuker and are branded, Diesel (Lu, 2010, p. 130). Gu typifies the
jeans to have a few holes like the style popular in England since the 1990s, known as
ripped jeans or hole jeans. In particular, Leslie wears a pair of boots with two lines of
eight openings for laces on the front; the classic design of the well-known brand, Dr.
Martens. The shoes represent bold, heroic features. Gu argues that wearing jeans
matched with boots is a popular western style of dress, and that jeans have been a
symbol to embrace nature, leisure and informality, and signify nostalgia.
In Episode 6 of the drama, Leslie attends the re-union of the climbing club,
wearing a purple shirt covered with a coat of military-uniform fashion in khaki fabric
and colour, yellow pants and boots. His appearance in these eye-catching yellow
trousers, coat, belt and boots are all representations of vintage design (see Figures 7.20
& 7.21). The matching of his clothing based on yellow and purple colours recalls the
imagery of a forest (Rosenberg, 1969). The costume of his first appearance in the drama
fully represents his class and artistic taste; he is a professional photographer with a good
reputation earning a high salary. His image is in accord with the so-called yuppie
(Perkins, 1991, p. 244), which refers to the group who are young, urban, and upwardly
mobile professionals (p. 244). Yuppies are always dressed in stylish clothes, and
additionally their clothes are usually expensive because, They like to flaunt their good
taste (How to Dress Like a Yuppie, n.d.).

248

Figure 7.20 Leslies apparel
Source: My Queen, Episode 6

Figure 7.21 Leslies apparel

249
Source: My Queen, Episode 6

In Episode 18, Wu-Shuang and Leslie prepare to get married in a church;
however, Wu-Shuang is late, because she has been dealing with Lucas accident since
the previous night. Leslie continues to wait, alone, in the church. When Wu-Shuang
arrives at the church, Leslie tells her that he has cancelled the wedding because he
knows she is not ready to marry him and that she still loves Lucas. He finally chooses to
withdraw from the triangular relationship between him, Wu-Shuang and Lucas. His
withdrawal allows presages Wu-Shuang and Lucas developing a romantic relationship.
In the particular scene, Leslie wears a white suit of classic design; this is to be his last
appearances in the drama (see Figure 7.22). The director both begins and concludes his
appearances with the character dressed in white, thereby reinforcing his pure,
honourable image as an ideal lover. To sum up, Leslie embodies the symbol of
whiteness through the token and his costume; he is stereotyped as an ideal lover,
belonging to the same social class as Wu-Shuang.



Figure 7.22 The last appearances of Leslie in the drama
Source: My Queen, Episode 8

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As discussed above, My Queen () (Fang & Lin, 2009) does not merely
show female fashion; it also conveys the latest ideas about male fashion. Lucas and
Leslie are respectively costumed to represent the fashion styles of the two generations,
which also signifies their different social classes. In particular, both Lucas and Leslie
display various choices relating to their tastes in clothes, thereby showing that the
dramas context is a wealthy, modern and liberal society. In such a way, the drama
becomes a media frame to disseminate cultural messages as to how a modern man
becomes fashionable. It also demonstrates that the Taiwanese TV industry has the
symbolic power to integrate all relevant elements to show the leading fashion ideas in
trendy drama, which then becomes a symbolic form to circulate specific ideas.
Conclusion
This chapter has shown that the costuming arrangement used in My Queen (
) is primarily to heighten the two different social classes and to enhance the
incompatible love between Wu-Shuang and Lucas. Through this cinematic device the
popular tastes of the younger generations in the 20s and 30s are also conveyed. It is
clear that the female and male characters costumes have different functions. Male
costumes are used to highlight the dramatic development of the relationship between
Wu-Shuang and Lucas. The female costumes of the two generations assist in
emphasising incompatible love, while expressing the rise of womens self-conviction in
Taiwanese society. By displaying a range of womens fashion, the story signifies a
modern society, where women are not limited in what they can wear or do. On the one
hand, the women can choose to show their bodily curves to be attractive; on the other
hand, they are liberal in expressing themselves in a less womanly way, free of
traditional social expectations. Therefore, at the denotation level, costume signifies
styles of character and genres and at the connotation level, it registers zeitgeist, the
spirit of the times. Both levels of signification accord with the essential quality of
trendy drama: to be close to reality.
This chapter shows that regarding symbolic power, trendy drama performs as a
specific symbolic form, enabling the Taiwanese TV industry to exercise its encoding
strategies. Accordingly, the relevant and preferred social resources are transformed into
specific cultural meanings, wherein an imagined community existing in Asian societies
and based on cultural proximity is constructed. In particular the ability of the Taiwanese
TV industry in adapting Japanese trendy drama enables local cultures to be exchanged

251
within the Asian TV market. In consequence, East Asian TV industries reciprocate
medias symbolic power thereby maintaining the cultural sphere with the end result of
strengthening regionalisation in Asia.
In order to support the perspectives revealed in the previous chapters, practical
insights based on interviewing a Taiwanese TV producer to review the main arguments
in the chapters are provided in the next chapter. I will examine how the Taiwanese TV
industry considers idol drama as a powerful genre for expanding its TV market in the
future. In particular, the genre might open up new possibilities for the Chinese TV
market as discussed in Chapter 3. Therefore the Taiwanese TV producers views are
also reported on the possibilities for future productions and sales in this new Asian TV
market.

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PART III
LOOKING TO THE FUTURE OF THE GENRE

This next tranche comprises Chapters 8 and 9 which is related to the overall
discussion on the development of trendy drama and its future prospects, based on
interviews and previous information from other studies. In particular, by interviewing a
Taiwanese TV producer, this section aims to explore practical insights about present
Taiwanese idol drama productions which might support the theoretical findings of this
research. Furthermore, these chapters present answers to the research questions posed
by the thesis The significant finding is that the East Asian TV industries have the
symbolic power to circulate certain cultural meanings through the specific form of
trendy drama; and through this genre they can mediate popular culture and social reality
in Asia.

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Chapter 8
Producer and Director Perspectives on TV Production
in the Region

Introduction
The previous chapters involved an analysis of two Taiwanese idol dramas,
demonstrating that the specific elements and ideas conveyed in Japanese trendy drama
have been adapted to produce Taiwanese idol drama. It was also found that there are
two directions in which Taiwanese idol drama is developing at present (see Chapter 3).
One direction is the cornering of the Asian TV market by adopting established symbols,
such as the images of Asian idols and metropolitan settings, Black & White ()
(Yu & Tsai, 2009) being an example of this direction. The other direction is the
production of this new genre representing Taiwanese local culture, such as in My Queen
() (Fang & Lin, 2009), which conveys the image of a Taiwanese modern
woman. These two directions, evident in these two dramas, enable Taiwanese local
productions to become more profitable within the Asian TV market.
In order to reinforce the findings of the previous chapters, practical insights from
Taiwanese TV specialists perspectives will be canvassed, so as to deal with these in
greater depth for this study. Accordingly, this chapter aims to examine the reasons why
Taiwanese TV specialists, including TV directors and producers, consider idol drama as
a powerful local production for the expansion of their TV market now and in the future.
In particular, the genre might open up a new opening for the Chinese TV market (see
Chapter 3). Thus, this chapter further examines how the Taiwanese TV industry views
the possibilities for Taiwanese idol drama in promising new markets.
The main argument of this chapter is that since 2000, the Taiwanese TV industry
has attempted to develop its own style and in turn, to produce a new genre, the
Taiwanese idol drama. In particular, the Taiwanese TV industry now finds its position
in the TV market expanded, mainly into the market in Mainland China. Therefore, the
Taiwanese TV industry is challenged to produce dramas of an even better quality, based

254
on increased economic resources and creativity in using them. The Taiwanese TV
industry could gain more of the symbolic power necessary to influence the Chinese and
Asian TV markets, so enabling further cultural exchanges to take place. The main
methodology to be employed in this chapter is the semi-structured interview with a
Taiwanese TV producer and a subsequent review the information from some Taiwanese
TV specialists viewpoints. By including the TV specialists viewpoints, their practical
insights can contribute to the specific viewpoints that I have conveyed in the chapters of
this thesis.
This chapter consists of the three sections. The first section explores why the
Taiwanese TV industry began to produce Taiwanese idol drama and why it used idol
drama as a term for this new genre. The second section reveals what the TV industry
attempts to emphasise in this new genre. The final section discusses the TV specialists
opinions about the future development of this new genre, and their opinions on the ways
of expanding the domestic TV market.
Motivation for Producing Trendy Drama
Taiwanese idol drama emerged in the early 2000s. At that time, the main
resources for producing Taiwanese idol drama were based on Japanese manga, and the
main producers were Taiwanese independent production companies. Subsequently,
more and more TV companies began to produce this genre because of its popularity in
Taiwan. This section includes Taiwanese TV specialists viewpoints on the Taiwanese
TV industrys motivation for producing idol drama. One Taiwanese producer, Mark
Chen, was interviewed face-to-face using a semi-structured interview methodology.
Producer Chen works for SETTV, the TV station that has produced idol dramas based
on representing local cultures. In addition, I draw on other TV specialists perspectives
collected from previous formal and informal interviews by other researchers to develop
the discussion in this chapter. In particular, the focus is on the perspectives of one
director, Yuen-Hsun Tsai, and one producer, Yu-Shan Chen, both of whom have been
successful in producing Taiwanese idol drama in the recent years.
From adaptation to creation
For Taiwanese TV directors and producers the idol drama genre was new and
challenging. The format of the genre and its elements had appeared infrequently in
Taiwanese local TV production previously, and they did not have any reference point to
guide them in the production of this new genre. Hitherto, the Taiwanese idol dramas

255
produced initially were mostly adapted from Japanese sources. Despite this, this new
genre was deemed to satisfy the needs of the Taiwanese TV market at that time. Chen
(2010) indicates that before idol drama, local TV dramas in Taiwan had audiences in
their 40s, 50s and 60s, while the younger generations, in their 20s and 30s, had been
ignored. He argues that the younger audiences have been ignored when [scriptwriters
are] structuring storylines (personal communication, December 23, 2010). In this
situation, the TV dramas would not be able to expand their audience groups. Chen
proposed that the lack of storylines concerning the younger generations in Taiwanese
conventional TV dramas is one of the main factors that has resulted in the large
importation of Japanese and Korean trendy dramas into Taiwan during the early 2000s.
This viewpoint has been discussed in Chapter 3.
Director Tsai holds similar views about the motivation for producing Taiwanese
idol drama. He (cited in Gao, 2009) related when he began to produce idol drama, there
were still many unrealistic TV dramas with exaggerated and superficial dialogues, and
plots that did not reflect peoples ordinary life. He avers: The new style of my TV
work did not attempt to confront traditional dramas. My purpose was to provide
Taiwanese audiences with a new genre of TV drama (p. 192; translated by the
researcher). Clearly, for Tsai, the Taiwanese TV market needed different forms of TV
programs in the early 2000s. He believed that a new production does not necessarily
replace an existing one; instead, traditional drama can remain in conjunction with new
trends to contend different audience groups.
Tsai exemplifies the first Taiwanese idol drama, Meteor Garden ()
(Chai &Tsai, 2001), which is also his work, to explain further his motivation for
producing a new TV genre for the Taiwanese TV market. Tsai (cited in Gao, 2009)
comments that his enthusiasm for producing Meteor Garden () happened
because he realised trendy drama was the kind of TV drama that should be very close
to our life; the performances, materials, content, lifestyles are all very realistic and
common (p. 192; translated by the researcher). Tsai emphasises that Meteor Garden
() represents a love story of the younger generation, even though the story was
based on a Japanese manga. Therefore, the portrayal of the young couples relationship
in the drama appealed to the audiences when it was broadcast in Taiwan. In particular,
the format of the drama provided a new feeling for Taiwanese audiences, such as the
various styles of the characters, the dialogue, the settings, the costumes and the shots. It
is apparent that Chen and Tsai have similar perspectives about the Taiwanese TV

256
industrys motivation to produce idol drama; these were due to the need for a new TV
genre in the domestic TV market.
This study has discussed the fact that adaptation has become a crucial factor in
the rise in regionalisation in the East Asian TV industry (see Chapter One). In particular,
Japanese TV production has played an important role in this rise. Both Chen and Tsai
acknowledge that Japanese trendy drama became the main resource behind the formula
and ideas for producing Taiwanese idol dramas in the initial stage. Chen (2010)
observes that when Taiwanese audiences watched Japanese trendy drama broadcast on
Hong Kongs TV channel through an illegal satellite in the late 1990s, they were
satisfied because the programs were very new and made them feel the stories in the
program belonged to their generation. This led to the Taiwanese TV industry creating a
new style of local production which accorded with the established form of Japanese
trendy drama. Tsai also admits that adaptation became a method to produce a new style
of local TV production; however, he considers it to be experimental at the beginning of
the production. Tsai (cited in Gao, 2009) claims that when he produced Meteor Garden
() based on a Japanese manga, he attempted to keep the original format,
including the story, settings and filming. At that time, he deemed the experience of
producing Meteor Garden () to be a good start in seeking different production
techniques.
However, the adaptation of Japanese trendy drama has been criticised by many
Taiwanese audiences insofar as Taiwanese idol dramas were merely imitations, and did
not represent local Taiwanese lifestyles. Moreover, at that time, some senior TV
producers disagreed with the adaption of Japanese manga because they thought it meant
discarding local cultures (Lin, 2006). Idol drama was even deemed to be a form of
cultural imperialism and a metamorphosis which made local culture deteriorate. In this
regard, Tsai did not acknowledge contemporary Taiwanese idol drama as an imitation
of Japanese trendy drama. He (cited in Gao, 2009) claims, I did not wish to make a
product of an imported culture; instead, I sought and still seek to produce Taiwanese-
ness (p. 194; translated by the researcher). That is to say, Tsai attempts to produce TV
dramas based on Taiwanese materials. His following works, such The Hospital (
) (Yu & Tsai, 2006) and Black & White () (Yu & Tsai, 2009), were indeed
produced from local scripts.

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Chen (2010) supports Tsais claim indicating that, in the beginning, it was very
challenging for Taiwanese TV producers and directors who endeavoured to produce
idol drama because the production was very new. Therefore, the adaptation became the
major, but temporary way forward for this new type of local production. Chen further
contends that Tsais experiment of producing Meteor Garden () was very
worthwhile because it opened up a new vision of TV programs for Taiwanese audiences.
Taiwanese audiences began accepting this new genre, identifying themselves more with
the structure of this version of idol drama. This led to Taiwanese idol drama recently
establishing storylines created locally. As a consequence, the Taiwanese TV industry
has developed this particular genre successfully and now idol dramas made in Taiwan
are starting to sell to the other countries in the Asian region. For example, SETTV has
produced many Taiwanese idol dramas based on local scripts which have been
profitable overseas during the last ten years.
Clearly production of Taiwanese idol drama has developed from adapting the
Japanese style to creating a specifically local genre. From adaptation to creation,
Taiwanese idol drama has become the most popular genre of TV programs in Taiwan.
Chen (2010) opines that the age groups focused on by idol drama had been ignored by
the marketing of conventional TV drama productions. Idol drama focuses on this group
and heightens the relevant elements to appeal to these audiences, such as the urban
lifestyles. Chen states, The scenes of idol drama are usually set up in urban areas
where the younger generations prefer to develop their career and life in the future
(personal communication, December 23, 2010). In addition, Chen agrees that the new
attitudes towards life portrayed in idol drama are also acknowledged by most audiences
saying, What the characters say and how they behave in the drama and their lifestyle
seem to be an indication for the audience about what to desire and learn about
(personal communication, December 23, 2010). Clearly, idol drama has developed to be
an acknowledged, specific genre, which audiences consider as depicting younger
persons world.
From emphasising idols to looking at content
Taiwanese idol drama, as a new genre in Taiwan, was given a new term to
emphasise idols in this genre when it was produced based on the adaptation of Japanese
trendy drama. This was indeed to continue the convention of how the Taiwanese TV
channels promoted the imported Japanese and Korean trendy dramas. In addition,
naming a new term for this genre was a strategy that the Taiwanese TV industry

258
adopted from Japanese and Korean TV industries to advertise the idols of this new
genre. The Taiwanese TV industry, therefore, treats idols as symbols of certain cultural
values which are at the core of popular culture in the Asia TV market. Nevertheless, for
this new term which emphasises the idols, the Taiwanese TV specialists hold different
attitudes.
Chen (2010) considers idol drama as an appropriate term for this genre
because it highlights the distinctiveness between the genre and traditional TV drama.
Chen (2010) argues:
the term, idol drama, can definitely catch peoples attention; especially the
young generation [because idol drama emphasises] new actors who have
some particular characteristics, such as having a pretty face and beautifully
toned body, and having the potential to be a star. (personal communication,
December 23, 2010)
Chen insists idols to be the most appealing part of this new Taiwanese drama;
therefore, the TV industry should promote the drama by highlighting the name of the
genre to attract the attention of the audience. Indeed, Chens attitude can be associated
with the symbolic power of the Taiwanese TV industry, which attempted to utilise
idols as the symbol for the marketing of this new local Taiwanese production. This
accretion of symbolic power has led to success in the cultural industries, followed by
economic success in other areas. For example, the fashion and accessories industry
increased their sales due to the success of idol drama.
Contrarily, Tsai disapproves of promoting the new genre by emphasising idols.
preferring trendy drama rather than idol drama when he produced Meteor Garden
(). Tsai (cited in Gao, 2009) argues that this new genre of TV drama should
not only be focused on idols, even if they play an important part, but instead, the genre
should be considered as being contemporary with the spirit of the times. He (cited in
Gao, 2009) claims:
I always wanted to produce a new format of TV drama. The content is
different from traditional dramas. I thought I just directed a new type of TV
drama; I did not have any thought of it as the term, idol drama. I expected to
produce a specific type of TV drama, which could represent our stories,
not just being a fantasy but also a reality. (p. 59; translated by the researcher)
Clearly, Tsai emphasises the content of the new genre more than the idols,
further contending that the term, idol drama, may attract immediate attention; however,
the audiences will expect more than idols after viewing this new genre for a time. For
example, through watching examples of this new genre the audiences may seek certain

259
cultural messages or specific new ideas with which they can identify when desirous of
following a popular trend. In this situation, Tsai believes the genre should put more
effort into the content and offer relevant material other than just idols. He concludes that
the TV industry has aimed to represent the ideas of fashion through idols in the drama,
but fashion comes and it goes (p. 191). If producers give their efforts to fashion and
idols only, this new genre will become superficial, and weakened in the future.
Therefore, Tsai regards the term idol drama as unrepresentative of the spirit of the new
genre he produces.
This section examined Chens and Tsais perspectives on their motivation for
producing this new genre, and the use of the term idol drama. It is clear that the
younger generations, between 20 and 30, became the main audiences for the production
of this genre. This trend can be related to the overall emergence of the middle classes in
Asia in the 1990s, (see Chapter 2). At that time, the economic conditions in Taiwan
allowed the TV industry to improve their production techniques and create this new
genre to satisfy the appetite of the TV market. Therefore, the appearance of Taiwanese
idol drama was based in the contemporary economic context. Moreover, from
adaptation to creation, the Taiwanese TV industry has shown an endeavour to develop
its own brand of TV drama for the Asian TV market. Its success implies that Taiwanese
local production has been improved to the extent that it is competitive within a larger
marketplace. Moreover, the emphasis on Taiwanese idols in this new TV genre
promotion means that the Taiwanese TV industry treats local idols as a specific symbol,
which has enabled the genre to be connected to the Asian TV market. Next, I will
discuss why the Taiwanese TV industry emphasises idols in this new genre and what
else Taiwanese directors and producers seek in order to enhance the genre.
Emphasis on Photogenic Characters and Storylines
Idols are a specific marketing tool for the new Taiwanese local production,
Taiwanese idols having played a vital role in promoting the new genre because the
images of the idols can be associated with the norms of beauty established in the
Taiwanese audiences mind. In addition, the circulation of the images of Taiwanese
idols within the Asian area demonstrates the success of the Taiwanese TV industrys
strategy for advertising and promoting its own TV dramas recently. However, some
directors and producers, such as Yuen-Hsun Tsai and Yu-Shan Chen, consider that
Taiwanese idol drama should be improved in terms of story content. To sum up, the TV

260
specialists consider photogenic characters and storylines to be the two key factors that
underpin Taiwanese idol drama. In the next section, I will discuss why Taiwanese TV
specialists consider these two specific elements of the genre to be important, and how
the elements should be enhanced for further production.
Symbolism in Idols
It is apparent that idols are specific symbols for the new Taiwanese TV drama;
they become the specific and crucial element in Taiwanese idol drama. Chen (2010)
intimated that idols could even be cultural signposts for this genre, which is expected to
show new faces regularly (personal communication, December 23, 2010). He
comments: We attempt to stereotype the stars for a drama, so they will probably have
an influence on the audiences point of view toward the drama ... this is the primary
meaning of idol drama (personal communication, December 23, 2010). Similarly, for
Tsai, idols can be deemed as an important reference point for new TV productions. He
(cited in Gao, 2009) indicates that new faces are part of the new format of this genre
because they represent the new values of so-called pretty people. Therefore, in his
work Meteor Garden () (Chai &Tsai, 2001), he seeks new faces as actors.
Tsai says, I created the four main male characters for this drama by using the idea of
selecting new faces because the TV market requires new artists (p. 192; translated by
the researcher). Tsai further indicates that new artists can reinvigorate the domestic TV
market and establish a new direction for local TV production. However, he suggests that
TV producers need to be aware that they have to spend an extensive amount of finance
and time training new actors. In particular, the new actors need to be trained as Asian
idols for the Asian TV market, because these idols are currently a symbol of cultural
production in a global market.
To summarise, Chens and Tsais perspectives are clear: idols are the
specifically key element in Taiwanese idol drama; the TV industry uses their
stereotyped images to represent new norms of beauty. Additionally, the new genre
opens the potential for introducing and connecting local Taiwanese culture to popular
culture in Asia. This can achieve cultural exchanges for Taiwanese local culture in the
Asian region. However, there has been a concern that the amount of Taiwanese talent
available has not met the needs for these new TV productions. Chen (2010) thinks that
idol drama has been developed so rapidly in recent years that the Taiwanese TV market
has not had sufficient human resources to fulfill and act in the dramas. Furthermore,
Chen reveals that when Taiwanese actors playing in idol dramas start to be appreciated

261
by the public and become popular, they usually move to the big screen and films. Hence,
there is always a lack of actors for idol dramas. In this regard, Chen suggests that the
Taiwanese TV market needs to establish a star system of training new actors to produce
idol drama in the future; otherwise, it could lead to declining development of Taiwanese
idol strategy.
The emphasis on idols is not approved of to any extent by the Taiwanese TV
producer Yu-Shan Chen, who (cited in Lai, 2008) argues that no one can individually
represent an idol in the present idol dramas because there are different idols for
different groups in different contexts. Chen is of the opinion that using actors of
different ages or any ordinary persons in idol drama can make the drama closer to
ordinary peoples daily life. Therefore, almost anyone could be a performer for this new
genre. Chen believes that if actors are selected from among ordinary people who do not
have an extremely attractive appearance, the stories of trendy drama would be closer to
the audiences everyday lives. If this idea flourished then in the dramas she produces,
the characters are not emphasised as having extremely pretty faces; contrarily, they are
depicted as having a role in ordinary life.
For example, in Chens work Youre My Destiny (Y-S. Chen & M-Z. Chen,
2008), the heroine is an ordinary office worker; she is very obedient and helpful,
following her bosss orders and always helping colleagues. She has a nickname, sticky-
note girl, which means the girl is as convenient as a sticky note, able to be caught and
thrown with ease. Chen (cited in Lai, 2008) believes this drama became popular because
the stereotyped character signified an ordinary person who could exist in ordinary
surroundings. Therefore, Chen does not emphasise that the characters in her dramas
must be idols. Despite her perspective, my observation is that the actors in Chens
dramas are still very photogenic. This is because the established norms of beauty have
been circulated within the Asian area for some time as Chen began to develop her own
style of idol dramas. Thus the images of the photogenic characters acting in trendy
drama have already influenced the norms of beauty in Taiwanese society; consequently,
the looks of the characters in Chens dramas conform to the established norms of beauty,
even if she thinks she does not focus on the pretty faces.
Therefore, idols have not merely become a specific symbol for the enhanced
Taiwanese local production; they also represent the symbolic power of the Taiwanese
TV industry. In particular, the latter has the ability to train ordinary people to be
appropriate actors in idol dramas, and to stereotype them as popular idols in the

262
Taiwanese and the Asian TV market. In addition to idols, directors and producers have
focused on improving the storylines of Taiwanese idol dramas in order to attract
audiences. Next, I will discuss what the Taiwanese TV specialists think about
importance of the storylines in producing Taiwanese idol drama.
Attraction of storylines
A lack of storylines connected to the younger generation, which has been an
ongoing weakness, could be one of the main factors for the large importation of
Japanese and Korean trendy dramas in Taiwan in the early 2000s. Therefore, Taiwanese
idol drama must be developed on the basis of diverse storylines, one of the key elements
in trendy drama. In pursuing this, new ideas could be developed from daily routines into
plots in dramas which portray peoples everyday life. For instance, a rise in womens
self-conviction could be adopted in the plot to describe how a modern woman deals
with her job in trendy drama. The Taiwanese TV specialists emphasise that the
storylines of idol drama could feature diverse stories based on local scripts.
The storylines representing contemporary lifestyles attract audiences because
they can identify themselves with the local cultures conveyed in the drama. Chen (2010)
proposes that the idol dramas created locally reflects Taiwanese social reality more
compared to previous productions (personal communication, December 23, 2010); this
increases the demand that Taiwanese idol dramas begin production based on local
scripts. Local scripts can represent local cultures and contemporary ideas, and make the
storylines of Taiwanese idol drama appear diverse. My Queen () (Fang & Lin,
2009) and The Fierce Wife ( ) (Wang & Xu, 2011) are examples of
productions based on local scripts; they are very popular, and have been deemed to be
the most topical dramas in recent years.
The importance of the storyline based on local scripts in idol drama is also
emphasised by Tsai who (cited in Gao, 2009) believes the script and TV program
creators should not leave their homeland because they must develop their work based on
the inspiration of their own culture. He suggests that when the creators engage
themselves in their motherland (p. 59; translated by the researcher), love their country
and its people, and sympathise with local lifestyles, they will be able to produce good
work. Furthermore, this work, which connects to their homeland, should be copious in
quantity and quality. To sum up, storylines in idol drama should be improved being
based on local scripts; in this way, the audiences will feel that the drama is very close to
their ordinary lives.

263
The perspective of enhancing the storylines in Taiwanese idol drama by local
scripts is supported particularly by the producer Yu-Shan Chen, who is also a
scriptwriter. She (cited in Lai, 2008) contends that love stories in this genre must be
depicted with various scenarios; especially, the storylines need to be designed as
experiences that could happen to ordinary people. She says that the visual elements
applied in idol drama, such as costume and settings, are important in the production;
however, the storylines are even more crucial, because they are the spirit of the dramas.
In order to represent the spirit, Chen suggests, the storylines and endings of idol drama
must be adjusted so as to enable the drama to look diverse and close to reality.
The TV specialists consider that better storylines can enhance the production of
Taiwanese idol drama; especially if the storyline is representative in diverse ways of
local scripts. This opinion offers a crucial point based on the recent popularity of
Taiwanese idol drama in the Asian region, namely that drama can be a specific
symbolic form to convey Taiwanese local lifestyles juxtaposed with contemporary
fashionable ideas. In such circumstances, this new genre has become a platform to
enhance Taiwanese local culture. No longer does it simply represent foreign cultures,
ignoring Taiwanese local culture, as it has been criticised for doing in the past. Instead,
it now allows Taiwanese local culture to be exchanged in the Asian marketplace, a
future direction for Taiwanese local production. In the next section, I will discuss how
the Taiwanese TV producers and director attempt to develop idol drama as the basis for
the regional market.
Looking to Future Markets
The Taiwanese TV industry has found itself in an advantageous position in
expressing its strength in producing popular TV drama for the Asian TV market (see
Chapter 3). In particular, the TV industry has dismissed adaptation; it has started to
produce TV dramas based on local scripts. This means that the Taiwanese TV industry
has made an attempt to influence the Asian region in terms through the TV markets
adherence to a blend of local scripts and popular culture. To support these perspectives,
I will examine the Taiwanese producers and directors opinions regarding the ways
they look at expansion of the domestic TV market.
Taiwanese TV dramas have been sold to other Chinese communities since the
1970s; however, sales have gradually declined. Moreover, these sales were not based on
a targeting strategy but simply for the purpose of profit; they did not aim to promote

264
Taiwanese drama actively as a cultural production. Nevertheless, since Meteor Garden
() (Chai &Tsai, 2001) was successfully sold to Mainland China and other
Asian countries, Taiwanese local production has been based on the representation of
local culture with a global context in mind. The director of Meteor Garden (),
Tsai (cited in Gao, 2009) comments: I have been looking for some power for
Taiwanese local production; I yearn to produce dramas that are not only for the
Taiwanese (p. 197; translated by the researcher). In Tsais opinion, a TV production
should be determined in terms of a targeted market first; accordingly, the production
will seek to delight and touch the intended audience. Thus the TV producer designs a
TV drama based on a targeted market, for which the producer will know what to
emphasise in the drama and how to represent it.
Tsai produced Meteor Garden () as an experiment for creating a new
genre in the domestic TV market; however, he has also shown his intention to enter a
larger market with this intention. Tsai (cited in Gao, 2009) says that:
I hope to open the doors to Mainland China, Korea, Singapore, Malaysia
and other countries in Asia. I want the audience in those countries to accept
Taiwanese TV production and also identity with what it conveys. (p. 197;
translated by the researcher).
For Tsai, to target the Asian region as the larger TV market has been the
direction of his TV production. He emphasises that the Taiwanese TV industry should
look to a regional TV market for its local production and this future market can be
considered to be a start in the Chinese TV market. He (cited in Gao, 2009) further
indicates:
I have stressed that I attempt to create Chinese TV market in Asia. The first
stage for this goal was in Japan; the second was Korea. Now, it is the timing
for Mainland China or Taiwan. I think that it is a very crucial opportunity
for us (TV producers). When we can sell our TV dramas to the whole of
Asia, we would have sufficient budget to produce more quality dramas for
the regional market (p. 197; translated by the researcher).
Tsais opinion above underpins the economic basis for making regional
television drama. He considers that the economic conditions will be important for
expanding the future market for local TV drama. This viewpoint illustrates the political
economic viewpoint previously outlined when I examined how the Japanese TV
industry acquired a leading position in the Asian TV market in the 1990s. Moreover, the
viewpoint implied that the TV production techniques have been transferred from Japan

265
to other countries like Taiwan. This indeed has contributed to a rise in regionalisation in
the East Asian TV industry.
Tsais work targets the Asian TV market and the production of others, such as
SETTVs idol drama, in aiming at the Chinese market. These two complementary
directions are becoming more and more successful in the regional TV market. As the
Vice-Director of the Programming Department in SETTV, Chen reveals, the TV
stations intention for the future development of Taiwanese idol drama. He (2010) says
that:
We know TV production now is a kind of soft power for Taiwan to export
its culture to the Chinese area, including Mainland China, Singapore, Hong
Kong, Malaysia, and some of the other Asian countries like Philippines,
Indonesia, Thailand, Japan and South Korea. I think, in these areas, people
need more cultural formats, such as TV drama, which is close to their
cultural background I found Asian people have their own lifestyles and
they use them to try to define the boundary of Asian cultures. (personal
communication, December 23, 2010).
Chens opinion reiterates the view previously given about cultural proximity as
reinforcing the future development of Taiwanese idol drama in the regional market.
Cultural proximity is the term used as one of the cultural aspects which has fostered the
integration of the Asian TV markets.
Tsai and Chen both predict similar perspectives about future markets for
Taiwanese idol drama. They both suggest the Taiwanese TV industry should look to the
larger TV market in the Asian region. Tsai considers the larger TV market to benefit
from the development of the quality-based drama which has sufficient budget to allow
for the accumulation of an overall profit. Thus, based on cultural proximity, Chen
proposes that Taiwan would create great opportunities to increase its place in the Asian
marketplace. Further, in the future, Chen (2010) projects that the Taiwanese TV
industry can integrate the audiences in the Asian area by drawing on new media, such as
fan websites, other social networks and cyberspace to convey inter-textual relays.
Conclusion
This chapter has provided practical insights into Taiwanese idol drama
production as given by Taiwanese producers and directors who have been involved in
the development of this genre. From discussing the motivation for producing the new
genre, the emphasis on the specific elements and the future market for the drama, the
TV specialists reinforce the key viewpoints discussed and emergent in the previous

266
chapters. The theoretical and the practical perspectives for this study have been
integrated based on the literature review and the interview method respectively Section
one examined the producers motivation for commencing local production in the of
trendy drama genre. This section has also shown that Taiwanese TV specialists were
aware of the influence of this new genre in Asian societies before they began producing
Taiwanese idol drama. This further demonstrated that the Japanese TV industry held
symbolic power because the popularity of Japanese trendy drama encouraged its
adaptation by other TV industries in the region. Therefore, in the early stage of the
development of Taiwanese idol drama, this new local production reproduced the power
of the Japanese TV industry. This is the reason that the early work was criticised for
ignoring Taiwanese local culture and supporting cultural imperialism. Nevertheless,
Taiwanese idol drama production was shown to begin expressing its own characteristics,
based on local culture, in its later stages. This has led to an attempt on the part of
Taiwanese TV producers to establish the Taiwanese brand for dramas in this new genre.
The attempt was shown to mean the Taiwanese TV industry already had the ability to
establish the specific symbolic form necessary to legitimise certain cultural meanings as
part of popular culture in Asia. In such a way, Taiwanese local culture could participate
in cultural exchanges within the Asian TV market.
Section 2 discussed what the TV specialists consider to be the most specific
elements in idol drama. This section found that the photogenic characters and diverse
storylines are emphasised by TV specialists for producing idol drama. This supports the
exploration and analysis of this thesis (see Chapters 5 and 6). The conclusions have
emphasised that idols can be applied in the promotion of the local TV production and
popular culture as it has in Japan and South Korea (see Chapter 2).
The section also demonstrated that images of the Asian idols have become
powerful symbols of the rise of the East Asian TV industry. In addition, the storylines
have been shown to allow for local lifestyles and contemporary fashionable ideas to be
represented as far as possible in this genre. In such a situation, the genre is deemed to
depict ordinary life and considered to portray peoples everyday lives closely.
Consequently, this genre has become the most reliable media frame through which
people learn new social experiences.
Section 3 explored the TV specialists attitudes towards the future of Taiwanese
local TV production. This section showed that the TV specialists have confidence in the
development of Taiwanese idol drama in the Asian TV market, in particular in the

267
Chinese-speaking community. They revealed that the Taiwanese TV industry is
ambitious to expand its TV market into countries in Asia and to achieve the possibility
of cultural exchanges. This insight is shown as basically in accord with the proposition
previously outlined (see Chapter 3). Moreover, the TV specialists proposed that new
media can be another tool for the TV industry to integrate audiences in the Asian area.
This viewpoint signified that the new media will reinforce the symbolic power of the
East Asian TV industry.
Broadly speaking, the two opposing positions of developing Taiwanese idol
drama and it being representative of Taiwanese local TV production have been
reconciled. The first is that idol drama should reflect contemporary Taiwanese society
and culture, the specialists stating this in a number of different ways especially that the
Taiwanese audience is the primary audience. In contrast, the second point emphasised
the importance of appealing to a broader regional audience and growing the domestic
TV market, so ensuring the Taiwanese TV industry remains capable of continuing to
produce quality drama. The views of the TV director and producers were embedded in
this reconciliation of achieving success with a local Taiwanese audience.
In conclusion, the practical insights provided by the TV producers and directors
aided the theoretical perspectives of this study. In particular, the Taiwanese situation of
reacting to the rise of regionalisation was different from that manifest in South Korea.
The reaction to the TV genre adaptation was started by independent production
companies without government support, therefore, the Taiwanese TV specialists well
understand the situation of how this new genre has developed; they also have a solid
sense of how it should be developed in the future.

268
Chapter 9
Conclusion

In arguing for the social impact of the medias symbolic power, Couldry (2000)
concludes that the media:
has social effects on a large scale not only because centralized mechanisms
of broadcasting are in place, but also we believe in the authority of media
discourse in countless local contexts, because we believe that most others
believe the same, and we act on the basis of these beliefs on countless
specific occasions. (p. 5)
Through the use of Couldrys theoretical perspective, I have focused on the
development of the East Asian TV industry and how it has represented media discourse
to the Asian audience in a global sense, since the 1990s. In doing so, the aim of this
study has been kept in view: to explore the medias symbolic power, which has
contributed to the rise of regionalisation in the East Asian TV industry and is
intrinsically linked to the implications of TV production in popular culture in Asia. In
order to fulfill this aim, I have undertaken both macro- and micro- levels of
investigation, and responded from both theoretical and practical perspectives. First, the
political economic framework of media development was adopted to examine the
specific context in which East Asian TV industries emerged within the Asian TV
market, based on the production of the new TV genre, trendy drama. Second, semiotic
analysis was applied to demonstrate Taiwanese idol drama as an example of a specific
symbolic form enhancing the East Asian TV industries symbolic power. Third, the
practical insights of Taiwanese TV specialists were integrated with the theoretical
perspectives outlined in this study. In this chapter, the main arguments are summarised
before suggestions are provided for future research.
The core arguments of this study have been two-fold. The major aspect of the
argument has centred around the rise of regionalisation in the East Asian TV industry,
driven by the TV genre adaptation. To begin with, it was seen that Japanese TV industry
had the most resources, including budget, materials, media facility and techniques, to
develop a new TV genre, trendy drama, which became highly popular in the Asian TV
market. Subsequently, other East Asian countries such as South Korea and Taiwan
began to adapt the genre to develop their own local TV productions. In consequence,

269
Asian TV industries emerged as major players of the Asian TV market. This emergence
then led to the secondary aspect of the argument of the present thesis: that is, based on a
similar cultural context, the genre has become a specific TV production intended to
convey certain cultural meanings for the Asian audience. Cultural meanings such as the
norms of beauty and the particular contemporary fashionable ideas were established by
the Japanese TV industry from the outset, and were then adopted and reproduced by the
Korean and Taiwanese TV industries, so as to become part of popular culture in Asia.
This trend implies that the East Asian TV industries have the symbolic power to
influence popular culture in Asia.
In developing the argument, there have been three key catalysts to help achieve
this study. They are:
1. the new genre, trendy drama;
2. circulating certain cultural meanings; and
3. the symbolic power of the media.
Trendy drama as a new genre in turn created a new audience, that is, the
emerging middle class of the younger generations in the 1990s. Because of its
popularity, Korean and Taiwanese TV industries adapted the genre to become their
local productions, selling them to the Asian TV market. In such a situation, the
adaptation became an engine driving regionalisation in the East Asian TV industries.
Certain cultural meanings have therefore been legitimised as the preferred messages for
the new audiences and have become part of popular culture in Asia. The adaptation and
establishing of certain cultural meanings can be associated with the need to highlight the
most significant viewpoint of this study, that is, East Asian TV industries have symbolic
power to influence Asian society as a whole. More explicitly, success in the media
industries is followed by other successes in different areas, such as economic success in
fashion and cultural industries.
The argument has been dealt with through the specific positions outlined in the
middle chapters, Chapter 2 to 8, forming Part I, II and III. From Part I, the literature
review, it was seen that the emergence of the Asian TV industry in the Asian TV market
was initiated by the Japanese TV industry in the 1990s. At that time, the Japanese TV
industry had economic privilege to develop its TV production by appropriating the
American model. The success of the Japanese TV industry urged other countries to
adopt Japanese TV productions, along with the overall economic development and

270
political deregulation in Asia. This situation initiated the process of regionalisation in
the East Asian TV industries; South Korea was the first nation to react to the rise. In
addition, this part exemplified Taiwan as another specific country that responded to the
rise, and revealed that the Taiwanese TV industry had been revived based on the
adaptation of Japanese TV local production. In particular, the adaptation appeared even
more significant within the complicated context of Taiwanese post-colonial politics.
Moreover, this part included a discussion about the specific elements and contemporary
fashionable ideas in trendy drama. It was found that trendy drama, based on the specific
elements and ideas, has been legitimised as the most popular TV genre. Consequently,
trendy drama is the media frame to provide mediated cultural meanings about Asian
middle-class social life. In the circumstances, trendy drama functions as the symbolic
form for the East Asian TV industries symbolic power to mediate social reality.
As was seen in Part II, the analysis of the two Taiwanese idol dramas, certain
cultural meanings symbolised in Japanese trendy drama are reproduced in Taiwanese
idol drama. For instance, the norms of beauty embodied in Japanese idols in Japanese
trendy drama are adopted by choosing photogenic characters in Taiwanese idol drama.
In addition, this part found that the Taiwanese TV industry has the ability to localise
certain fashionable ideas conveyed in Japanese trendy drama so as to become popular
culture in Taiwan. For example, the idea of a rise in Asian womens self-conviction was
applied to depict Taiwanese modern women. Moreover, the part focused on the
knowledge of contemporary fashion being based on costuming in the Taiwanese idol
drama. It found that the ideas of contemporary fashion were transferred into the specific
symbols to highlight different social classes in the drama. This aspect, in particular,
demonstrates that the Taiwanese TV industry has symbolic power to mediate modern
social life.
From Part III, it was seen that the practical perspectives of the Taiwanese TV
directors and producers provided specific insights into the development of Taiwanese
idol drama. This part found that the Taiwanese TV industry has acknowledged the
influence of trendy drama; therefore, it has attempted to develop its fashion of the genre
as the most representative local TV production. This part also shows that the Taiwanese
TV industry has a desire to take a leading position in the Asian TV market, particularly
in the Chinese TV market.
The findings in these three parts are combined to demonstrate that East Asian
TV industries have the symbolic power to develop the specific genre that frames

271
particular social realities for audiences in a global context. Furthermore, the East Asian
TV industries have the ability to centralise enormous resources to create cultural
meanings, which become mediated social reality and part of popular culture in Asia.
Consequently, the medias symbolic power has enhanced the rise of regionalisation in
the East Asian TV industry.
To conclude, there are two main outcomes of this study. One is in the area of
media studies and the other is Asian media studies. In particular, from the perspective of
Couldrys (2000) theoretical perspective, the medias symbolic power should be
highlighted in the contemporary era of multi-media development. The continuing
development of the new media could be another way of reinforcing the TV industrys
symbolic power, such as on-line video. The media discourse, through internet
circulation, would enable the medias symbolic power to appear even more significant.
This is worthwhile for future research in media studies. Moreover, the East Asian TV
industry tends to be more and more powerful, based on the economic conditions and
advanced techniques, and the rise of regionalisation in the ongoing East Asian TV
industry. Therefore, the findings of this study could also be useful for the field of Asian
media studies.

272
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Appendix 1
Questionnaire and answer of interviewing Mark Chen
Note: Crutch words and false starts have been removed from this transcript.
Mark Chen
Vice Director
Programming Dept.
Sanlih E-Television Co., Ltd

Q: Why do you want to produce idol drama? And what does idol drama mean?
A: Idol drama is a new form which has been so popular that we cant ignore it. We
started to produce idol drama in 2001. The first idol drama we produced was called
Lavender; its viewing rate was 4%, which falls within the average viewing rate
(3%~13%). Since this success, we noticed that the target audience was the younger
generation, around 20 to 30 years old, and also the middle class. The TV market
environment has changed in this decade; we have to think about the main role that TV
drama plays in society. TV drama is not just entertainment but is also a cultural form;
audiences learn and identify popular culture represented in idol drama; for example,
what the characters say and how they behave in the drama and their lifestyle seem to be
an indication for the audience about what to desire and learn about. Especially, the
scenes of idol drama are usually set up in urban areas where the younger generations
prefer to develop their career and life in the future. So we need to produce idol dramas
that can really reflect or be associated with younger peoples experiences. Idol drama
is actually TV drama that appears in a new form: new camera strategies, new narratives
and new faces. We seek new actors who do not necessarily have performing experience
in TV drama, but they do need to have some particular characteristics, such as a pretty
face and beautifully toned body, and the potential to be a star. We attempt to stereotype
the stars for a drama, so they will probably have an influence on the audiences point of
view toward the drama. We are aware that sometimes, audiences want to watch a drama
because of the actor in the drama; I think this is the primary meaning of idol drama.
Q: Do you agree people call this kind of drama you produce idol drama? What is the
difference between idol drama and trendy drama? Do they have the same format? Do
you think idol drama is a copy from a genre of foreign TV programs?
A: Of course I agree that I produce idol drama. Idol drama is just a term to indicate
this type of drama with the similar format: pretty idols and love stories. The term idol
drama can definitely catch peoples attention; especially the younger generations.
Actually, idol drama is just trendy drama. They are different names for the same genre.
We know trendy drama is originally from Japan; it is centred around a love theme with
contemporary issues; thus, it is called trendy drama. However, this new genre was
unfamiliar to Asia including the Taiwanese audience, so we have to grab the most
appealing part of the genre, idols, to promote this kind of drama. Idol and trendy dramas

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are the same genre, so they have a similar format. We have spent much time exploring
more and more strategies on producing idol drama, so how can you say that idol drama
is a copy from foreign countries, such as Japan? Frankly, idol drama producers did
purchase the copyright for Japanese manga at first, but later, we tried to produce
Taiwanese idol drama locally, based on Taiwanese scripts. I think audiences are very
sensitive; they look for a better quality of TV drama, although sometimes we find that
several traditional dramas such as Taiwanese A-Cheng are more popular than idol
drama.
Q: What are the differences between creative idol dramas and those adapted from
Japanese manga? Are creative idol dramas produced to reflect Taiwanese social reality?
A: We talked just now about idol drama in previous years, and how it was produced
according to Japanese manga. That was just an experiment; it let us try different
strategies for producing TV drama including a new formula, style and content. I think
that the Taiwanese producers obtained materials from Japanese manga because they
needed resources and ideas to stimulate their creativity. They tried and succeeded. A
good example is Meteor Garden (); it was adapted from a famous Japanese
manga, Boys Over Flowers (Hana yori Dango), by Director Yueh-Hsun Tsai. When the
drama was first on air in Taiwan, it was very popular and encouraged discussion. The
TV channel that broadcast Meteor Garden () scheduled it in the non- prime-
time phase to avoid competing with traditional TV dramas. However, the experiment
was very successful, so Taiwanese producers started to produce real Taiwanese idol
dramas, which are locally produced including local scripts. So far, idol dramas created
locally reflect Taiwanese social reality more compared to previous productions. For
example, My Queen () (2009) and The Fierce Wife () (2011) are
very close to Taiwanese social reality; actually, the topics of these two dramas have
been discussed for a time in Taiwan. I believe Taiwanese producers, including myself,
would like to establish our own brand: made in Taiwan.
Q: What are the differences between idol dramas and traditional Taiwanese TV dramas?
Are there any distinct elements?
A: We found that the portrayals of idol dramas can involve diverse topics around our
lives. You can discuss younger peoples part-time work lifestyle or you can look at what
the middle class suffers as a result of their work situations. You can get a glimpse of the
different lifestyles of the different groups through watching idol drama (now I think I
should say trendy drama). Besides, the love story portrayed in idol drama is not as
much of a fantasy as in traditional drama, but it still possesses imagination; I think this
is the most attractive part to the audience. Traditional TV drama tends to be clichd:
extra-marital affairs, family disputes, and problems between mother-in-law and
daughter-in-law. There is a lack of imagination in traditional TV drama, and the
audiences, younger generations in particular, get bored with it. If we think of the distinct
elements between idol drama and traditional drama, I think the audience can easily
distinguish them by the actors, dialogues, settings, costumes and frames. Summing up,
to be trendy is the most specific distinction for idol drama, or trendy drama.

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Q: What factors would lead the direction of production of Taiwanese idol dramas? Are
Taiwanese idol dramas produced for Taiwanese audiences or to sell to the Asian area?
A: Taiwanese producers have changed direction in order to produce Taiwanese idol
drama. We know TV production, now, is a kind of soft power for Taiwan to export its
culture to the Chinese area, including Mainland China, Singapore, Hong Kong,
Malaysia, and some of the other Asian countries like the Philippines, Indonesia,
Thailand, Japan and South Korea. I think, in these areas, people need more cultural
formats such as TV drama, which is close to their cultural background. So it is very
important to research the latest trends that interest people; also, contemporary issues
have to be followed, or even created by cultural productions. Many factors could lead
the way in producing idol drama; they are even more complicated than producing
traditional drama. Traditional drama can be set up using a specific and fixed narrative,
but trendy drama needs to be trendy; its tempo is faster than traditional drama.
Another factor particularly worth mentioning is the contemporary lifestyle. I found that
Asian people have their own lifestyles and they use them to try to define the boundaries
of Asian culture. For example, South Korea likes to represent their eating culture in TV
drama; Korean producers want to make their culture more Korean and then more
distinct from other Asian cultures. On the other hand, Korean producers attempt to build
up the popularity of their culture so that other Asian people can accept and appreciate it.
I think Taiwanese producers are looking for this goal as well. Taiwanese producers are
enthusiastic about promoting TV drama made in Taiwan to other countries and
meanwhile, to promote Taiwanese lifestyles and values. I think that would be the main
direction. Of course, the other purpose is for Taiwanese TV dramas to be sold to other
countries in Asia.
Q: How can Taiwanese idol dramas both represent Taiwanese social reality and be sold
to other countries?
A: Taiwan has multiple cultural representations; this is extremely beneficial for art
creators. We have to consider what elements are really close to our lifestyle and also,
what can be packaged as a popular cultural form that is appealing to Asian people. It is
challenging to deal with these two aspects: representing Taiwanese social reality and
achieving the Asian TV market; despite this challenge, we found there will be great
opportunities for us to promote cultural products made in Taiwan. This is soft power.
We have set up the goal of selling our idol dramas to other countries, but we need to
focus mainly on the Taiwanese audience. Nowadays, we have various ways to collect
Taiwanese audience opinions of the idol dramas we produce, because of the new media,
so we know what people desire when they are watching a TV drama. Also, we can use
different technological forms to promote our TV drama, such as fans and official
websites in the programs, Facebook, MySpace, twitter etc., we are using the Internet
and new media to promote our TV dramas and extending the promotion into the Great
Chinese Community first, and then into other countries in Asia. We are looking to
develop the regional TV market for our idol drama.
Q: Does the popularity of Japanese and Korean trendy dramas in Taiwan influence the
production of Taiwanese idol dramas?

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A: They were absolutely an impact on Taiwanese TV production. The main reason for
their popularity is not that Taiwan lacked self-produced TV programs and imported
Japanese and Korean trendy dramas. I think their popularity is because they are new;
Japanese and Korean trendy dramas were a very new genre of TV programs for the
Taiwanese audience, and this kind of program seemed interesting. They appeal to
younger audiences who have been ignored when structuring storylines in other TV
dramas. Taiwan used to produce costume dramas, family dramas and romance dramas,
mainly adapted from Qiong Yaos novels. Do you see any TV drama programs
produced especially for young people? The answer is no. There are still many
traditional dramas other than idol drama on channels, and some of them are still very
appealing to the Taiwanese audience; despite this, we need to create more choices for
different groups of our audiences.

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Appendix 2

Information Consent Document
This document indicates that this individual consents to participating in the research
project entitled The Rise of Regionalisation in the Asian Television Industry: A
Case Study of Trendy Drama as conducted by Ms Hsin-Pey Peng from the School of
Communications and Arts, Edith Cowan University.


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