Screenwriters up Their Game: Bringing Taiwanese Drama to the World
With the most free and democratic society in the Mandarin-speaking world, Taiwan’s government and companies are working together to produce original content that attracts the international audience.
Taiwan’s screenwriters have been going all out over the last two years, with TV shows such as Gold Leaf and The World Between Us attracting large audiences and getting people talking. Taiwan is generally recognized as having the freest and most democratic creative environment in the Chinese-speaking world. Now, public and private entities are working together to improve our television and film industry’s business model. The goal is to produce original Chinese-language content that can compete in the international marketplace and attract a larger international audience.
Taiwan’s TV and film industry has evolved over the years. Adaptations of the romance novels of Chiung Yao dominated Taiwan’s movie theaters and TV screens in the 1960s to the point that nearly everyone born in the 1950s, 1960s, and 1970s has youthful memories of a favorite Chiung Yao adaptation. When cross-strait relations opened up in the 1980s, Taiwanese studios traveled to China to film Chiung’s works, and TV stations came to depend on buying overseas dramas to fill their schedules. Interestingly, this also gave studios the opportunity to focus on Taiwan-centric themes, resulting in more diverse subject matter.
The shows that followed, including some with nativist themes and others featuring glove puppetry, made a strong impression on audiences. Fiery Thunderbolt is a case in point. The show’s over-the-top plots and dialogue sparked heated discussions and established a large viewership for works drawing on local culture.
Idol shows ignite a golden age
Around this time, idol and school-focused dramas also took off. The Taiwanese idol drama Meteor Garden, adapted from a Japanese manga called Boys over Flowers, set new records for Taiwanese TV viewership. Later licensed to broadcasters in several Asian countries, the show kicked off a golden age for Taiwanese idol dramas.
Golden Bell Award-winning screenwriter Wu Luo-ying, currently chair of the Taiwan Screenwriters Association, remarks that as Taiwan’s idol dramas became popular in Asia, other Asian nations began developing their own TV and film industries, which went on to surpass Taiwan’s. Read More…
