We Taiwanese also have our own Volaf!

First, let's watch this video together:

In fact, I wanted to write about this topic two years ago. When I wasted my life on youtube, I saw that on my homepage recommendation, there were some Vlogs made by foreigners in Taiwan's youtuber, as well as some themed videos that were more likely to hit the point of national inferiority , such as: What do people in X like the most? Plant Taiwanese snacks/snacks/drinks, people from X country watch the reaction of XX singers.

Of course, it would be too one-sided to ask me to beat me to death and say, "These YouTubers are all scheming, they just want to make a lot of money by relying on the wealth code of national inferiority." It's not hard to see that there are still some YouTubers out there who just really want to know what the "locals" think about it. Although I think it is difficult to achieve "communication" in this way, as far as the matter is concerned, this medium and this form, using the word "performance" to describe "reaction" should be considered objective.

I think the film I just showed you can actually be deconstructed with the knowledge of communication and sociology. After deconstructing these theories, you can better understand: why do people in Chinese-speaking areas like to watch these kinds of films? What are we moved by?

First of all, I need everyone to go back to the Video itself to see:

Did you find anything special?

If you are sensitive enough, you will find that in the 2 minutes and 53 seconds of this video, in this video titled "Foreign friends all want to say thank you 🇹🇼", there is no African American A foreigner, or any "foreigner" from a third world country. (PS, on the other hand, in diplomatic occasions, Taiwan is one of the few diplomatic allies from the third world that officially thanked Taiwan haha. It’s a bit ironic)

In this film, you can see Americans, French, Japanese, etc., you can see white skin, you can see yellow skin, but you can't see black skin.

why is that?

Of course, some people will say: The producer of this video was made in conjunction with other "foreigner YouTubers in Taiwan" who are active on YouTube, so it's not that the producer intentionally avoided African-American YouTubers, but that African-Americans were originally in Taiwan. YouTubers are rare, so the problem doesn't lie with the makers of this video.

So I'm going to move on to the second question: why are there so few African-American YouTubers in Taiwan?

In fact, this is also a false proposition. There are actually several active African-American YouTubers in Taiwan, such as: Du Li Dooley, Taiwan Xunqi (in fact, this was jointly established by many foreigners, not only African-American creators), Good Locomotives (& Bad Locomotives)

If you haven't seen it all before, but you've seen other white-skinned creators in Taiwan, it's very telling.

That's right, so these African-American YouTubers are in Taiwan, so why haven't they been involved in the production of the "Thank You Taiwan" video? Why don't I usually see these creators on my homepage recommendation? Why do these creators generally have fewer followers than white-skinned creators? Is it really because the creative content is not good enough?

I don't think so.

western gaze

When it comes to national inferiority complex, the topic that can never be avoided is the "Western gaze " (postcolonial gaze).

How to briefly summarize the Western Gaze? It is to seek the recognition of the values of the Western world. Even under the scrutiny of colonialism, there is essentially a meaning of "seeking identity", and some people will take this kind of behavior more extreme as "flattering".

To give a rough example: why are most luxury brands from Europe? What do you think of when you think of oil paintings? Why do contemporary women like deep eyes, high nose bridge and fair complexion?

Of course, I'm not saying that the above problems are all rooted in the Western gaze, I just want to express that these are more or less related to the Western gaze.

So of course you can't see African-American foreigners, or foreigners from the third world, or the largest group of foreigners in Taiwan - Indonesians, they are not our colonizers! We don't need their approval!

Therefore, we are influenced by the cultural atmosphere of the world and influenced by post-colonialism, we more or less instinctively hope that the "colonial" recognizes our actions and recognizes the "other", and we are also a kind of collectivist Express. isn't it?

Looking back, what the creators of this film have to say: You guys are great!

Maybe I'm too sensitive, I feel very nauseous, it's like I got a problem right when I was a child, and my parents encouraged me: You are great!

In fact, Taiwan's efforts related to epidemic prevention are not aimed at gaining recognition from other countries. It is precisely to protect the health of all Taiwanese people. It is undeniable that Taiwan's CDC has done a very good job, but does this require approval from outsiders?

Of course, when the object of our study becomes "Taiwan", the problem will start to become complicated - when Taiwan needs a certain amount of voice on the international stage, Taiwanese will definitely need more international solidarity.

Therefore, this film can arouse the self-movement of so many people, not entirely because of the Western gaze, but because of the need to be "seen" internationally.

By appreciating this film, Taiwanese people have gained recognition from international people, thus affirming the need for "Taiwanese" to be seen by the world. In essence, it still has a certain relationship with the other side and with Taiwan's weakness in the international arena.

Of course, I don't think this allows foreigners in Taiwan to reasonably grasp the wealth code. It's a need, but it's also a pseudo-need, just do your own thing, the western stare instinctively makes me sick and nauseous.

What do you think of when we talk about "foreigners"?

What do you think of when we talk about "foreigners"? Blonde? America or Japan?

To be honest, when we talk about foreigners, the most friendly country should be Indonesia, or Vietnam. Because they are the largest number of foreigners in Taiwan. It is worth mentioning that Indonesians account for 33.1% of the total expat population living in Taiwan, while only 1.2% of Americans are popular on YouTubers.

I can't help but ask, in your subconscious, does the word "foreigner" have their place?

What I am very curious about is, as the largest group of foreigners, what impression do Taiwanese have on Indonesians and Vietnamese? Do they have a YouTuber channel? Did they also thank Taiwan but were not heard?

Let's talk about African-Americans.

In fact, the interaction between Taiwanese and African-American foreigners started very early: the advertisement of Wei Dali.

In the film, African-American foreigners wear national costumes, first learn to say "Vital Power" twice, and then ask the Taiwanese actor "it is good to drink?". A Taiwanese actor kindly introduced the drink to foreigners of African descent. African-American foreigners said they liked it after tasting it.

Savour the ad and look back at the film we're talking about today. Then, think carefully about where the Taiwanese are in these two films (potential energy).

In Youtube videos, foreigners express their recognition of Taiwanese, which can be seen as "looking down" from top to bottom. Maybe it's because I'm too sensitive, and I can't see the "head-up" taste no matter how I look at it.

Then, in the advertisement of Wei Dali, it is Taiwanese looking down on African-American foreigners - "I will introduce you to this delicious drink that you have never tried" (soda), of course, I think this advertisement can still be regarded as It's "head-up", after all, this is also the process for ordinary people to introduce new things. But it is very strange, why should a non-heritage actor in national costume be cast for this role, instead of a white-skinned foreigner or a Japanese? Well... I think this setting is quite intriguing, but if I guess the creator's intentions based on this, it will inevitably be considered far-fetched, and it will not be expanded.

Does the Chinese-speaking area need Volaf?

You may be a little dumbfounded when you read this title - who is Volaf?

Vlav is a Russian internet celebrity in the mainland, who says that China is old and arrogant every day. And even more fierce than the Taiwanese foreign Internet celebrities, he said "We China is too awesome!" , Taiwan's foreign Internet celebrities are still saying "You Taiwan is amazing!" It may take a while longer Time will come to this stage, right?

Due to the rise of short video platforms in mainland China, many foreign Internet celebrities have emerged. The way these foreign Internet celebrities have become popular is actually very simple: praise China is good.

It sounds very simple and rude, but the fact is that everyone really eats this set... But then again, those Japanese who go to China to play Japanese devils seem to have grasped the same national psychology, or the same is true of anti-Japanese dramas, but That was still masturbating by myself, but now I found an inflatable doll to masturbate, and it's a little more interactive.

This set of popular ways for foreigners to praise China has been seen by many Chinese informants because it is too common, and they joked that these crooked Chinese people have mastered the "wealth code" (ie: praise China).

Now this set has also been staged in Taiwan, but it is not so simple and rude. Instead, it is more in line with Taiwan's customs and praises slowly. For example, foreigners eat Taiwanese snacks and think they are delicious.

By the way, I have also seen a foreigner invite another foreigner to talk about the contrast between Taiwan and Chinese cities. The final conclusion can also be guessed, after all, you can't see youtube inside the wall.

China needs all kinds of Volaf in the foreseeable future, some Volaf is in Douyin Kuaishou, and some Volaf is in the news of the Global Times (such as the remarks of recruiting a certain politician to support China).

Taiwan is also, because of the existence of China, there will be more and more Vlavs in Taiwan, and there are quite a few TV programs of this kind. I can see the news every day. It seems that Taiwanese people are very keen to see the news of foreigners praising and thanking Taiwan. I really can't stand it...

When will everyone really stand up?

Seeking to identify with the essence is still inferiority, and the "self-knowledge" that does not take joy in things and does not take sorrow for oneself - is the real self-confidence.