292 | "The Chosen One": "Illustrated Handbook of Election Women" that can only be photographed in Taiwan in Asia
作者：賈選凝（北京出生，香港成長，現居台灣。媒體人、評論人，但其實正職是做學術，關注港台區域研究、比較政治及文化研究。）原文發佈時間：2023年5月11日"The Man of Choice——The Wave Maker") was launched less than three days ago, and it was hotly discussed on the social platform, and it still ranks first in the Netflix Taiwan rankings. This should also be the best-known and highest-level set of Taiwanese dramas so far this year.
Let me talk about the intuitive feeling first. My first impression in the first ten minutes of the show is: How do you feel that this should be the correct way to open the "Taipei Women's Illustrated Book"?
Ya Jing, played by Wang Jing, takes a bus to go to work at the PKR party headquarters on Dunhua North Road. A set of quick-cut empty shots follow her point of view as she passes by the Presidential Palace, Taipei Main Station, Liangtingyuan, 101, and the locomotive formation. From the election advertisements on the bus body, the billboards of legislative candidates hanging on the exterior walls of buildings, the LED advertising wall at the intersection of Dunhua and Zhongxiao East Roads... The pulse of the breath of Taipei, through these "alternation of generations" and "making a change" campaigns The slogan quickly became vivid.
As soon as the play begins, the sense of reality hits the face. Later, as the plot unfolded, the restoration of the gods of political commentary programs, parade scenes, and Kaidao pre-election campaign parties can basically be faked, and even the campaign songs specially made for the PKR in the play are of extremely high quality. If it is said that "The Chosen One" has successfully exported Taiwan's election culture with its excellent production standards, it should not be considered too high.
On Weibo in mainland China, netizens also praised the drama wildly. The comments are all in this style: "After reading "The Chosen One" in one breath, Taiwan is really the light of East Asia." Some people praised the female power of the wave maker "Queen Maker", while others sighed with emotion, "some of them ( Taiwanese) votes that seem easy to get, and the actions of the elections are a difficult hurdle for us to cross..."
"The Candidate" (hereinafter referred to as "The Candidate") is Taiwan's first political staff drama, but in fact it is first and foremost an excellent female-themed work. Winning elections and changing society is important, but it's also important for women to "change" things on a personal level, and that's the hidden thread running through the show.
The Political Drama of "Personality is Politics": Their Intimate Relationship, Family and Workplace
Looking at the whole of East Asia, only creators in Taiwan will change the situation of women and interpret it on the same level as "changing the future of Taiwan".
The deep digging of gender issues in the play is fuller than the depiction of the election campaign. We have seen three typical female dilemmas: facing sexual harassment and violence, unequal division of family labor, and being stigmatized emotionally.
Zhang Yajing condenses the complex dimensions of women as victims of sexual violence. She has encountered purely physical sexual harassment, and she has also endured the long-term threat of nude photos.
In the face of physical harassment, she can resolutely resist, and the female supervisor will also encourage her that "many things can't just be left alone." The biggest crisis in the PKR in the whole drama is how to deal with this sexual harassment incident without causing a scandal to affect the election.
Punishment of perpetrators of physical sexual harassment is justifiable, but in the face of digital intimate violence, Yajing cannot justly sue, because she is not a "perfect victim." I have to praise the screenwriter for this part. Only when he thinks deeply enough about the relevant issues can he write an accurate line like "he didn't use any violent means to force me, but I have no other choice".
The role of wife Wu Fangting expresses the helplessness of many professional women at the family level, and this character is written quite intimately.
In reality, most husbands probably don't understand what is wrong with telling their wives, "I will leave this house to you." The family belongs to two people, and the other party is willing to cooperate with you to give more in a certain period of time, which does not mean that this is taken for granted.
Chen Jiajing, who claims to be a "progressive middle-aged man", subconsciously does not think that the division of labor in the family is equal. The screenwriter uses the interaction between the husband and wife to give everyone a popular science: As a husband, it doesn't mean that you are blameless if you do housework, but It is to truly respect the partner's work value, emotional labor, and various intangible contributions in terms of concept.
The "stigmatization of emotions" that Weng Wenfang encountered in the workplace is a kind of prejudice that women will encounter in various situations. Her male supervisor told her, "Don't use your personal emotions to deal with colleagues' affairs." Then he hinted at the causal relationship between her "choose to lose" and "emotions", but did not go into detail about why she had an emotional outburst at that time.
In reality, people tend to focus on the "result" of women's "unable to hold their emotions", but they seldom talk about the "reason" for the result-maybe her bottom line has been violated, or it may be She was treated unfairly and even humiliated. Understand the context behind women's anger, so that they will not be reduced to emotional problems with stereotypes.
"Candidate"'s comprehensive and multi-angle analysis of gender issues is the most precious part of the play. It is rare for us to see so many real women's dilemmas in different fields being displayed in one work at the same time. And looking at the whole of East Asia, only creators in Taiwan will change the situation of women and interpret it on the same level as "changing the future of Taiwan".
This article is not finished. For the full text, see " "The Candidate": The "Illustrated Book of Election Women" that can only be photographed in Taiwan in Asia "
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292. "The Candidates": "Illustrated Handbook of Election Women" that can only be photographed in Taiwan in Asia
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