英文摘要 |
Masculinity has been the most important issue in creating the images of gangster men. However, masculinity cannot simply be defined as bodily image with well built-up muscles and the capability for violent acts. Rather, what makes a gangster man masculine relies more on the ideology beneath that determines the acts he takes, which in many cases reflect the bigger cultural and social issues in the specific context. Gangster themes and characters are the frequent themes or backbones in Taiwanese films in the post-martial law era, but most researches focus on the identity and modernity issues under the tradition of Taiwan New Cinema. City of Sadness, for instance, is the most discussed film with considerable emphasis on gangster themes. However, analyses surrounding the gangster themes, characters and the identity issues involved in the film are hardly available. Discussions of masculinity have been closely related with the pursuit of secured identities, and thus the masculinity displayed by the gangster men in the post-martial law films has to be scrutinized in regard to the anxieties of identity issues in Taiwanese context. This essay focuses on the qualities of masculinity in Taiwanese films in the post-martial law era, and investigates how such masculinity displays the identity quandary in Taiwan through the struggles of gangsterdom. |